Humans are not meant to take showers! (conspiracy?)

Something I've realized recently is in the area of skin care in general. I don't think us humans were meant to take showers, I think we were meant to take baths. If you don't believe me, try soaking your feet in warm water to relax them. You can pour in the water some epsom salt if you like or just use warm water by itself. Keep a towel close by for when you pull your feet out from soaking. Soak them for at least 15 minutes and pull them out and what you'll realize is that as you are drying your feet off, there will be A LOT of dead skin being cleaned off. You will be surprised by how much dead skin comes off when your skin is soaked in water versus showered in water.

This happens to also occur when you work up a very strong sweat. Walk on the treadmill for an hour and then get off and rub a towel across your skin to dry it off and you will see lots of dead skin sometimes as well. Even if you shower every day!

I think baths in general are much better for your skin since we are meant to bathe not shower. All creatures on this planet bathe or soak in water. Many animals form shiny rich coats of skin and fur with no pimples, skin bump or dry skin compared to what some humans endure! Many animals appear less inclined to loss of hair pigmentation. How many animals do you ever see with gray hair? I bring up hair because skin cair and hair care may be more closely linked than people think.

Something to consider!

reply to post by Colopatiron

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Doesn't are skin shed constantly regardless? It takes about 30 days for the outer layer of skin to be replaced. I never liked taking baths, it always seemed like soaking in your own soup and basking in your own filth. All that dead skin you're saying comes off, well that stuff is floating in your bath water along with all sorts of other nastiness.

I don't think humans were ever intended to take showers or baths because bathing/showering are human inventions, a certain level of hygiene is natural instinct but the whole idea of bathing/showering on a regular basis is a very very recent development. I think either way water seems to have some pretty fantastic cleaning properties (something about it being polarized I think) and also seems to have rejuvenating properties as well.

This is some heavy food for thought, S&F.


Sometimes I take a long hot bath and read a book, and then take a shower afters (since in the bath I'm just floating in my own dirt that came off my body). When I do that, more skin comes off that when I take a shower alone. Or else I have to scrub to get it off.

Shedding skin is healthy. All of our cells in our body die and are replaced every so many years. So when you think about it, there is no real need for us to die at such young ages. Followers of the skeptical church of science say our genes/DNA become corrupt as we get older and stop working. That doesn't have to happen, either. I'm not saying we could live forever, but I really don't think there's anything but carcinogens and unhealthy lifestyles keeping us from living to be several hundred years old at least.

I think your more likely to break out when taking baths than showers. When you bathe, some of that oil is still on your skin when you dry off and it will surely clog your pores. Whilst showers rinses everything off your skin.

One other thing to remember about taking baths is that fluoride is in that water and is absorbed into the skin.

Unavoidable consequence of living in the US, I guess.

In deference to the OP, humans weren't meant to do a lot of things that they currently do. That's not going to stop me from taking a nice, hot five minute shower tomorrow morning. Everyone above is correct, the shedding of skin would happen whether soaked in a bath or not. Water just speeds up the process - and also, floating around in a cesspool of my own pore-clogging filth for 20 minutes doesn't exactly sound too appealing. Okay, I think I just managed to convince myself to never take a bath again... blech

[edit on 30-10-2009 by Legion2112]

I agree, I take baths and my daughters says "eww you like to sit in your own filth"

Well, you're definitely thinking outside the box (or tub, as it were) That's a good thing. Looking at things from a different perspective opens us up to new ideas.

It seems to me that, as early man was pretty much nomadic they would want their feet to be as tough as possible (before footwear and/or alternative transportation methods). Soaking the feet, as you say, softens up the toughened, calloused skin which would be detrimental to sustained travel. That's how I see it, anyway.

Aside from that:

Most cats stay out of the water as much as possible. I know some tigers seem to enjoy a swim now and then, but most felines don't. I've also never seen a camel taking a soak. That doesn't mean they never do, but I haven't seen it.


Many animals also develop all kinds of skin problems. I've seen many dogs with skin bad enough to require medication.

I've seen many animals with grey hair, particularly old dogs. Lots of monkeys/apes also get grey hair.

I prefer showers, myself. As Titen-Sxull said, sitting in a tub of my own dirt and dead skin doesn't seem very inviting.

On the other hand, most people tend to find shelter in the rain. I suppose one could chalk that up to a natural aversion to showers.

reply to post by Titen-Sxull

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My sentiments exactly, who wants to soak in their daily sweat and grime? Nasty……

I don't think human's were meant to bathe either. I think the only thing that is meant to stay submerged in water is creatures meant for swimming. I believe your body's natural process of sweating is the real way for a true cleanse.

Think about it, when we sit in water or shower, the water is only removing the surface dirt. Sweating actually removes the the dirt and bacteria from within. Pushes it out the pores, something a bath or shower cannot do.

Now, does sweating have to stink? No. If you eat a balanced diet, and drink plenty of water your body will constantly wash itself. The reason a lot of people stink from sweating is because of their diets. Think about all that fast food junk coming out. It's not necassarily that either. Our digestive systems were meant to digest many different types of foods. As long as we have a certain balance of those foods, than everything else will work in harmony. Maybe the "stinking" is an indicator telling us we are not getting the proper nutrients.

You have to also take exercise into consideration. If we constantly exercised than that would aid more in the cleansing as well. Think about something. Why don't newborn babies smell bad? Or babies that are a few months old? I think it's because they only eat and drink what their suppose to. So their bodies do not process all that junk like we do.

Just something to think about.

If anyone wants to test this theory out, you know, going a month or two without showering or bathing, let me know and i'll HELP you and monitor the results. In order to be proven effective though, we'd have to come up with a well balanced diet.

Oh imagine them headlines breaking across the MSM if we proved this to be true, lol. Breaking News: Research Proves You Don't Have To Wash You Butt Afterall, No Soap or Water.

Wonder how long it would take society to conform to that one?

Unless you are extremely dirty a bath isn't exactly like *sitting in your own filth* it's akin to someone peeing in a swimming pool and then saying it's a pool of piss. Not really as it's so diluted it's negligible,same as a bath and dead skin,oil etc Anyway, bath or shower, don't really care tbh. I think as long as it gets rid of dirt and oil it's doing it's job.

[edit on 30-10-2009 by Solomons]

Read some Desmond Morris. Humans are made to EITHER shower every day or couple/few days, OR not shower at all. . . which is how it is in primitive societies. IF they are near a river, they wash themselves every day, but IF they are away from such a water source, they never wash themselves. The skin gets used to it. . . humans are not made to wash themselves every month. . . it has to be every few days (or less) OR never.

My grandpa came from a rural mountain village, and said he washed his body once a year, and always got sick for a week after.

I cannot imagine a day without a shower or something. My face, somehow manages to be a mixture of both dry and oily. I DON'T understand it whatsoever. Hopefully this is something I'll just grow out of, because pimples and oilyness is lame.

Plus, I don't really like the idea of having baths. I mean, they're pretty neat when you're a kid and have a toy boat and stuff. Keeps you entertained for tens of minutes, but that's the problem! They're too relaxing and recreational for conventional cleaning.

Also worth a mention is that backne is extremely lame. I wish my parents could have had better skin genes.

Seriously, backne's just like Aerosmith. It never goes away.

there was only one thing we weren't "MEANT" to do... and that is to NOT use our BRAINS.

ooo we aren't meant to do this or that... who the hell are you?

we were given a brain.. the result of the brain.. a product of the brain... is a freaking SHOWER.. to RINSE yourself off with.

or you can go caveman and use a pitcher if you want... same thing...

your BRAIN produced the invention to do it... and the source of the "shower" is our "brain" solving a freaking problem

"meant to this or that my a$$"

also.. second poster in the thread.. are you serious... do you actually think that "our" is spelled "are"?

ATS is seriously winding down the gutter imo.

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Its been raining on us for millions of years now.. i think we have got used to it buy now.

I duuno... Some days, usually when I am beat, sore and tired. I love to soak in a tub full of hot steamy water. I frequently have back aches, so soaking in a hot tub of water is very medicinal and relaxing for me. Plus I can blow bubbles.

I have to agree tho, I like to rinse off with a shower after wards.

I also think the hot springs were thought to have magical healing powers. I think that is because of the minerals in the water though. I don't know if that applies to city water.

[edit on 30-10-2009 by ByteChanger]

reply to post by Colopatiron

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Actually, I tend to agree with the poster just above who says we've been getting rained on forever, lol!

Now, not to stray from the subject matter (and in hopes that the gods/mods allow this little indiscretion)... what type of small critter is that in your avatar? It looks like a baby porcupine.




[edit on 30-10-2009 by redoubt]