Gen Z Hygiene Habits Millennials Just Don't Understand

It's not unheard of for members of one generation to question the everyday habits of people of another generation. Perhaps it's unsurprising then that quite a few Gen Z hygiene habits just fall flat with millennials.

Take hanging out "forever" in the shower, for instance. According to a 2024 report from The Harris Poll, Gen Z spends an average of about 21 minutes showering, nearly three minutes more than millennials. Some members of Gen Z have even talked about taking "nothing showers," or standing in the shower without exerting any effort to clean themselves. Millennials might not want to point fingers too quickly, though. After all, some skincare experts find both their and Gen Z's shower lengths to be a bit off-base. In general, dermatologists recommend keeping showers under 15 minutes to avoid drying out or irritating the skin.

Of course, showering habits are just the tip of the iceberg. From how they groom themselves to when they clean specific household items, Gen Z exhibits plenty of other hygiene preferences that make millennials scratch their heads.

Gen Z seems to be "maxxing" just about all the aspects of their lives, whether it's working out (aka gymmaxxing) or coming to terms with hair loss (aka baldmaxxing, a trend Princes William and Harry could get behind). Simply put, when someone is maxxing, it means they're using technology, data, or unconfirmed social media influencer "science" to figure out how to optimize their appearance, right down to their skincare regimens.

Since looksmaxxing is ultimately personalized and hyper-focused, it means that a Gen Z adult will probably have a slew of moisturizers, cleansers, serums, washes, and more in the bathroom. Each product is used as a piece of the person's overall health puzzle — and the fact that a maxxed skincare regimen can take a long time to complete doesn't matter. For a millennial, all this effort may seem ridiculous; per a 2018 study by the market intelligence company Mintel, 54% of young millennial women in the U.K. have pared down their skincare regimens.

Interestingly, Gen Z might be getting less of a return on investment for this (rather expensive) beauty behavior than they anticipate. As dermatologists have noted, more steps and products could actually irritate the skin rather than leave it looking and feeling amazing.

Gen Z just isn't sold on needing deodorant or antiperspirant. Thanks to a TikTok trend called pheromone-maxxing, some men are just saying "no" to the idea that they need to smell unnatural to gain a mate. As psychiatrist Dr. Gayatri Bhatia told Firstpost, "The concept of 'pheromone-maxxing' sounds biologically plausible [...] But scientists have not yet found a sex pheromone in humans that reliably causes attraction."

This habit may have had its start during the 2020 pandemic. Mintel research from 2021 showed that around 45% of Gen Z had begun to lose interest in deodorant at the time, compared to 40% of millennials. "I don't think Gen Z isn't using deodorant, but I also don't feel like they do much," Lila Negrete, a Gen Z talent and production company founder, told Orbit in 2023, citing concerns about potentially carcinogenic ingredients and a reduced need for deodorant in general as possible reasons. To be fair, millennials popularized the practice of occasionally skipping deodorant. Still, it seems that Gen Z has taken it a step further.

Gen Z is known for caring about the environment and being aware of climate change. Yet many members of Gen Z aren't incorporating sunscreen application into their daily hygiene habits. In fact, a 2026 survey from the American Academy of Dermatology found that Gen Z lags behind other generations in terms of wearing sunscreen. The results even showed that Gen Z is actively tanning, which is one of the risk factors that increases the chance of developing skin cancer. Unfortunately, skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in young adults.

On Reddit, millennials have spoken about Gen Z's apparent lack of knowledge about sunscreen in a general sense. One millennial Redditor shared while recounting how they noticed their Gen Z coworkers' sunburned faces, "I never in my life thought I'd have to say that CeraVe makes a facial everyday sunscreen and have someone be absolutely shocked at that news." On the same thread, another millennial predicted, "This is gonna devastate them when they age." Ultimately, it would benefit Gen Z to learn everything they need to know about melanoma so they can try to prevent it.

After a day of wearing underwear, what do you do with it? If you're part of Gen Z, you're statistically more likely to put it aside to wear again. According to a 2023 poll for Newsweek, over a third (36%) of Gen Z respondents said it's fine to keep reusing underwear past the 24-hour mark. By comparison, less than a quarter (24%) of millennials agreed.

But is this really gross, or are day-old undies fair game for further wear? When asked by Today, microbiologist Dr. Philip M. Tierno gave a surprising answer. "Generally speaking, it's not going to hurt you as much as your hygiene may hurt your reputation," he explained. "Two days would probably be very little detection unless you grossly contaminate your underwear." However, he did acknowledge that it is important to clean your private areas properly to avoid a build-up of unwanted microorganisms. That said, all garments with direct skin contact should generally be washed regularly, as clean underwear may lower your risk for genital area skin infections and rashes.

What feels better than getting into a bed with clean sheets? Apparently a lot because Gen Z doesn't seem to mind ignoring the fact that their sheets get dirtier with each passing day. A 2026 Amerisleep poll found that only 19% of Gen Z gives their sheets the clean treatment monthly. Additionally, a surprising 34% said they wait until their sheets emit a smelly odor before washing them. But don't expect your Gen Z friend, colleague, or child to be honest about their bedding hygiene behavior: Over a third (34%) of Gen Z respondents said they lie about how frequently they wash their sheets. And don't get us started on how many younger folks wear their shoes and outside clothes while in bed.

This raises the question of whether or not the Gen Z "smells-like-it's-time-for-a-wash" technique is actually bad. Apparently, the longer you wait, the higher the likelihood that your sheets could become a skin irritant or trigger allergic reactions. Generally speaking, this would mean doing a sheet and pillowcase load around every three to seven days. Ultimately, it's wise to be diligent about washing dirty sheets regularly: As you sleep, you shed roughly a half-teaspoon of skin cells onto your sheets each night, which can quickly become an environment where bacteria can thrive.