There was an enlightening discussion on this a while back so you should try doing a search. In general the gist of the comments was that a rain shower head experience is usually gentle and those with thick hair have difficulty rinsing shampoo and other hair products. Many, however, like the rain shower for the gentleness. In one shower that will be used by grubby children coming in from playing outside we have installed both a rain shower and a handshower in hopes that they will be enticed into getting cleaned up before they wander through the house. This will also probably be the dog shower. We haven't had a chance to use it yet as we are still waiting for our c.o. HTH.

Thanks Patricia. I do have both - I have the slider bar with the adjustable hand held thing and then the Rain CAn thing. I NEVER shower - always bathe - and this is for my husband not really me so I want him to enjoy it - do you think using the rain shower is ok and then if you need more force or a massage, etc. you can use the handheld thing? would you recommend it this way? I cannot see my husband taking the time to remove the adjustable thing and use it. So I am relying on the shower head for him getting clean, etc. WIll the rain shower do a good job of getting him clean in a jiffy?

I don't know if they are a waning trend or not. I chose them, not because of how they looked, but because of my frustration at having to try to keep the areas around traditionally mounted faucets clean - for so many years. It doesn't seem to matter if it's a sink mount or counter mount a 3 piece or one piece, I always got water scum (and I live in a soft water area) that eventually couldn't be fully cleaned and I hated it. I love, love, love my wall mount. If my hands are gooey, soapy, or wet, I can turn on the faucet with my wrist or elbow, etc.

Drilling into tile can be done, but you have to be very, very careful. Plus that, it might be difficult to determine where the studs were for placement given the thickness of tile over your cement board or whatever is behind it. Have you looked into the Moen Magnetix shower heads? We have 5 of these in 2 family homes and love them. We installed our first ones about 4 years ago and liked them so well we kept replacing other shower heads with them. They dock very securely, have a variety of spray functions, and come in several finishes. We have purchased 3 of the finishes, and they all hold up well. The larger spray heads don't have as good of pressure according to reviews as the smaller spray heads, so all 5 of ours are the smaller ones and work great. The type of bar you are picturing is more of what I'd consider to be an accessible setup for someone who might be handicapped and needs to sit in a shower chair during showering, so the head can be raised and lowered as needed. If this is your situation, then perhaps you can call in an expert to assess the possibility of installation.