Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis admit they rarely bathe their kids, or themselves

Tod Perry
Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:43:08 +0000
Celebrities, Dads, Moms, Bathing, Hygiene, Showering, Bathing habits, Cleanliness, Ashton kutcher, Mila kunis, Hygiene hypothesis, Family, Kids, Doctors, Parenting

Celebrities: they're just like us! Well, not always. Take Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, for example. Their wealth and fame aren't the only things about them that have some people struggling to relate.

Here's why: The water bill at the Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis residence appears to be pretty low after revelations the couple made about their family's bathing habits.

In a 2021 appearance on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast, they admitted they're not that into bathing themselves or their two children, Dimitri Portwood, 9, and Wyatt Isabelle, 11. The conversation started when Shepard explained his ongoing disagreement with co-host Monica Padman. The two have dissenting views over whether people should use soap. "You should not be getting rid of all the natural oil on your skin with a bar of soap every day," he said. "It's insane."

The secret to getting Mila Kunis' hair? Don't wash it! By Gage Skidmore - Wikimedia Commons

Kunis agreed with Shepard and was very candid about her bathing ritual. "I don't wash my body with soap every day," she shared. "But I wash pits and tits and holes and soles."

"I can't believe I'm in the minority here of washing my whole body in the shower," Padman replied. "Who taught you to not wash?"

The origin behind Kunis' practice was not woo-woo new-ageism after all, but was rooted in her childhood.

"I didn't have hot water growing up as a child," Kunis recalled, "so I didn't shower very much anyway." Kunis was born in the then-Soviet controlled Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi in 1983. Her family migrated to America when she was 7.

Kutcher added that he regularly uses soap and water on just his "armpits and crotch" and "nothing else."

Kunis has passed her lax attitude towards bathing on to her children.

"When I had children," she said, "I also didn't wash them every day. I wasn't the parent that bathed my newborns—ever." Shepard agreed, saying that he and wife Kristen Bell only bathe their children as part of a nighttime routine and don't pay much attention to their cleanliness.

"That's how we feel about our children. We're like, 'Oof, something smells,'" Kunis added. Kutcher has a simple rule when it comes to his children and their cleanliness. "Here's the thing — if you can see the dirt on 'em, clean 'em," he says. "Otherwise, there's no point."

— (@)

While the Kutcher-Kunis clan's approach towards hygiene may not be typical of the average American family, they may not be wrong according to science. Research suggests that children benefit from being exposed to germs early in life.

"This line of thinking, called the 'hygiene hypothesis,' holds that when exposure to parasites, bacteria, and viruses is limited early in life, children face a greater chance of having allergies, asthma, and other autoimmune diseases during adulthood," WebMD says.

Basically, the more your body is exposed to the more it can fight off.

"Just as a baby's brain needs stimulation, input, and interaction to develop normally, the young immune system is strengthened by exposure to everyday germs so that it can learn, adapt, and regulate itself," notes Thom McDade, PhD, associate professor and director of the Laboratory for Human Biology Research at Northwestern University.

Shepherd, Kunis, and Kutcher might be onto something about our skin's natural chemicals and bacteria. Particularly if you're not using the right products, that much washing can dry out or damage skin.

However, a whole slew of TikTok videos in 2025 have taken the unscrubbed masses to task with elaborate shower routines that include not only soap, but multiple steps of exfoliating and cleansing on a daily basis. It's a powerful counterpoint to the Kutcher-Kunis approach. But is it really about cleanliness or is the ritual more about relaxing and self-care?

@pickleflipflops
my in-depth shower / smell-good routine! yall taking notes? #pickleflipflops - #showerroutine #bodycare #hygienetips#vanillagirl #vanillaperfume #signaturescent #showertok #everythingshower #cleangirl #smellgood #hygieneroutine #blackgirl

Some people are swearing by these routines after trying them, so maybe there's something to them. On the other hand, some say this much cleansing and scrubbing would cause problems with eczema and other dry skin conditions, so maybe it's all individual need and preference.

Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, better known on YouTube as Doctor Mike, actually sides a little closer to the Kutcher-Kunises, saying that people don't necessarily have to shower every day and the decision of how frequently to wash should be "holistic" and based on your preferences and lifestyle.

"If you just had a normal day, it's not absolutely mandatory that you shower," but adding that washing with soap after the gym, for example, is a must.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

As for Kutcher and Kunis, they've both clearly put a lot of thought into how they want to raise their kids; baths be damned. In a recent interview she explained that she and her husband never work at the same time, and she only makes one movie per year to ensure she's there for her kids. She doesn't want them raised by a Hollywood nanny.

As for their bathing philosophies, they both share the same attitude when it comes to hygiene so nobody in the relationship has the right to complain if the other is a little funky. If it works for them, who are we to judge?

This article originally appeared four years ago. It has been updated.