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The forgotten joy of soap

spectator.co.uk

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Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#151

Post by reggieband »

throw0101a wrote: post #29

Soaps can strip oils from your skin and kill the biome. I recently ran across the book Beyond Soap by Dr. Sandy Skotnicki, a dermatologist who has a practice and teaches in Toronto: * https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Soap-Truth-Beautiful-Healthy/d... Most of the products we use may get the job done, but they tend to be heavy handed in the chemicals they use. A list of products she recommends that her clients use: * http…

That interview was really interesting. She mentioned light-bulb moments but her description of the skin biome really hit for me. I think she is right that the next 10 years of body science is going to focus on bacteria biome in guts AND skin.

She also hit the nail on the head about how men shower. I cover every inch of my body with soap at least once a day. I have one soap for my body, one for my hair and another for my face. I believed that is how I'm supposed to do it, but now that I think of it I don't remember being taught. I've never thought "What is the science of self-cleaning?"

It is strange the taboos we have around critical aspects of our life. I never talk to my friends about their cleaning regimes just like I don't have serious discussions about defecation. It's like these things are "dirty" so we avoid even talking about them. Yet it seems to me that skin health and gut health are both equally essential to overall health.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#152

Post by Sir_Vival »

Insanity wrote: post #96
seattle_spring wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope you either still use soap when washing your hands, or work from home and don't go out to eat. I work with a bunch of nastyass people that take huge noisy dumps and then just walk right out of the bathroom without washing. No wonder I get sick several times a year now.

When I see colleagues just leave the bathroom without washing their hands I always have an urge to say something but never do. The bad thing is that they leave before me as I wash my hands, but then like a minute later I need to use the same door they used to enter our office. :(

I've have a weakened immune system and am also a wedding photographer, so staying healthy is important. If I can use a bathroom with touching anything but myself (#1), I'm going to do it. If everything is motion activated I'll wash my hands, otherwise I'll just use hand sanitizer at the next opportunity just to be sure.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#153

Post by ben_w »

coldtea wrote: post #118
Insanity wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I see colleagues just leave the bathroom without washing their hands I always have an urge to say something but never do. The bad thing is that they leave before me as I wash my hands, but then like a minute later I need to use the same door they used to enter our office. :(

> When I see colleagues just leave the bathroom without washing their hands Perhaps they have mastered the art of pissing without pissing on their hands...

If only that was the only problem.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#154

Post by Aloha »

goostavos wrote: post #150
jdlyga wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone reading this, please don't try this without honest friends or an honest spouse who will give you feedback. It works for people with specific genetics, but not for the majority.

They're have to have crazy specific genetics, I'd wager. I've worked with a no-soap no-deodorant guy before.. You could literally detect where he'd previously been by smell alone. We had to keep doors open even in large conference rooms. It'd hit you like a wall.

How does someone like this get allowed to persist in a workplace?

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#155

Post by pessimizer »

novok wrote: post #140
jackhack wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct. 200,000 years dying at an early age from easily-preventable infections, among them cholera and dysentery which are easily spread from --yep, you guessed it-- not washing after using the toilet. And people wonder why I refuse to take part in "potluck" lunches, or eat others' foods. I need to save the URL to this discussion. I, too, cannot believe someone who does not use soap does not smell like a wild animal…

Oof, do you also wear gloves 24/7 to protect yourself from the dirty world out there too? Unless your immunocomprimised or old, your body's immune system can handle the everyday bacteria that is everywhere in the world.

Or unless you inherited those beliefs from your parents, who kept you oversanitary as a child. Then the world really is very dangerous for you; childhood is the best time to get exposed to stuff.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#156

Post by ben_w »

Pimpus wrote: post #133
ASalazarMX wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, I also stopped brushing my teeth, I just wash them with water. The first month I had halitosis, but it gradually went away. I'm also more productive than ever because my coworkers have started to send me emails instead of having meetings!

We are descended from at least 7000 generations of man, and 99.9% of these ancestors had never even heard of toothpaste.

Relatedly, I’ve had six teeth removed because my mouth is too small.

For me they made an excellent necklace (and an amusing way to disturb my sister), but in bygone generations they with the emergency backup replacement teeth because so many of your teeth fell out.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#157

Post by novok »

pessimizer wrote: post #155
novok wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oof, do you also wear gloves 24/7 to protect yourself from the dirty world out there too? Unless your immunocomprimised or old, your body's immune system can handle the everyday bacteria that is everywhere in the world.

Or unless you inherited those beliefs from your parents, who kept you oversanitary as a child. Then the world really is very dangerous for you; childhood is the best time to get exposed to stuff.

No, you'll be fine and you'll quickly gain missing immunities, if you have any. A good chunk of the behaviors might even be counterproductive.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#158

Post by somethoughts »

jdlyga wrote: post #85
kstenerud wrote: post #33

I stopped washing with soap 6 years ago and never looked back. For the first month, my skin was so greasy all the time that it felt like I'd been wearing the same clothes for a week, just an hour after putting them on, but then my skin finally adjusted to the new normal. My skin is soft - much too soft for a man of my age, according to my wife. I have no body odor, even after a heavy workout where I'm still covered i…

For anyone reading this, please don't try this without honest friends or an honest spouse who will give you feedback. It works for people with specific genetics, but not for the majority.

My hunch it has as much to do with your diet as genetics, for example if you tend to eat a lot of strongly spiced food or garlic/onions.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#160

Post by pessimizer »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #141
Pimpus wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We are descended from at least 7000 generations of man, and 99.9% of these ancestors had never even heard of toothpaste.

How were their teeth at 40, if they even lived that long?

Instead of just assuming, you can see that a lot of fossil teeth tend to look shockingly good.

How are anybody's teeth at 40 if they haven't visited a dentist? Brushing is a cause of receding gums, gum infection, tooth loss, and deep pockets around the gums. Modern sticky flours and sugars also do a number on your teeth, giving bacteria a wonderful place to live.

That being said, if you don't brush your teeth, food will find places in your mouth to sit and rot. Brush your teeth for everyone around you, not for your teeth.

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