Experiment report: I haven't used soap in the shower for a year
I use soap when washing my hands and feet, and shampoo once a month. I am a farmer/rancher so I am sweatier, dirtier and more cut up than your average person. I have repeatedly asked my wife and in laws if I smell throughout this time and I don't. My skin is no better or worse than before.
We have only had wide spread availability of hot water for ~200 years and have used soap for thousands of years, so I believe it's over use is just carried over habit from needing it when washing in cold water or less frequent washing.
A steamy shower and a homegrown luffa is sufficient (for most) because the physical scrubbing will remove excess dirt while the hot water melts excess oils for removal by the luffa. Using soap is likely to strip the natural oils from your skin and disrupt the natural microbiome on your skins surface, even if you're using a high quality animal fat based soap, you're just paying extra money to put back the oils that your body naturally produces.
I would encourage you to try this experiment for a week and see what happens. I welcome debate on this topic.
Replies (34)
Forgot to add I have a bidet so my ass is clean anyways.
Makes sense to me. What kind of luffa do you use and from where?
Little known fact, luffa is a plant. You can grow them, let them dry, cut them in half and they're perfect. One plant is more than enough for two people to change them out monthly and you can just compost it when you're done.
So they're from my back yard. Bonus cuz they have beautiful flowers and we just come them over a cattle panel and it produces enough seed from one fruit that you will never have to buy seeds after your first year.
Interesting. My husband is a white collar working in italian business tower, so the standards there are as high as you can imagine. But he told me he got incredibly better when he switched to carnivore/some clean diet, and mostly thanks to cold showers, that it helped him with sweating altogether. So now he just showers with cold for years, uses some olive soap like a usual guy would (and I will not spread this description any further) and uses cologne on his armpits mostly for the nice smell. I think he steals my shampoo maybe once a week or less, not much. I have a nose of a bloodhound and have no issues with him.
With us women it's probably more complicated, not only are we generally more delicate, but I remember terrible issues when pregnant - maybe it was my imagination, but unless I showered three times a day, I felt like a fat bus driver on a hot day💀 Back then I turned from castille soap and all that natural idealism to expensive bubbly crap, because💀💀💀
I want to grow luffas! They're so weird and funny. Do they need some extra sun or do they just go along cucumbers or pumpkins?
We grow them in full sun, but since they're vining I'd imagine they do well everywhere. Would recommend trellises BC airflow will get you a higher yield and prevent molding BC you let them dry out on the vine
Yes, I thought it's like those I mentioned, the plant looks very similar. But I've read only american blogs, it's not popular around here and don't just know if they'd do ok in central Europe.
My wife is pregnant with twins, her nose is a hound too so I think my smell is fine. I'd agree women's private parts may not do as great with this regimen, but only because I don't have one. I could be wrong, but worst case scenario I would think just using soap for crotch, pits and feet would reduce any bacterial concerns.
And yes I will use Cologne when I go out, but I don't think soap actually makes you smell good to other people, usually only you can smell it. So I think using soap to try and smell good is a waste when you can just spray cologne on clothing.
I bet they would. Might be different pests there, but if you can grow cucumbers you can probably grow them fine.
Reading this just before a shower, and starting my experiment immediately.
Thank you!!
That is disgusting. Everyone in this thread is a dirty disgusting dirt burglar.
I'd say there's an emotional component to fragrances in a hot shower for some people, like "psychoaromatherapy".
Personally, I'm happy if she's happy with how I smell by my natural self. I don't need lavender or mint or whatever.
I haven’t used soap since my teens!
Filou
Yeah! 💪 looks great I’ll be expecting royalties on this one 😛 Really though, your products make me wish I used soap 😆🧼
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Tits, pits, holes and soles.
What luffa do you use? I basically do the same thing, though I use soap probably once a week but use a cloth for exfoliation during showers. I need a better luffa game
AU9913
Little known fact, luffa is a plant. You can grow them, let them dry, cut them in half and they're perfect. One plant is more than enough for two people to change them out monthly and you can just compost it when you're done.
So they're from my back yard. Bonus cuz they have beautiful flowers and we just come them over a cattle panel and it produces enough seed from one fruit that you will never have to buy seeds after your first year.
This blew my mind.
When we'll get new Nostriches?🤩
December due date
So still a lot of time☺️ I wish you the best. You're second pair here expecting twins now🤩 Gen A bitcoiners💜
Woohoo dude - welcome to the club.
No soap. No shampoo. No deodorant. No toothpaste.
Exfoliating shower gloves. Citrus, vinegar and olive oil, for soap and shampoo. A muslin bag filled with rosemary, thyme and/or citrus peel, jasmine. Just jam them under my armpits. Baking soda and water into a paste for teeth.
OK it doesn't improve my looks and there is a lot of prep work involved - but it does wonders for my body or my mind. Not sure which.
I do baking soda and coconut oil for toothpaste. What are shower gloves? I don't understand the muslin bags
What farm is it that you work on? Where?
Shower gloves work like a loofah, for rubbing your body clear of dried/dead skin. Muslin or cheese cloth come in a roll . I cut them to size, like an envelope , sew 3 sides and fold the flap inside to hold the herbs or citrus in place.
Sometimes I smell like stuffing - especially the thyme and rosemary.
I own my own farm in Missouri.
If you are a pita/vata dosha in ayurvedic medicine they'd recommend only using soap on your stinky parts not the entire body. At least that's what I was recommended.
I consider this fairly irrefutable. Water, Time, heat, and scrubbing with an abrasive are sufficient to get your body clean eventually it’s just a question of effort and technique. Having said that, you claim you are still using soap on hands and feet and hair. So presumably you too have found utility in soap for those areas. It’s not completely a hold over from cold water.
Right, BC soap is still needed for bacterial removal, and wiping your ass has bacteria, and personally, my feet at trapped in boots all day BC of thorns (one day i would be able to ranch barefoot), and hair is just a dime a month.
So a reduction of 30x is huge.
Sorry dude, this is foul
Take one shower without soap and just scrub. You will see that you dont smell, if you do, there is probably some underlying issue with your diet or guts.
Only shower a few times a week as opposed to every day. Feels better.
Unfortunately I swim five days a week in a chlorinated pool. But I will definitely take you up on this on the weekends!
can't say the same about soap use but I wash my hair very sparingly which surprises most people.
On average I'll wash it about every month with store bought shampoo that's a little fancy but I buy it at Target so it's not that fancy.
I've been doing this for many years and I noticed that my hair doesn't get greasy as fast as it used to and I'm pretty sure it's because excessive shampooing (like everyday, every other day) strips your scalps natural oils.
I do use a boar bristle brush to brush from scalp to ends which I think contributes to distributing scalp oils to my ends. Even then, the climate here is so dry that I apply a hair oil anyway.
not sure if this is relevant but I wanted to share anyway because I see some parallels.
