Do we really need shampoo?

Nagerusu · Post by **Nagerusu** » Mon May 30, 2011 3:29 pm

After the "Do we really need mattrasses"-thread which made me get rid of my bed and mattrass, a new thread emerges... which will question the need for shampoo and even soap.
A blogger named Niall Doherty wrote the post that made me question it.

You can find his post here.
I'm planning on trying it in July, when I have 3 weeks vacation...
Has anyone else tried it?

What are your thoughts on this?

Post by **jacob** » Mon May 30, 2011 5:55 pm

Washing your hands frequently (with soap) helps to avoid getting infected by diseases from nearby humans. Since nearby humans are everywhere, especially in cities, this keeps health care costs down as well as avoiding minor annoyances such as colds of flus (and potentially major ones such as typhus and tuberculosis).
Whether to wash your hair, which presumably doesn't come into as much direct or indirect contact with other humans is another matter.

dragoncar · Post by **dragoncar** » Mon May 30, 2011 8:05 pm

In my personal experience, hair that is decently long will start to smell after a few days without washing. This smell may be offensive to others in modern society, although whether you care about that is a Personal choice. Similarly, we don't NEED deodorant ... It's just a matter of how you want to fit into society. There are plenty of people on the bus that don't seem to care.
If you keep your hair very short, I don't think matters.
Ps shampoo doesn't have to cost a lot. I use very little each day and spend maybe $4 every few months. That's a latte factor of like $300 in the bank to keep my hair clean for life.

Robert Muir · Post by **Robert Muir** » Mon May 30, 2011 8:35 pm

Other than rinsing it when I take a shower, I don't wash my hair. But then, it's not very long and I avoid getting peanut butter in it.

George the original one · Mon May 30, 2011 9:14 pm

Every one is different and it's good to question the conventional wisdoms...
In my case, my (remaining) hair is a sponge for sweat and thus collects dirt easily. I shampoo daily as merely rinsing doesn't work.
Washing hands reduces infections, but soap is not always required. Hospital studies have shown that staph infection will easily survive under the fingernails, so HOW you wash your hands is nearly as important as what you wash them with.
A sneeze or cough transmits viruses a long ways without any need for human contact.

HSpencer · Post by **HSpencer** » Mon May 30, 2011 10:48 pm

Ummmm I probably won't fit in (again) on this thread because I am going to have to post what I learned in First Grade. We all got a little booklet and on the first page was "something" that went like this:
As cheap as soap and water are, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to have a dirty body.
Funny how some things stick with you all of your life. That little 1st grade sentence has. On another note, I wound up being what some call a "clean freak". I spent plenty of nights going to bed where I could not even wash up at all (military) and plenty of time where one 2 minute lukewarm shower was it per week. So that said, I am not going to ever skimp on any hygiene items.

I don't necessarily clean up for others, but I would never want ANYONE to think I was less than as clean as possible.

I DO clean up to please and suit myself. I shower on rising, including washing hair, very close shave, and lopping on a clean fresh gel deodorant. It makes me feel good, and like it. Just prior to bed, I shower again, same drill, and then slide into sharply cool and ultra clean cotton sheets. Again, makes me feel good. I would hate to:

Go to bed without a hot shower.

Go to bed without a clean close shave.

Go to bed without clean sheets or underwear.

Go to bed without having a few freshly peeled orange slices, to refresh my taste buds.
So I am not going to be without soap and razors until I get to Camp FEMA and they are rationed!!!

dragoncar · Post by **dragoncar** » Tue May 31, 2011 3:17 am

I should note that people have different bodies. I'd guess that whether or not you can get by without shampoo probably depends on how oily your hair is. There's nothing wrong with trying it without shampoo for a while to see if it works for you. My post above was just personal experience.
Similarly, I can usually go without deodorant after a shower as long as I stay sedentary.

AnneBentham · Post by **AnneBentham** » Tue May 31, 2011 5:43 am

I'd like to hear how it turns out for you, Nagerusu.
Baking soda and apple cider vinegar might make the transition easier. When I use it for my hair, I can go for a week without washing it before it feels dirty.

rachels · Post by **rachels** » Tue May 31, 2011 6:24 am

I keep my hair pretty short, but if I go without washing it with shampoo for more than about a week, my scalp really starts to itch. For me, just water is not enough. I've gone a week or two without a shower. My complexion, especially on my back, gets pretty nasty unless I can wash, scrub, and rinse well every 3 days or so. I have a pretty oily skin type. I've gone a pretty long time with very infrequent showers and my skin and scalp don't really seem to adapt by getting less greasy. It probably has a lot to do with your skin type. I don't bother to use deodorant, though, I also don't work a real job or have to impress anyone with my smell.

ScaredyCat · Post by **ScaredyCat** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:31 am

I've been shampoo-free for about a month. I wash my hair 2-3x per week with a baking soda mixture and then rinse with an apple cider vinegar mixture. I don't smell (according to my spouse) and I have a lot of hair. The vinegar smell goes away once my hair dries.
I decided to go shampoo-less for a number of reasons, ERE being just one. My hair looks totally normal and healthy, though it was a little greasy during the time it took for my scalp to readjust to the new routine. And I feel better knowing what's sitting on my scalp and leeching into my blood. I look forward to hearing how your experiment goes, Nagerusu.

AlexOliver · Post by **AlexOliver** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:45 am

How much/whether you "need" shampoo also depends on the length of your hair. When my hair was much shorter (a year ago), I could get by with only some Dr Bronners soap, and probably could have just scrubbed really hard and gotten the same effect. Now that my hair's longer, shampoo + conditioner are necessary not to have oily hair and an itchy scalp.
Unless you're getting dirty or really sweaty, I see no reason to use soap on the body, other than the hands to reduce risk of communicable disease.

VinceG · Post by **VinceG** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 6:55 am

About six months ago I stopped using shampoo. I haven't used soap my entire life. Hasn't affected me much. When I first stopped using shampoo, my scalp would itch after a few days, now it doesn't. I never used soap because I always hated the way it made my skin feel slimy.

Nagerusu · Post by **Nagerusu** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 3:45 pm

Several people seem to be interested in how the experiment goes. I will start it July 9 2011 and I'll let you know how it goes.
I must agree with the fact that cost efficiency has nothing to do with this experiment, since shampoo is not that expensive. But there are a lot of chemicals in it and we didn't always have those. So for me it a matter of curiosity.

I like to experiment.
@AnneBentham and @ScaredyCat: What kind of mixtures are you talking about? Where did you get that idea? I know Jacob mentioned something about using baking soda on the blog, but I don't remember any specifics...

ScaredyCat · Post by **ScaredyCat** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 4:14 pm

@Nagerusu: I mix up 1 part baking soda to 3 parts water in an old shampoo bottle, and 1 part ACV to 5 parts water in another old bottle. To shampoo, I shake up the baking soda mixture, apply to my roots only, and give it a good scrub. Rinse thoroughly. My understanding is that baking soda is a base that combines with the oils in the scalp in a process called saponification -- essentially, the baking soda and hair grease combine to create soap in a process much like Tyler Durden's lye/ass-fat recipe in Fight Club. Except nicer.
After rinsing all the baking soda out, I apply some of the ACV mixture from roots to tips and let it sit for a few minutes. Then rinse thoroughly. Comb and dry. The end.
BTW, I'm a lady with thick shoulder-length hair, and this process has worked so far with minimal hair funky funk. I just keep the mixed up solutions in the shower to use as needed, but you could mix up a new batch every time you shower if you want to. I'm just supremely lazy, and I don't mind the cold mixture on my head.

hickchick · Post by **hickchick** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 12:34 am

I'm currently a month into this project with minimal funkiness. I didn't start it to save money on shapmoo (but that and not throwing bottles away all the time is a nice perk), but to reduce the amount of time I spend washing my very thick and long hair. I'm actually spending more time on it now b/c the baking soda thing is nowhere near as convenient as shampoo.

Nagerusu · Post by **Nagerusu** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:05 pm

The experiment has started on July 8th 2011!

For those who where interested, I wrote a blogpost about it and you can follow the progress on my blog.

Here is the post:

http://mindofmoney.blogspot.com/2011/07 ... ampoo.html
Greetings,

Nagerusu

Marius · Post by **Marius** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:57 pm

@Nagerusu Interesting. Looking forward to your results, especially re the dandruff. I've been tempted to try this, but I've lost a lot of hair already and can't risk to accelerate hair loss by experimenting on myself.
If anyone found ways to slow hair loss in men (apart from finisteride/proscar and rogaine), I'm all ears. In my case I suspect the cause is probably a mix between genetics, chronic stress and chronic sleep deprivation.

Freedom_2018 · Post by **Freedom_2018** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:52 am

Hair loss is a blessing in disguise. Very ERE.
Think of the dollars saved in perpetuity on shampoos, conditioners, haircuts.
Haven't you heard - "God made a few perfect heads, rest he covered with hair"

For Soap/Shampoo I use Dr Bronner's Soap : http://www.drbronner.com/
Use it for hand soap, bathing, shaving and toothpaste! I really like the simplicity of having one item do the work of many. Now I am trying to find something that will take care of laundry,dish washing, household and bathroom cleaner all in one (maybe even make myself with borax, washing soda etc..need to learn more about it)
Also exploring using food grade olive oil in a ~75% water mix as body moisturizer instead of any lotions. Maybe I should just rub the pan all over my body after cooking a meal..ha ha!

Nagerusu · Post by **Nagerusu** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:35 pm

@Marius: I don't know how to slow hair loss. But I always said, if it happened to me, I'd shave it all off and grow a huge beard to compensate.

I couldn't wait though, so I already grew the beard

But I'd say, fix the chronic stress issue and the chronic sleep deprivation. That will most certainly help.
@Freedom_2018: I only know of Jabs laundry detergent:

http://www.diynatural.com/simple-easy-f ... detergent/

But that's only for laundry

Marius · Post by **Marius** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 4:04 pm

@Nagerusu
I've tried but for some reason don't feel comfortable with a beard.
Stress and sleep will improve: my girlfriend recently bolted so life suddenly got a lot simpler.