McBTC

While animals do not shower and many even try to stay away from ever getting wet they oftentimes lick themselves daily, head to foot.

alan s 

What's your point? Some animals roll around in dirt to get clean. Some wallow in the mud. I take a shower. Never found licking myself or mud or dust baths to be very effective or pleasant. Not that I've actually tried any of those methods.

RubeRad

I read a similar thing, and then for about 3 years I stopped washing/shampooing, just rinse off in the shower, and wash hands as appropriate.

What happened in the end is that I wasn't greasy/oily, but more like 'waxy'. It does help to keep hair very short (for me, monthly #2 /#3 buzz cuts).

A few months ago I gave up on the hardcore no soap/shampoo. I do a rinse shower at work every day that I bike, but when I'm at home and I shower I'll shampoo my hair and soap my face/neck if it feels greasy, that's like maybe 1-2 times a week.

I also gave up anti-perspirant, and occasionally (but not daily) use Crystal deodorant, which is like this rock salt stuff.

Also, I have cut WAY back on use of toothpaste. The commercials all show this big fat s-shaped glob on the toothbrush, that's like a couple month's worth compared to what I use! Just the tiniest smear on the end of the bristles is plenty to work up a good lather in the mouth. I can't remember the last time I needed a new tube of toothpaste. The one I have is about half-empty, and I can't remember if I started it before or after we moved 3 1/2 years ago.

McBTC

Sioux and many other Indian tribes gave leather-wearing Zeb Macahan (How The West Was Won) the name White Eagle, because he stunk to high heaven.

Tundra_Man 

Wow, I feel like I could have written this post. Exactly the same for me.

Andy_K 

Yes, having been born in a small village on the northern branch of the river Pa-To-Mac, I was fascinated to see that our tribe had been studied.

andyprough

Speaking of animals rolling around in mud and feces to "get clean", I'm worried that one of these days we're going to get a thread on how we should all be drinking our own urine.

corrado33

For the love of cleanliness, please shower. You may not THINK you smell. But you do. You get used to your own stench over time, but other people do not. Other cultures are more tolerant than the US about cleanliness. Here it's pretty much expected that you shower daily or you're branded as smelly or a hippy. I HATE it when people come into my office and smell. It's not hard to jump into the shower for 5 minutes a day. Use the hippy soap if you must, but please, shower often and regularly. Coconut (or whatever else mentioned before) isn't a deodorant. It's a cover up. You don't end up smelling nice, you end up smelling like rancid coconut. (Cue the hippies saying "well coconut KILLS odor producing bacteria." I'm sure it does, as most fruits are good at keeping themselves pretty bacteria free, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go out and slather myself in freaking strawberry preserves. You know what's also good at killing bacteria? Metals and antimicrobial chemicals designed not to do anything but their intended function. Oh NO! I used the EVILLL word... CHEMICALS!!!! OH NOOOOO!!!! "But aluminum causes cancer and alzheimer's" No, it doesn't. You're reading ****ty science from hippy websites that puts every piece of scientific literature on equal footing. Both the american cancer society and alzheimer's society say there is NO DEFINITIVE link between aluminum and those diseases. Exactly the same thing as "vaccines cause autism." Bull freaking ****. In some scientific journals, I can publish just about anything, regardless of truthfulness. Foreign language journals (mostly Asian) are the worst offenders. Ask any scientist if they trust a Chinese journal. The answer will unanimously be "No." As sad as it sounds, if it's not good enough to be published in a well known English language journal, it's probably not good enough science to trust.)

For me, I can go ~60 hours before I notice my own funk, which means other people can probably smell it around 40 or so.

Everyone on this website has access to a shower. USE IT. If you don't, then you should get your priorities in order because shower > internet. It may be easier to find a job online, but no one will hire you if you smell like rotten tomatoes.

Tundra_Man 

FrankJ

Just read a few days ago that dermatologists say we bathe way too often. You're washing away the protective and moisturizing oils as well as the "good" bacteria. It's not good for the hair either.

Just started commuting by bike and shower before the ride, and when I get to work I'm sweating really heavily. After a cool down I change my shirt and I feel just as fresh. I lay out my commuting shirt and at the end of the day I (ok it's gross) smell it and there's no stink. I guess there wasn't enough time for the bacteria to grow. So far I haven't needed to shower at work...

corrado33

You know what showering ALSO does? It washes away the BAD bacteria. You know what the BAD bacteria do? They make you sick. I'd MUCH rather be temporarily rid of all bacteria and possibly have slightly dry skin than have bad bacteria possibly me sick. Dry hands. That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to not get sick as often. (Cue the anecdotal evidence that "I haven't showered in YEARS and I haven't gotten sick.) Maybe that's because you smell bad and no one wants to get close enough to get you sick.

Washing is a GOOD thing. It's part of the reason we're living MUCH longer than we were in the past.

FrankJ

Just passing along what dermatologists say. They also said if you get grimy you can just rinse off with water and not use so much of the harsh soaps and shampoos.

I guess you've also heard the theories that since we have become so clean, constantly disinfecting ourselves inside and out, taking antibiotics too much, etc. that we're weakening our immune systems, which need to be used to stay strong and prepared to fight a major infection.

My personal feeling is showering every day is probably too much, and the "haven't showered in YEARS" is too little.

andyprough

My favorite line! Along with "you're about as useful as a poopy-flavored lollypop"

corrado33

Apologies, it wasn't an attack at YOU per se. Personally, if I forget to wash my hair one day in the shower, the next day it's seriously grimy. My grime doesn't "rinse" out. And yes, I'm well aware of the overuse of antibiotics in society. But you can't deny the trend that life expectancies have consistently gone up with time.

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/l...PN+KOR+GBR+USA

cooker

As I mentioned, hair gets greasy quickly because of shampoo, forcing you to continue to shampoo. It's a tough cycle to break but I managed by having a buzz-cut for a few months. Now my hair doesn't get greasy, and I only need to rinse it with plain water every day or two.

icyj

There is no way I could go a day without deodorant in public. I would rather not use the mystery mixture of chemicals at the store so, nor can I go without and remain part of civil society, so I found a balance and decided to make my own deodorant several years ago. Crazy, perhaps, but it works just as well at eliminating the order and I know what is in it. BONUS, I can also make it for less than buying the store-bought stuff.

As for showering, I tend to aim for every other day and limit or skip shampoo altogether. Going on 14 years of marriage this month, so I must not stink THAT bad.

RubeRad

:

My wife is NOT hesitant to tell me when I stink. I wouldn't have made it 3 years with no soap/shampoo (daily rinse-only showers) if I stank all the time. A rinse shower and clean clothes, and a cool enough environment that I'm not sweating, and I'm fine. Some people with different body chemistry, maybe not so fine...

Frankly I'm more likely to create odors that don't emanate from the armpits...

SloButWide 

I tried that, but the other people on the bus just looked at me funny.

I recall reading an article about a company that studied this behavior and found a bacteria that feeds on the body's oils, but does not produce rancid byproducts. They're developing a soap that changes your skin's biome so that your sweat will not smell.

Edit: Found it.

McBTC

Would you like that neat or on the rocks?

Tundra_Man 

So to quickly summarize for anyone who's just joining this thread, the general consensus so far is:

Do you really need to shower? No
Do others really need you to shower? Yes

Robert C

. . . Just got back from a 20mi. evening ride. Yes, I needed a shower.


Really, I don't sleep well if I don't have a shower before going to bed. As bad as it sounds, I lived in China for about 8 years and I did stop using deodorant. I put it on when I remember; but that is not all of the time. I teach at a middle school; so if it were a problem you can be sure the kids would say something.

CrankyOne

You do realize that folks in the U.S. have a much lower life expectancy than folks in Europe who don't shower nearly as often, nor wear anti-perspirant, nor use harsh soaps and shampoos when they do shower.

What specific 'bad' bacteria are you talking about?

corrado33

You should really specify your definition of "much". Did you even look at the life expectancy link?

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/l...EU+ESP+GBR+USA

I think the discrepancy is much more easily attributed to fat people in the US compared to elsewhere. Studies suggest the discrepancy is due to a lack of disease PREVENTION in the US compared to other countries. However, we're really good at treating diseases once they are found. (For a price, of course.)

And, surprise surprise, all of the developed nations with medicine and places to shower everyday have a MUCH (and I actually mean it) higher life expectancy than a less developed country.

Jim from Boston

I have shower facilities and can store clean clothes at work, though usually I wear scrub shirts and pants, I don’t have much close interaction with staff, andh they would let me know if I offended. But here’s my unique contribution.

I shower in the evening or the morning before the ride, and as my deodorant I use 91% rubbing alcohol. This is used to clean the skin prior to drawing blood and is an effective bactericide. It leaves no scent and evaporates quickly and refreshingly. It can also be used to clean “down there” to prevent lesions from the saddle.

If I have to wear regular clothes though, I always want to take a shower.

RidingMatthew

i shower after riding to work and when I get home I shower again. I am in the South and it is hot and humid now through probably September. 11 plus miles one way means I have to shower to get sweat off.