Let's talk hygiene. Hey, the New York Times did!

So, many of you probably saw the recent New York Times article about people not showering so much these days and so on. (It's here, if you're a law student like me, who's been barely able to keep up with the elections, much less read about how often rich people profiled in the Gray Lady shower.) One of the blogs I follow had found a kind of meme about the practice of cleansing less, going natural, all that jazz. It seemed kind of interesting, and I really want a break from the paper I'm madly skimming stuff for and culling quotes to riff off of writing, so I'm stealing it:

1. The move to do away with soap, shampoo and deodorant has been growing in popularity in the last year. What are your thoughts on this trend? 

So, my feeling is, more power to whoever wants to get rid of these things. There are ton of horrible chemicals that go into creating a lot of this stuff, and the comments in the article that Americans are getting less dirty than ever before but cleansing more than they ever did make sense to me. It also makes sense that skin (and hair) is actually designed to be self-maintaining and healthy without the application of all kinds of petrochemicals and what not. I suspect that a lot of people just don't get particularly stinky unless they've been working out like a fiend and not washing for days (NLLDH, for instance, really just doesn't smell, even after he's run 20 miles).

I'll add, though, that we are a fairly nature-intolerant society these days, and that those people who do get kind of stinky (their skin/bacteria just goes there) may have a hard time ditching the usual cleansers and so on. I'm not sure that anyone is going to change modern Americans' desire not to have to deal with personal smells by, well, being smelly. 

So I'm not shocked or horrified at all by people foregoing the daily shower, soap, shampoo, etc. But I suspect it works better for some people than for others.

2. Be honest how often do you wash your own hair?

I am a daily washer - when I hit adolescence, I went through a REALLY greasy hair phase, and I've washed it daily every since as a kind of reaction. I do realize that by washing it every day, and stripping it of its good oils, it's probably pumping more oil out in reaction, and that therefore I create my own problem. But if I go without washing, by the end of the second day it gets greasy and I really don't like the way it smells. I think I could deal with that, except that I tend to get hot and sweat some when I sleep. Plus, my hair is usually somewhat layered, and I usually wear some kind of product in it. Put these things together, and you get some really crazy bedhead in the morning. So I'm going to have to at the least wet my hair in the morning, and doing that without washing makes it kind of clumpy and heavy and hard to style.

(Sometimes I skip washing on Sundays, though, when I'm not planning to leave the apartment.)

3. Have you tried to go the more natural route by forgoing shampoo? What happened? Or would you be tempted to try it?

If I had a month or so in which I really truly didn't have to leave the house, I might try going without shampooing - that might be enough time for my scalp to adjust and I could see how it would turn out. BUT! I have sort of moved in this direction in that I don't use commercial shampoo anymore - I've been using shampoo bars (from here and here - or, in a pinch, soap I've made myself from scratch). Shampoo bars are basically cold-process soap (which is some selection of oils turned into soap from being mixed with water and lye. ALL hard bar soaps that are not glycerine-based have gone through this process; the lye converts the oil into soap, and none of it is left at the end of the process. You can adjust the qualities of the soap depending on what oils you use), usually with a good dose of castor oil, because it creates a wonderful lather and is a humectant, i.e. draws in moisture.

The nice thing about shampoo bars is that the materials are totally natural - oil, water or other liquid of choice, lye (again, that goes away), and whatever additives you'd like to include (honey? goat's milk? coconut milk? tea tree oil? go for it!). I hadn't noticed till I started using these that regular shampoo had made my scalp kind of dry and tight and itchy, because when I started using these, my scalp felt better. (No more industrial strength detergent getting used on it!) The bars lather like mad and give my hair a lot of strength and softness.

Shampoo bars take a little getting used to. Some people get "funky hair" for a week or so, because their scalp is still pumping out lots of oil, intending to compensate for being stripped by the detergents in modern shampoo. Other people with really hard water find shampoo bars don't work well. I found that using the bars made the texture of my hair feel different - for me, it got thicker and stronger, but they might be a bit difficult if you have very fine and/or very easily tangled hair. On their own, the bars do make your hair feel a bit sticky and tangled while you're in the shower. Your hair (probably) isn't actually tangled at all, but you're missing the usual silicones in modern conditioners that give your hair "slip." You don't really need conditioner, and can get out of the shower and carefully comb through your hair with a wide tooth comb, and when it's dry it will feel perfectly soft and healthy. (It might not have the kind of glassy shine that silicones can give, though.)

My solution to the conditioner dilemma is to do a vinegar rinse after I shampoo - mix 1 part apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar if you prefer) with 5-8 parts water (I use an old conditioner bottle); you will probably have to experiment to figure out what proportion works for you (but straight vinegar will probably be too much). If you squirt this through your hair, it closes the cuticle, and while it doesn't duplicate the slippy-ness of modern conditioner, it sort of de-sticks your hair, letting you get your hands through the it to work out any tangles. Some people leave the vinegar in, but I rinse it out.

I'll admit that apple cider vinegar is not the world's most glamorous scent. That said, about 99% of the vinegar smell dissipates after you rinse and dry your hair (I only really smell it if I get hot and sweaty for whatever reason, and even then only just a little). I have started experimenting with adding a wee bit of perfume oil to my mix, and that seems to be doing wonders for masking the vinegar scent. (Let me emphasize that these are perfume oils, NOT alcohol-based perfume/cologne/eau de toilette! You have to shake up the mixture each time, like with a salad dressing, because oil and vinegar don't mix, but it's not burdensome.) Essential oils would doubtless work too (but be careful about how much you add, because pure essential oils can irritate the skin, depending which ones you're using and how much you use).

4. What products do you use and have you ever gone with more organic alternatives?

Okay, I just went through the hair thing. For body, I use handmade soaps (they're not usually organic, and some of them are scented with perfume oils, which are artificial, rather than essential oils, which are natural), mostly because I've found some I LOVE the scents of (like most of the soaps here). I also use body scrubs sometimes (like these), which aren't usually 100% natural (or organic), but usually have a bunch of good ingredients in them. I use Kiss My Face shaving lotion, which is an, um, peculiar texture, but is pretty good and natural stuff, AND is the most effective shaving cream I've ever used. (Which is really what it boils down to, for me; I try to think about the chemicals and the environment and so on, but if the environmentally friendly stuff just isn't as GOOD as the evil stuff, I tend to go with the evil stuff. For instance, my acne cream is about as loaded with unnatural chemicals as you can get. And I have yet to find an eco-friendly/recycled toilet paper that I actually LIKE.) And I use a LOT of body lotion, now that I live in the middle of the desert; I try to keep that pretty natural, too, mostly because the standard drugstore ingredients tend to give me a rash. (These and these are GREAT.)

I realize that reads a bit like a big informercial. I do try to go with organic or otherwise natural stuff, but it's always a balancing act, trying to find something that works well for my skin, is natural (or at least the least evil possible), and doesn't break the bank.

Sometimes I oil-cleanse, which is about as natural as it gets - just rub my face with jojoba oil, and use a hot washcloth to steam it off. You can get the jojoba oil organic if you want, so you know exactly what's going on your skin. (You can use oils other than jojoba too, of course.) It does a great job of getting grease out of your pores. The downside is that it's a bit harder work, since of course the oil isn't water soluble, so it's a bit of hot water and effort to get it rinsed away.

5. What about that daily shower? Would you forgo that opting to shower three times a week instead?

No. I'm so used to showering daily now that not doing so makes me feel really grungy. I'm really not awake in the morning until I've had my shower - the day doesn't really begin till then. Plus, I am just NOT a morning person, and am pretty much always miserable that I have to get out of bed, even on the weekends. A nice comfy shower with yummy-smelling products is my reward for getting out of bed and helps send me on my way.

Like I said, no judgment on people who shower less often. I probably SHOULD shower less often. But I have no plans to change this.

Okay, so that's way more than you ever wanted to know about my showering etc. habits. What about you? Is there anything you've done to de-chemical-fy your routine? Do you cut showers?

Comments

[lmc]

Delurking a bit since I find some of the pro-less washing talk annoyingly self-righteous.

Basically, whether one decides to go au naturel or highly chemically-scrubbed, people should think more about the people around them. To wit: there is a population of us who are very sensitive to fumes/scents, and too much perfume can give me a migraine the same way too much body order can. There's not as much of a deodorant culture in Japan, where I've lived, but I mostly managed since there's a strong bathing one. Europe in the summer, unfortunately, involved some collapsing on the ground and being unable to move.

Like strong chemical allergies (which again, people just don't think about), or asthma reactions to cigarette smoke as seen by smokers, it's a rather severe handicap that's not accommodated at all by a lot of people, and is treated with little sympathy. I'm all for personal liberties, but a certain amount of awareness for the situation of people around you needs to be in place to balance things out.

[Vellum]

You're right that it works better for some people than for others -- If I don't shower daily, I smell. Period. For some people that's not the case. Bully for them :D

I can get behind the not washing the hair daily thing. I have pretty greasy hair, so if I didn't wash it daily, I'd have to change my pillowcase daily or else look like my sixteen-year-old, acne-ridden self again.

As for the no-deodorant/natural deodorant thing? I'm sorry. Unless your daily activities are restricted to driving, taking an elevator, and sitting at a desk all day, no deodorant means that you smell okay until about noon. Then: Everyone. Knows. You. Forgot. Your. Deodorant.

Also: Shampoo bars = mountains of awesome. If you need another reason, think of the reduced carbon footprint from all the water not being carried around by trucks/trains/ships carrying traditional shampoo. :)

[life_of_a_fool]

You may sound like an infomercial, but I totally want to try some of these things! I am very intrigued by a shampoo bar that may make my hair thicker. Then again, I have fine hair, so it may not work.

I totally shower at least once a day. I definitely DO smell after running 20 miles (or 5). I'd consider trying more water-only and less soap/shampoo (try) but I am way too socialized into frequent showering that I don't think I'd get over the psychological hurdle of feeling gross. That doesn't mean I don't agree or see the merit in the general idea, nor do I care much about what other people do (at least until I can smell them from across the room) but I don't see myself being able to do it.

[Another Damned Medievalist]

Um, I have to admit, I'm one of those people who occasionally goes for sleep over washing. I use a washcloth and soap, or flushable wipes to clean under my arms and my parts, and honestly, no one has ever seemed to notice the difference. For me, the real issue is trying to find the balance, because I am also one of those people who has oily skin in places, and I haven't yet found a cleaning product that will get the upper part of my sheets and my pillow cases really cleaned of oils and sweat.

i'm also on the bench on deodorant. It depends so much on diet and hormones for me - I'm I hydrate well and avoid too much alcohol, caffeine, and garlic, I'm fine. I don't use deodorant when camping for days, and no one seems to notice. And I've gone without accidentally and found that (again) the flushable wipes applied midday work just fine. But there *are* times when I'm stinkier than others. Which makes me think I could just be a bit more aware and modify my behavior accordingly :-)

I am so going to try some of your suggestions for products, though. One of the things I've been trying to do is to use soap rather than body washes in plastic containers, because the packaging is not green. I've also been going to safecosmetics.org to find out which things aren't as harmful to the environment. But the idea of bar shampoo is one that I'd missed.

About shaving cream -- remember when they banned all sorts of things for air travel? I mentioned to LDW, who was in a panic, that they still made tooth powder and shaving soap -- he moved to soap and a brush then, and hasn't gone back. I think I will probably do the same...

[Notorious Ph.D.]

Curly hair, so no shampoo, ever, unless I've just dyed my hair and need to wash out the excess for a few days. Showers (or baths -- I'm a fiend for the bath): about 4-5 times a week (and *always* if I'm teaching that day). More when it's really hot (and thus I'm really icky), or when I need a hot soak for mental therapy.

There, I said it: I don't shower every day. But the fact that I'd rarely admit it under my own name is, I think, revealing.

[Krazy Kitty]

The older I get, and the more intolerant to cleansing products I seem to be... therefore I have been forced by eczema, dandruffs, and acne to wash less and choosing my products more carefully.

For my face: I've had a really bad case of allergic acne in 2005. Since then, it's been hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, scent-freee, and paraben-free face soap and lotions.

For hair: I've stopped using just any kind of shampoo about 3 years ago. I've moved on to hypoallergenic, scent-free ones (they tend to be organic too, but that's not why I choose them). 2 years ago, I decided I really needed to start washing them every other day instead of every day... but it took me another year to start doing it, and for a few months I really had to use hats and headscarves and what not because my scalp was still producing oils like crazy. Then a month ago I decided it was going on so well I switched to once every 3-4 days... and that is going well already.

Oh and no, I don't always shower every day. Depends on whether I've been sweating or not, and I never skip more than one day.

[Dr. Crazy]

I shower/bathe probably 3-4 times a week? With baths occurring more frequently than showers. I wash my hair 2-3 times per week (so not every time I bathe). I don't use deodorant daily - whenever I remember in winter, and maybe 2-3 times per week in summer.

In other words, I'm a grit (though I still smell nice - I just don't get super-stinky very quickly). However, since I'm a grit, I will say that I haven't worried about looking into more environmentally friendly products and/or less chemical things, since I don't use very much given my grittiness :)

PS As a person with very fine hair but a LOT of it, the idea of the shampoo bar sounds like freaking torture. Look, I as an adult sometimes use the baby-style detangler stuff because the tangles are bad enough to make me cry without it. So y'all can keep your shampoo bars: I'm going to chemical it up in that area.

[Janice]

Shampoo bars are awesome (and also a lot easier to get on and off an airplane). I usually get mine from Lush like their fantastic Squeaky Green bar. I need to buy another, now that I think of it.

I tend to go for simple and perfume-free products, whenever possible. I don't wash my hair every day. That would be horrible for my scalp as well as difficult to achieve around two teens and a gym-obsessed husband!

[wini]

I have curly hair, and can't remember the last time I washed my hair. I get it washed when I get it cut every couple months. And that time when I got all that baby food dumped on it.

I know *a lot* of people that don't shower every day and only use deodorant as needed. (For instance, I apply it twice a day in NYC, but only infrequently when in LA.) I think a lot of people make assumptions about other people's personal hygiene without asking them about it.

What I can't seem to avoid is antiperspirant on days I wear certain kinds of blouses. And antiperspirant is kinda freaky.

Your skin responds positively when you stop showering every day. My husband was skeptical of my non-washing ways for ages, but then we had a drought and he tried to do his part. Within 2 weeks his scalp started producing a lot less oil and now he looks okay up to the third day of no soap. (He must must must use shampoo though.)

[Rev Dr Mom]

Until last year I wahed my hair every day Then I tried every other day, trying to keeo it dry on the non-wash days, or at leat just barely damp. But after reading the article you mention, I tried the "just hot water" for a few days. So if shampoo one day, just hot water seems fine the next day--actually better than trying to keep it dry. But when I tried going another day, it just felt grungy.

As for bathing and deodorant, I feel pretty much as I do about shaving: If you want to skip it, fine, but I want a hot shower every day, and I don't want to have to wonder if I"m stinking. Nor do I want wet pits.