The NO Soap Bathing Challenge,I'm in!!



I've been waiting for couple of days now,excitedly to write this post immediately! It all started when I read marry post  and found out the NMDL 5 days no soap challenge.  The challenge was actually 2 years ago.But hey,..bring it on!    So I started my no soap  challenge since January 31,It's been 7 days now!The challenge was inspired by Sean Bonner who hasn't used soap nor shampoo in a year.

First time I heard it,I was like..what the..@#??!!.Though I've been trying to live in more natural and green way these 2 years,but quiting soap and shampoo completely never got into my mind! Oh,I did stop using soap for my face(read my post here).But not for my body.And more,not for my hands and feet since I have pets so everytime after touching them,I have to wash my hands/feet in order to kill bacterias. And..thanks to the frequent touching which means frequent hand washing,now my hands are really dry and rough. See,that's how soap works!.

As I've ever posted before,soap is alkaline and that's how it works.Under some circumstances,it even destroys our skin acid mantle,making our skin even drier than before thus the skin is stimulated to produce even more oil.Natural soap(those who still has glycerine in it)is better than the non one,however it's still alkaline. The good thing about alkaline products is that they make you feel tight skin feeling,something that people associate the feeling with"clean" after whole day sweating.But it's different story when we associate it with our skin acid mantle.Both don't go the same way.

So,I decided to give the challenge a try.This is the rules:
No soap, no body wash, nada. This one isn’t about hair though, so you can totally shampoo—just don’t be cheating with those suds. (And yes, for the sake of basic human decency, we encourage you to continue to wash your hands and private parts, obviously.)

I've been doing exactly the same.No cheating. Here are my experiences by far:

Day 1:
I don't experience massive itchiness after showering.Something that become my daily"routine"after showering. Everytime I finish showering,some part of my body become very itchy that makes me scratching it badly.Last time I scratched it badly,got bleeding and left scratches mark on my arm(see pic here).


Eh,sorry for the weird pic.I have no idea how to take self pic.Last time I tried it,I broke my tripod,plus the camera :/...
Ok,so basically I got some scratches on my arm.Isn't it weird,I mean we are literally cleaner after we get shower right?So in that term I'm not supposed to be that itchy!. So,on day 1 of no soap bathing challenge,I experienced no itchiness after showering. And surprisingly,less body odor on my armpit.Even for the whole day.

Day 2:
Generally pretty much the same as day 1,less body odour and no body scratching after showering.However,it got me weird feeling like I haven't taken a proper bath.Guess this is how my body react to soap habits.My mind used to associate clean = dry skin feeling after showering.

Day 3:
In the morning when I was outside the house to feed my pets,I gained some mosquitoes arround me.Mosquitoes work targetting their prey by prey's natural smell.I haven't taken my morning shower when that happened(note:In Indonesia we take shower 2 times/day.We generally have hot weather here).That could be the factor,I think.Because when I have had a shower,I didn't find any mosquito attack.  Beside that mosquitoes,I don't experience any itchiness,bad body odour and such.I even told my mom that I had"3 days no soap bathing",she couldn't believe me and even tried to smell my armpit.She was surprised by that!Because"logically",by this what we call"modern day,soap = civilized thinking",3 days no soap means a disaster body odour.   Well,....it doesn't..!

Day 4:
Generally still less body odour(can't say no body odour,it's still there especially if you have lots of activities.But the smell is 75% less than when I use soap). No itchiness after showering also.My skin feels smooth and not dry,however it looks dull.I think I need to scrub it.My body scrub has no soap in it,but in order to fulfill this challenge,I'll scrub it later after 5 days.

Day 5:
Again,less body odour.No itchiness after showering.Skin feels smooth and hydrated.Less skin gunk. Overall,I'm satisfied with the result.

Even today,I still continue the challenge.Today I plan to use my non soapy body scrub.In general,I think we do need soap for some occasions like washing hands or feet in order to kill bacterias.Or to some part of our bodies that aren't covered by clothes.I generally wearing short pants and short sleeve shirt when I'm at home,sure my legs and my arms aren't covered plus I get in touch with my pets alot,so I need to wash that part with soap. Soap is just a shorcut of killing bacterias method. However,soap causing new problem that is: drying the skin!
Maybe I should ditch it and just washing it with non alcohol hand sanitizer instead.Or,washing it with teatree oil/piper bettle leaf oil diluted in water instead. After all,the idea is just to kill the bacteria.There're many ways of killing bacterias without drying out our skin.

In all,have you ever tried this no soap challenge?Or,are you interested in doing it so?I would really love to hear your opinion. Since 1st time when I heard this and tried this,I thought I was doing something crazy!!. I mean,Indonesia has hot weather.We sweat a lot.I've never thought that this method could work in this hot weather to be honest,but it works!. Not sure if there's any Indonesian out there but me who has ever done this here.

Is there any Indonesian who ever tried this?Or Singaporean,anyone from south east Asia with the same weather as Indonesia?Would love to hear your story!!:)

Btw,Jeniffer from www.shopmyessentials.com is offering 20% off for entire orders to all of you guys who want to shop in shopmyessentials.Just use this code"lovely",you can use the code as many times as you want until February 28, 2013. Free shipping for orders over $25 to the US and Canada. Or,you can click on the banner on the bar right there->
This isn't a referral link,nor I get paid of this(if it's referral or a sponsored link,I'll state it here).I support women entrepreneurship,if you ask me why.

Guess that's all for now.Thank you for reading,and please feel free to share some of the joy you have today to those in need bellow!:) Thank you.. Have a Nice Day!



26 lovely notes

  1. I am so glad you found success by using less soap! I like that you also had your mom to give an objective opinion that you do not smell!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh,the result is beyond my imagination actually.I thought I would smell very bad,having sticky,greasy feeling and such,but it just didn't! :)

      Did you do this no soap challenge too?Or maybe you've been doing it for awhile now?I'm so curious about other bloggers experience regarding this no soap experience!:)

      Delete
    2. I just was never into soap in the first place! I don't know why, I guess I never thought I needed it everywhere.

      Delete
    3. Wow,really??So all this time you don't use soap at all??:O I'm impressed!! I mean,I thought everyone in this earth using soap,like.. always.
      Anywho,I hope you'd like to write a post about"no soap life",how it was started and how it is going by far. I know it sounds like an ordinary thing for you(that no soap life),but this is kind of an extra ordinary thing for people like me(and sure for some people out there).So it'll be very interesting to hear about such story :)
      Btw thank you for inspiring me,Mary!:)

      Delete
    4. I do use some soap! For hand washing, or after a hike or something like that. Just not as much as most people! No body wash or anything. I might think about writing a post about it. I do think switching over to natural products also means questioning whether everything we're sold by brands is necessary to be clean and beautiful. Anyways I'm glad you're having such great results!

      Delete
    5. Thank you!:) I see.I still doing the challenge even today!:D Hand washing is the hardest thing to be ditched though,even if I use non alcohol hand sanitizer one.That"dry =clean hands"thinking on my mind,though the result is even very dry hands..:/

      You're right,by switching means we see lots of things in beauty industry that many people don't see.And being able to pick which one that we really need,not just bluntly fall into producers claim saying that"our products are natural,no synthetics,bla bla bla"while they're fighting each other,saying their rivals have bad products,not naturals,etc. I don't buy such claims now,I pick which one that I need only.

      Can't hardly wait for your no soap post..;)

      Delete
  2. cool challenge!
    never heard about this one before..
    but I think it's great~
    I think I'll try this later! ^^ hehehe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes it is!I've never tried nor heard about it before!:)

      You should try it for sure!It's just no soap on your covered with clothes body part,but you can still use essential oils for fragrance,or non soapy body scrub if you want. I have good result by far,less body odour 75%-80%!! Good Luck in trying ya!hehehe.. ^^

      Delete
  3. I read about this challenge on Mary's blog as well!
    I haven't used soap for over a month now lol and I
    don't really regret it either :p

    The Physician's Formula BB cream is the only somewhat
    natural concealer I could find at the drugstore ><
    I was in a hurry because my under eyes were so dry.
    I was tempted to get a Maybelline concealer, but my
    conscience said 'no!' :p

    I don't think it's completely green/natural.
    Do you know any good natural hydrating concealers?
    Here is the ingredients list:

    Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Water, Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glycerin, Titanium Dioxide, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Iron Oxides, Mica, Polysilicone-11, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Perilla Ocymoides Seed Oil, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Castor Oil Phosphate, Disodium EDTA, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Glyceryl Isostearate, Lysolecithin, Magnesium Silicate, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol.


    oh and Ric is short for Ricardo (my boyfriend lol)
    when is your birthday!?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh,yes I read your comment there and it also"encouraged"me to do the same!:)
      I thought everyone in this earth would never do bathing without soap!So I was surprised to see some people actually have done this :D where have I been all this time?:D

      You're right,that concealer seems not completely green/natural.Silicone is something that become my concern since I'm prone to acne,and to put it as my undereye concealer,I'd be worried about getting milia or whiteheads by that.
      Actually there're lots of green/natural concealers out there(if we talk about ingredients),but when we talk about color result,it's another story.I've tried mychelle concealer,the color just not good enough to cover dark eyecircles.But it has very good ingredients in it.I heard that Jane Iredale,RMS beauty,Studio 78 Paris are also good.Haven't tried them all,but deffy would love to try it! Vapour concealer works well to conceal anything,but dark eye circles since it's shimmery. Lauren Broke Mineral is also good(Mary has tried it),good thing is that the price isn't as high as those brands I mentioned above.There're many,but I haven't tried them all since last year I focus more to buy skincare rather than make up. This year I'll focus on makeup instead :)
      Since you live in Canada,I think you're luckier than me,the shipping cost won't be high :D... Envyyyyy :p

      Ah,I see..is he an aquarius?the same as me then :) Mine was on last month(January).

      Delete
  4. Lynn! Fantastis sekali! XD
    Nyobain ah! Hahaha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ho oh,cobain aja!Aku malah udah nyoba 8 hari ini malah :D

      Kulitku ngga gatel2 heboh pas habis mandi lagi tuh ^^ Makanya aku senang ma challenge ini :D

      Delete
    2. Ciamik deh! <3 Aku udah nyoba lebih-lebih dari 8 hari deh. Hahaha. Cuma kadang selang-seling juga, nggak total.
      But it's true that it gives less body odour! Ya ada, tapi nggak nyengat sama sekali, bahkan ngurangin, dengan keadaan aku sibuk gila! Lucu! Aku nggak ngerti cara kerjanya, tapi lucu deh, logika tentang sabun = wajib = kalau nggak bau jadi kebalik. :))

      Delete
    3. Ah,aku malah sampe hari ini masih ga pake tuh!Kayanya statusnya sudah ngga nyoba lagi ya,hehehe..

      Iya bener,kebalik.Mungkin karena ketiak pHnya ngga boleh basa,makanya pas sabun ngga exist disitu dia jadi ngga bau.Apalagi kalo sabunnya ada baunya,uda deh baunya jadi campur aduk ga jelas gitu ma bau ketek.. @_@

      Yg jelas sih aku ngga make sabun jadi badanku ngga gatel2 lagi abis mandi =D,lalalaaaa..

      Delete
  5. No soap maksudnya mandi pakai air doang nie? atau km pakai semacam pengganti sabun?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No soap berarti ngga pake soap alias sabun lah ya ^^ Ada di rulesnya kan:
      "no soap,no body wash,nothing! This one isn't about hair,so you can totally shampoo(just don't be cheating with the suds).And yes for the sake of basic human decency,we encourage you to continue to wash your hands and private parts,obviously!"

      Ngga pake sabun ato body wash,shampooan gpp krn ini bukan ttg rambut(cuman jgn cheating dgn make busa shampoo buat sabunan).Utk alasan"kepatutan kemanusiaan",maka pake sabun di tangan dan bagian pribadi masih diperbolehkan.
      Ya udah gitu aja,bagian lain kaya badan,ketiak mandi pake air aja. Idenya ini krn kita hindari sabun(krn byk alasan,salah satunya alkalin).Tantangannya 5 hari pake air aja.
      Ya itu pengalamanku diatas hasilnya. Setelah 5 hari,aku ngga ada masalah tuh!Bahkan 5 hari itu aku ga pake deodoran loh!
      Setelah 5 hari itu,bukan bau badan yg mau aku"perbaiki".Bau badan ga ada masalah,tapi kulit lebih kusam iya.Jadinya perlu di scrub yg tanpa sabun(lulur kering tradisional). Tapi walo kulit lebih kusam,kulit jauuuhh lebih lembut ketimbang pas make sabun!!

      Kesimpulanku,yg diperlukan bukan sabun,tapi scrub(yg jelas bukan scrub sabun yg ada di pasaran loh ya)3 hari sekali.Kalo mau badan wangi pas mandi,tambahin aja essential oil di air mandi,ato pake parfum abis mandi juga bisa.Toh krn badan kita ngga sabunan,bau badan kita juga ngga parah hasilnya ini ^^


      Delete
    2. menarik banget loh ini, aku pengen coba, tapi aku masih kepikiran dengan minyak yang keluar bersama dengan keringat, juga bakteri dan kuman yang menempel di tubuh, apakah air aja bisa menghilangkannya? cos scrub gak bisa setiap hari(seperti yg km bilang 3 hari sekali), dan aku takutnya bakterinya keburu menumpuk..haha *parno banget ya??*

      Thanks a lot for your explanation

      Delete
    3. Begini,yg kamu maksud itu kuman dan bakteri yg gimana?Dan gimana pergaulan kamu tiap hari?Maksutku,klo kamu jenis yg tiap hari pergaulan bebas sama hewan,tempat2 kotor yg becek2 gitu,dst,ya pakelah sabun ditempat yg ga ketutup pakaian :D.Kalo yg udah ketutup pakaian,nha kemungkinan besar ga kena kuman kan?Itu klo pergaulanmu sama jenis2 kuman kaya gitu.

      Kalo kamu gaulnya standar2 aja,di rumah,ngemall,ngantor,ngafe,dst,apa kumannya segawat itu sampe skin acid mantle kamu sendiri ga bisa lindungi kulit kamu sendiri?Jangan salah loh,sabun itu ada cara kerjanya sendiri dan resikonya sendiri.Tolong baca postinganku taun lalu ini(krn copy paste aku disable,jadi klik aja di bagian"my beauty journey"bulan juli ttg adara vco):
      http://lovelycosme.blogspot.com/2012/07/adara-organic-coconut-virgin-oil-in.html

      Nha,untuk bagian yg ketutup pakaian,makanya perlu discrub krn sel2 kulit matinya yg numpuk itu,kalo ngga di scrub bikin kulit kusam dan jerawat.Mkanya perlu discrub.Kalo ga pake scrub kering,pake loofah aja cukup kok.Aku pake loofah aja krn suka males mesti nyampur2 scrub kering dulu pake air,tinggal pake loofah aja beres^^
      Ga masalah tu kulitku hingga hari ini,bau ketek juga jauh berkurang ketimbang pas make sabun diketek,itu bikin baunya...@_@ Dan yg pasti,aku ga garuk2 kulit lagi habis mandi ampe lecet2 gitu.
      Overall,aku pake sabun di bagian yg ga ketutup baju,krn aku ada hewan piaraan di rumah,dan aku pake celana pendek klo di rumah,jadi ya kusus betis aku sabunin.Ma tangan juga.Sisanya ngga sama sekali.

      Coba aja,ga rugi apapun toh?Banyak yg uda nyoba termasuk aku,ga papa tuh!Tu Ningrum juga uda nyoba :) Ga usa terlalu parno lah,aku aja yg punya hewan piaraan bisa.Apalagi yg engga ^^

      Delete
  6. I've tried it!

    Err... sort of. Haha. I'm a lazy bath-er. So sometimes, when I'm too lazy, I just step into the shower and freshen up without actually soaping myself. Or when I'm late for work, I don't really use soap. I never noticed the difference but it's probably because I never thought it had any positive effects. To me, I was just plain lazy, haha.

    But the thing is, I don't have any BO. I don't smell although I sweat a lot. I don't even use deodorant.
    However, my hair stinks quite fast so that's the part of bathing I can't really skip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh,good for you Vivi!:) I do smell when I have lots of activities and sweat alot.So this no soap thing resulted in less body odour actually made me surprised.But for me the main point isn't body odour,it makes me no itchy.I usually got itchy on my arms,thighs,back,legs,hands after showering/bathing.These days,I got nothing!So even today when I write this comment,I still use no soap on my body at all!:)

      I have dry hair so I do shampooing twice a week only,or else my hair will get tangled pretty soon :/

      Delete
  7. dulu dokter kulit ku jg nyuruh mandi sehari sekali aja, dan mang bener gara2 sabunan kulit jd kering & gatel2 ^^" .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iya,yg dulu kamu cerita itu kan?:) Tapi kalo di jak,mandi sehari sekali aja...@_@

      Iya,kita pernah bahas ini dulu.Aku inget kok.Kulit kita kan sama2 sensi,naomi!^^
      Aku si masi ga pake sabun di badan ampe hari ini.Ga masalah tuh :D Nha,kalo kamu..entah ya,hehehee :D Mending mandi sehari 2x tetep kalo misal mau nyoba ga make sabun badan,dibanding mandi sehari sekali pake sabun badan si kataku :)

      Delete
  8. I am from Malaysia.Today I started to shower just using a loofah scrub and baking soda. I too find there is no body odor.
    But I think I will test it few more days to see how it goes.
    I agree soap really dries out the skin. After I took my shower without soap, my skin feel less dry and I am less prone to scratch myself.
    I think there is a reluctance by Malaysian to try this out because we are in a hot and humid country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Any comment on this blog will need my approval 1st before getting it published,sorry for that inconvenience!^^ So if next time you want to make a comment,you can write it once,don't worry I'll still get your msg :) I've replied your comment btw,see below ^^

      Delete
  9. Hi,

    I am from Malaysia, today I started to shower just using baking soda and a loofah as scrub. I stopped using soap because I too like you, facing itchy problem after shower because of the dryness of soap.
    I seems to stop feeling the itchiness after my shower and I still could not detect any odour on my body after the shower.
    I have actually stop using shampoo to wash my hair about a year ago and at the same time I stop using those commercially available cleanser on my face too. I was just using baking soda and apple cider vinegar for my hair and honey for my face.
    After the whole day, I still don't get any smelly armpit and body odor. I guess I will continue to try out the no soap routine.
    I think the people in M'sia, Singapore and Indonesia are reluctant to try out no soap routine because the weather is so hot and they are afraid of body odor. But they have to understand sometime soap just make the body odor becoming even more terrible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lily!
      You gave 2 comments,so I'll reply this one 1st since it's longer though I'll still reply another one ^^

      So you're another person arround this area but me who have been not using soap on body!Glad to know that! =D and yes,I still don't use it untill today.However,I still use shampoo since I have dry,weavy hair and I just can't stand the greasy hair looking.I know that baking soda substitution but haven't tried the baking soda though since I love getting lather on my hair.Still,I'll try to see how it goes ^^ As for the honeh,i'll try to post about it(can't promise it when,just been busy these days :/)..

      Btw,how long have you been trying that no soap bath?I've been doing this for about 6 months,I guess.

      I agree about how people in this area feel about using no soap.Not only about body odour,it's also that we here tend to sweat that people associate it with being"dirty"so by having that dryness feeling,they will feel"clean".I think it's really unnecessary to dry armpit area on daily basis,perhaps once in a while since when it become too dry,it'll stimulate more oil production :)

      Delete

Spamming isn't a lovely thing!I won't approve any spam and advertisement comment here.Please,don't try your luck by spamming on my blog.Thank you..