Inspired by this post and fueled by further reading, I have decided to go soap free and only shower with water for at least 30 days. I will journal my experience here daily for your reading enjoyment. I will only wash my hands with soap prior to preparing food, or after going #2 and I will not use any deodorant, creams, or anything of the sort. My hair is usually shaved, so the shampoo part won't be an issue. My activity level during the week as a software developer is fairly low sprinkled with some intense Kinect game play, usually owning (Matt) at Table Tennis or breaking it down on Dance Central. On the weekends I may hike or dance. The point is, I will work up a sweat during this experiment.
Who Am I?
I am just a regular, every day guy with an overactive brain. I subscribe a lot to the Paleo way of life. Inspired by an onset of a multitude of food allergies, my journey into health, wellness, and alternative therapies began over 4 years ago. I have cut out gluten, dairy, eggs, corn (gmo), soy (gmo), corn syrup, alcohol, most all processed foods, and all fast food. I have noticed such an amazing improvement in my life by eating this way I would never go back. I have shed about 40 pounds (was always the "big boned" guy previously), have "cured" my ADD and stopped taking my prescribed Adderall and can concentrate better now than ever before, and most importantly cured what I thought was a lifetime of chronic, severe pain associated with the nerve disease Charcot Marie Tooth. I am now 100% pain free and 100% prescription drug free. I have personally seen the way healthy and clean living can improve one's life. I see this experiment as a natural extension to my journey.
Why am I doing this?
The Paleo way of life is becoming increasingly more logical to me the more I learn about it. I am of the mindset that our bodies can take care of themselves. I do not believe we need 95% (random number picked by me) of the crap we're marketed and sold daily. Our skin is our largest organ, do we really want (and need) to slather gallons of creams, soaps, shampoos, etc. all over our bodies to stay clean and nice smelling? I hypothesize, No. I hypothesize that, perhaps, it's actually the multitude of "cleansing products" that are negatively effecting our skin. That our bodies are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. That our bodies were designed to not need soap.
Most of my friends think I'm crazy and my wife thinks I'm gross. I guess time will tell.
I have heard of this experiment but it was done with Douching. All the fancy rinses inhibit your bodies natural ability to cleanse if used too often. My concern is the whole Paleo way of life included much more natural airing out or Febrezing. Another factor you may want to consider in how you judge your success is your noses ability to turn off what others may find offensive.(feel sorry for the wife) Much like that of a smoker. Good luck to you and please don't visit until after the experiment.
ReplyDeleteHappy Marinating