Are soap and shampoo really necessary?

Are soap and shampoo really necessary?

That might seem like a stupid question, but believe it or not, there are a lot of people out there saying that they are cleaner, healthier and odor free after NOT using soap and shampoo for a few months. They claim that soap and shampoo take away your body's natural oils, forcing your body to work harder to replenish these oils to protect your skin, which is not natural to your body. If you stop using them for a few months, using only hot water to wash yourself, your body will adjust its oil secretions back to normal levels, leaving you cleaner, healthier and odor free. They say that you only need soap for your hands and private parts. The rest of your body doesn't really need it, and in fact it interferes with your body's oil production.

Here are testimonials from many people claiming this.

boingboing.net...

featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com...

www.ethericwarriors.com...

What do you think? Could they be right? Are soap and shampoo really unnecessary? Would this work for everyone?

One person even said that washing your clothes without detergent produces the same result as with detergent, and that its the agitation in the washing machine that gets the clothes clean, not the detergent.

What do you think? Are our assumptions about soap and shampoo all wrong? Have we been duped and misled by their manufacturers? Most people would probably never have the gall to try something like this though.

No, it's mainly just a way to make money.

I agree with the soap, but not with the shampoo unless you are willing to rinse your hair thoroughly every single day.

As for clothes washing I only use half the recommended powder and have for years.

P

Ever been to a music festival? Hippies are smelly, they just get used to it.

There are no such thing as germs. Its a massive conspiracy.

Originally posted by zonetripper2065
Ever been to a music festival? Hippies are smelly, they just get used to it.

Hippies just don't wash, you can wash without chemicals.

reply to post by WWu777


You don't have to use soaps, shampoo and detergent....however.....

I don't think many of us can get over that initial hump of going without it for so long....

I do agree with you.....I have not noticed it with my skin....but wash my hair daily and the oils come right back instantly.

reply to post by WWu777


Soaps, detergents and shampoos aren't totally necessary for personal hygiene... as you mentioned, it's mostly the agitation that removes water soluble debris.

Cleaning products do however, break down water suface tension which allows water molecules to move around minute surfaces and further dislodge debris.

reply to post by SpearMint


I'm pretty sure there's a reason they make soap and shampoo

I've seen this a few times before but it takes at least a month before your hair gets used to it and even then it is incredibly greasy. I saw someone that doesn't bathe much, maybe once every two-months or so and his hair is disgusting.

The nice thing about shampoo and conditioner is that it builds a layer of protection and the shampoo gets rid of the grease which is vital for some people.

reply to post by WWu777


Agreed. There is plethora of "products" out there that we don't really need. But they invest huge loads of money in to marketing this product in order to convince that you somehow need it badly. It's for your health and beauty.

Today's "economy" is actually based on either selling useless sh**, or trading with worthless paper.

I often have a mental picture of a human being as a cow...a cow that is milked with multiple tentacles. Form many sides. There is an army of bastards that spend their daily working hours inventing new ways of milking this cow.

Just check out these and tell me we are not the milking cows:

Pay your utility bills: electricity, water, heat, TV subscription, ADSL line, public sanitation, administration fees for every piece of paper they stamp with an official seal, donations that appeal to your humanity, education that you have to provide for your children....I could go on, but you get my point.

The human individual is so bombarded daily with the system trying to squeeze you dry...in order to be so preoccupied with survival, that you have no will or interest in anything but...survival.

Originally posted by zonetripper2065
Ever been to a music festival? Hippies are smelly, they just get used to it.

Maybe they don't wash their clothes? Why would hippies refuse to take showers?

8 Scientists stayed in the Biosphere for two years, not using soap or deodorants. The lady said it was shocking to smell the stink of normal people when they got out.

Originally posted by zonetripper2065
reply to post by SpearMint

 

I'm pretty sure there's a reason they make soap and shampoo

How do you know the reason isn't just to make money?

Originally posted by Em2013
I've seen this a few times before but it takes at least a month before your hair gets used to it and even then it is incredibly greasy. I saw someone that doesn't bathe much, maybe once every two-months or so and his hair is disgusting.

The nice thing about shampoo and conditioner is that it builds a layer of protection and the shampoo gets rid of the grease which is vital for some people.

What if you just bathe or shower with hot water everyday, brushing your hair with a brush? The testimonials at the links I posted said that they were cleaner than ever after doing that for a while.

Yeah… This is worth a read.

Water, clay, sand, pumice, ashes, oils and salts just for example guys.

The origins of personal cleanliness date back to prehistoric times. Since water is essential for life, the earliest people lived near water and knew something about its cleansing properties - at least that it rinsed mud off their hands. A soap-like material found in clay cylinders during the excavation of ancient Babylon is evidence that soapmaking was known as early as 2800 B.C. Inscriptions on the cylinders say that fats were boiled with ashes, which is a method of making soap, but do not refer to the purpose of the "soap." Such materials were later used as hair styling aids. Records show that ancient Egyptians bathed regularly. The Ebers Papyrus, a medical document from about 1500 B.C., describes combining animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to form a soap-like material used for treating skin diseases, as well as for washing At about the same time, Moses gave the Israelites detailed laws governing personal cleanliness. He also related cleanliness to health and religious purification. Biblical accounts suggest that the Israelites knew that mixing ashes and oil produced a kind of hair gel. The early Greeks bathed for aesthetic reasons and apparently did not use soap. Instead, they cleaned their bodies with blocks of clay, sand, pumice and ashes, then anointed themselves with oil, and scraped off the oil and dirt with a metal instrument known as a strigil. They also used oil with ashes. Clothes were washed without soap in streams. they got by

reply to post by WWu777


In classical times, perfumed oils were in extensive use for bathing and were combined with the use of the strigil, a metal implement used to scrape the skin free of oil and dirt. It is claimed that, for washing themselves, the Romans used a type of clay found near Rome called "sapo" from which the word soap is derived. An alternative suggestion for the derivation of the name is that the Romans learned the art of soap-making, using animal fats and plant ashes, from the Celts, who called it "saipo".

You don't need shampoo at all if you can last the 3 months or so it takes for your scalp and natural oils to adjust. Your hair will just smell earthier, but not minging. There's actually a breakfast show host in the UK that hasn't washed his hair in a God's age.

You could probably also just get away without soap and just go with a natural salt scrub to dislodge the ming, or even an oatmeal scrub.

When I was at basic training...one of our platoon members didn't bathe (he was called pig pen by the guys)

As nasty, and sweaty as we all got, the guy slacked on showers...even our DS noticed....he smelled horrific!!

If you are out and about running and sweating in South Carolina in July....you need soap, shampoo..and detergent.

We went to the FOB..and we were not allowed to go back to barracks and get showers for 4 days....That alone was making me crazy....and plain water would not have cut it for me.

There is sonething refreshing about the 3.