Soap Free Update

A while ago, I shared in an article on Three Odd Ways to Save Money. I haven’t given any of those ideas a shot yet. Since then, I have courageously (or foolishly?) tried one out. I want to share with you my findings. Today’s experiment: A Soap-Free Update.

For the past six months, I have not used soap or shampoo, except when washing my hands after I use the toilet or before I prepare food. Well, to be truthful, I have used shampoo a couple times, but only when I was on vacation and I didn’t have my handy dandy substitutes with me.

What did I do instead of using soap during my shower? NOTHING. I simply washed away my funk using water only.

I had first heard of this idea of going soapless in Husband Coached Childbirth by Dr. Bradley. He recommended it to make childbirth easier on the body, saying that soap dries your skin out and makes it more brittle and less pliable. I thought he was crazy when I read that and vowed I would never do it. Ha!

If I was reading this, the first thing I would ask is, “Are you stinky?” The answer is “no.” I find that the water washes all my smell away. This may also be due to my use of homemade deodorant, which allows the pits to do their job, sweating to release junk in your body.

Is this really worth it? Does it really save money? I’m the only one in my family doing this experiment, so I don’t really know the exact amount of savings of not buying shampoo and soap and shower gel. But I know I am saving money because I’ve completely eliminated the need for those things.

This little experiment has inspired me to start eliminating all the products in my life. Slowly, as I run out of body care products (perfume, lotion, facial cleansers), I’m going to start introducing them back in with products that I make myself. This is probably going to be slightly more inconvenient for me than buying products, but I am happy to do it to save money.

It also makes me feel healthier. When I read labels and see the amount of chemicals in them, it makes me cringe. I think about nicotene, birth control, and prescription medicine patches that do their work by being absorbed into the skin. What are the chemicals in my products doing to my body? I don’t know, but it’s probably not good, and I feel I can avoid it by making things myself.

Doing this experiment has also put me more “in tune” with my skin. I used to get dryness all over my body, especially in the winter. This past winter, I was only dry on my knees, allowing me to focus on that skin specifically instead of slathering all over. Previously, my face was always dry and have flaky patches. Now that I’ve cut out the soap, my dryness has almost been eliminated and, for the first time, I’m starting to deal with oily patches. By not stripping my body of its oils through the use of soap, I feel like I have a greater awareness of what is going on.

Be on the lookout as I start to make my own products. I’ll share my experiments with you.

What’s your response to going soap-free? Ewwwww or intrigued?