Forget the soap, just wash with water.

[Geof Nanto]

That’s how I’ve been washing my hands and showering for over 20 years. I started washing that way because it felt more in harmony with my body’s needs and my environment. It increasing felt to me as if excessive washing of any sort, and especially using soap, was damaging my body’s protective qi. I also do dish washing by simply rinsing under running water.

 

No soap works well for me within the semi-wilderness environment in which I live, but obviously urban dwellers will have different needs. I don’t usually mention it because washing with soap is one of our culture’s most basic hygiene mantras. Hence, I was pleased to read this article explaining the importance of skin bacteria:

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2021-08-07/covid-19-hand-hygiene-washing-skin-microbiome/100296570

 

[Incidentally, the article is from Australian Broadcasting Commission (abc) which is the Australian equivalent of the BBC. It’s not related in any way to the American ABC network.]  

 

 

[Earl Grey]

When I lived in the bush in East Africa, the villagers still went to town to buy a lot of soap to wash themselves, as they don't use toilet paper when going into the pits. They are very hygienic and don't want to wash with just water. So I don't think I'd just wash with water alone, regardless of skin bacteria. 

[Geof Nanto]

55 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

When I lived in the bush in East Africa, the villagers still went to town to buy a lot of soap to wash themselves, as they don't use toilet paper when going into the pits. They are very hygienic and don't want to wash with just water. So I don't think I'd just wash with water alone, regardless of skin bacteria. 

 

What I wrote is something that works well for me. If anyone finds it useful, great. If not, it’s not something I want to push onto other people. 

[Earl Grey]

34 minutes ago, Yueya said:

 

What I wrote is something that works well for me. If anyone finds it useful, great. If not, it’s not something I want to push onto other people. 

 

Didn't see it as pushing on others. I was just offering a counterpoint from my experience in Tanzania. 

 

I think it works for you in context because you probably have access to clean water--which was not the case where I lived, either from pollution or bacteria.  

[senseless virtue]

Great topic, but I fear it might reinforce the stereotype that Bums lack in hygiene.

 

In terms of cleanliness it's still worlds ahead of people who give orgasms at distance to random strangers or eat junk food. Balanced and health intestinal flora is another great and somewhat pertinent topic that should be discussed elsewhere.

 

 

[refugeindharma]

95% of the time I only wash with water and do not use shampoo or soap of any type for body or hair. Been doing this for more than 10 years now.

 

Good points above though about unsanitary water sources and places that may not be as developed as Western (or Western-type) countries. 

 

I've always wondered what the ancients used to wash themselves with... I don't think it was with chemically enhanced soaps and shampoos like we use these days though 

Edited August 10, 2021 by refugeindharma

[Earl Grey]

12 minutes ago, refugeindharma said:

95% of the time I only wash with water and do not use shampoo or soap of any type for body or hair. Been doing this for more than 10 years now.

 

Good points above though about unsanitary water sources and places that may not be as developed as Western (or Western-type) countries. 

 

I've always wondered what the ancients used to wash themselves with... I don't think it was with chemically enhanced soaps and shampoos like we use these days though 

I know the Phoenicians made soap out of animal fat... 

[senseless virtue]

15 minutes ago, refugeindharma said:

I've always wondered what the ancients used to wash themselves with... I don't think it was with chemically enhanced soaps and shampoos like we use these days though 

 

The same type of soap as I use: organic goat's milk soap. 

[Taomeow]

1 hour ago, Earl Grey said:

I know the Phoenicians made soap out of animal fat... 

 

That used to be a rather popular method in many parts, and the reason it changed is, as always, commercial/government interventions.  E.g., in 1688 King Louis XIV of France issued a decree forbidding the use of animal fats for making soap -- only olive oil was to be used. Violators of this law were threatened with the closure of their business and expulsion from Provence, the soap capital of the time. 

 

However, that famous soap, known as Marseille soap, was unaffected by that law in Russia, was renamed "Household Soap" at some point, stripped of fancy fragrances and simplified toward being literally dirt cheap and easily affordable even to the poorest.  It enjoyed hundreds of years of popularity as a universal cleaning substance and survives to this day.  I still buy it on ebay or Amazon or from local Russian pharmacies because it is chemicals-free (if you read the labels carefully - - a few new "improved" or rather fudged-up varieties appeared of late under the same name but with changed contents) and does a superb job on everything you need to clean, replacing hundreds of harsh chemical formulas.  E.g. it's a better stain remover and bleach than Clorox in my experience, yet it's gentle enough to use as hands and body soap on dry skin, as disinfectant for scrapes and wounds, as a non-irritating wash for problem skin etc..  The smell is not that great though, but fortunately isn't made to last, so once you rinse it off with water, it disappears.  It contains up to 76% fatty acids derived from animal fat.  

 

 

[Bhathen]

Though the topic is about not using soap, linking about the sesame oil bath procedure:

 

https://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/why-is-ubtana-applied-to-the-body-before-abhyangasnana

 

• Warm the oil (pour approximately ¼ cup into a mug and warm using a coffee-cup warmer.) Test the temperature by putting a drop on your inner wrist, oil should be comfortably warm and not hot
• Sit or stand comfortably in a warm room
• Apply oil first to the crown of your head (adhipati marma) and work slowly out from there in circular strokes—spend a couple of minutes massaging your entire scalp (home to many other important marma points—points of concentrated vital energy)
• Face: Massage in circular motion on your forehead, temples, cheeks, and jaws (always moving in a upward movement). Be sure to massage your ears, especially your ear-lobes—home to essential marma points and nerve endings
• Use long strokes on the limbs (arms and legs) and circular strokes on the joints (elbows and knees). Always massage toward the direction of your heart
• Massage the abdomen and chest in broad, clockwise, circular motions. On the abdomen, follow the path of the large intestine; moving up on the right side of the abdomen, then across, then down on the left side
• Finish the massage by spending at least a couple of minutes massaging your feet. Feet are a very important part of the body with the nerve endings of essential organs and vital marma points
• Sit with the oil for 5-15 minutes if possible so that the oil can absorb and penetrate into the deeper layers of the body
• Enjoy a warm bath or shower. You can use a mild soap on the “strategic” areas, avoid vigorously soaping and rubbing the body
• When you get out of the bath, towel dry gently. Blot the towel on your body instead of rubbing vigorously

 

According to ayurveda:

Sesame seed oil bath twice a week is beneficial to remove excess heat from the organs and to remove blockages from the nadis/meridians. According to the flow of energy in the ida and pingala; Saturday, Wednesday benefits men; Tuesday, Friday benefits women. The energy flow becomes balanced in all the three - ida, pingala and sushmana nadis. New moon days have an increased flow in the sushmana early in the morning.

 

Herbal bath powder used in an oil or normal water bath can be dry chickpeas powder or a mix of herbs including rose, turmeric, cuscus, bay leaf, liquorice, basil, senna etc.

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by Bhathen

[cheya]

Anybody tried soapwort? (A plant with soap-like qualities.)

 

@Taomeow Is there a particular product and/or you recommend?

 

 

[Bhathen]

Thanks @Taomeow , had forgotten them, but your post reminded me of two fantastic soaps we had in our house growing up.

[Taomeow]

2 hours ago, cheya said:

Anybody tried soapwort? (A plant with soap-like qualities.)

 

 

Soapwort -- I used it only as a kid, it was part of my childhood herbal education.   The procedure was simple -- you just grabbed some fresh flowers off the plant (I remember it flowering through the summer) and rubbed them between your palms and then all over your hands -- rinse off with water -- voila, clean hands.   

 

(Drats, I knew everything about everything that grew in my immediate environment and in the forests as a 5-year-old...  they don't educate kids like that anymore, to my knowledge.  Camomile hair rinse for golden highlights in your hair.  Fresh plantain leaf, slightly bruised, applied to scraped knees and elbows = antiseptic, antibiotic, speeds up healing...  and no need to interrupt the game to run home for medical assistance.  All the dangers of the deadly nightshade -- you weren't supposed not only to touch it but to even look at it from a close distance -- just in case it decides to jump you.  While you also knew that black nightshade is entirely edible and fun to eat.  Stuff like that.) 

 

2 hours ago, cheya said:

 

@Taomeow Is there a particular product and/or you recommend?

 

 

  

Depends on the purpose.  Like I said, I'm still partial to that "Household Soap" for lots of things...  but one might want to know how to read Russian so as not to buy the wrong kind (there's some really useless stuff under that name floating around these days, I've been burned a couple of times -- but I know what I'm looking for, so it's easier for me to sort it out.)  I also used to buy African black soap, but the quality was inconsistent -- a good batch was great and left you feeling "squeaky clean" -- definitely "squeaky," it left no sticky feel like so many soaps do -- without irritating.  All natural and with some cool herbs in it.  But then a bad batch would leave a black residue all over my bathtub (I'm not a shower person, I take baths -- and use soap with that about once a week, the rest of the time, just water and a loofah.)  

 

Some of the cleaning stuff I make myself  (e.g. a mix of baking soda, Borax, and "clean" dishwashing liquid from a HFS yield a paste intended for tough jobs -- very greasy pans, burned stuff on the bottom, oven and the like.)  For just routine cleaning, baking soda by itself is prominent in my life (dip a damp dish rag in it and rub off all that incriminating evidence of my being partial to very white coffee cups and very strong coffee.)  I'm not obsessive about any of that though...  sometimes it's just "whatever," and sometimes I attempt to be good -- to myself, the environment, etc..  It depends.        

Edited August 10, 2021 by Taomeow

[Earl Grey]

10 hours ago, Taomeow said:

 

Soapwort -- I used it only as a kid, it was part of my childhood herbal education.   The procedure was simple -- you just grabbed some fresh flowers off the plant (I remember it flowering through the summer) and rubbed them between your palms and then all over your hands -- rinse off with water -- voila, clean hands.   

 

(Drats, I knew everything about everything that grew in my immediate environment and in the forests as a 5-year-old...  they don't educate kids like that anymore, to my knowledge.  Camomile hair rinse for golden highlights in your hair.  Fresh plantain leaf, slightly bruised, applied to scraped knees and elbows = antiseptic, antibiotic, speeds up healing...  and no need to interrupt the game to run home for medical assistance.  All the dangers of the deadly nightshade -- you weren't supposed not only to touch it but to even look at it from a close distance -- just in case it decides to jump you.  While you also knew that black nightshade is entirely edible and fun to eat.  Stuff like that.) 

 

  

Depends on the purpose.  Like I said, I'm still partial to that "Household Soap" for lots of things...  but one might want to know how to read Russian so as not to buy the wrong kind (there's some really useless stuff under that name floating around these days, I've been burned a couple of times -- but I know what I'm looking for, so it's easier for me to sort it out.)  I also used to buy African black soap, but the quality was inconsistent -- a good batch was great and left you feeling "squeaky clean" -- definitely "squeaky," it left no sticky feel like so many soaps do -- without irritating.  All natural and with some cool herbs in it.  But then a bad batch would leave a black residue all over my bathtub (I'm not a shower person, I take baths -- and use soap with that about once a week, the rest of the time, just water and a loofah.)  

 

Some of the cleaning stuff I make myself  (e.g. a mix of baking soda, Borax, and "clean" dishwashing liquid from a HFS yield a paste intended for tough jobs -- very greasy pans, burned stuff on the bottom, oven and the like.)  For just routine cleaning, baking soda by itself is prominent in my life (dip a damp dish rag in it and rub off all that incriminating evidence of my being partial to very white coffee cups and very strong coffee.)  I'm not obsessive about any of that though...  sometimes it's just "whatever," and sometimes I attempt to be good -- to myself, the environment, etc..  It depends.        

You’re that cool mom that all your kids’ friends talk about and their parents want to be friends with, aren’t you?

[Taomeow]

9 hours ago, Earl Grey said:

You’re that cool mom that all your kids’ friends talk about and their parents want to be friends with, aren’t you?

 

Maybe when my kids were little...  When they were teenagers, I was the only parent accepted into the 'inner circle' -- possibly because I read a book by two Yale researchers titled "Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine" in the course of trying to research it for myself and figure out how horrible it really is and how much shit I should give the kids if I find out they tried it.  I found out a lot of stuff that ran counter to the narrative of the day, and told them everything I learned.  So then they conspired to make me try it for myself (I was practically a pot virgin), and pretty much any and all pot I ever smoked since then was in the company of my son's friends and on their insistence.  I made them swear they won't tell their parents.   

Edited August 11, 2021 by Taomeow

[Earl Grey]

14 minutes ago, Taomeow said:

 

Maybe when my kids were little...  When they were teenagers, I was the only parent accepted into the 'inner circle' -- possibly because I read a book by two Yale researchers titled "Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine" in the course of trying to research it for myself and figure out how horrible it really is and how much shit I should give the kids if I find out they tried it.  I found out a lot of stuff that ran counter to the narrative of the day, and told them everything I learned.  So then they conspired to make me try it for myself (I was practically a pot virgin), and pretty much any and all pot I ever smoked since then was in the company of my son's friends and on their insistence.  I made them swear they won't tell their parents.   

 

How long is the waiting list for applicants to be adopted by you? 

 

I'll use my secret weapon to influence my odds of being chosen:

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by Earl Grey