Just plain old water....

[Atinofpeas]

I had the notion today to not use any toiletries at all whilst washing and bathing and to see how it works out.

A bit off google-foo tells you that:

A) This is becoming increasingly popular.
B) It can give you undeniably better skin and hair.
C) You wont smell.

A few caveats:
1) Hygiene for toilet/food etc should not be included
2) Deodorants are not included as they have nothing to do with hygiene.


So, I have had my first bath without soap or shampoo since i can remember.
Immediately i notice my skin has kept its natural moisture (i am not squeaking clean) and i feel no less clean than if i had used soaps or shampoo.
I smell neutral.(?)

Ftr i have short hair so i may be at an advantage there.

Its going to be an interesting week or two

 

[naughtilus]

And I thought I'm too bored with life.

 

[Sabre]

You will smell, my friend went soap and shampoo free. He just used a hard scrubbing brush. He insisted he didn't smell, but he did. After a few years, he went back to soap. I couldn't live without soap, I itch after 12 hours.

 

[Atinofpeas]

You will smell, my friend went soap and shampoo free. He just used a hard scrubbing brush. He insisted he didn't smell, but he did. After a few years, he went back to soap. I couldn't live without soap, I itch after 12 hours.

Probably a fair point.

I am on my way to work this morning having washed without soap but,

*I've used my alum block for deoderant
*My miriad of A/S have finally come in handy!

Remember insignia anyone?

 

[ajkel64]

It will be interesting to see how you get on. I think that you will smell a little during this experiment. Especially without washing your lower rear area without soap. Keep us posted.

 

[Atinofpeas]

It will be interesting to see how you get on. I think that you will smell a little during this experiment. Especially without washing your lower rear area without soap. Keep us posted.

Oh, i am going to keep myself clean i hope!
I will keep you posted though as i lose my family, friends, job, wife....

 

[Atinofpeas]

Update.
Day 3 of no soap.

After reading about using no soap, i have stuck my head into the rabbit hole!
So, i've upgraded to no toiletries at all.

Jesus, the amount of chemicals used by the cosmetics industry is frightening.
I made some home made toothpaste using Salt and Bicarb.
I am using my Alum block for antiperspirant
I am using witch hazel as a post-shave balm

To be clean, i am using warm water, but i've bought a load of micro fibre flannels to wash my darker parts properly!
I am spraying my clothes with A/S Cologne, not my skin.

I have to say, i am 3 days in and i notice no degradation in my personal hygiene. In fact my skin feels quite good and my hands are lovely and soft
I don't smell either. (Confirmed by SHMBO)

I didn't mind the tooth paste either.

This is making me wonder *** i am spending money on cosmetics and toiletries.....

 

[Rhody]

We cant decide if you smell (how will you do laundry? Wash the microfiber cloth in water too?) But not washing hands with soap isnt sanitary
Good luck keep us posted

 

[Atinofpeas]

Update:

Well, after a week or so of not using toiletries, i have the following observations:

*I am beginning to believe that the cosmetics/hygiene industry is a massive sales con.
After using nothing significant for a week or so, i do not smell at all, i am not unclean and i have noticed only positive improvements (whilst slight atm) in my overall skin and hair condition.
*I have ditched the alum block. Doing this experiment, i have been lead down a rabbit hole of hippy info, and one such nugget of info is the increasing concern Aluminium is to human health. I have also had the revelation that stopping oneself from sweating isn't a good thing surely? It is a natural bodily function. I find it disturbing that the cosmetics industry has programmed us to not sweat or smell natural. In my case, both are reasonably neutral so really, i have no need for much stuff. I have bought a small cream pot of deodorant cream made from BoS and Shea butters, etc. Works great tbh. I don't smell bad at all and i don't sweat much for a fat bloke anyway. Of note, is that i looked at my stick of TOBS deodorant which i highly rate and consider one of the best to use and to my surprise, it does not contain aluminium or parabens, Good stuff! and shows that you don't really need it.

*I got a bit paranoid about my home made toothpaste. It seems there is vastly differing opinion about BoS in toothpaste and enamel wear (Some dentists say its fine, others not), so i bought a small pot of natural toothpowder, containing calcium carbonate, peppermint and salt. Great stuff as well. No need for tubes of chemical filled gunk and i am OK with not double-dosing on fluoride.

*Regarding moisturisers, After looking at the ingredients of my own moisturisers (who looks at ingredients?!) i have found that mostly, they are a simple mixture of water, soap and paraffin. For my own case, i now use coconut oil as a simple moisturiser if needed (not that often since i started this tbh). Works great

*I think this may be a long term change. My wife has also said she hasn't used bar/ liquid soap in ages. (not that i noticed!). She too, of her own discovery, is cutting out chemicals and processed crap from her toiletries and cosmetics.


Soap, shampoo, toothpaste, moisturiser. I've cut them out or moved to natural products. What else does a man use?

 

[naughtilus]

So you are using home made and bought cosmetics. You just don't want the mass produced stuff?

 

[Atinofpeas]

So you are using home made and bought cosmetics. You just don't want the mass produced stuff?

Not quite. My aim is to reduce my toiletry "footprint" as much as possible and use as much natural products as i can where needed.

The two purchases i made are mostly that tbh but gives me time to figure out how to make them myself.

 

[naughtilus]

Not quite. My aim is to reduce my toiletry "footprint" as much as possible and use as much natural products as i can where needed.

The two purchases i made are mostly that tbh but gives me time to figure out how to make them myself.

Ah. Got it.

In that case liquid soap has you covered. Wash hair, body, teeth. You can shave with it. I'm sure there are organic ones sold.

 

[Atinofpeas]

Ah. Got it.

In that case liquid soap has you covered. Wash hair, body, teeth. You can shave with it. I'm sure there are organic ones sold.

Heh, Its confusing isnt it!

No soap. At.All.

It strips away your natural oils and biosphere and does so when its not needed. It is bad for your skin.

I haven't used soap other than washing my hands for food/toilet reasons and i don't want anything to take its place except water.

So far, i've managed that and its been a surprising success for me.

However, i do work with people and i have family so going without anything whatsoever isnt doable.
The simplest of deodorants has worked great in that regard.

Tooth hygiene is something i cant skip. it would be unhealthy and silly, but again, A simple toothpowder has proved more than fine.

If i find acceptable proof that Bicarb is not erosive, i will switch to that completely. in the meantime, the hippy toithpaste i found is fine.

 

[njpaddy]

I couldn't do no soap. If I was single, living as a recluse on 20 acres and drinking even more than I do now, maybe I wouldn't notice. Of course, my choice (for years) of a bar of Grandpa's Pine Tar soap for shower and hair might not appeal to many, but as long as I feel clean and my wife of almost 50 years has no complaints with my grooming, I'm good.

 

[jmturley]

Soap has been around since antiquity, humans have survived with it, so it can't be all that bad. Modern soaps that contain ingredients that strip oil is the problem. Most shampoos strip oil so you have to use a conditioner to put it back. Plane deodorant doesn't contain aluminum by default. Deodorant is only to cover the smell of the bacteria growing in the sweaty portions of the body. Antiperspirant contains aluminum to stop the sweating all together. Not all Deodorant is Antiperspirant, but all Antiperspirant is deodorant.

This experiment probably works out for you because you have a very subtle "natural" scent. You also have to keep in mind that you (or your wife) may not notice any type of scent, however you live with yourself every day, and are therefore use to it. The more you live with a scent the less your nose notices it. If there is a scent coming from you, and strangers or friends notice it, most wont say anything due to social niceties. Not saying you smell, just something to keep in mind.

Yes, modern humans, in the last century or so, have become obsessed with how they smell and look and a lot of it is driven by consumerism. Heck halitosis wasn't even a "problem" until Listerine made it one to sell their product to unsuspecting women:


Finally, this experiment is 100% YMMV. Every person is different and not everyone can go without washing. I myself would not even try it for more then a couple days. Not because I'm obsessed with cleanliness, but because if I don't I will smell awful. I live on the Gulf Coast of Florida where it is 90F+ with 100% humidity every day, and I work outside. Water alone would not clean off the salt, sand, dirt and grime that was caked on me everyday.

 

[TropicalHotDogNight]

Bathing with soap is a good thing. I'm going to keep doing it.

 

[Earcutter]

How do you shave?

 

[Atinofpeas]

How do you shave?

Just plain old water.... (pt II)

 

[ajkel64]

Thanks for the updates. It’s not for me but I am interested in your experiment.

 

[Atinofpeas]

The more i dig, the more i find.

Seems like the vast majority of the cosmetics and toiletries industry is an exercise in misinformation.

Natural Soap: There is no such thing. Its a chemical man made process.

Organic Soap: See above

PH Neutral Soap: Neutral in this instance being 7 according to the PH scale. Skin has a PH of 5ish. PH Soap will still affect your skins balance.

Soap with a skin matching PH (dove). This isn't actually a traditional soap. It is a synthetic soap made from synthetic chemicals.

The closest i can get to a reasonable PH soap which is not born in a lab seems to be liquid Castile soap. (this is called different names in different countries but is just olive oil soap like Savon Du Marsallais)
However this isnt gentle or moisturising or organic or natural or low PH. It is a base soap made from oil and an alkali and has a PH of at least 9.

Soap is soap is soap or so it seems, unless it isn't and is a form of SLS

Seems that the romans had the best idea; Olive oil and a strickle.

Oh, and I'm dumping the vitamin E as well. It seems that the benefits of it are vague at the best and in concentrate form, its used as a pesticide.....


The journey continues.