Three stories on showering, shampoo and not showering
How often do you wash yourself?
That question rarely arises at the dinner parties I attend, but perhaps it should. Over the past few years the "no-shampoo" movement has gained momentum, and articles on showering, bathing and generally being more conservative with water seem to be popping up.
This recent one, "How often do you really need to shower?" by Starre Vartan on the Mother Nature Network, addresses the health benefits of infrequent showering, though it is largely anecdotal:
But considering that it has really only been the last 100 years or so that people have bathed more than once a week (Saturday night baths were the norm for most of American history), daily showering is actually not objectively healthier or better; and in fact, one of the most common reasons that people cut down on showering is actually for skin-health reasons, not laziness.
The subject of showering and health reminds me of this 2010 story on 60 Minutes, which investigated phthalates, the ubiquitous chemicals found in plastics and, it turns out, many shampoos. Spoiler alert: they're probably not good for us.
Recently the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, put phthalates on a list of chemicals that "may present a risk" to the environment or human health. That's because they disrupt hormone activity and some preliminary studies show that they may be causing a slow and steady demasculinizing of men.
Lauren O'Neal has written on The Hairpin about her experience going shampoo-free. She wrote "How to Quit Shampoo Without Becoming Disgusting" in 2011, and followed up earlier this year with a summary of the experience, with "What I've Learned From Three Years Without Shampoo."
After about three years without shampoo, my hair is noticeably softer and fluffier than it used to be. I never use any product—I just blow-dry it with a finger diffuser and it stays in beautiful perfect waves all day. And when you know your hair looks great, it’s like a magical girl-power spell that grants you confidence and erases worries about the rest of your looks.
