The Strange Confession Coco Austin Made About Her Personal Hygiene Habits

#ShowerGate was a dark time in Hollywood. In July 2021, celebrities began discussing their shower habits in droves. Ashton Kutcher admitted on the "Armchair Expert" podcast that he only washes his "armpits and crotch daily, and nothing else ever," while his wife, Mila Kunis, shared that she doesn't use soap to wash her body every day, but only her "pits, t**s, holes, and soles." A month later, Jake Gyllenhaal told Vanity Fair, "More and more I find bathing to be less necessary, at times."

Other stars quickly joined the conversation, with Lizzo confessing that she stopped wearing deodorant but that it only made her "smell better." Terry Crews told Access Hollywood, "if you've ain't been sweating, you don't need to shower." However, he clarified that he does shower multiple times a day as he has a reputation to uphold. "I'm Mr. Old Spice, so you know what I mean? I've got to get clean," he noted.

Coco Austin — the wife of Ice-T – also counts herself as part of the anti-bathing movement. In an interview, she revealed that her showering routine differs from most people's.

Around the same time #ShowerGate went viral, Coco Austin joined the debate and shared her two cents about bathing. Speaking with E!'s Daily Pop, she revealed she doesn't have a frequent showering schedule because she doesn't feel the need to.

"Well, I don't shower every day. I do it when needed," she said, adding that when it comes to her hair, she washes it "every four days." But she makes sure to hop in the shower when she's feeling "icky" and estimates that to be anywhere between "every day" to "every three days." Still, the model shared that she ensures that she's always clean. While she says she "might not have to clean [her] whole body," if she feels "like [her] pits smell or something," she whips out her washcloths and washes with soap. Oh, and since she "got a bidet," she also doesn't feel the need to take a whole shower.

While some might find Austin's showering habits questionable, her intricate beauty regimen rivals the best. She told Allure in 2011 that she washes her face nightly, exfoliates her skin thoroughly, and puts on plenty of skincare products. But sometimes, her husband questions why she does it all. "I piss Ice off sometimes at night because my regimen is kind of long," she shared. "He's like 'I don't understand why you gotta do all of that.' Believe me, it's a lot of preparation, but it really is well worth it at the end."

Coco Austin once drew flak from fans after she revealed her daughter Chanel had questionable bathing habits, too. In September 2022, she took to Instagram and TikTok to share a quick getting-ready routine, showing that Chanel is making their kitchen sink her makeshift bathtub. "The sink is easiest when you have to be fast," Austin wrote. But fans were quick to judge, with some noting how unhygienic it was.

Not one to back down, Austin defended her decision, writing on Twitter that she's an "unconventional" mom. She wrote: "Wow just Wow! Here we go again! Giving my lil girl a bath in the sink went Viral? SMH! People,you gotta know by now that I'm an unconventional mother. I do what works and is easier on me. Some may want to take some pointers rather than rag on me!"

She told Page Six she finds it odd that people called her out, considering how many moms do the same. "Everything I do, people have got to say something about it," she noted. "But now it's kinda weird to other people. Like, really? If you are a mom you have bathed your child in the sink." Austin learned how to ignore all the negative comments, though. "The key is you cannot give a f*** about other people's opinions, or you will never get anywhere in life," she said.