You Probably Don’t Need to Shower 

"Is that hydrochloric acid"

0:52 "Oh my God, a 12 year old just broke into my house."

It's about no soap, water only showers, which is good

Come work outside with me in Houston, TX in August. You tell me when I need to shower when we're in the work truck lol

If you have eczema (the dry kind), doctors actually recommend only using water to wash your face and only showering every other day unless you become particularly sweaty. I still do this even though my skin is fine as an adult.

"i saw on a commercial though that you need to get those little swab things and carry them in your pocket... to wash the oil off... otherwise no one will like you." i

Maybe it's my OCD but this just made me want to take a shower right now

Bath and Body Works disapproves this message

Gotta love when he just walks through her door at 0:46 and then her looked at 0:52...very odd and awkward from the looks of it.

I've always said "if humans were wild, our biggest weapon against predators would be our terrible smell" but maybe not if we had natural bacteria keeping that in balance. Interesting video!

I'm sure there's some truth to this but I'm skeptical. -Many homeless people, no offense, smell terrible. Why aren't their "good bacteria" working? -Unlike our ancient ancestors, most of us wear clothes. That means parts of our body live in a dark, moist environment most of the time, perfect for things to grow, not necessarily the things we want. Naked cavemen would have sun, air flow, rain, etc. on their skin to prevent growth of organisms. -People in traditional tribal societies today wash themselves in rivers, lakes, etc. Washing seems to be a natural human instinct. -Most other animal species wash themselves, either with their tongues or by going into water.

only issue i found with this is dead skin / dust builds up in places like bedsheets very quickly so require slightly more often cleaning.

Been doing this for years. No shampoo, but I buzz my hair. I only soap my genitals and use it to wash my hands with. I shower ever 2 to 3 days, but like them long and hot to bring on a bit of a steam room effect. I can gently use my finger nails to scrub off the top lay of skin on my face (probably could do the whole body...) and I believe that has contributed to my baby face. I'm 33. Oh, and I don't use shaving cream. I shave in the shower every time and I my blades last for a few months. Wow... Can't believe I shared that with the internet...

This interviewer is great!! So subtle in how hillarious he is.

I didnt know Richard Dreyfuss was a real scientist

I've heard of women only washing their face with water, and all of them claimed they never ever got pimples and had absolutely gorgeous skin.

I believe studies have shown that the largest determinant of how clean your hands will be when washing them in a sink is time spent rubbing them together under flowing water. Maybe these people have just discovered that the same is true of showering/bathing the whole body without soap and other cleansers. It would be interesting to see large studies including groups that never showered, only stood in the shower water but with no rubbing, showering without soap but with rubbing, and standard showering with soap. Each group would also have sub groups without the bacterial sprays, with the bacterial sprays, and with placebo sprays.

00:52 Lol the look she gives him when he walks past her

I just did this same experiment for two weeks, however I would work hard, sweat a lot and then take a dip in the local lake. I did not smell bad. My skin had a natural softness. My purpose was to try to improve my health by improving my skin micro biome.

This vid. is good news for the adolescent boys in my classes they don't feel the need to shower after P.E. at all.

Been washing with water only and sometimes using only organic and natural moisturizers like aloe vera, magnesium oils, hemp oils, coconut oil, essential oils ect.. for the last few years my skin and health has never been better. Also whole plant-based diet/lifestyle plaid a huge role in this shift in health. I shower maybe once every few weeks to a few days at most. Never felt cleaner. No need for products. Get some dirt on them feet daily and get some sunlight on that skin :) NOTE: To absorb vitamin D Optimally you must not shower for 48hours at least.

There needs to be a playlist for this series

I used to wash my hair and body with shampoos and shower gels 3 times a week I used to have dandruff, dry skin and would sometimes smell. I now shower once a week with just water I now have no dandruff, I have normal skin and I don't smell Who would have thought!

I can’t live without showering every day. I only use soap 1-2 times a week but without at least showering I feel disgusting.

Ah, the things we used to find strange before the pandemic! Like not showering once a day or wearing a surgical mask outside of a hospital

I've kinda been doing this for years 😅 I only ever use soap on my hands, my privates, sometimes my armpits. All you really need for the rest of your body is water... I do use shampoo tho. But I find you can go an extra day or 2 without shampoo if you just wet your hair and blow dry it. Dry shampoo also helps.

They should interview my sister, she went to rural Malawi for 4 months and the result was the same.

"Is this hydrochloric acid?" .... "no"

I still have to wear sunscreen which will need to be cleaned off and that cleaning will leave me feeling dry without lotion … so back to using the products he’s avoiding

You don't have to ward off acne if it's not in your genetics you don't get it, you can go without showering for weeks and weeks and not have any problems with acne

Pretty confusing video. It wasn't really clear whether any of them (except the guy at the end that says he bathes) shower without soap or just don't shower at all, even with plain water.

I’d like to know how rinsing your self off in the shower without soap affects your skin micro-biome.

I found soaps left an odor and collected skin dirt and when I stopped using my dry skin went away. I feel cleaner now.

I have one product in the shower. Well, sometimes I bring toothpaste with me for fun.

What was with the walking by her without talking?

Her skin is SO PERFECT

I stopped using antibacterial soap a couple years ago. If I didn't use it I would get athathetes foot. Now I live off grid, don't wear socks, showering and drinking filtered creek water, no soap, no shampoo, just water, sometimes only twice a week but cool creek water is nice to shower in fresh off the mountain, especially on a cool morning with lots of song birds chirping away awww good times.

I love this series

Some people really do need to shower 😰

I shower when my hair starts looking greasy.

The title and thumbnail make this video look like a comedy sketch

I only use sulfate free soaps and don’t shower daily. We also have well water that is filtered with potassium. I also wear my clothes and nightgowns a few times so I don’t have to do laundry as much. 🤓

I read Julie's original article; very interesting. It seems much like research on cleaners in the kitchen - strong chemicals get rid of the innocuous germs and benefit harmful ones.

Can you imagine the time you’d save?

If you regularly wash yourself with just warm water and often change your clothes then it's totally doable. Although you won't exactly smell of roses to say the least.

1:40 Hahahaha. I laughed so hard at that comment.

Doing it for the pas seven years - soap only for hands and private areas and a shampoo for the hair, the rest is just some warm water every day - don’t have any problems with bad odor or skin infections

Just found the channel. Subbed because of the funny guy!

People only need to shower every two or three days, and don't use stuff with plastic microbeads. People who take two showers a day are nuts. Even if you sweat a lot there's no reason to do that.

Hmm wonder whether ammonia oxidising bacteria from a river source would survive in a bottle 🤔

Yeah i rarely use soap and even more rare i use shampoo but no way would i ever give up my showers after work. I look forward to that scolding hot to make me feel alive again.

I wash my hands frequently. Probably 10-15 times a day. My armpits and nether regions are cleaned with water and a face towel every night. But I bathe/shower once every 11-13 days give or take. When I do, I use a diluted a amount of Dr. bronners soap on my body. For my hair and scalp I get the shower as hot as I can stand and comb it out while using a towel to remove the natural oil. If my hair is very oily (season dependent along with what type of work I’m doing) I’ll use some Dr. Bronners diluted with coconut oil And boiling water to mix. After every shower or bath I warm up some tea tree oil (also diluted with coconut oil) and use a dropper to evenly distribute enough all over my scalp. I have been doing this for 10 years with no adverse affects. I use a “natural” deodorant from one of the big brands that doesn’t have aluminum or zinc and haven’t had a complaint or comment in years. I’ll even ask friends and family if I smell when the timing is appropriate and they all seem confused regarding the question because I smell normal. My fiancé bathes every day and I love her so I won’t go into detail but it doesn’t help. She has skin issues and is constantly buying products to counter her dermatological issues. Her water consumption is almost 15x mine. When you consider the average shower consumption is 17.2gal Per shower And multiply that by fifteen she uses 240 gallons of water bi weekly compared to my 17.2 gallons. If that doesn’t blow your mind her yearly consumption is 6,260 gallons of water vs my 447 gallons. I love her and have never brought this up because I believe hygiene is personal and our water bill isn’t something to argue about but still… Go to a dermatologist with your current routine and see what they say. Then try a more traditional approach. The way homo-sapiens have been bathing for 300,000 years. Fungus is no bueno. But bacteria is natural and a requirement for a healthy skin biome. Do some yoga in the dirt. Get muddy in the garden and walk through a forest as often as possible. This isn’t woo woo. It’s science.

There are 9 million of bacterial spores per cubic meter in the air from the environment we live in (dirt, soil, anything). Bacterial communities are defined by the environment (temperature, salinity, chemistry of food sources). That makes any spray or probiotic pretty useless, except if you completely sterilized yourself with antibiotics.

I only wash myself with water. I've stopped using soap completely and it definitely was uncomfortable at first after a while i stopped smelling. People say i look like in in my 20s even though I'm 35

He's a keeper👍🏽

coconut oil and baking soda for deodorant works fine

I went a month without showering, but I did it in the Army. Does it still count?

Awesome info (y)

Loved the little asides.

As a man I need to use soap on certain places or start losing friends - to say nothing of jobs!

I LOVE THIS

Sounds like this would be perfect to use in cat litter.

I started a month ago...going to use Castille soap on nether regions for a while... then re-evaluate.

what about the brand of beard wash called Viking? think i should not use it?

A bit embarrassing, but I have hardcore ADHD and for years only showered maybe like 4-8 times a year, I used a lot of deodorant, but overall only my hotspots were stinky, sometimes horribly stinky. I never got acne, and I am in my 30s and can easily pass as 10 years younger. Now I shower everyday and I have to shower more often to maintain it I notice. I think if I rinsed daily back then I would be less smelly, but it definitely shows why I have such clear and young skin

How does one shave without cream or soap? Or did they just let their hair grow? If they didn't have a technique for shaving without shaving cream or soap, I'm calling fake on looking clean shaven while using only water.

I never use soap or moisturizers and I get tons of compliments on my skin and I don't smell.

The same is true of mouthwash. I never had bad breathe to begin with but I have that morning breathe. When I stopped using mouthwash I didn't have that problem anymore. Now I just raise with salt water.

Disinfectant is not a dirty word *pause for laughs*, but it is a double edged sword

Clean up your diet to mostly vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds with limited meats, in conjunction with this. Much more likely to not be funky I use pine tar soap which isn’t really soap but makes you smell like... pine tar. Also vitamin c filter to neutralize chlorine is essential

My first shower is when I get up in the morning. It’s just face cleanser and no soap on the rest of my body. Next shower is around 1pm . Final shower with soap and facial cleanser in a before I go to bed. I now shampoo every other day ever since I retired

the doogie doctor reporter is having a little too much fun with this.

since when does the atlantic actually make funny stuff!?

What are the two products in her shower at the end?

No one has mentioned that drinkers tend to stink the next day. Otherwise: I clean my face with water and a good facecloth; hair of almost all types is fine if rinsed every two days, as long as the scalp is well scrubbed and massaged ( Rastas have shown me their dry shampoo and I've never smelled pongy dreads ). As to the rest of the body: much like hair - water and sloughing off dead skin will generally keep you fresh, not forgetting that the hair around the pits and bits will retain oils which will pong if left untended; do as you see fit.

I don’t have much of a microbiome I lost my intestine and colon in 2008

This video offends me and my soap/perfume collection.

I’ve sat next to someone who smelled awful because of lack of hygiene and the smell was unbearable.

Fascinating

I like this interviewer.

Krueger in "Cross Of Iron" found after Stalingrad that natural body oils combined with dirt made him waterproof. However, his smell was noticeable in the confines of trench dugouts...

Love the subtle Comedy 😁

i never use soap

As a scientist, I am very far from convinced. Where’s the data? There were about 10 things discussed that need to be substantiated by experimental research.

This is mostly within the realm of speculation. There needs to be a lot more peer-reviewed research before people go around advocating against soap. There is a high risk that bad bacteria could do more harm than good bacteria does good.

Lmao we have only been using these crazy anti biotic soaps and chemical soaps for a short time this will be interesting in 30 years

Where may we purchase this smell repellant?

It's his witty comments for me ❤

The adult sized child man was funny, I enjoyed his humor.

This sounds like an awkward conversation with H.R. and importance of hygiene in the workplace.

what if I shower with cold water without soap?

I usually hate young reporters who do videos for channels like Vice. They always just seem like elitist brats. This guy is great though, srs. Subbed to see more work from him.

This is suggested during the pandemic?

Wow what an awesome thumbnail

How did a 12 year old become an editor at The Atlantic?!😁

I can do without soap. I just need to lose weight so I don't sweat like squeezing a thoroughly soaked sponge, live in a dry environment, and in a place where temperature doesn't go up past 65 degrees. Oh, and lose some form of anxiety lurking within me to avoid exceaaive sweaty hands.

Gah it’s superintendent chalmers, glad you could make it

Could this maybe explain the joke about men having better skin than women in western social media when 'they rarely shower and use 1 product for everything, vs women showering and preening/skin caring etc. way more. Is it maybe a mixture of social expectancy for women to be more groomed and manicured than men and that having the adverse effect which is then making a self realising need for more skincare/beauty products being marketted to women because they're not only expected to do it more but doing it more means they have worse skin/hair and thus keep buying more and more products.....

I shower twice a day! I can't imagine anything different. The only time I showered once a day was when I had back surgery in 2008.

I don't really see the big deal about showering. To borrow a joke from David Mitchell, it's not like we're supposed to live for 200 years and showering is making us not live as long. In reality showering (and it's chemicals) are a recent luxury for us and we don't seem to be dying any sooner because of it. There is certainly an environmental argument to be made wrt the chemicals used and things like bath beads, but that will be solved by differing the chemistry we use. As for the microbiome, that too hasn't seemed to diminish our longevity, and I would argue that there are three types of microbes, good, bad, and neutral with most being the latter and a few being the two former.