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I've never thought about showering 3 times a day. Is that common anywhere?
Muslims do a purification ritual called "Wudu" that requires washing face, hands, arms, and feet 5 times a day, once before each prayer.
I haven't been brave enough to try it, but: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/06/i-stopped...
It's a fun read; it's a lot more focused on the microflora on your skin and the health effects of regularly wiping them out than just "not showering".
I stopped using soap a decade ago. The only time I use it now is for rare occasions where I get something on me that requires soap, such as motor oil or chemicals. I also only wash twice a week or so. People always recoil when I tell them, but then I ask them what I smell like to them. They say I don't really smell like anything. The first month was the worst, because my skin took time to adjust to not having its oil…
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One of the most interesting things in all of history to me is the longevity in Ancient Greece. Look up nearly any Ancient Greek one is aware of and you'll find life lengths not especially different than modern times. A study of 'Ancient Greeks of Note' [1] found an average life expectance of a bit more than 71 years. The obvious explanation for this is a survivorship bias, but the vast majority of these Greeks made t…
That's mostly hygiene. Bad hygiene is why cities are often associated with disease-- cities are often full of unhygienic practices that allow bacteria and virii to fester. They still didn't understand seizures, or cancer-- ie they were good at one dimension among many that exist in illnesses.
And there are many other issues of similar effect. Many of the hygienic practices that we now generally believe are intuitive, were anything but. For instance the idea that doctors should wash their hands before examining patients or even doing surgery was simply unknown all the way up until the 19th century [1]. Incidentally, while a basic germ theory was proposed in the 16th century, it wasn't until the 19th that it would come to be accepted as valid.
[1] - https://www.history.com/news/hand-washing-disease-infection
I stopped using soap a decade ago. The only time I use it now is for rare occasions where I get something on me that requires soap, such as motor oil or chemicals. I also only wash twice a week or so. People always recoil when I tell them, but then I ask them what I smell like to them. They say I don't really smell like anything. The first month was the worst, because my skin took time to adjust to not having its oil…
The reason I stopped were issues of my kids with eczema considering I had also a little bit of eczema (but nothing really bad, usually flared up only winter months) so after people doing this I decided to try and to my surprise I see no negative difference on my body and actually even on my hair, which became oily/itchy after few days no matter whether I used shampoo or not used it.
Though I've had test runs before when travelling around southeast asia for extended period when I took just daily shower without any soap and had no problems.
I've had really trouble through pandemic with mandatory disinfection to the point they didn't want to let me into kids kindergarten to accompany them despite having pretty bad eczema/skin issues on hands if I use anything irritating, this was resolved by wearing gloves and sprinkling stupid disinfectant on gloves or pretending to use the machine.
Disclaimer: I use shampoo (well it's actually shower gel) after trimming my hair (5-6 times a year), I use shower gel for my intimate parts at each shower (2x a week) and I wash my hands as usual with liquid soap after toilet or when dirty or prior/after cooking. My kids take shower twice a week and use fancy Bioderma shower oil though I am thinking also about giving up on using anything and see what happens with their skin.
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How is the weather where you live? I can't imagine this working in a hot, humid tropical country. I know there's variability in human body odor, like most Asians not needing deodorant, but I'm skeptical because some people do have a strong body odor they can't smell. I've known a few.
I've lived all over the place, from dry to wet-towel-in-your-face humid, from -25c to 45c. Even after an hour long workout dripping with sweat I don't really smell like anything. The way to test your own body odor without asking other people is to take a deep whiff of yesterday's shirt when you wake up in the morning. Even better would be to walk around outside a bit before you smell your old shirt in order to keep a…
Every Hackernews knows that it's the standard American diet and toxins from first-world industry that are the root cause of nearly every major health problem. Some Hackernews have also quit bathing entirely and they're in perfect health because microbiota or something.
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I've never thought about showering 3 times a day. Is that common anywhere?
Muslims do a purification ritual called "Wudu" that requires washing face, hands, arms, and feet 5 times a day, once before each prayer.
That's one data point :) I've stopped washing my body for a few years now. I do wash my hands regularly (with soap), I take a few saunas a week, and when I think I stink I take a shower with sodiumbicarb as a soap. I believe this is possible due to a fairly clean diet (eggs, dairy, union/garlic, meat, fish -- they make me stink and I no longer eat them). My skin has never been better.
has anyone commented on your scent?
i remember eating eggs, many years ago, and I could smell myself for a few days after that, while showering every day. i told someone and they said they noticed too. i've not eaten eggs in 9y now.
same for other "food that makes me smell", I eat a lot less of it. for me that it more important to how i smell than regular showers/ parfumated soaps/ deoderant/ etc.
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Muslims do a purification ritual called "Wudu" that requires washing face, hands, arms, and feet 5 times a day, once before each prayer.
yeah, I wonder what religion was this Iranian guy, doesn't seem like very good believer