"No soap? No shampoo? This sounds perfect for RWN audiences!"
Day 0: January 10, 2011
In an effort to bring a little "experimentation" of my own to RwN (Rob has the "altered states" articles pretty well covered),
I came across the BoingBoing article by
Sean Bonner expounding the virtues of a no-soap, no-shampoo existence. He, in turn,
embarked upon his soapless journey after reading about Free the Animal's
Richard Nikoley doing just that.
Mischief. Mayhem. Nope.
What would possess an individual to forgo soap and shampoo? The premise of this is as follows (quoted directly from Sean's article):
"About this time last year I read an article (which Mark mentioned here as well) extolling the virtues of a soap-free bathing experience.
TL;DR version: Your body is designed to regulate itself. Smearing chemicals all over it wrecks its own built-in processes, and screws
with naturally balanced pH levels. This made sense to me and I thought I'd give it a shot for a month."
Normally I'd brush this aside as one of those "Oh gee, another blogger trying to take whatever logic they come up with to outlandish conclusions"-type
things until I looked into it further and noted there was a decent amount of literature regarding this. Granted, both examples do indeed mention
the caveat that Your Mileage May Vary, and that for some people this doesn't work at all whereas for others it works wonders.
In the interests of science, I thought I would give this a shot. I'll call it a "single-blind" experiment in the sense that the people I deal with on a
daily basis are the test subjects, to see if they notice any difference (whether positive or negative). It would be unfair and unscientific of me to
anecdotally declare that "going Paleo" totally works just because I myself "feel the difference" - there must be external and independent corroboration
that I am not smelly, greasy, sweaty, or otherwise worse off than before.
Both Richard and Sean (and all other people who have tried or done this) suggest giving it at least 1 month to see any results, with the first 2 weeks
being the bulk of the weirdness/adjustment period.
Day 0 (control). Will take a shower (sans soap and shampoo) in about an hour.
As with all things, I have to establish a few ground rules and declare how far I am taking this experiment:
Article I. I will not use bar soap, liquid soap, body wash, body lotion, shampoo, conditioner, facial cleanser, hair gel/spray, or any other
similar products by themselves or in combination on my hair or any part of my body, with the exception of my hands.
Article II. I will use soap on my hands for hygienic purposes, such as after using the bathroom or before food preparation.
Amendment to Article II. I will actively seek out to acquire and use realsaponified
soap and not petroleum-based "soap" products as far as my hands go. Various commenters on the aforementioned articles have indicated that real soap is
typically OK to use and is vastly preferable to non-soaps such as Dial, Softsoap, Ivory, etc.
For a publicity/marketing-stuntish video regarding the difference between "real" soap and "fake" soap, see below:
Article III. I will continue to shave. I will use the "real" soaps indicated in Amendment to Article II whenever possible instead of conventional shaving creams.
Article IV. I may not actively seek out feedback from others in ways that disclose the experiment ("Hey, I stopped using soap, what do you think?"). I may not
solicit/incline/bias others to respond positively ("Wow, my hair has been so soft lately, feel it!").
Article V. If at any point I receive voluntary negative feedback 3 times (e.g. "It smells like a dead rat in here",
"Your hair looks awful", "You look filthy"), the experiment shall end and be declared a failure for my particular biology.
Article VI. I may, using cautious and appropriate judgment/discretion, engage others (strangers, ideally) whom I believe will give an honest
assessment of my hygiene without disclosing the experiment ("Hey, I'm trying to settle a bet with a friend of mine, and you seem impartial enough.
He says I smell bad, what do you think?")
Day 1: January 11, 2011
Consecutive soapless showers: 2. Tie Tuesday.
Barely 24 hours into the experiment, as predicted by others I don't feel particularly gross or different at this point. My skin (especially my face) is a
dry wreck though, possibly due to the cold from running around outside at the lunchtime pickup basketball game. I showered in the locker room following the game
as is my custom. It's surprising how difficult it is
to break the habit of reaching for the soap or shampoo - I never thought of it as an automatic reflex. Since I typically wash my hands after meals, I even caught myself after squeezing
some hand soap from the bathroom into my hand and had a brief "Oh shi--" moment. I was able to stop before I began lathering, and rinsed off the soap.
My hair is not greasy yet and overall doesn't feel any different than usual. I'm off to shower once more and shave (using conventional means - my "real" soap has not yet been purchased).
I will continue to monitor the situation of my complexion. If it continues to deteriorate then I may have to chalk it up to the "adjustment" period, and if 2 weeks
elapse with no improvement, I will re-evaluate the continuation of the study.
Day 2: January 12, 2011
Consecutive soapless showers: 3. This is one of my Threadless shirts. And it's Wednesday Night Hop.
Wednesday nights I go swing dancing in Mountain View (across the street from Google) and take classes in Lindy Hop and Balboa. The picture above was taken
right when I got home.
Since the experiment has been running for so short a time, as expected no one I danced with either noticed or commented on anything related to my hygiene.
Upon reflection, social dances might be a prime place to determine if I am going downhill hygiene-wise given the forced partner rotations during lessons
and the aerobic nature of fast swing dancing. Then again, my partners might not volunteer such information because: 1. There are far sweatier, unfit, and
smellier men than I that they also must dance with, and 2. They simply might be too nice to mention anything and just grin and bear it. I will be on
the lookout for more subtle signals of disgust, like hesitation at approaching me, deliberately leaning away, or holding their breath.
My hair has been getting a little wavy as it tends to do when I let it grow out like this. But, I can't make any definitive statements that actually attribute
this to the experiment - it's still far too early to say. On a semi-related note, however, I did decide to finally make the move from cartridge razors
to a safety razor (yay!). Merkur HD, badger brush, and glycerine soap are all en route. I've always known about the
purported benefits (and cost efficiency) of wet shaving versus cartridge or electric shavers, but never got around to actually following through. I think
this is as good a time as any to make the switch.
Day 3: January 13, 2011
Consecutive soapless showers: 4. Realized I haven't shown a pic of me with
freshly-showered hair yet. Kinda mussy.
Nothing new to report. The day was uneventful. Took the normal nightly shower.
Day 4: January 14, 2011
Consecutive soapless showers: 4 going on 5. Realized I haven't shown a pic of me with
freshly-showered hair yet. Kinda mussy.
Went on a 3 mile run earlier this evening. Again, nothing remarkable to report. My skin is doing all right. I'm due for another shave.
One trivial thing I can point out is that the scent of my shampoo is gone from my hair. Mercifully it's still not greasy but by the end of the
day I can feel it getting ever-so-slightly oily, especially if I worked out at some point. I can't say whether or not my "neutral" smell
is good or bad, but I just thought it might be worth mentioning that I no longer smell like Costco
Wheat Germ Oil with Sage, Lemongrass and Kelp Extracts.
Again, I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. Just something I noticed.
Upon reflection, another thing that's a tiny bit different is that I no longer have as pronounced a "bird's nest" on the crown of my head.
Normally, the way my hair falls/arranges itself includes a point on the top of my cranium at which almost all of the hair lays flat and away.
It's sorta like a bald spot but without actual hair loss. Anyhow, for whatever reason, the effect has not been nearly as extreme since I
stopped using shampoo with my showers. Will continue to monitor this to make sure it lasts.
Day 5: January 15, 2011
No picture. Was preoccupied with other things. Nothing new to report.
Day 6: January 16, 2011
Consecutive soapless showers: 6 going on 7.
4-mile run on Sundays. Weather was really nice; the sun was out, making for a bit of sweating.
I think the hair oily-ness is finally kicking in. Still not "greasy" in the sense that it's a reflective slime. Running my fingers through my hair
leaves my hand with a non-urgent sensation of "wash me."
Day 7: January 17, 2011
Consecutive soapless showers: 7 going on 8. Made it one week! Shave required.
As mentioned yesterday, hair oily-ness is holding steady. All is as predicted/expected. Nothing new to report. Tomorrow I'm due for 2 showers as there
is lunchtime basketball again.
