Here's a draft of a paid article just submitted to a print magazine with a snail mail circulation of a bit over 40,000. Don't know how it will come out in the final publishing, and it also has an email distribution, so could give things a boost. Wow, I never imagined that No-Soap post would get so much interest. But it has, and nearly doubled the average daily visits; and it's continuing. I'm at over 65,000 visits and 130,000 page views and the month isn't even half over yet. Here we go.
~~~
I’m a practitioner of a lifestyle recently gaining in popularity (see NYT: The New Age Cavemen and the City; January 8, 2010) and that’s often called by various practitioners “paleo,” “primal,” “evolutionary fitness,” or by other similar terms. These terms are meant to denote a time prior to human agriculture (about 10-15,000 years ago) and modern civilization when humans were wild animals. Primarily, this modeling of human as animal focusses on three areas: diet/nutrition, movement/fitness, and episodic or intermittent fasting. The idea is to enjoy the conveniences of a modern industrial economy while fooling our genes into thinking we’re still on the Savannah hunting wild game, gathering edible plants, sprinting to catch prey, lifting heavy things, and sometimes failing in the hunt and going hungry.
In case you haven’t noticed, animals in the wild aren’t obese (unless supposed to be, such as pre-hibernation) and they don’t have hypertension, diabetes, or heart disease -- and cancer is rare where not completely unknown.
My personal quest for this style of living came in May, 2007 where on my 5’ 10” frame I suddenly found myself tipping the scale at 235 pounds. Worse, I purchased a blood pressure meter and was getting very high readings (160/100) at every test. Now here I am nearly three years later weighing in at 175 pounds with normal BP, and without taking medication; and I even got off several prescription medications along the way. I have written extensively about all aspects of this journey at my blog, FreetheAnimal.com.
The diet and nutritional aspect of this lifestyle can really be boiled down to four words: eat real foods only. So it’s very simple. It’s unrestricted consumption of meat, fish, fowl, natural fats (i.e., animal, coconut, olive), and vegetables -- and moderate fruits & nuts. Most practitioners never weigh or count anything, and they dispense with mealtimes, opting instead to eat when hungry, stop when full, and resume when hungry again. For most, it’s a process of episodic, variable, and intermittent foods, activities and even hunger. There is a great deal of self-experimentation.
Yet some of us also take the self-experimentation even farther. I long ago purchased a workbench to replace my standard desk, so that I can stand while working. And I often make use of the 40 degree cold plunge for several minutes at my gym after a brief but very intense 30-minute workout. Cold showers often. And then there’s the soap and shampoo. It was perhaps more than a year ago that I stopped using soap on my body except for hands, underarms and the private bits. And I still used shampoo. But six months ago I just stopped abruptly after having read an article online about women who don’t use shampoo and have hair that looked just fine & dandy to me.
This is six months now that neither soap nor shampoo have touched my body (except for washing my hands for food preparation). Otherwise, it’s always just cold, warm, or hot water and good scrubbing. I would describe my results as follows:
- Took about two weeks to normalize.
- Even when I feel greasy/oily in the shower with just water, once everything dries out, it's always all the same -- fine; soft & dry. Skin & hair have never been softer.
- In general, my hair is less "greasy" than ever, yet shampoo hasn't touched it in over six months.
- The privates are the biggest benefit of all. Zero problems; big improvement. Maybe it's the constant cleansing that's the cause of the sweaty-stinky problem in the first place.
- You'll save a lot of money, especially you women.
- My spouse believes my body smell to be quite normal, now.
One of the more common objections to this is about bacteria. Well it’s just like in your gut: you have trillions of friendly, beneficial bacteria. When you take an antibiotic you’ll often develop diarrhea and other digestive problems because the good bacteria that aid in your digestion have been killed off. I’m suggesting that chronic use of soap and shampoo has a similar problem-causing effect.
Ultimately everyone has to self-experiment, or not. But if you do decide to give this a try, then give it at least a month. Things cleared up for me in two weeks or less, but we're not all the same. I suspect that women who commonly wash more with more chemicals and added makeups & moisturizers might take more time to normalize.
More information can be found at my blog FreetheAnimal.com where you will find categories, archives, recommended books and other blogs and websites.
You might also like
-
Murray: “I Freed My Animal”
- I Haven’t Shit to Write; This Is Better Anyway
-
No Soap or Poo Update
- The Hidden Benefit of the SAD: Iodine?
- Paleo I Don’t Care: I Like No Soap; No Shampoo
Please spread the word
I’ve been shampoo free for probably about a month now, and my hair is fantastic! It used to be very thin and fine. While it still has a finer texture, it’s not thin anymore and I have noticed my hair loss has dramatically decreased. I can style my hair however I want and I don’t even need to use products to “control” it. I’m seriously considering dropping soap as well.
Nice journalism, Richard!
My n=1 self-experimentation additions:
I started this same self-experiment back in early summer ‘09 after thinking about the good bacteria protection concept externally on our skin (I had already developed a novel model for conceptualizing good/bad bacterial dynamics internally, specifically with regard to gut microflora). A good towel for scrubbing dry and use of a blow dryer help, I’ve found. A bit of natural microdermabrasion results, it seems, from a good scrubbing; another benefit that I detect: exfoliation.
Of note, I make my own hand “soap” from FAGE yogurt + coconut oil (probiotic + good lipids + moisturizer, etc.) to use on my hands in between uses of normal soap. I rub coconut oil on my face most days and some in my hair for styling purposes from time to time (coconut oil is a natural UV block, and it seems to have help heal most of the acne scar damage on my face that I had/have from grain-consumption days).
This coupled with good hyperlipidity through diet has produced excellent skin and hair health and composition for me (and for cheap–throw out all those expensive care products)
Cheers,
Brent
Doesn’t appear to need a lick of editing. Great job Richard.
Hmmm. Is the reference to “dies” a typo? I would think it should be “dries.” Richard – too late for a last-minute edit?
“Even when I feel greasy/oily in the shower with just water, once everything dies out, it’s always all the same”
Interesting typo too! I had found another that I corrected between submission time and posting this. Just got an email from the editor this morning who loved the article and said it was perfect (I had to do ~750 words, that’s why it’s short; hard to do for me) and I had a chance to tell him about the typos. So look like we’re set.
Love the article Mark, I hope you manage to convert a few more people to the primal lifestyle!!
This is my first post on your site, and I would sincerely like to thank you for putting the time and effort into this site so that others can make an informed decision to make the switch to a primal diet & exercise plan.
I have only been eating primal for a little over a week now, but there are two benefits I have already noticed that are quite significant in my opinion.
I have had bad psoriasis since a nasty case of chicken pox at age 17 (I am now 33), I get it on my scalp, under my chin, my top lip, upper nose, eye brows and on the side of my knees, in just over a week after removing grains from my diet and following a primal diet, the psoriasis on my face & knee has all but vanished, and my scalp is very quickly returning to normal. I have been to several skin specialists, spent hundreds on creams and lotions and absolutely nothing worked long term, the problems would disappear, once I stopped using the medication, the psoriasis would come straight back.
I am an Australian, who lives in Melbourne, Victoria, being at the southern most end of the mainland, during the summer time we get long nasty hot spells, which always means a wind blowing from the north straight over the wheat belt, which meant I would suffer terrible debilitating hay fever with migraine like headaches, constant mucas draining and complete lack of energy and motivation. No more, we had a 4 day hot spell (got to 43 celsius = 110 fahrenheit on one day) 2 days after I gave up grains, didn’t get a single headache, didn’t lose my energy or feel drained/lethargic, I still suffered sore eyes and a few sneezes, but that was the worst of it.
On top of these benefits, I am training better than ever & feel fantastic!
The community spirit on this site and several others dedicated to primal/paleo etc diets is amazing, I have been a web developer for 18 years now, and long ago gave up reading forums or comments on blogs because of the idiot/moron factor, not on primal blogs, I read all the comments for your readers insights and opinions, thank you to everyone who posts their opinions/ideas.
Your keep writing it, and I’ll keep reading it
Opps, love the article Richard, dunno where I got Mark from.
I know where you got “Mark” from…
We all do.
That’s a great report, Andrew. Getting over the seasonal “hayfever” allergies I had since I was a kid and getting of the prescription meds was one of the great benefits for me.
Nicely done. Well laid out, concise, and to the point.
Short and sweet. Sounds good & not far “out there.”
I’m finally going to finish up my hygiene article soon. Going on 8 months myself. My article touches a few more areas, so I wont feel like too much of a copycat after all
Excellent article again!
You have always been a good writer but somehow I feel you have lately taken a leap to new hights. Thanks!
Great article, Richard. This sums it all up so well that I’ve bookmarked this so when I get asked about what I’ve been doing differently, I’ll email them here.
(So, Mom, Dad, wifey, and other friends, see? I’m not the only nut out there doing this. And it works.
)
This whole “no soap” thing makes me think of this:
http://failblog.org/2010/01/14/proper-hygiene-fail/
Richard,
I have a few follow-up questions. Do you still use deodorant?
From your pictures, it appears no, but do you use any hair styling products?
Did you ever have dandruff? I normally use Head & Shoulders or the like, and find I get some if I switch to a regular shampoo. Have you seen any signs?
I’m interested in this experiment but I feel like the hair stuff may be an issue.
I’m starting my third week of no shampoo. I got some dandruff at around day three through 7-8. Then it went away.
I’ve been experimenting with the no deodorant thing. Winter now so I may not have conclusions for quite a while.
Nope, nothing ever goes on/in my hair but water. Incidentally, I had let my hair grow out significantly, totally covering my ears and well over my collar, just to make sure I wasn’t fooling myself about the no-poo. As it was clear there was no problem, I just went back to my preferred crop.
Have never had dandruff in my life.
Hi all. Big fan of the site for a year now.
Regarding no soap: I haven’t used product on my hair in maybe 20 years, and my hair is nearly all there (not bad at 41), black, and in great shape. My dad’s is the same – just going grey at 75 – and when I asked him his secret, he said he doesn’t wash it – he was raised to believe his natural oil was better for it – and only occasionally will use some lather from hand soap if he literally got dirt in it. Evey since I’ve been the same. I’m told it smells good, too.
I slowly weaned off of regular soap (dries out my skin) to all-natural olive oil soaps – very little lye – so going to no soaps is a good step. I’ll have to see. My problem is I sweat very heavily, but I’m also pretty heavy, and eating grains until recently. Maybe losing the wieght will help with that.
I used to use baby oil as a moisturizer and hair product, but I switched to 100% natural coconut oil instead – same benefits, and if my skin absorbs it, so what? it’s food.
My only fear with the no soap is the privates. I’m uncut and things can get pretty rancid smelling. Again, wonder if its diet or size. It isn’t pubic hair – the smell is definitely under the skin. I suppose testing this while I’m single (right now) is a good time, huh?
Fantastic article Richard and a SUPERB, non-threatening intro to Paleo. I am going to forward this to friends.
Very, very well written.
You have the tone spot-on for bringing in new folks without making us look like nuts.
That is no mean feat.
My thoughts, exactly, succinctly.
Good stuff, Richard! I love experiments like this that question the everyday tasks we engage in that may just be superfluous after all. I have some firsthand experience in not using soap for several weeks during what I would call my “backcountry granola days.” I wasn’t eating very much animal fat during those days, and I certainly noticed my skin and hair weren’t in the best shape! Maybe I’ll give it another go now that I’m eating well.
Have you heard of the primitive practice of putting animal grease on the skin and in the hair? I’ve seen one documentary where the Bushmen of the Kalahari do this. Of course, they live in a very dry, hot climate.
Anyway, great work, Richard!
Ha! The Iroquois tribes from around where I live used to do this, too. They would smear bear grease all over their bodies as a form of insect repellent. By all accounts, they smelled horrible. Don’t forget, fat gets rancid.
Well, I bit the bullet and tried the no shampoo trick. I was a little worried about my hair becoming oily and less than presentable at work. But after a week and a half, so far so good. With a cold water rinse, a little blow drying, and combing it looks fine.
So far, this has been a good experiment, but I have one concern. I have been out of the pool for a little while and worry that when I go back to swimming, the chlorine, etc. won’t just rinse out. Thoughts?
I swim about 3 times per week: I’ve had no problems–just rinse a bit longer, towel-dry with a bit more fervor, then blow-dry and you’re on your way.
Cheers,
Brent
Thanks Brent…will follow your advice.
Really nice article Richard!
Will try it for myself, would be great if one could skip the deoderants too. After all it does feel kind of stupid applying chemicals under the arms …
I only shower once every 2-4 weeks. It’s been over a year now, and no one has noticed. Also, my skin is so freaking soft it’s amazing.
I do use the Crystal Rock thing for underarms because after a week and some workouts, it can get a bit ’spicy meat ball’ in the underarm area. (Am I a freak if I actually like that smell though!) Anyway, is that rock thing a bad idea?
And finally, Richard, do you have a pic of you with the longer hair. I dig a shaggy disheveled guy.
-Primal Fan Girl
You may be a freak, but you are not alone. I started developing a real gagging aversion to artificially scented anything a while back. Now, I get nauseous around cleaning fluids, perfumes, too-strong soaps, etc. In cleaning/washing, I aim for not being able to detect odors at all, but I confess to sometimes enjoying the smell of dust, body oil, etc. If I remember correctly, in the original Joy of Sex, it is recommended for women not shave their armpits and crotch as the hair traps “the scent of a woman.” I tend to think this is good advice.
Richard, I think if you are serious about this, you need to ask other people than your wife about how you smell. If your wife is around you all the time, she may have gotten used to your rank-ness, if it exists.
The biggest problem I have forgoing deodorant/soap is the nervous-B.O. problem. If I’m on vacation, I can go for a couple days off of one shower without developing B.O., but when the crunch is on at work, it can arise within hours after I’ve just showered.
I don’t know what the nervous-bacteria-odor connection is, but it is real. As I noted above, there are some types of B.O. that I actually like, but the nervous B.O. is a bad smell. In fact, maybe it’s an evolutionary development as well. Maybe I have an anxiety problem that mother nature would like to cull out of the herd, or maybe the stink serves a gatekeeper function that would tell other members of the tribe when environmental stresses are rising, if they knew how to identify it.
Weekend Learning Links | The Viking Intellect // Aug 16, 2010 at 07:03
[...] to live like a caveman. I’m a huge fan of Richard at Free the Animal, to the point where I no longer use soap or shampoo (it works – try it!), so I’m linking to his blog for your learning enjoyment: [...]