Sean Bonner reasoned that human beings have evolved without soap, and therefore it's unnatural to strip away the dirt, oil, and grime of daily life with it. As an experiment, he stopped using soap and shampoo for a year. Although Bonner still showers on a regular basis, he uses just water. He's written about his experience so far, and why he's decided to give up on soap permanently:
Link | Bonner's Website | Photo by Flickr user aonecrafts used under Creative Commons license
As I just mentioned, my skin feels better than ever before. Not that it ever felt bad, really, but it feels awesome now. Still no stink at all, I swear even when I'm really active and sweating I don't notice any B.O., and I used to be über self-conscious about this and would think I was stinking if I walked up a flight of stairs too quickly. So this is a huge improvement for sure. And with the exception of changing climates drastically, even the dandruff is history. My previously wavy and mostly unmanageable hair now seems much more willing to bend to my will, a dream of mine since I first looked in a mirror, brush in hand, then tried and failed to make any sense of that monster. So I approve for sure.
And speaking of hair, that was actually a perfect test. Sometime mid-summer I stopped by a barber and before I'd realized it he'd squirted a glob of shampoo onto my head. It was too late to protest, so I just sat through the scrubbing. For the following 2 weeks my hair was a mess: full of dandruff and totally uncontrollable. Once things balanced back out to the previously established no-soap norms, all was good again.
Link | Bonner's Website | Photo by Flickr user aonecrafts used under Creative Commons license
BIG WHOOP
Being stinky is more a symptom of not bathing at all and wearing the same clothes over and over.
~Before the invention of soap, life spans of humans were drastically shorter.
~Doctors 'scrub' in before surgery for a reason.
~I sure hope that none of you are in the food service industry, handling my food. I also hope you're not my doctor, or pretty much anyone who has any physical contact with me. And I think anyone who lives this way should be tagged and reported openly so that I can avoid using the keyboard at the shared desk at work after you when you've just taken a dump and then rinsed your hands with only water afterward.
I dated a guy who didn't use soap/shampoo because he was a raging hippie, and he smelled terrible half the time. He thought he smelled fine too because he got used to his own smell.
~before the invention of the atomic bomb, life spans of humans were drastically shorter...cause and effect?
~doctors scrub to remove what is normally benevolent surface bacteria...that can be deadly in a deep wound but are fine and dandy on normal skin
~food service people use plastic gloves for a reason
I went to a CocoRosie show once where this raging hippy girl in the audience clearly had never used soap in her life. She smelled like not-so-fresh. Like rotting tuna. There was a wide swath of space around her because nobody could stand to be near here. Smelly people who don't use soap or shampoo don't know how much they stink because they're used to their own smell and most people are too embarrassed to tell them to their face.
Humans didn't use to live in dense urban areas, but now that we can't escape them, it should be common sense that we ought to adapt. We need to be on our guard against thousands of viruses and other diseases that surround us. We do this simply by using soap. Viruses won't enter the body through the hands, but touching one's face would allow them to.
Also, I've read that sometimes you get used the smell of your own B.O., so you don't smell it, even if everyone around you can.
When I shampooed, my hair would be dry and unmanageable for a day, then would start to get greasy by day 2 or 3. I had to use a bunch of product, and then strip it away every day with a lot of shampoo.
I stopped using shampoo last year, and started to "wash" it with a little conditioner nearly every day. For the first couple weeks, my hair was greasy (because using shampoo every day stimulates over-production of scalp oils).
Then, after a few weeks, my hair changed. It became soft, manageable, and healthy like never before. My wife (a shampooer) can testify to the state of cleanness. I don't need to use product, because my hair isn't stripped and frizzy any more.
Using shampoo *every day* is a bad idea, but a little once or twice a week--or, say, after burning wood outside--make sense to me.
@Oliver -- so why does your wife still use shampoo?
Some people made assumptions and missed the point of the article. Good job.
Also, skipping the shampoo might be fine and dandy if you have very short hair. Otherwise, you'll be a nasty rancid tuna-smelling hippy previous mentioned. Eww.
Baking soda is a fabulous product for the skin and the teeth.
Like many people said on this comment board, i think the issue with those smelly hippies is that they don't bathe or wash their clothes, period. And that is gross. The worst part is when they think that patchouli will cover up the smell--they just end up smelling like stinky hippie covered in patchouli.
@gutu: i have seen people in india scoop up dirt from the road to brush their teeth. i'm unsure i would go along with that practice
I dance, a lot, and I sweated more and smelled terribly after when I used deodorant. Due to the fact that deodorant clogs your pores to stop the sweat so when it comes out it really flows and it also contains chemicals and poisons. It works the same way that a perfume that smells great on your friend, smells terribly on you. Once a body purges itself of the POISONS (you do not need aluminum under your arms, it causes cancer...) it finds a natural balance, that has been in humans since we've existed.
Shampoo and soap operate the same way, they strip away the oils that your body is producing. Your body already knows what it needs. My skin is clearer, softer, closer to the ideal that I'd prefer. And the same goes for my hair. Curly hair especially needs less stripping of oils. I have less dandruff and I started using Cade Oil to combat the lil flakies I had left. Dandruff is now a thing of the past for me.
*Spoiler Alert* Im going to discuss femine issues, if you are immature, please stop reading.
I switched from tampons to disposable cups. Tampons have BLEACH in them. My period is now, lighter with NO cramping. And its because tampons suck your natural 'juices' out, and introduces chemicals that make you cramp and make, your period last longer, so they can sell you more tampons and more products for cramps.
*End Spolier*
Long story short, don't knock if it you don't try it. It may not be for you, maybe you have a fabulous shampoo and who am I to tell you not to use it. But for me, and lots of other people (who you can't smell, stop being an idiot) this saves money, and it goes beyond 'working' into being 'the best thing I've ever done for my body'.
You should also try vegetables, sheeple.
I believe that it is her body's pheromones that are offensive, not her grooming habits. I also believe that if the water bill is $250 dollars a month again one more time, that the bitch bees payin' half of it!!
Oh yeah, and you people who don't use soap ever????..Your effulgence, while generally unnoticeable to yourself, distinguishes you to the rest of the civilized herd, as a Mc.Stinky-Butt.
For some people, if you don't work in the food or medical field there is no reason for you to bath so much. It is very damaging to your skin when you are forced to use city water. It is a good idea not to bath but every 2 weeks. But for those of us working in the med and food field sorry sorry get scrubbing every day lol.
My husband's aunt uses soap, uses shampoo and showers every single day, but she doesn't wear deoderant and BOY can you tell.
I know that's not exactly the same, but just another incident of someone being used to their own funk.
I could never go without soap or shampoo. I've had incidents where I couldn't shampoo my hair (but still shower), and you know what happened? I had gross greasy stringy hair.