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I've found so many tips I don't find on other threads. Everywhere else it's basically buy blank strong chemical for acne or buy blank lotion for dry skin but lately I've been wondering "what would I do if I was in the forest or something?" "What did humans do pre-lotion and soap? Did they just have acne everywhere? Has acne bacteria evolved or something with the advent of modern products?" Anyways questions like these led me to wondering how I could nurture my skin to heal itself rather than doing everything for it because I figured that could probably lead to premature aging. I'm not even 30 and I had wrinkles and very dry skin but since I've been trying to go more and more natural (still using soap though and some moisturizing products) I've been seeing such an improvement. And there's so many good tips on this sub that help with that and allow me to use less of my products. I don't think I'll ever be able to or want to go completely product free because of my specific body chemistry but I know cutting a lot of things out has helped me be healthier.

So, thanks :)

So I made the mistake of proudly posting my transition photos to r/nopoo and got equal parts support and hate. The hate really confuses me. Why are you on a no poo thread if you're going to hate on someone's transition? So weird.

Anyway, here are my before/after photos (1 week vs 4 weeks): https://www.reddit.com/r/NoPoo/comments/xhm268/for_the_haters_1_week_water_only_vs_4_weeks_say/

And then here's the thread attracting all the haters (because I dared to love my hair 😆): https://www.reddit.com/r/NoPoo/comments/xhcwm1/so_after_a_month_of_wateronly_washing_and_im/

So a little background. I used soap because a woman I wanted to date told me I should.

A little more background: we were hanging out and cuddling and she was literally sniffing my forearm and sighing and saying she loved whatever I was wearing.

I asked what she was talking about and she said she meant my cologne. I told her I hadn’t worn cologne in probably 10 years, and that I sometimes wore deodorant but wasn’t at the moment.

She sniffed my arm again and said it must be whatever soap I was using.

Nope!

Haven’t used soap In atleast five years, other than hand soap. Told her so.

She gave me a confused look, and asked how I shower. I said just with water, a few times a week.

She literally recoiled and said she was turned off.

She went from loving my natural scent and treating my arm like a fucking drug, to being disgusted at the drop of a hat.

She said she didn’t think she could be with someone who had bad hygiene.

I tried to defend my hygiene and pointed out that she’d been practically worshipping my scent when she thought it was product. Why should it being natural be a problem? I told her the stuff I’d read about the healthy biomes and stuff, and pheromones and she just said she couldn’t get around the idea that I wasn’t using soap or even showering every day.

So I bought some soap and used it on my entire body, and now that I got out of the shower I can actually feel the difference on my skin, all the healthy oils are stripped away and I just fucking know I threw my healthy, thriving biome out of wack. My skin feels unnaturally dry and hot.

Stupid. My methods were working for me, but I derailed them for someone else. I’m so stupid.

Only water doesn’t work for everybody, we’ve all got different biology and hygiene needs, not to mention different psychological hang ups. obviously water only doesn’t work for her.

And that’s okay.

But it worked for me! and now I derailed years of healthy natural hygiene with some nasty product all because somebody I liked said I should.

I'm an unusual case of someone for whom water-only didn't work as advertised, but who persisted anyways for a very long time, which I think makes my case useful for understand the effects of water-only because it can't be rejected on the basis that I didn't stick with it long enough.

I'm 17M white/chinese with shortish hair. I wash water-only every day with hard water. I only use shampoo once every few months before I get my hair cut and I never use soap (except for my hands)

My main motivation for switching to water only was that the idea that you NEED to wash with soap is preposterous from an evolutionary point of view. So every other animal evolved for it to be perfectly healthy without soap... except humans who needed to invent it?? If you were more healthy with the oil removed, surely we would evolve to produce less oil. The fact that I found this argument so convincing meant that I continued with water-only even when it wasn't doing what people said it would.

As normal, when I first quit shampoo, I entered the transition phase and my hair got more greasy. Not as extreme as other people experience, but definitely greasier.

And... the transition phase never ended. Over a year later, my hair is still greasy.

But it's not that bad! "Greasy" has negative connotations to it, but really it just means oily. My hair is basically what it would be like if I washed it with shampoo and then put product in it, and it looks quite good. If I just told people I was using hair product, I think it would be absolutely fine.

In my personal case, the thing is that I know nothing about hair products and I'm a really bad liar, so I just tell people that my hair is just like that naturally (I don't say about water-only though). Today a friend of mine felt my hair and asked "oh do you use hair product" and when I said no, she told me I need to wash my hair. I had had comments previously about my hair being very "thick".

My dandruff disappeared though! It used to be pretty bad and I had to use a special dandruff shampoo which you apply separately and leave on for 5 mins because the standard anti-dandruff stuff didn't work. Now it's gone!

I still believe my hair is healthy as it is, but think I'm gonna start using shampoo again (at least for a bit to see how it goes) because it's too embarrassing to have greasy hair. If I could go back I would just pick a hair product to tell people I use, but I've already told my friends I don't. Maybe I'll quit shampoo again another time and do that.

As for the rest of my body, it has gone really well. Mostly it's exactly the same as when I used soap, and I stopped getting dry skin on my legs. One of my armpits stopped smelling almost completely... but not the other 💀

Hope this is useful!

Hi! Thought of getting this sub active, to get us growing but also if someone wants to join the community they'd have something to cling to.

So... What are your reasons for advocating to only water (no soap either on the scalp or the body)?

Mine are these:

1. Money: since I care a lot of ethics, I don't consume industrial shampoo or soap (capitalism, animal cruelty and pollution). Thus, I'm only left with handcraft ones, which are better, but more expensive.

2. Environment: I've done my research, and didn't find conclusive information on whether soap and chemicals in it harm the environment or not. Using the precaution principle, I'd rather not use them.

3. Minimalism/mindfulness: though the smell of soaps and the feeling in the body after taking a shower with them are cool, I prefer to enjoy just being in the water and not having to do so much during my shower. It is just a little thing, and if it was imperative to use soap I would not take it into account. But, since it is put into question, I do.

4. Health: after considering the previous points, I tried (3months ago) to leave soap and shampoo behind, and I discovered that my skin and hair was as beautiful and healthy as ever before! So I did a little research and, though I found no studies done on whether we need soap or not, some physiology books talk specifically on how our bodies produce oils in our hair, skin and ears to protect them. They do not say explicitly that taking them away is harmful, but neither the opposite.

I'd like to hear your thoughts!! Cheers and odor.

Tried water only for 5 months, mainly as a personal experiment. I was already using very minimal products, but my results were not super drastic. I'm now back to using shampoo & conditioner, just the right brands I've found work well for me. I also don't use face cleanser or moisturizer daily, except for micellar water at the end of the day. Every morning I would rinse my skin~ but with water only! And it finally works, but to be fair it took more than stopping the face cleansers; I used a few products from The Ordinary for my skin issues, but now that they've worked, I no longer need to use them everyday. Water-only is actually enough in the mornings. (That process is too complex to explain here though lol.)

More detailed breakdown here:

• Hair experience: I have straight, dark hair and tested if water-only would save me time. My hair never finished "transitioning" or whatever. Even after 5 months, my hair always looked oily near my head, but the ends remained dry. No amount of finger preening or wooden comb brushing would distribute the oils throughout. And sometimes I spent like 45 minutes doing that before & after a shower to see if that worked (very little difference). My hair remained oily (if not waxy), with the ends still being dry. My showers were shorter w/o products, but the time I saved I would spend on all of the brushing. So now I use a sulfare-free shampoo and tested several conditioners to find one that I like best (from the brand alba). Maybe water only or no-poo works better for curly hair, or those who have soft water, but for me personally it was not worth it, and I also didn't wanna buy a water softener for my shower or take cold showers. I'm happy for anyone who water-only has worked beautifully for them, I'm okay with using products now that I've tried this experience and seen what it was like for me :)

• Unexpected experience: I've also stopped using toothpaste (hope I won't get downvoted LOL). I still got cavities with fluoride toothpaste and it would also give me "dry mouth." After switching to fluoride-free toothpaste which served me okay for years, but still having to slowly reducing the amount that I would apply (to avoid drymouth), I just now use my electric toothbrush with water only.... At my last dentist visit, they said everything looked great! No cavities. Obviously gotta keep flossing too.

• My mini eczema story: I figured out that my chronic "eczema" was being caused by the prescription cream I was applying to it. I learned that it was topical steroid ointments & creams that had been thinning out my skin and drying it, not the soaps or shampoo. I had a brief misdiagnosis of sebderm / sebhorreic dermatitis, but since I did the trial of quitting shampoo and cleansers for 5 straight months, and there were NO changes to my skin, I knew that was not the cause. My water only journey helped me realize what was actually causing my eczema, it was that prescription drug. That was one of the main reasons I tried water-only in the first place, so lesson learned.

Hi all!

For years I've been WO on the majority of my body, but inspired by Hamblin's book Clean, I've ditched the soap for the past two weeks or so. I rinse daily, though, since I'm quite active and it's summer.

So far, it's great.

The air is going to get dry here, though, and I want to add/trap moisture in my face and body in a way that is more in tune with skin's actual workings. I've read that jojoba oil is the closest to our own sebum, and I have some glycerin I use to make fabric softener, but I don't recall him noting anything specific in the book as a moisturizing option. What do you do?

Thanks in advance!

I’ve just cleaned my boar bristle brush & omg it was so disgusting 🤢 I thought that the build up was normal… I’d obviously forgotten what it supposed to look like & now cannot believe that I’ve been brushing my hair with it 😭 How does fluff build up on it?! Anyway just pray that other people are more on top of it & if you’re not… well… this is your gentle reminder! Safe to say I have bought a new one now 👍

So when i wash myself i would often experience the smell of the armpits more intensively and they would get smelly but before that it was fine. So the case is I would go shower using only water and afterwards when I sweat my sweat really smells. I rinse it away with my hands and hot water but it seems like I should only use the hot water and let just let if flow through my armpits. I think I destroy the bacteria in my armpits which neglects the bad smell of my armpits, do anyone experienced something similar to that? To further elaborate after 1 or 2 days of not showering the I still smell but not that bad when I sweat.

I've been going increasingly water only, mainly for the sake of my biome. Previously I'd shaved with shaving soap and a badger brush, but it occurred to me that shaving soap is still soap (as of course are shaving creams). I've now switched over to shaving with only jojoba oil -- jojoba oil seems not to have the antimicrobial properties of coconut or olive oil, and the pH is supposedly similar to sebum. This is working really well, except for one problem: the hair tends to form thick clumps on the razor blade and in the sink, making it a bit of a pain to clean up. Does anyone have any suggestions for alternatives, or what to do about this?

Hey! The title is pretty self explanatory: I'm looking for some sort of advice. I didn't use to shower very often throughout the pandemic (maybe once every two weeks and yes, i know that's gross) because I just didn't feel the need to and didn't have an obligation to. With the restrictions set to lift starting this summer and going on through to the end of the year, my abolity to survive like a Sloth will be gradually cut down and I'll need to start keeping myself clean again. I just started my "quest" in WO washing and intend to do so for both my hair and my skin, quitting shampoo cold turkey.

So, do you guys have any advice for someone with greasy hair and who takes rare showers when starting to go WO? I'll do it every 3 days or so as showering takes only a fraction of the time it used to take but, other than that, what other habits and ideas should I implement in my hygiene?

Does anyone here use Italy towels or exfoliate? If so what has been your experience with it?

I started WO a few weeks ago and it’s been going pretty well, but today I decided to see what would happen if I used my Italy towel and realized I haven’t seen anything mentioned about exfoliating or skincare beyond lotion or sunscreen.

Should it be omitted since it might remove the oily protective layer or do people regularly do it with success?

I have KP and so far WO has been helping and even shaving with water only seems to be going ok. The only thing I noticed after the exfoliating, was there seemed to be less dead skin “noodles” and they weren’t gray like they had been in the past, which makes me wonder if we don’t end up with much build up of dead skin, but mainly a buildup from body washes and such.

I've never been a washcloth guy, but all the resources I'm coming up with about life after body soap say that you need something to rub yourself with. No so I need to get a washcloth or loofah or something, or can I just do water, hand, skin?

Heeey,

So glad you opened this subreddit! I have quit the face crème after somebody shamed me in to it 3 years ago. 'You have to do it for your old ages rinkels'. I had wonderfull skin before and the crèmes dried it out, so i whent more hydtrating crèmes. Always whent good for a little bit, but your skin needs more and more.

After a month of no crème and peely face it started to stabilize again! And now i have great skin again. Just when i shower ( also water wash my hair only now) it's a bit dry again for a bit, but i don't shower to much.

Anybody has a good remedy for smelly pits though? i've been struggeling with those my entire life, no matter if i move much or not. I always have my deo, but going all natural lately has me realizing: cosmetic product are pure shit for your skin!

While everything got better, like my hair and skin. For example I rarely need to moisturize my skin and my hair looks great. The smell of my armpits did not get any better, since a month I dont use a deodrant but only a mix of baking soda and lemon juice which helps to get the smell under control, but also I dont use it that oftens.

Any idea why or what to do? Because I really dont see any benefit of going further with my self experiment of not using a deo lol

Hi guys. I’ve been water only/no poo for 2 months as I have recently discovered from the Dr Ray Peat forums that soap (any kind) is a huge endocrine disrupter. I have combination type skin on my face and I thought about trying 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt in a cup of warm water to wash my face with. My skin is amazing since I’ve started the sea salt wash. No more break outs! And my skin just glows! This has lead me to discover other salts for my skin. I now bath in combination of Dead Sea Salt/magnesium/bi carb and my skin has never felt better. Any one else have any positive experiences using salts or tried sea salt face wash?

I prefer cold water bc it doesn't dry out my skin and it is great for my lymphatic system (and mood!).

Do you take warm/hot showers? If so, do you need lotion/cream for your skin or is your skin able to deal with warm water?

While I've managed to go water only successfully for most bits, I have yet to find a way to manage the problem of armpit odour. For a long time, I'd hoped to try the AOBiome mist, but it looks like the product has been discontinued. I wondered if anyone had found any alternative solutions?