Just plain old water....

[Atinofpeas]

Update.

Shampoo has gone forever. It isn't needed except in those moment where you are covered in gunk. For normal day-day life of this white collar worker, i don't need it and my scalp and hair are much better off without it. No, my head or hair does not smell.

Soap in normal usage has also gone forever. Like shampoo, its just not needed unless i get covered in crud. i use it sparingly for hygiene and food prep purposes only.
I have found a strip wash without soap and with just warm water and a rough flannel is good enough for day to day cleaning. Antibacterial soap is banished forever. I use a very basic Aleppo soap if required.

For bathing, i use a home made mix (3rds) of Castor oil, Grape seed oil and Liquid parafin BP. I find it fantastic form my skin.

Commercial toothpaste is gone for good. I use a toothpowder for most days and a bicarb/salt mix every week or so.

Antiperspirants are gone for good. I have learn't that they are a mostly useless and unnecessary for me.
Deodorants are still used, but these are very simple bicarb/Shea bases such as warrior. I have learnt that aluminium or other nasties are not needed.

I no longer use cologne on my skin, instead i use it on my collar and cuffs and a dab behind the ears only


Shaving is a bit of an issue though. I switched to a home made shaving oil and have tried many others, but my beard is tough and my skin delicate so prolonged use of shaving oil leaves me with spots and sore skin. I tried Coconut oil but that is worse. I have thus gone back to some shaving soaps, but i am trying to use simple ones with low ingredients and use a shaving oil every other day instead. I tried shaving with Aleppo soap by itself and it worked ok, but this bit of my personal care is a work in progress, plus i do love to use shaving soaps so this might just be my guilty pleasure! If i can't find a simple chemical free alternative which works, i shall try to stick to a oil/soap rotation.

I actually feel cleaner now than i did when using soaps and shampoos everyday.

You don't need them. In fact they do more harm than good in most cases

 

[MTG Jr]

Hey, did I see you at the Phish concert last month?

 

[Iloverootbeer]

Update.

Shampoo has gone forever. It isn't needed except in those moment where you are covered in gunk. For normal day-day life of this white collar worker, i don't need it and my scalp and hair are much better off without it. No, my head or hair does not smell.

Soap in normal usage has also gone forever. Like shampoo, its just not needed unless i get covered in crud. i use it sparingly for hygiene and food prep purposes only.
I have found a strip wash without soap and with just warm water and a rough flannel is good enough for day to day cleaning. Antibacterial soap is banished forever. I use a very basic Aleppo soap if required.

For bathing, i use a home made mix (3rds) of Castor oil, Grape seed oil and Liquid parafin BP. I find it fantastic form my skin.

Commercial toothpaste is gone for good. I use a toothpowder for most days and a bicarb/salt mix every week or so.

Antiperspirants are gone for good. I have learn't that they are a mostly useless and unnecessary for me.
Deodorants are still used, but these are very simple bicarb/Shea bases such as warrior. I have learnt that aluminium or other nasties are not needed.

I no longer use cologne on my skin, instead i use it on my collar and cuffs and a dab behind the ears only


Shaving is a bit of an issue though. I switched to a home made shaving oil and have tried many others, but my beard is tough and my skin delicate so prolonged use of shaving oil leaves me with spots and sore skin. I tried Coconut oil but that is worse. I have thus gone back to some shaving soaps, but i am trying to use simple ones with low ingredients and use a shaving oil every other day instead. I tried shaving with Aleppo soap by itself and it worked ok, but this bit of my personal care is a work in progress, plus i do love to use shaving soaps so this might just be my guilty pleasure! If i can't find a simple chemical free alternative which works, i shall try to stick to a oil/soap rotation.

I actually feel cleaner now than i did when using soaps and shampoos everyday.

You don't need them. In fact they do more harm than good in most cases

I have read that royalty used to gargle with their own urine because it whitened their teeth. Will you also begin gargling with your own urine?

 

[Atinofpeas]

 

[the_edski]

I was really surprised this wasn't posted during the "natural" and "alum vs. aluminum" debtate

 

[StAnger667]

Do you wash your hands after you pee?

 

[Atinofpeas]

Do you wash your hands after you pee?

No. I rub my damp hands under my nose lol.

 

[Orangeman]

Cut shampoo down to the barest minimum. Couldn't recommend this any stronger.

 

[FarmerTan]

No. I rub my damp hands under my nose lol.

But do you rinse your peas?

 

[OtterLunacy]

I was really surprised this wasn't posted during the "natural" and "alum vs. aluminum" debtate

+1 to that! Also, the follow-up: "just because it's natural doesn't mean it's healthy."

For what it's worth, I don't wash head-to-toe (with soap) on a daily basis. Just head, armpits, and the "bits." Everything else only gets soap as-needed, which is very rarely. I'm always tweaking my routine for cleaning my head, and the only reason I soap up my armpits is because I get very strong B.O., even on lazy days, and at least 3/4 of the odor wafts out of my pits.

 

[Gaston]

+1 to that! Also, the follow-up: "just because it's natural doesn't mean it's healthy."

For what it's worth, I don't wash head-to-toe (with soap) on a daily basis. Just head, armpits, and the "bits." Everything else only gets soap as-needed, which is very rarely. I'm always tweaking my routine for cleaning my head, and the only reason I soap up my armpits is because I get very strong B.O., even on lazy days, and at least 3/4 of the odor wafts out of my pits.

Most people do, especially if they sweat. You may find that simply changing shirts makes the stink mostly go away. I'm nearly 70 and have been fighting back pain for years, so unhealthily I don't do enough to get sweaty most days - I use an evil antiperspirant (Arm & Hammer scent-free) after I've scrubbed the crap out of my armpits (and I'm not much more gentle in the groin/crack. If I'm not in sweaty weather I don't smell any different even if I skip 2-3 days' showers; I have a very sensitive nose, as I made animal attractants for years and I'm tuned into it more than most. My roomies (two of whom have very sensitive noses) swear they've never gotten the hint of B.O. from me. If I see I'm going to miss more than two showers I put on clean tees/boxers, though, and when I check the armpits (I'm not up for crotch-sniffing, at least not my crotch), the shirts stink - but my armpits don't. I also try to keep body hair in those areas fairly short.

If you're in your 60's or older, you might want to read this: The Truth About “Old-People Smell” - https://www.agingcare.com/articles/old-person-smell-174839.htm. There's a hormone (nonenal) you secrete as you age that has a slightly off-putting smell. When my Dad died I "inherited" his dress clothes (mixed blessing, but they were good quality), and I never could understand that slightly odd smell and even dry-cleaning wouldn't get rid of it. That's because his clothing, bedding, and even his recliner had soaked up the nonenal and nothing I tried would get it out.

There's a cure for that, though - when I first got a whiff from PJs I'd worn more than one night, I started digging on the Net for the source. The answer came from the Japanese who've known about it for centuries, it's a persimmon and green tea soap. I've tried some "home-made" soaps but they didn't work. The brand I use now is "Pelican" and it's only made in Japan - but you can get it through Amazon and probably other vendors. It isn't cheap, but it lathers well and a bar lasts longer than I expected.

Back to the OP's thoughts - the problem I have with any soap is dry skin. I keep my hair cropped close as I'm balding, and with my light brown/grey-white hair it makes the balding less obvious (there's vanity talking, I'm not terribly vain but don't want to look like I don't take care of myself). My full beard's moderately short, but I get beard dandruff in it, too. I've been using Trumper's Skin Food which works great but it doesn't last long, and I'm tired of blowing/wiping tiny bits of skin off my shirt and glasses.

Sorry for the ramble, I haven't been here in a while. In fact, when last I read and posted much I can't remember a "skin care" subforum. I probably have enough quality DE blades to shave a hairy country because I have tender skin and a coarse beard, but I hadn't counted on the skin probs.

 

[Chandu]

*My miriad of A/S have finally come in handy!

AXE!

Do you wash your hands after you pee?

You could wash your hands with urine. Urine is sterile unless you have a UTI.

 

[FireDragon76]

I used to just bathe in water and epsom salts. You'll still stink a little unless you use alum deodorant.

Personally, I don't mind BO too much if it's not extreme. It's when people use deodorant as a substitute for bathing that I have a problem.

 

[tchip13]

I would be interested in hearing from your co-workers, family and friends in regards to whether you smell or not. I think it is probably difficult for you to judge for yourself.

 

[fathandle]

I have been conditioned to feel body odor is bad and needs to be eliminated. So I wash groin, feet and armpit areas with soap. Also face as that gets oily. Alum for armpits and Pinaud talcum powder for groin or feet.

Use just a smidge of shampoo for hair, as no shampoo results in a mop look. No, I do not think that will go away if I quit shampoo. It lasted several days, and I am in public, so not gonna happen till I am retired and can test it for a couple weeks.

Listerine for mouth, but that is more of a gum issue thing. I tend to get bleeding gums if I quit the Listerine for a a few days.

 

[Chevy Novacaine]

Late to the party, but wanted to weigh-in with some scattered thoughts.

1.) I can certainly understand wanting to cut out certain types of hygiene products, like anything containing aluminum, but to go entirely soap free is not something I would ever advocate, based on my modest knowledge of microbiology and infection.

2.) In terms of one's skin reaction to soap/lack of soap, that will certainly be a case-by-case basis. Some people may develop rashes if they don't bathe with soap and water, others can probably just use water and not notice any adverse effects. It's going to depend on one's dermis and sebum production. I would consult a dermatologist before attempting such a radical experiment.

3.) Odor should not be one's rubric for cleanliness. It can certainly be useful, but a lack of odor does not indicate a lack of microbes.

4.) The mechanical action of scrubbing with water may remove some spore-based microbes, but anti-microbial or anti-bacterial soap is going to be needed to get rid of transient flora. Obviously one's contact to microbes has more to do with environment and certain environments are riskier than others, but we all come into contact with things we cannot see every day. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not on you. If you're not using soap and water, you are not getting rid of that Clostridium difficile that recently decided to incubate on your skin.

5.) I think this is an interesting experiment, at least in terms of seeing how well water and "natural" products do at eliminating odor, but without skin cultures to see what microbes remain on the skin, it's efficacy at determining cleanliness is specious.

6.) There is a reason hospital staff wash their hands with soap and it's not because they've been duped by Big Hygiene.