Shampoo and gel

We wash ourselves to eliminate dirt (which sticks to the skin either because it is oily or because of contact with sebum (which is greasy) and sweat) and smells (produced by volatile substances generated by biological activity on the surface of the skin, above all that of microbes). By washing ourselves, we alter the cutaneous “ecosystem”, which comes back into balance after a while. In general, the culture we live in makes us think we need to wash ourselves quite often. To minimise both the alterations to the skin and the consumption of natural resources, it is a good idea to set a limit on how often we wash ourselves.

How we can do it

We should not take notice of claims feeding the idea that washing often is good, which are highly visible on the gel and shampoo containers of many brands and all types (conventional and natural). They often correspond more to the manufacturers’ need to accustom us to using these products than to our need to be clean.
We should ask ourselves whether being clean only means having just had a shower. We should determine whether or not we need to have a shower by observing our nature (whether we are prone to sweating, for example), the activity we do (which can change at different times of year) and where we are (in a city with a frenetic pace or in a village in a temperate climate). Do we know how long we take to smell of sweat if we don’t have a shower every day?
Washing our hair often can have a rebound effect, making it counterproductive. That means we end up having dirtier hair than if we washed it less, particularly if we have greasy hair. We should wash our hair less often and study what happens. We should also look for less irritating detergents (based on glucose, see next tab).
We should ask ourselves if we really want to smell of perfume all the time, or if it would be all right not to smell of anything. We should ask ourselves whether it would be too damaging if our hair did not look perfectly smart for the odd day from time to time.
We should overcome the “social shame” of saying that we don’t have a shower every day or wearing the same piece of clothing for more than one day.

If we take care to get less dirty, we will need less soap.

How we can do it

Plain water and a sponge with no soap will also wash off “easy dirt”.
If we like to have a shower in the morning to wake us up, we should think that we don’t need to use soap.
In order to save on conditioner, one way of counteracting hard water, which makes hair coarse, is to apply a glass of water with a little vinegar after rinsing.
Clothes made of natural fabrics, like cotton, make us sweat less than synthetic fibres.

Commenter

Data d'actualització: 03/01/2012 - 14:05