Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

What happens when you don’t shower for five years (surprising results?)

#1
C C Offline
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/book-showering/

EXCERPT (James Hamblin, from Clean: The New Science of Skin): Five years ago, I stopped showering. At least, by most modern definitions of the word. I still get my hair wet occasionally, but I quit shampooing or conditioning, or using soap, except on my hands. I also gave up the other personal care products—hand sanitizers and exfoliants and antibiotic deodorants—that I had always associated with being clean. I’m not here to recommend this approach to everyone. In a lot of ways it was terrible. But it also changed my life.

[...] Friends and family suggested that I would have trouble enjoying the extra time because I would feel gross, unkempt. My mother worried I’d get sick from some germs I failed to clean off. I would miss the basic humanity of the routines that compel us to take time for ourselves, and that give us at least some semblance of power to present ourselves as we wish the world would see us. There was a chance I’d miss the simple ritual of taking a nice warm shower and emerging each morning like a new person ready to face the day.

But what if none of this happened? What if I actually got fewer colds, and my skin looked better, and I found other, better routines and rituals? What if all those products in our bathrooms—shampoos to remove oils from our hair, and conditioners to replace them; soaps to remove oils from our skin, and moisturizers to replace them—were mostly effective in getting us to buy more products? How do you really know if you’ve never gone more than a couple days without showering?

“I know what it’s like to not shower,” goes the most common skeptical reply to my story, “and it’s not good.” To which I say, of course. I know what it’s like to go without coffee, and it’s not good. I know what it’s like to go into a party where I know no one, and it’s not good. I know what it’s like to try to run a marathon without training, and it’s not good. But I also know what it’s like to slowly use less and less caffeine, and to come to feel at home in new social circles, and to build up to running 26 miles without yearning for the sweet embrace of death.

The more gradually a human body eases into these endeavors, the easier they are to do and to enjoy. Changing daily cleaning habits could be thought of the same way. Over the course of months, and then years, as I gradually used less and less, I started to need less and less. Or, at least, to believe I did. My skin slowly became less oily, and I got fewer patches of eczema. I didn’t smell like pine trees or lavender, but I also didn’t smell like the oniony “body odor” that used to happen when my armpits, used to being plastered with deodorant, suddenly went a day without it. As my girlfriend put it, I smelled “like a person.” Initial skepticism turned to enthusiasm... (MORE - details)
Reply
#2
Syne Offline
Adam Carolla basically does this. And unless doing physical work or working out, I certainly don't think daily showers are a necessity. But then, some people just seem to have a more pleasing natural scent.
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Article Teen friendship has suffered major shift over past 20 years — with depressing results C C 0 64 Jul 2, 2023 04:57 PM
Last Post: C C
  Water's surprising effect on blood pressure Magical Realist 1 126 Sep 23, 2022 02:14 AM
Last Post: C C
  New study shows these surprising food sources are more likely to cause heart disease C C 0 150 Feb 21, 2021 02:59 AM
Last Post: C C
  Surprising study suggests taking antidepressants... even if you're NOT depressed C C 5 287 Oct 15, 2020 04:35 AM
Last Post: Syne
  Five Myths About Psychopaths C C 1 241 Aug 11, 2019 08:54 PM
Last Post: Magical Realist
  Drug use: A Surprising Sign Of High Intelligence C C 3 436 Sep 4, 2017 12:55 AM
Last Post: Syne
  Five powerful ways to make depression work for you C C 1 637 Apr 5, 2015 08:53 PM
Last Post: Magical Realist



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)