Too Scared

I first read about going shampoo free on Frugal Urbanite. The idea, at first, grossed me out but, after reading her links, it got me thinking... American's are over sanitized- I say this as an American who washes her hand 30+ times a day so maybe I'm being a hypocrite but yes, American's are over sanitized.

Growing up, in Korea, we did not shower everyday and we didn't wash ourselves with these froo froo pearberry scented body washes either. We only took a shower when we felt we needed to- usually every few days. Then, every couple of week, we soaked in a hot hot tub and scrubed ourselves clean using a special wash cloth that felt like fine grain sand paper. We sloughed off dead skin cells, which look like grey hamster poo. Afterwards, you felt really clean. It's what the ancient Romans used to do (which is why I guess it's referred to as a Roman Bath here). Korea has become a lot more Westernized since I lived there but, back than, no one really used body lotions or moisterizing soap, yet everyone had nice skin. Now, a "good shower" just makes my skin feel dry, back than a good bath with some good hard scrubbing made me feel clean, healthy, and light.

When I visited Korea, about ten years ago, it was during summer- blazing humid heat and wet wet rain. I sweated a lot, and even then I didn't shower every day- utility was very expensive there and I didn't want to burden my relatives by wasting water with my expensive American way- and yet, I don't ever recall feeling grody. Here if I go a more than 24 hours without a shower I feel like my skin's all crawly, clamy and gross.

My mom still doesn't wash her hair every day and she never smells or looks sloppy.

Maybe over-sanitization is why I never had porceline skin. Brainwashed by beauty magazines, I was obsessed with a zit free face from a very early age. Despite my arsenal of creams, washes, pads, lotions, and astrigents strong enough to peel paint, I never had clear skin. My brother, on the other hand, who never used anything other than what ever soap happened to be lying around, always had perfect skin. Perfect skin, ready for my close up skin, no photoshop needed skin.

Daily shampoo-ing is a fairly recent thing. If you watch old movies/shows you'll see that women only washed their hair for special occasions. I once read an old teen romance novel where the girl was afraid her mom might say something to her about having washed her hair twice in one week. Isn't that why people used shower caps back than? I also read an old old book where they looked forward to washing their hair with soap and water out of the rain barrow in the spring. Now, granted, one should not look to history for sanitation advice but, if you think about it, hair washing really isn't a sanitation act. I mean, unless you chew on your hair often, how does "clean" hair effect your health?

There definitely is a good argument for going shampoo free.

That's not to say I'm going to go "poo free". Every testimony I've read speaks highly of the baking soda/vinegar experience and they all claim their hair is 100% better. Fashion magazines are always saying you shouldn't wash your hair every day, how "dirty" hair styles better. There are lots of women who don't wash their hair between their expensive $40 blow outs. It's intriguing, almost tempting, but I'm too scared. You know how they always instruct you to use a quarter sized amount of shampoo? Mine's more like a half dollar sized- maybe bigger- I want to make sure there's a good amount of sud to get my hair clean. I think I'll baby step it by using just a dab of sodium lauryl sulfate free shampoo. Trader Joe sells them for a cheap price. I used to use it but stopped 'cause I felt it wasn't foamy enough. And yes, I know, foam doesn't equal clean but... in my mind it does.