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Random Internet dude goes over a year without using soap/shampoo. Surprising results

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No it's normal to stink after a workout, i work out and work outside regularly (in Arizona, too) so stinking because of exertion is normal. that's why you take a shower.

very few people don't shower post (good) workout, or laborers when they get home. the only difference is soap and shampoo, which are mostly useless.
 
I shampoo my hair once every month or so. Just use hot water most of the time. Hair feels and controls much better with a little bit of grease.
 
Mabef said:
Day 6 and god damn is my hair greasy. I feel like I could reach up and form it into liberty spikes.

Mine is slightly greasy but not to a point that bothers me. just make sure to scrub the shit out of it in the shower
 

Gvaz

Banned
If you don't use soap, how do you get off dirt and grime? I work in construction and the amount of rust and mortar and dirt and all the rest of that stuff pretty much requires soap to get off.
 

Staccat0

Fail out bailed
I'm interested in doing this, but I do a lot of corporate work and must look classy with a suit ans hit...
How long would I have to wait for my hair to get non-greased? I gets greasy pretty fast.
Gvaz said:
If you don't use soap, how do you get off dirt and grime? I work in construction and the amount of rust and mortar and dirt and all the rest of that stuff pretty much requires soap to get off.
Yeah, I wouldn't think this would work for people who actually get really dirty doing real-ass work.
 

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
No way I wouldn't wash my hair with shampoo, unless it was an inch long only, in which case it doesn't get greasy. If it's any longer I have to wash it. Solution: buzzcut.
 
Gvaz said:
If you don't use soap, how do you get off dirt and grime? I work in construction and the amount of rust and mortar and dirt and all the rest of that stuff pretty much requires soap to get off.

just don't use it excessively, but working construction i'd think having silky smooth skin is the last of your issues. you can still do no shampoo though
 

way more

Member
At the minimum I think you owe it to the world to not smell and wear clothing and people here can't even do that.

Edit: Civilizations can all agree on at least one thing, keep your stank to a minimum. This is really pushing the bounds of politeness and you are requiring that your co-workers and neighbors endure uncomfortable environments. I've worked with "no-soap" believers and share a apartment porch with another. You can tell.

For the love of God, is soap so much to ask? Buy mild Tom's of Maine soap, and use body lotion if it's so "unnatural."
 

Salsa

Member
Im doing this right now actually

its been 2 weeks, i take a shower every day. Im almost bald so the hair isnt really an issue.

so far so good
 
I'm on day 5 and I've found that this is going to be complete failure since I've HAD to use soap to take off certain I that end up on my body. Being the guy that has to clean the really greasy shit in the kitchen means I have some really gross stuff on my skin that will NOT come off without the aid of soap.

Also, I use body glide cause I don't want the skin between my legs ripping apart when I run...and that stuff is made to be water resistant (or sweat resistant) so you gotta take it off with soap, otherwise you end up smelling like burning plastic for the most part.
 
Alpha-Bromega said:
just don't use it excessively, but working construction i'd think having silky smooth skin is the last of your issues. you can still do no shampoo though

There are some things that just hot water will not remove. I learned this when I had printmaking one semester.
 

CFMOORE!

Member
i'm now on day 11, aside from my hair being really greasy at around day 6, it has been a cool experiment so far, like this guy I shower everyday and still use deodorant. My hair has now retained some of the natural grease it should while dispelling all the excess. I would also say my skin seems to be showing positive benefits to not using soap, and I was even using pure organic shit.
 

Freshmaker

I am Korean.
Shard said:
If memory serves me correctly, the Romans used Olive Oil to clean out their pores and skin.
They sat in bath houses and steamed while they scraped off sweat and dirt with a piece of metal. Then they saved those scrapings for medicinal use.
 

NomarTyme

Member
Gvaz said:
If you don't use soap, how do you get off dirt and grime? I work in construction and the amount of rust and mortar and dirt and all the rest of that stuff pretty much requires soap to get off.
Steam room for me.
 

iNvid02

Member
day 7 and its the same as if i were using soap and shampoo, think i'll try for another week to see if anything changes
 

mackaveli

Member
I didn't read the whole thread but interested in trying this.

How is everyone doing it?

Just taking a hot shower for 5-10 minutes and then use deodrant and so forth?

Do you do anythign special or different in the shower?
 
So I've been doing this for just over 3 weeks now.

During the first week, I actually didn't notice anything at all. My face felt slightly more greasy than what is usually is, but my hair and skin was the same. No smell.

At around the 2nd week, I could smell myself a little. By now, all of my friends that I regularly see were told that I haven't washed with soap (apart from my hand and balls) and after being quite shocked, they haven't noticed anything. The smell was just a little musky. The wife can't smell anything on me.

But now, I'm definitely feeling some differences. My skin does feel softer, like I've been using moisturiser. My face isn't so greasy, but it still does feel like it is and where my hair line is, it definitely feels greasy. I hope this gets better.

I feel the need to wash my hands all the time though and if I scrape my fingernail across my scalp, I'm getting what must be skin or something under the nail, but it doesn't look like I have dandruff.

I'm gonna keep at it and if the hair gets better, then fuck it. No soap it is.
 

IntelliHeath

As in "Heathcliff"
MarkMclovin said:
So I've been doing this for just over 3 weeks now.

During the first week, I actually didn't notice anything at all. My face felt slightly more greasy than what is usually is, but my hair and skin was the same. No smell.

At around the 2nd week, I could smell myself a little. By now, all of my friends that I regularly see were told that I haven't washed with soap (apart from my hand and balls) and after being quite shocked, they haven't noticed anything. The smell was just a little musky. The wife can't smell anything on me.

But now, I'm definitely feeling some differences. My skin does feel softer, like I've been using moisturiser. My face isn't so greasy, but it still does feel like it is and where my hair line is, it definitely feels greasy. I hope this gets better.

I feel the need to wash my hands all the time though and if I scrape my fingernail across my scalp, I'm getting what must be skin or something under the nail, but it doesn't look like I have dandruff.

I'm gonna keep at it and if the hair gets better, then fuck it. No soap it is.

WOW (I meant it in good way)

Imagine how much we would save if we just flat out and quit using chemicals.

We would save 20-50 dollars each month, and 12 years - 240-600 dollars.

Problem is that I am too afraid to try this.
 
I been doing this since I was a kid. At one point my hair was so greasy when wet it looked like I had gelled it. Nowdays I only wash my hair with chemicals due to dying it but not often, like once every month or so. My standpoint is, Nature intended us to live without chemicals so why the fuck do we now suddenly need them? It's the same with my Teeth.
 

eXistor

Member
Yeah onto week 3 myself. It's working out great for me. The first week my hair was greasy as hell, but it's balancing itself out nicely. Other than the downstairs areas and hands, I've used no soap. There's absolutely no smell or anything and my skin definitely feels nicer. I dry out completely after using soap, so that's gone.

Definitely gonna keep this up for now.

eznark said:
Aside from "living without chemicals" what exactly is the benefit of this?
Cheaper, but for me most importantly, my skin feels better.
 

cloudwalking

300chf ain't shit to me
Zoe said:
Do you brush your hair before going in? That makes a huge difference for me.

Most longhaired girls I know of do the conditioner-only thing or once/twice a week washing instead of only using water.

i do brush it beforehand, but it doesn't seem to make a huge difference for me. my hair's really prone to tangling due to its texture.

i used to to conditioner-only on the weekends, but recently i dumped conditioner altogether because i had real trouble finding a good one without silicones in it. the silicones in my shampoo and conditioner were weighing down my hair, i found, and making it greasy faster. since using a mild, silicone-free shampoo i haven't had any more problems.

i also realized that i'm really not sure how i'd get my makeup off at the end of the day without washing my face with soap. just water will not remove it. and makeup remover has chemicals too (and is gross)...
 

Sharp

Member
This must depend on hair type. I have pretty thick hair and have never had major problems with it before... but I've been doing this for over three weeks now and it's greasy as shit. It feels like I have mousse in it every time I try to comb it.
 

HeySeuss

Member
eznark said:
Aside from "living without chemicals" what exactly is the benefit of this?
Dirty stinking hippies shall inhabit the earth. But they don't stink apparently. Plus they don't waste water. Or something.
 

beje

Banned
CrankyJay said:
Good luck.

Protip: the important part of "brushing your teeth" is the brush itself. The toothpaste does barely nothing at all aside from the fresh breath sensation.
 

TUROK

Member
Well, I'm on week 2 of this. Hair feels awesome, but skin feels the same. I only use soap for my junk, my ass, and my armpits, but that's it. I may just go back to using soap so I don't have to scrape the grime off of my skin every time I shower, it's kind of a hassle.

I don't smell like shit, my hair isn't "nasty", and I feel as clean as I did when I used soap all over my body.
 
3 and a half weeks now of no shampoo now. I still soap my body, I'm not that hardcore.

No change in my odour according to friends. Hair has gotten over the greasy stage and feels very soft now, but not dry. Kinda wished it was still a bit greasy as it helped with styling.
 
beje said:
Protip: the important part of "brushing your teeth" is the brush itself. The toothpaste does barely nothing at all aside from the fresh breath sensation.
Barely nothing at all aside from the fresh breath sensation, or to look at it from a more important angle, the preventing-your-breath-from-smelling-like-shit-when-you're-in-any-number-of-situations-where-people-can-smell-it sensation.

Not using toothpaste is utterly ridiculous, it does no harm to use it, plus who doesn't like having a minty mouth? Do you enjoy the way your mouth tastes in the morning? What about after you've eaten particularly strong foods? How do you feel about mouthwash?
 
glaringradio said:
Barely nothing at all aside from the fresh breath sensation, or to look at it from a more important angle, the preventing-your-breath-from-smelling-like-shit-when-you're-in-any-number-of-situations-where-people-can-smell-it sensation.

Not using toothpaste is utterly ridiculous, it does no harm to use it, plus who doesn't like having a minty mouth? Do you enjoy the way your mouth tastes in the morning? What about after you've eaten particularly strong foods? How do you feel about mouthwash?

No harm to use toothpaste? do you even know what is inside most commercial toothpaste. Another thing it also gets caught under your tongue even if you don't swallow it directly.

Personally I find these experiments interesting, but as some has pointed out switching soaps is a good idea. Soap should only have 3 ingredients, not 10 - 20 or so which many unfortunately have. It should be something salty or anti bacterial, something for the base for thickness, and something that works as a moisturizer.

Shampoos are a bigger offender. One of the things people try out is using Baking Soda and Vinegar. I have done that for half a year, in the beginning there were results but not in the long run unfortunately.
 

Zoe

Member
storafötter said:
Shampoos are a bigger offender. One of the things people try out is using Baking Soda and Vinegar. I have done that for half a year, in the beginning there were results but not in the long run unfortunately.

I've heard that combination strips out hair dye... :(
 

LakeEarth

Member
I am here to re-affirm that I no longer have dandruff. I've had it for a decade, and now it is gone because I STOPPED using Head & Shoulders. I still shampoo sometimes, but I use gentler stuff.
 
Zoe said:
I've heard that combination strips out hair dye... :(

Could be true, I don't have any hair dye to test it with :p. However I did notice that some baking soda in the US made my hair smoother than the one in my country. Probably due to some differences with ingredients.
 
storafötter said:
No harm to use toothpaste? do you even know what is inside most commercial toothpaste. Another thing it also gets caught under your tongue even if you don't swallow it directly.

Personally I find these experiments interesting, but as some has pointed out switching soaps is a good idea. Soap should only have 3 ingredients, not 10 - 20 or so which many unfortunately have. It should be something salty or anti bacterial, something for the base for thickness, and something that works as a moisturizer.

Shampoos are a bigger offender. One of the things people try out is using Baking Soda and Vinegar. I have done that for half a year, in the beginning there were results but not in the long run unfortunately.
So it's harmful to use toothpaste if you're the kind of person that is stupid enough to swallow it in the first place, or you're the kind of person to not rinse out your mouth properly after brushing your teeth? I'll stick with my breath not smelling like ass.
 

Mistake

Member
Sharp said:
This must depend on hair type. I have pretty thick hair and have never had major problems with it before... but I've been doing this for over three weeks now and it's greasy as shit. It feels like I have mousse in it every time I try to comb it.
I'm with you Sharp. I'm going to try the no soap route. But I don't think I can go 3 days without shampoo. My hair is pretty thick too, but I keep it fairly short so I'm not sure....
 

Gvaz

Banned
Lets all go around naked and just scrub ourselves in the river. It's how god intended! What do you mean people react differently to chemicals that aren't made in nature or combined there?

Preposterous.

If it works for you, that's perfectly fine. But don't assume it's the perfect solution for everyone.
 

Anteater

Member
I'd lose my remaining hair if I don't wash them with shampoo :(, they're so greasy and they fall off when they're greasy.
 

bionic77

Member
So GAF is onboard with updating their computer, laptop, game console and cellphone when something newer comes along. We apparently have no distrust of this technology.

But the three evil technologies of personal hygiene toothpaste, soap and shampoo we are openly skeptical of?

And you guys wonder why you are forever alone...
 
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