4 ms·

May I ask why you stopped using soap? I can imagine not using soap on arms, legs and torso, but not for intimate areas! I’m intrigued for sure :)

by pixxel 4y ago

kstenerud 4y ago
I read an article about it and decided to try it (just look for "water only" washing - there are tons of articles and people talking about it on Reddit). I too was worried about armpits and intimate areas at first, but my wife has no complaints (quite the opposite; she loves the way I smell. So does my cat for some reason). For the first few years I used one of those crystal salt deodorants because I used to smell REALLY bad. But somewhere through the years that went away and I don't use it anymore. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it has something to do with me changing my diet to remove highly processed foods, but we're also talking about a sample size of one so who knows... I do notice that my body smell changes slightly depending on what I eat, though.
- ASalazarMX 4y ago
  How is the weather where you live? I can't imagine this working in a hot, humid tropical country. I know there's variability in human body odor, like most Asians not needing deodorant, but I'm skeptical because some people do have a strong body odor they can't smell. I've known a few.
  - kstenerud 4y ago
    I've lived all over the place, from dry to wet-towel-in-your-face humid, from -25c to 45c. Even after an hour long workout dripping with sweat I don't really smell like anything. The way to test your own body odor without asking other people is to take a deep whiff of yesterday's shirt when you wake up in the morning. Even better would be to walk around outside a bit before you smell your old shirt in order to keep a somewhat consistent calibration. But really, it's best to just ask someone you can trust to be truthful (most people will be truthful if you preface something by "I'm running an experiment").
    - Markoff 4y ago
      or you could just ask your own (young) kids, they have no filter, sometimes when we lay in bed they tell me I stink, they mean armpits, not that it would be necessary, even I can smell it at that point if I try
      - ASalazarMX 4y ago
        Strong smells also can be associated to pleasant things. If your grampa smelled weird, but you loved him, you'll love the weird smell too after a while.
    - ASalazarMX 4y ago
      That's amazing if true, because that means your sweat is hostile to the kind of bacteria that produces the smell we associate with old sweat. It's impossible to sweat distilled water, but maybe it's possible to sweat salt water with low content of fats and proteins, I really don't know. Sloths, for example, are known for having no body odor, so it might be possible for some people. I'd love to know the mechanism for inhibiting bacteria breeding in skin grease. PH level?
- pixxel 4y ago
  I will look it up for sure. Many thanks for sharing.

May I ask why you stopped using soap? I can imagine not using soap on arms, legs and torso, but not for intimate areas! I’m intrigued for sure :)

by pixxel 4y ago

May I ask why you stopped using soap? I can imagine not using soap on arms, legs and torso, but not for intimate areas! I’m intrigued for sure :)

kstenerud 4y ago

I read an article about it and decided to try it (just look for "water only" washing - there are tons of articles and people talking about it on Reddit). I too was worried about armpits and intimate areas at first, but my wife has no complaints (quite the opposite; she loves the way I smell. So does my cat for some reason). For the first few years I used one of those crystal salt deodorants because I used to smell REALLY bad. But somewhere through the years that went away and I don't use it anymore. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it has something to do with me changing my diet to remove highly processed foods, but we're also talking about a sample size of one so who knows... I do notice that my body smell changes slightly depending on what I eat, though.

ASalazarMX 4y ago
How is the weather where you live? I can't imagine this working in a hot, humid tropical country. I know there's variability in human body odor, like most Asians not needing deodorant, but I'm skeptical because some people do have a strong body odor they can't smell. I've known a few.
- kstenerud 4y ago
  I've lived all over the place, from dry to wet-towel-in-your-face humid, from -25c to 45c. Even after an hour long workout dripping with sweat I don't really smell like anything. The way to test your own body odor without asking other people is to take a deep whiff of yesterday's shirt when you wake up in the morning. Even better would be to walk around outside a bit before you smell your old shirt in order to keep a somewhat consistent calibration. But really, it's best to just ask someone you can trust to be truthful (most people will be truthful if you preface something by "I'm running an experiment").
  - Markoff 4y ago
    or you could just ask your own (young) kids, they have no filter, sometimes when we lay in bed they tell me I stink, they mean armpits, not that it would be necessary, even I can smell it at that point if I try
    - ASalazarMX 4y ago
      Strong smells also can be associated to pleasant things. If your grampa smelled weird, but you loved him, you'll love the weird smell too after a while.
  - ASalazarMX 4y ago
    That's amazing if true, because that means your sweat is hostile to the kind of bacteria that produces the smell we associate with old sweat. It's impossible to sweat distilled water, but maybe it's possible to sweat salt water with low content of fats and proteins, I really don't know. Sloths, for example, are known for having no body odor, so it might be possible for some people. I'd love to know the mechanism for inhibiting bacteria breeding in skin grease. PH level?
pixxel 4y ago
I will look it up for sure. Many thanks for sharing.