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Comment by rapnie | Hacker News Reader

I know quite a few people who stopped regularly showering with soap and shampoo. They do it just on occasion and otherwise just use water. I can assure you that they do not smell bad. Consider doing so myself, and have heard it is better for skin and hair too. But I didn't look up any solid material on whether this is more healthy (a search will probably lead to a lot promoted science that urge me to use skin products).

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I've taken a bit of a middle ground approach, partly out of laziness and partly because it just doesn't seem all that necessary.

I have to wash my hair daily otherwise I feel absolutely gross, and I'll also wash the private and smelly bits daily with soap, but otherwise I only use soap head to tow twice a week.

My partners have never seemed to notice or complain about any off smells although I realize being around someone for long periods of time can desensitize you so I've taken a few opportunities to ask my parents who would certainly be the first to tell me if I smell like crap and they've never had any complaints.

Anecdotally, every partner I've had has told me I have great skin. Hair stylists have also told me I have incredibly healthy hair - I've been using cheap Suave Essentials (the clear baby blue bottle) shampoo with no conditioner since I was a kid.

You’re actually not supposed to use soap on groin or anus:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.healthdirect.gov.au/amp/art...

> Keep the anal area clean by washing with water every day. Don’t use soaps as they will reduce the natural oils that protect the anus and may make the area dry and itchy. Use aqueous cream or a soap-free cleanser instead.

Non AMP link: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/anal-care

Well that escalated quickly! ;-)

But seriously, an interesting topics. Thanks for the links!

I've never been a daily hair washer.

Or all over body soaper.

Mike D would disagree:

https://genius.com/Beastie-boys-unite-lyrics

I sort of fell into the "nopoo" lifestyle. Things had evolved to the point that I was having constant problems with fungus that the anti-fungus shampoos could not control. Perhaps the fungus evolved. At one point I just said "screw it" and gave up on shampoo all together. Problem entirely solved, along with my dry hair problem. As a result I stopped bothering about body soap which generally made things better as well. Soap/shampoo for when I am actively dirty doesn't seem to break the spell. It is like I just need a break from soap/shampoo all the time.

No complaints so far...

Tried and failed, very embarassigly. Turns out not everything you read on the net is true :D

Last I heard there was some research on finding mixes of comensal bacteria that can replace the "stinky" ones. But currently, it's risky at best.

What I did get out of the experience is cutting on shampoo use. On hot summer days you can wash your hair as often as you want - but the extra washes should be water only, or at most conditioner.

I also tried this with the addition of some spray-on bacteria from motherdirt.com. A huge scam. I emailed one of the founders who prided herself on answering mails personally back when they first launched their "AO+" spray. Never got a response.

I don't understand these magical unicorns of people who just stop with all soap and shampoo and come out looking marvelous. I don't doubt they're special but I don't know what makes me poorly suited. I get rank and my hair gets terrible dandruff if I don't persist with these surfactants. And trust me, I've tried for a long time, to the detriment of everyone around me.

Know people who tried this.

They smelled very bad.

Also see lots of posts about Steve Jobs smelling bad

Since COVID, I stopped showering every day. I generally shower after working out, which is every other day. And I do this at the gym. Has saved me a lot on my water bill.

Of course if I do something strenuous at home and get really sweaty or dirty I will shower. There's no point in being disgustingly sweaty/smelly.

Works well. Just make sure to use a washcloth to exfoliate the dead skin. Although, I do use shampoo every other day, because I have super greasy Italian hair.

I don't like the perfumes so I use baby shampoo. I use it for everything. It's my shampoo, face wash, body wash, and shaving gel.

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