Soap or not soap, that is the question ?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I saw a similar article about dog skin care. It basically said that the stinky dog smell was due to people washing their dogs too often, stripping their pets' skin of it's natural ability to regulate oil production & smell. But...my dog loves to roll in God-knows -what, so I still bathe her every couple of weeks.
 
Yeah... That would not work for me at all. I can honestly say that since I do not have to shave but every two weeks, that leaves twice a month for shaving cream to be used. That seems a "bit" nasty so this plan is a no. While I can go two weeks without washing my hair (that's pushing it), I'll stick to the once a week-ish schedule I have.
 
I don’t soap most of my body, only the stinky bits (pits, crotch, feet). I don’t understand the uproar over Taylor Swift not soaping her legs. Does anyone do that?

ETA: and of course I wash my hands with soap about a million times a day, because I am a nurse and a mother;)
 
I don’t soap most of my body, only the stinky bits (pits, crotch, feet).

same here except my face gets washed also. I can not go without washing my hair at least every other day--if my hair isn't clean I feel dirty. I wonder how long the pioneers went with out washing anything EWWWW??
 
same here except my face gets washed also
I have a cousin who doesn't soap his face too.. As in no lye based nor syndets. Works for him. I can't. I need to soap lol

Speaking of stink... I notice I do when the soap is scented with FOs. Go figure. One reason most of my soap is unscented, and if I do it's the minimum, even if it is with EOs.

I don't think I can imagine no soap at all.
 
I take a full body shower once about every 2nd or 3rd or 4th day (it depends on my activities), where my hair gets a shampoo & conditioning and all my body parts and limbs get a full wash with my handmade bar soap, except for my face, that is, which gets washed with my homemade emulsified oil cleanser. My hair can go for days without being washed, but absolute furthest I can go without washing it is 4 days. If I don't wash it by then, it gets too noticeably oily and I can smell it. Ick!

Certain of my body parts cannot go more than a day without being washed, so on the days in between a full shower, I do what I call an FP&C, where I only wash my face, pits and crotch (my face with my emulsified oil cleanser and my pits and crotch with my soap).

After showering or doing an FP&C, I always apply my homemade deodorant to my pits.

Dawni said:
I have a cousin who doesn't soap his face too.. As in no lye based nor syndets. Works for him. I can't. I need to soap lol


If I go without wearing my mineral sunscreeen and waterproof makeup over that, I can get away with using just plain water and a terry-cloth on my face. As a matter of fact, plain water and a terry-cloth was all I used on my face for years until I took to wearing mineral sunscreen and waterproof makeup about a year and a half ago, and it actually worked quite well for me. Unfortunately, plain water and a cloth just aren't able to completely remove all the sunscreen and makeup off my face.


Nanette said:
and Ive heard more than once the folks who dont think they stink..but really do

I, too, know people who don't think they stink, but they really do. I've even noticed it with myself when we've gone on a camping trip away from washing facilities. I really can't smell how bad I stink until I get home and take a shower. lol I guess my nose just gets used to the stink when I've been living with it for a number of days (and amongst others who smell just as stinky as me), and I can't really tell how bad it is until it gets cleaned off. lol


IrishLass :)
 
My showers are my alone time when I can sing as loud and off-key as I like without having to divert my eyes from dirty looks. Plus I get to pat myself on the back for creating such a luxurious and artistic bar of soap.
Soap makes my face hurt like h-ll so I now use micellar water (luv it!).

My showers are my alone time when I can sing as loud and off-key as I like without having to divert my eyes from dirty looks. Plus I get to pat myself on the back for creating such a luxurious and artistic bar of soap.
Soap makes my face hurt like h-ll so I now use micellar water (luv it!).
(I have facial excema)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I saw a similar article about dog skin care. It basically said that the stinky dog smell was due to people washing their dogs too often, stripping their pets' skin of it's natural ability to regulate oil production & smell. But...my dog loves to roll in God-knows -what, so I still bathe her every couple of weeks.

IMO that's true. I think it's totally bizarre the number of people who wash their dogs on a weekly or monthly basis. It's one thing if they roll in something - that's a necessary bath! I'm on a dog group for a particular toy breed, and a significant percentage of these people are nuts. I can't you how many times I've read, "My dog has itchy, dry skin. She chews and has hotspots. I bathe her every week - what should I do?" The most popular answer btw is to switch to luxury dog food brand. My answer is to stop bathing the dog. My dog gets about 3 baths a year. She always gets a pre-Christmas bath so she is soft and fluffy and white on Christmas day. And she gets an end of summer bath after swimming in the lake all summer. And maybe a late-spring bath to get off the winter coat she's shedding. That's it.
 
Because of my uber dry skin (I've mentioned this before, no?) in the winter I shower every third day if I can manage it. It really depends on what's going on with my hair if I shower on the second day or wait till the third. I simply can't shower every day in the winter. Most days I do a "whores bath + feet" and call it good with a full shower every few days. I avoid manual labor like the plague, so I really don't have a lot that gets stinky during the winter. My skin would strangle me to death if I showered daily. Honestly, I probably shouldn't even shower every day in the summer, but, well, you try living in a house with no A/C during a hot Midwest summer and see how that works for you. ;)
 
I cannot wear makeup anymore due to allergies and have not for years so only use water on my face since my face hates all forms of soap. When I did wear makeup, eye and face I used vaseline to remove it and just wiped it off well followed by a warm rinse. I have always been fortunate to not have big breakout issues on my face and no wrinkles. Yeah, for genetics. I also wear no sunscreen and use no lotion.
 
I too usually shower every other day for the most part. Weekends may be a bit longer. My body doesn't like everyday and my hair works perfectly this way. I do wash my face every night as I wear make-up to work. I use my salt bars or micellar facial wipes.
 
Back
Top