It was a little over a year ago when, in observance of Movember, I went on a hiatus from shaving. This doesn’t really mean much since I don’t grow much of a beard so an entire month of not shaving pretty much resembles that of any other man purposely sporting a well-groomed goatee. In any event, something about not shaving caused me to feel a bit primal, as the paleos call it.
Around the same time I was struggling to find a soap I could use that didn’t have a ton of chemicals I couldn’t pronounce but also didn’t make me break out. I had tried several “natural” soaps but I had adverse reactions to them. Out of frustration one day I showered with only water. There I was standing in the shower with nothing to do, no soap to lather, no shaving to be done. This continued for a few days, as it was still Movember and I felt no urgency to find a soap that met my requirements.
Skip to now. I haven’t used soap or shampoo for over a year, except for a few occasions where I felt it was absolutely necessary in order to re-join society (read: after weekend camping trips or weekend-long dodgeball tournaments). The benefits?
- I don’t need product to sculpt my hair, not that I care to most of the time anyway.
- My skin does not dry out in the winter months like it used to.
- I save however much money people normally spend on soap and shampoo and hair stuff
- My skin is soft to the touch, according my girlfriend anyway (suck on that metrosexuals!)
I’m not here to proselytize, just sharing my experience. But for what it’s worth Richard Nikoley at freetheanimal.com has been going without soap or shampoo for quite a while now and he likes it so you should too. No, seriously, he gets a lot more action in the comments section than we currently do, so head over there if you’re interested in reading more of others’ experiences. Or share your experience there, here, or wherever the hell you want to.
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