I’ve given up using soap & shampoo forever

I tried this when it made the HN rounds about a year ago. My results were over about three months and my primary reason was to assist treating moderate eczema. I stopped using all soap and shampoo and just stuck with hot-as-hell water. My skin did get better, but after about two months my hair began to naturally dread. After I looked back on my notes of this endeavor I decided to use some scent-free shampoo to prevent dreads. I use soap to clean up when I finish painting/working on a car or other dirty project. I also use it before I prepare food for my family and friends. My hair did never really 'feel' right, much more like a dogs fur than clean hair. It didn't smell bad it just felt different and didn't behave.

The interesting thing that came out of my tracking this impromptu 'shower log' of no soap use - I was able to correlate my severe eczema outbreaks with inhaling allergens. In my case, breathing in pine dust & glue particulate causes outbreaks. I now wear my painting respirator 75% of the time in the shop and have very few incidents.

I stopped showering with soap and shampoo in high school after a bout of dry skin. After a transition period of length similar to the author's, I saw the same improvements. Today, I use soap (though not antibacterial) when cooking and whenever I'm covered in something like grease or rosin (hey, it happens) that could use the extra help soap affords. I only use the tiniest bit of shampoo to assist in getting the itchy little hair bits out after a haircut.

While I have personally gained from the benefits of this experiment, I'm not a fan of the rationalizations some use to justify minimalism/naturalism/whatever you'll call it -- the arguments that run along the lines of "we didn't need it years ago, why do we need it today?" As an engineer, I find this wholesale skepticism of technology especially repugnant. Thus, I really appreciate that Sean frames this in terms of experimentation and checking hypotheses--be they self or socially formed. That is cool.

Cool story, bro.

It kinda makes sense; soap is for dissolving stuff that you can't rinse off your skin. The bits of your body which are covered by clothes generally don't acquire much such gunk, they just get sweaty. He still washes his hands using soap, so I'm not too concerned about his health. I'd like to see him maintain his "no soap" rule after a day spent working under a car, though.

I heard about a similar story in college and decided to try it out over 15 years ago. My roommate's uncle was a doctor and a big fan of not using soap and shampoo. The first 2 weeks were tough - very oily. But I stuck it out and then my body adjusted. I could really tell that my body was producing less oil and I felt cleaner throughout the day. So I kept on going, and for the next 10 years I didn't use soap and shampoo in the shower. When people found out, most were grossed out. But it felt right. About 5 years ago, I started to use shampoo cause it would let me wash my hair faster (just using water takes longer). But I use a gentle and natural shampoo (current from Melvita). I still don't use soap cause I feel like it strips too much natural/good body oil from my body and isn't good for me. Anyway, it's refreshing to see a post like this. And in all places, at HN.

I, too, tend to believe that the soaps, shampoos, and other smelly things we all buy and take for granted in modern life may not be the healthiest things for us. However, in my household, we've addressed the problem (as we see it, anyway) by: 1) Making our own soap and shampoo; and 2) Only bathing on an as-needed basis (which equates to about twice a week for me). I also don't wear deodorant/antiperspirant.

Seems to be working out so far. I have long hair (for a guy, anyway), and I have a tough time not using shampoo. I suppose, in theory, if I stopped using long enough for my scalp to stop over-producing oils to replace what's routinely stripped out due to washing shampoo, then it wouldn't be a big problem (that, or I'd simply get accustomed to the feeling of my hair with natural oils). Frankly, though, I'd probably be more inclined to simply start shaving my head to avoid shampoo.

Different strokes for different folks, and all that. Everyone has their boundaries when it comes to personal hygiene, and we should all respect those boundaries. However, upon close examination, the daily bathing/hygiene rituals modern (US, Western, ???) life does seem a bit excessive. If we didn't coat ourselves with so much "stuff" (deodorant, conditioner, hair spray/gel, perfume/cologne, etc.), it seems intuitive that we wouldn't need to clean ourselves as harshly or as often as we currently do.

Interesting topic, nonetheless.

In my experience, this does not work.

I gave up on shampoo for about a month and a half, but I still used conditioner. I never used soap on my body when showering to begin with, except for ahem the bottom area.

It actually worked for a little while; the conditioner dissolved the grease out of my hair (like dissolves like). But then for about a week my hair was determined to stay greasy and no amount of conditioner would get it out. So I gave up and started using shampoo again.

There's a reason that in the old days everyone wore hats or bonnets regularly.

Water, especially hot water, is an unbelievably effective solvent (something often overlooked despite the fact that its known as the Universal Solvent).

Still, I'd worry about bacteria growth (which is, in my mind, the value added of soap) - though the author claims he smells better now.

I have been doing this for a few months. Some notes:

I always had oily skin, and it seems to me now my skin was likely overreacting to the use of soap as it now is a lot more stable and to me it just feels finally "right", no longer needing to so frequently wash my face. I also believe tone and texture are better.

Soap. I do use it when for whatever reason I become "actually dirty", like handling greasy stuff, or after swimming in a pool (chlorine or salt water), after outdoor play, etc. And yes, for the nether regions, er, daily.

Shampoo., It's definitely much easier with shorter hair, and during the warm months. As weather gets colder it's hard not to think I could benefit from a little shampoo/conditioner, most noticeably right out of the shower my hair becomes harder to manage and I have to make more "adjustments" as time passes. But during summer, no issues at all. Or perhaps is related to humidity? Anyway, I am sure I will be relenting and using some shampoo/conditioner the next few months.

For odors, I have a quite reliable barometer, my little daughter and wife always notice when it's time to get cleaner, and it is my observation that their admonishments have been conspicuously absent in the few months I've been doing this, still unbeknownst to them.

I can't speak for soap but I know I have never used shaving gel/cream, or whatever you call it, in my 29 years. And it's all fine. So maybe these guys are just trying to get us to spend money.

I stopped using shaving cream years ago thanks to this article: http://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker65.html Turns out using shaving cream makes you dependent on it.

As a person with hereditary skin issues (both my dad and grandad have suffered for years, and now it's setting in for me), I'm definitely going to try it - my father and I already noticed a big shift when changing from scented to unscented shampoos and soaps - I'm willing to give the no-soap a go to calm down the rest of my skin - cheers. I'll comment again if I notice a sudden down-tick in the number of people willing to spend time with me ;)

I haven't used shampoo since I was maybe 10. No problems to report.

Are there any major studies regarding the effect of the increasing amount of chemicals we're taking into our bodies in the modern day?

I'm guessing the transition period can be made much more tolerable with a little effort. For example take a bottle of shower gel, and every time it's half empty fill it with water.

I'm tempted to try it. Last time I didn't shower for over a week (hiking trip) I remember my skin looked and felt surprisingly healthy. Hair too.

I'll lay 10 to 1 that he hasn't.

I've been doing no shampoo/soap only where it matters for about 6 months now and can only report positives. I don't smell, I still shower daily (showers being shorter now). Win in my mind.

I'm on 2+ months. The first 2 weeks were pretty hard to deal with. Now I feel cleaner than before. I don't seem any less clean.

I don't use shampoo or any of that crap either, but I clip my hair weekly at 1/4".

A washcloth is key.

Now that's the weather is colder, my skin doesn't feel dry or cracked anymore.

It's no big deal, really. I pass the wife test, too. I don't have any mission or paleo-ideology behind it, I just read a couple blog posts and was minorly curious and tried it.

Some of what i read was funny.You don't use soap but you use what amounts to a corporate advertising gimmick deodorant. Probably much worse for you on the whole. I don't use deodorant because I eat pretty well which I believe results in what your body excretes so the issue of deodorant isn't so important as I shower once or twice a day depending on activity.Good luck but I am not clear what is to be gained

Interesting. His problem of dry skin went away. What about people that have oily skin?

I've been trying to cut back on soap/shampoo for a few years now. Currently I shower daily, occasionally twice depending on workout schedule. I have a few natural, non/naturally scented soaps and shampoos which I use sparingly.

The one area where I really have noticed a need for shampoo is my beard and mustache - even when being extremely careful when eating, after a day or two it can start to get grimy. I typically rinse with water as needed and use Bluebeard's Beard Wash about 2x week. I've noticed a huge improvement since using a beard wash.

Love to hear if anyone has other beard advice.

I have not used shapoo/soap for my hair and body for more than 10 years now(my skin was not happy with soap). Have not had any issues(and I shower everyday). Also I try to use hot water whenever I can instead of soap. In my case this has more to do with sensibility than for the environment. Also I feel that, not only shampoos & soaps may actually not be good for the body, the real way to have health hair and skin is having proper nutrition and good life-style.

Also note that for some people problems like dry skin, dandruff and a few bowel issues can be caused by an over-abundance of yeast in the gut. A good preventative measure for this is to take coconut oil as a supplement.

Talcum powder makes an effective deodorant in my opinion. Much better than the slide on gels in the market. However it lasts only for about 8-10 hours.

How about using soap on half your body and objectively observing the difference? A lot of these self-run experiments run into confirmation bias.

Y'know i just use very small quantities of both. It has helped the quality of my hair and my skin does not dry out anymore.

I prefer washing with rest.

Sounds to me like he's some sort of "born-again virgin".

This seems like good advice for getting rid of bad habits:

"just because I did something yesterday is not a good enough reason to do it today"

Gotta keep that in mind.

I've reduced my shampoo and soap usage after reading the same article with largely positive results. I'm not sure how I feel about no soap after ice hockey - will have to see. I've always used Dove and have avoided regular soaps, which leave your skin unhealthily dry. Ads for Zest always make me cringe - I don't want to squeak thank you.

I also lived in Shanghai for some time, where the air is filled with dust and dirt. I'm not sure I could go without soap there.

The thing very few people realize is that you don't really get notably dirty or smelly underneath your clothes (exception being certain odor where the sun doesn't shine). If you work up a sweat for a long time, it's a different issue in terms of smell, but there's really not any dirt underneath the clothes to talk about other than epithelieals - which is nothing that water alone can't handle. I don't use soap when showering and I smell just fine, but I do use shampoo for my hair, and deodorant under the arms.