Towards the end of December I came across an article written by a guy who had given up on using soap and was now washing himself with water alone. My immediate thought was this must be some dirty hippy and I felt sorry for anyone who lived or worked in close proximity to him – however I was interested in why someone would make a choice like this so I sat down and read both the article and the extremely long comment thread which made much more sense than I expected it to. If you have some time I recommend reading it though the author, Richard Nikoley, is active in the paleo-scene so a lot of the comments reference those ideas. But this post isn’t about that article, it’s about my own experiences.
The thing that stuck out to me the most, and resonated with my own philosophy was that it seemed silly that we would have evolved into creatures that needed a bunch of corporately produced and marketed chemicals smeared all over our bodies everyday just to get by. For the most part I’m kind of a “this happens for a reason” person and I don’t think every single things needs to be messed with. I very rarely take any kind of pain killers for headaches or cold medicine for sicknesses. Of course I very rarely get headaches or sick which helps. Maybe those two are related, the people I know who are always sick and always having headaches and always taking things to suppress those symptoms.
Long time readers know I also have a oft cited personal manta about regularly examining my actions and making sure I am doing things for the right reasons, and I decided, rather publicly a few years back, that just because I did something yesterday is not a good enough reason to do it today. As I was reading this article I started thinking that the only reason I was using soap was because I’d always done it and had always been told I needed to. I’d never questioned it, but now that I was questioning it I wasn’t coming up with very convincing answers. Maybe these chemicals were messing whith my body’s own chemistry and creating the need for themselves?
I was reminded of my experiment with some of those acne face pads in high school. I didn’t really have zits, but I saw the commercials for the pads and how they made sure you didn’t get zits and like any other kid in high school I didn’t want zits so I bought some an put them to use. within a few days I had more zits than ever. If I’d believed the hype I would have doubled up on them to get rid of this nasty zit problem but instead my first thought was that the pads had fucked up some kind balance on my face and caused the zits they were supposed to be preventing. So I stopped using them and the zits went away and I never had the problem again.
I wondered why I never used that rationale with soap. The same math was there. I have dry skin on my arms that gets flaky and itchy and dandruff. I’ve spent likely thousands of dollars over my lifespan on special soaps and shampoo to solve those problems, which they do for a day or two, but if I don’t keep up with them things go crazy. But I’d never considered that these things might be just as much at fault.
The article said that it took the author about 2 weeks for things to stabilize, and that before that things were nuts, so if you were going to try this you should give it a month just to be safe. I figured, what the hell, I’ve done weirder things for a month at a time, so this was worth a shot just to see. So for the entire month of January I haven’t used any soap or shampoo while showering. The results are freaking me out on a daily basis, and I’m actually a bit annoyed I didn’t think to try this sometime in the last 35 years.
If you are anything like me this is probably bringing up a ton of questions so let me try to answer some of the ones I’d have myself.
Do I stink? No. I didn’t say I stopped bathing you dillweed! I just stopped using soap and shampoo when I do. I still shower daily but now a long shower lasts about 5 minutes tops. I also still use deodorant but on a whole I actually smell better. Some people can not smell their own BO, I’ve always been hyper sensitive of mine and I smell better after a month of not using soap then I would missing one day of showering with soap. Tara also keeps pointing out how good I smell, even before I tipped her off to the experiment. Which by the way was almost 3 weeks into it.
Dandruff? Pretty much gone. Seriously. I’m shocked but it’s true. This was definitely something that went crazy during the adjustment time though, I’d say about 2 weeks into it I had bigger flakes than I’d ever seen in my life. That shit was like an avalanche. But they went away, and my head has been less dandruffy than it’s been my whole life. I do find if I rinse my hair with water every day I see a few little flakes, where as if I rinse it every other day or so I don’t see anything.
But that isn’t the only hair-benefit I’ve seen. I have pretty thick semi-curly hair which has always been a nightmare to maintain. Since starting this it’s become softer and more controllable than ever. I actually find myself touching it a lot without realizing it because it feels so different.
Dry skin? Gone. In fact not only is my dry skin gone, my skin as a whole feels softer and healthier than I can ever remember it feeling. Again this is something Tara keeps noticing totally unprovoked.
Adjustment time. The first two weeks were definitely weird. My skin was super dry, super oily, then dry again. As I mentioned I had super dandruff and in general it was a little nuts. But I chalked that up to my body trying to correct itself and get back in to balance since it weren’t involved in daily chemical warfare anymore. Today is the month marking point and I’d say I think things are pretty much in order. If you are going to try this yourself definitely give yourself a month. If you try it for a week things will be super wacky and you’ll think it isn’t working, but trust me – stick it out for the month.
Hands – I still wash my hands, especially before cooking and after using the bathroom. And I use soap for that. For some reason that actually makes a lot of sense.
Personally I’m just blown away by this and like I said I can’t believe it’s something I didn’t question earlier. I’m psyched on how it’s played out and can’t imagine using soap or shampoo again. Extra benefit I just realized: less crap to worry about when traveling!
(Photo by Somewhat Frank used under CC. I tried to find a better image for this post, but doing a google image search for “soapy” with safe search off didn’t really produce the results I was expecting. Try it yourself. Just not at work.)
No related posts.
It’s true, he doesn’t stink, he actually smells really really good.
I haven’t stopped using soap, but maybe when the baby gets here I won’t have time to do any lathering and I can give this experiment a go.
Interestingly, our pediatrician said not to use soap on Baby Bonner…so why do we not use soap on a baby but we do on ourselves? At what point are we “supposed to” switch over?
I very rarely use soap and it is awesome. My hair doesn’t do well with nothing but water (or at least, I haven’t had the patience to let it detox) but I have done the baking soda/vinegar thing before and am thinking of switching back to it. I also wash my hands with soap, but only because I lack the patience to wash for a full 30 seconds to one minutes with just water (which is as effective as washing with soap).
Previously, did you soap your entire body when showering or just the crucial pits/ass/etc., areas? I only soap those certain areas so wonder how much effect this would have on overall skin health?
also, you seem to imply that you’re showering for shorter periods of time now… could this actually be as much of the effect as the lack of soap? Long hot showers strip a lot of oils off your skin/scalp…
Harold is like you in that he never takes pain meds or really pills of any kind and he is rarely sick. This is all very interesting.
Dude this is awesome. I’m totally going to try it starting today!
Glad to see you using the iPhone theme. Looks great and easy to navigate.
hair washing is definitely over-rated. I typically wash mine about twice a month. my body I wash with soap, moreso because I usually have hair stuck all over me and I want it off as quickly as possible. my face, I don’t wash. i’ve been fortunate to have good skin most of my life. I don’t often get pimples, my skin is ocassionally dry but rarely oily and more often than not it’s in good shape. I don’t think soap is necessary, not for any part of your body. as long as you are cleansing your body, chemicals definitely aren’t necessary – including deoderant. toothpaste however, I’ll never give up!
I have used minimum soap for 25 years. I use only a mild soap under my arms and in my “nether regions” then rinse it very thoroughly. If I use more soap I get dry, itchy and at times I get eczema on my hands from soap and detergents.
I don’t think I’ve ever tried not using shampoo for a whole month because when I’ve tried it for a few days, my head gets very itchy and I can’t sleep. Don’t think I have the patience and strength to last through 3-4 weeks until – if? – it balances out for me.
I do, however, use a tiny bit of shampoo and conditioner.
ps. I also rarely use deodorant and my wife does not think I smell. I use it if I’m going to an important meeting or the doctor or dentist, but not in my daily life. When I do use it I use Crystal natural type.
@rob I didn’t use tons of soap before, but cutting out the little bit made a huge difference. I don’t think length of time in the water makes any difference as I don’t generally take super hot showers anyway.
I think I read the same (or similar) article and started down that road a little bit. I tried the baking soda/ACV combo on my hair but I couldn’t stick with it – my hair is should-blade length and was just too.. icky using that alone. I have switched to much milder soap/shampoo/conditioner with the hopes of getting soap-free eventually. I also cut out facial cleanser and am using the oil cleansing method on my face – still transitioning but I really like it.
Thanks for sharing – good to read about someone else’s experience…
The critique you selected is very interesting. The idea of the personal hygiene industry as self-perpetuating and sinister is novel (yet distinct from other possible criticisms of the products as being inherently dangerous or merely a placebo).
The self-perpetuating aspect reminds me of something Chris Rock talks about in terms of there being no money in finding a cure – it’s all about repeat customers.
“The thing that stuck out to me the most, and resonated with my own philosophy was that it seemed silly that we would have evolved into creatures that needed a bunch of corporately produced and marketed chemicals smeared all over our bodies everyday just to get by.”
Is there a difference when ingesting, injecting, or absorbing corporately produced and marketed chemicals (specifically medicines or medical treatments) with respect to our evolution?
Google alerts does its job yet again. I’d have been disappointed to miss this. Glad it’s working out.
I’m on day 6 and so far it’s working out great. I smell just fine. Quite neutral actually and since the soap isn’t washing off all the natural oil on my skin it’s handling the dry winter air much better. My hair is slowly coming back to normal and it still thinks I’m Elvis on a regular basis but I give it another week. I found that super hot water and a clean daily washcloth make a lot of difference on how well my skin does. All in all great one!
Just found this after following a link trail from 750words and had to comment.
I have been soap and shampoo free for several years now with no ill effects. At first I was quite secretive about it, fearing ridicule, but that worry has long since gone away.
For a while I did use shampoo whenever I had been swimming in a chlorinated swimming pool but I don’t even bother with that any more. My bodies defences have worked how to deal sensibly with that chemical attack too.
What about shaving? A while ago I changed to shaving with a little bit of oil rather than shaving foam or lotion. Now I just use water. No problems there now either.
These self-experiments that are revolving out from and around Free The Animal are interesting, but what can we really know from them? For example, how much physical labor do you do? Would you describe yourself as generally anxious or not?
In the summer, if I go for a bike ride and get thoroughly drenched with sweat while I’m not wearing many clothes and am free to the open air, I get told I smell great. However, in the winter, when I go to the gym, lift weights, and then bundle up, I smell terrible.
There has got to be a reason people started using body cleansers. Personal hygiene is not an invention of Johnson & Johnson. Also, there are historical accounts of distasteful body odor issues. For example, when Commodore Perry went to Japan, the Japanese thought the Europeans smelled like animal fats.
We need more and broader information about this.
Chris – Not using soap doesn’t mean not washing. I think that is the crux of this, I still bath very regularly myself. As for how active I am, I commute by bicycle in Los Angeles so I’m fairly active and it hasn’t been an issue. And historical accounts of how people smelled likely doesn’t play into this at all, as what you eat has a huge impact on how you smell so two cultures meeting for the first time with largely different diets would notice a difference regardless of their bathing practices. That said, there are also cultures that were known to promote perfume rather than bathing.
I don’t support any of that, just take a shower every day and you are good.
Sean – stopped by after seeing we were linked on Free the Animal.
@Chris – Part of self-experimenting is to see for yourself what the results are. Comparing notes with others may confirm results. Also, as you point out, it may serve as an echo chamber for a pre-existing set of beliefs.
For me, self-experiments are approached as adjusting dials (think of adjusting the H and C settings for your shower), rather than looking for fixed rules. You have to dial in what works for you, without being swayed by the hype – no matter where it is coming from. Richard at Free the Animal does a good job of pointing this out and sticking to this rule, by amplifying the signal on reports of negative results.
One benefit of self-experiments like this is that if a particular experiment is not working for you or it’s just not fun anymore, you can always go back to your old method of doing things.
Yay, Sean! I’ve been off soap and shampoo for about 6 weeks and I feel very clean. My wife says I smell fine. She’s surprised that I don’t stink, but it’s true. Soap and shampoo are a scam.
good work Sean. I’ve been rolling this way for a little over a year now… very minimal soap basically a small amount for hands… no moisturizers, shampoo or lotions but try a bit of olive oil for your hair if you are looking to keep it combed or “styled.” great article.
also, if you cook a lot, as I do, you dont need dishwashing soap. You just need to employ the “rinse it as you use it” technique with some hot water.
Bike grease defeats you!
Pretty cool experiment, I’m not sure I have the stones to try though.
Always wondered about this. Bernard Moitessier wrote that during his 1968 solo circumnavigation he only bathed with sea water and his skin was never healthier.
Very interesting article…I suffer from super-sensitive skin and use oatmeal & sens. skin soap, but I’m thinking this may work for me as well! Definetely something to think about.
Thanks.
Congratulations.
If you really want to take this seriously, you might consider buying natural deodorants that do not contain aluminum or parabens as most deodorants do. Or at least look into the ingredients on the deodorant that you do use.
Deodorant can be very harmful because it is full of powerful chemicals and is soaked directly into your skin, not far from you heart. In fact, aluminum from deodorant can often be found in women’s breast milk. Just something to think about..
Anyways, I could rant forever, but I’ll spare you..
Good luck to you and congrats on the progress
Kristen-
If I was using something and decided to not use anything, how is using something different taking it seriously? I think using nothing is taking it pretty damn seriously. And just for the record, almost 3 months now using nothing and it’s amazing.
Sean
Was throwing this article around in my mind for a few months, before biting the bullet and giving it a shot. Actually we ran out of shampoo and I couldn’t be arsed to buy any more, which I guess was what tipped me over to trying this full on.
I say full on – actually I’ve only cut out shampoo/conditioner for the month. I’m still using a little soap for privates.
So I’m now 10 days into my no-shampoo experiment…
To be honest, in the shower my hair feels like how a duck’s feathers would feel after it was caught in an oil slick… pretty gross on the whole.
My girlfriend tells me it smells like wet dog, but only up close, I mean I haven’t noticed people actively moving away from me (any more than usual).
Itchy scalp is completely gone but my forehead is getting greasy every day. Looking forward to seeing how this pans out after another 10 days
Thanks for the idea!
From May 2009 to March 2010, I walked the length of Italy. On some days I was nearly drowning in my own sweat from 50+ kilometer walks. Never once did I use soap or shampoo. My body produces, just like everyone else’s, the perfect level of oils and salts needed for my skin to be perfectly healthy and to maintain a reasonable scent. Why mess with it and spend money on chemicals which only produce a need for even more chemicals?
Frank Carver, I am agree also on no shaving cream, and my shaves are just as close and cut free as they were when I did use the stuff.
I will add though, that diet plays an important part in the stinkyness equation, and I would be a bit more aware of my scent a day after chowing down a garlicy/cheesy pizza
And still, most people think I am nuts. I am glad to see there are others out there!
I’ve been shampoo/soap free for 6 weeks now. I enjoy showers a lot more because there’s no more work in it, it’s just time to relax and soak up the steam and hot water. I found the adjustment period was a bit difficult to deal with; as some others have pointed out, you start to feel pretty grungy and greasy, and have dandruff whereas you may not have before. If I recall correctly, it took about 2-3 weeks to pass that stage, and then everything is as should be, without pouring all your money down the drain to boot. The only problem I have is if I wait too long between showers, it’s like the readjustment period starts all over, and the grease and dandruff are back. One thing to take into consideration in my situation though, is that my hormones may still be out of whack as I just had a baby 4 months ago.
Oh and one other thing I should mention, in case anybody is wondering – I dyed my hair a few months ago (before I started this new method) and it seems to work just fine regardless. I lose a TONNE of hair, but that started before I stopped using shampoo, so it’s more likely to be linked to the postnatal hormones than anything else.
Thanks for sharing your journey. I recently started experimenting with baking soda and vinegar in my hair, but I wonder if just water and a good scalp massage would do the trick…I’ll definitely stop using soap on my body and just see what happens. Thanks for the inspiration!
I have been using minimal soap and shampoo my whole life and have always had great hair and skin, much to the amazement of all my girlfriends over the years. They always had problems and they all used tons of chemicals, and now I hear the same from my wife. HA!
Like eating Paleo, it all just makes so much damn sense!
what kind of soap have you been using?
i use a little natural olive oil soap on body and hair and havent had any problems
what about your water quality? i hear that the chlorine in the water is what is most dangerous for your skin expecially in a hot shower when all your pores are opened up…
will try stopping olive oil soap to see if my skin gets even better
thank you for the xperiment and sharing
I have just started not using soap and shampoo…My scalp has always been crazy and I have tried everything else. I have been washing my hair once a week or maybe twice every once in awhile, so I’m excited to try not using any at all. I also have only been using natural shampoos for over a year now. I like the concept. it seems to just make sense. here is my question, how do you shave? I’m nervous about not using any soap or shave lotion. I was thinking maybe a cleansing oil or something? Dose anyone have suggestions or what have you noticed?
wow… i think this is amazing… i always knew that soaps and shappoos were bad for you.. but just maybe 2 weeks ago.. this lady that i know saw some soap in our bathroom.. i think dial soap.. anyways she told me that our bodies dont need any antibacterials that are in soaps and that our bodies have natural antimicrobials that when we use soap all of that is washed away… she also said that she quit using soap many years ago and her skin is really soft.. so ever since then i tried it and i found that I actually stink less… to be completely honest i havent touched any soap since then (well for bath time anyways) only to wash my hands before i eat do I use soap.. but I kid you not.. i can sweat all day long and not smell like anything..I mean before I would sweat and smell like a man… no joke…. now my BO is nuetral… i was sooo surprised… and now i realize that soap actually makes you stink.. and i also find that i have less and less skin problems since i stopped using soap.. now as for the shappoo i guess I’ll have to give that another try because i have this dark thick spanish hair that gets really oily.. so i guess I’ll have to go without shappoo for a month and see what happens………..totally looking forward to it
thank you for sharing!!! loved the article…
I stopped and started this twice after really brief periods because of the dandruff but I’ve kept it going for a couple of months now and my hair and scalp are definitely better than before. I do have to say though that, in my case, it seems like Rob’s theory about the temperature and shower length affecting dandruff holds weight. Even one day standing in a hot shower for a while can bring about pretty significant dandruff that takes days to take care of. Perhaps the fact that I don’t have to lather and wait for two minutes for the shampoo to do it’s tingly magic is partly the cause for my scalp feeling better, but my actual hair feels way nicer now than it ever did before.