Going Soap Free

I have this secret that I didn't realize was odd or weird but more recently...I did an audit and figured I'd get this off my chest.

I don't use soap in the shower.

Seriously - started as me just forgetting to get body gel or body lotion soap stuff and then sort of being lazy about it. Then I found out that my skin is suddenly super hydrated, soft and I don't smell bad, either.

Let me just repeat - I don't smell bad. I actually had some people preform a sniff test on me a couple times. You know, those people who'd be like - you smell bad.

Yes, I still use shampoo (I love my Pureology!) My hair is very oily if I don't wash it. One day of no shampoo/conditioner and I feel sticky and horrible. My hair gets stiff and chunky with oil. I like the feeling of clean hair, so, this is nothing something I am going to change - ever. And, believe me, I went a week or so without washing my hair and it was nast! 

Soap - nope. 

I Googled to see if other people in the world are like me - I'm always looking for my people - and found out using chemically rich soap is pretty harmful. Actually, you can find out anything that supports anything you believe, but, bare with me (get it?!)

Back in the day, soap was made of animal fat and salt (today, any fat works) and lye and some type of smelly oil or herb and the grease would bind with other dirt to clean.

Today - less lard, more weird junk. Also, less dirty. I haven't worked on a farm in years.

Stinky Old Tyme People

I know there is a common myth that people "in the old days" smelled bad and never bathed as a matter of norm. That's not really true. Like all animals, humans like to be clean. Our ancestors frequently took sponge baths in the cold months and swam in pools and rivers in the warm ones. Also, they did use soap when needed. They invented soap.

We are a clean species.

The next time someone tells you people use to be smelly and dirty and never bathed, remember - these stories and history is often written to make "modern" life seems superior to out poor forefathers and foremothers.

Our forepeople - yeah, they knew what was up. Just because they didn't have what we have, didn't mean they weren't smart, technologically savvy, kind, healthy and considerate.We tend to paint our dead ancestors with a negative paint ALL THE TIME.

These were the people who build the groundwork and educated those who educated us. Sometimes they were wrong - in the same way we will be reported as being wrong for what we believe today - but they were not bumbling idiots without direction, intelligence or work ethic.

My Life Soap-Free
I really have found my skin is softer. I get very dry skin in the winter - the media says I need a better moisturizing soap, super-hydrating lotion and not to use hot water. Now that I don't use soap during every shower, my skin is healthy and smooth. I don't need lotion and I can take a nice hot shower.

As I announced my discovery to the world after a couple months - I found the focus was definitely on the preserved negatives brought on by years of industry marketing and a failure of free thinking and experimentation.

Here is my QA!

OMG! How long have you not used soap?
Since October 2014.

Do you smell?
Nope. Do you want to double check? (4 out of 4 sniff testers said I smell "good").

Are you going to get dreadlocks?
Ok, a common misconception is that those who have dreadlocks do not wash their hair. Many dreadlock care regimens require the wearer to wash his/her hair. Second, no, I still wash my hair everyday because I want to.

How do you keep clean?
I do a little scrubbing with my hands - make sure my pits are clean and whatnot - and that's about it. I even use the scrub brush thing in the shower without soap. Sometimes, I do a sexy dance. It doesn't get me cleaner, it's just my routine.

Do you wash your hands?
Of course I wash my hands WITH soap. I don't need the stomach flu - I wash my hands after using the bathroom and before handling food and after handling food. And sometimes I engage in an epic hand washing ritual because my brain tells me it's the only way to get rid of the massive amount of crippling anxiety and depression that occasionally spikes in my head. Yes, I use soap to wash my hands.

What about your *gesture* You know, *gesture*?
Lady friends, you should all not being using soap on your lady-part, anyway. I don't know anyone who soaps up in the vagina area - wait, I guess I know now.

When it comes to the vagina, don't use soap IN it. That's a sure fire way to mess up the balances down there. If you do soap down there, use it on any public hair and on the outside area of your vagina. Many doctors says you can use some warm water and a little finger scrub on your labia.

You should not be soaping up that area or soaping up your vaginal canal. That's bad. Your vagina is self-cleaning - it might need some help during menstruation, but only on the outside parts. Leave your poor vagina alone!

Do not - I repeat - do NOT listen to those advertisements for feminine soaps or something. Unless you gynecologist suggests it. If something is funky down there, you don't use soap - you go see the gyno.

Do you notice any difference?
I'm actually shocked at the difference. My body, left to it's own devices, does very well. Most of the body is self-cleaning needing little help from the latest trends in bath and body.

But Really
There are times we need to use soap - let's remember this boiling hot day when I went for a 20 mile bike ride and fell into a pool of mud (don't ask) that coated me up to my shoulder.

This is a soap situation, people.

So - would you do it? Would you go soap free?