This week Sean Bonner reported on his success in staying clean and odorless by showering with water and not using soap or shampoo. Sean was inspired by a blog post I linked to on a site called free the animal. It's run by a fellow named Richard Nikoley, who self-experiments with various types of diet, nutrition, exercise, fitness, and health regimens, based on his research in evolutionary biology.
Here's a little of what Richard has to say about his soap and shampoo free experiment 18 months after starting it:
What I've found over these 18 months is that I never even thought of the money I was saving. Hell, a decent sized bottle of shampoo and body wash would last me months anyway. Oh, and then there's the travel size versions. No, what has made this experience oh so satisfying is that I don't have to worry about any of that anymore — ever. Don't have to buy it. Don't have to carry it. Don't ever run out of it. Don't have to get it tossed in the dumpster by TSA goons.
So what it boils down to is that this has been such a tremendous experience on the pure grounds of liberation. Now, I can wash up anywhere, anytime there's a shower, lake, river or stream at hand and feel completely normal about it, not as though it's the best I can do because I don't have a big bag of "personal hygiene" products immediately at hand.
A Most Successful Self-Experiment: Over 18 Months Soap and Shampoo Free
Photo by Madaise. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
