Always use soap in the shower?
What’s good for your skin is actually NOT using body-wash or soap every time you shower. Or if you, are you using are why soap that has probiotics in them to preserve and enhance your skins ecosystem. If that’s too much then at least try using soap that does not contain any harmful ingredients like micro plastics, sulfates and preservatives which are known to cause endocrine disruption. This tiered approach is a process that was based on scientific discoveries I found along my journey. My recommendation - save yourself some time and start at the most effective.
The Facts:
Our skin is not only are largest but its our most important organ. It is what holds our insides in and forms a protective barrier to keep the external environment out. This barrier structure and function are essential to human health. But is not just a layer of skin and hair, it is a whole ecosystem that works in harmony with the host (us) to ward off enemies, rebuild and utilize. And as we know, our skin surface is unique to the body part we poses. The best means of comparison is to think of your skin as the earth surface. There are arid desert regions (forearms), jungles (hair), great mountain ranges (quads) and wetlands (armpits and toes) and each varying region has its own climate and population of microbial inhabitants (animals for our analogy sake) that have their own function to make this world (host) complete. For instance, in moist areas such as the axilla (armpit) or toe web spaces there can reach over 107 aerobic bacteria per cm2, whereas dry areas such as the forearm or trunk may harbor 102 or fewer bacteria per cm2. There are also Anaerobic bacteria are also present on human skin, with colony counts up to 106 bacteria per cm2.
These bugs are are part of you. They are working on you, for you, so you can be a happy healthy human begin. We want to encourage these little bugs in their work, so they can do their jobs well. So they can protect us from invading external factors such as bacteria, chemicals, and temperatures. If they aren’t working, our bodies stop working and we become sick.
How do we take care of these guys?
Taken from a study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings - There are many external factors have been proven to alter the ecosystem of our skin with resulting changes in microbial populations. Environmental factors include temperature, humidity, salinity, and light exposure. Host factors include age, sex, immune status, hospitalization status, hygiene, use of medications (antibiotics, steroids), use of soaps and cosmetics, and presence of trauma. Activities that seem trivial to us, such as taking a shower, may be the equivalent of a hurricane to the microbes inhabiting the skin, with changes in landscape and population structure.
We can’t do too much about our age, sex or where we live, but we can do a lot to influence those other factors and for the purposes of this blog post… using soaps… that’s low hanging fruit. It’s easy, it’s something that if we just change one tiny thing we are doing everyday, over time can add up to a great result.
And I should point out, it’s not just soap. A National Institutes of Health report confirms that anything applied topically – cosmetics, soaps, astringents, moisturizers – all contribute to variations in skin microbiota. And without a microscope and advanced equipment you don’t know how one product you are using is making an impact on your skins microbiome.
What do the experts (paleontologist, dermatologist, estheticians) recommend?
Dr Rachel Nazarian of Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York City says "Skin does not need to be washed daily, but given the amount of sweating, oil production, and dirt it accumulates for most adults, I wouldn't recommend most people wash less than three times weekly." She continues that "Adult skin can be washed every day, but only if using these guidelines: short showers, lukewarm water and a gentle cleanser," she says. "Aggressive, daily cleaning techniques will cause skin to break down, flaring atopic dermatitis, eczema, and often causing uncomfortable itchy, red skin."
Researchers in Japan demonstrated that a microbiome bacterium, Staphylococcus epidermis (when mixed in a topical gel) have been shown to enhance moisture retention and reduce surface acid levels. Samples collected from participants in a double-blind randomized study had 1.4 times the amount of water in their skin after the trial, a suppression of water evaporation on the skin surface was shown (secondary to an increased lipid content resulting from S. epidermidis metabolism, as the lipid metabolites provided an ample surface coat to keep moisture trapped on the skin surface). AND the subjects also maintained a low acidic environment on the skin surface (Win!!)
Aesthetician, biomedical scientist and skin expert Alicia Lartey says exposing ourselves to extra dirt and germs can strengthen the immune system [s].
Sarah Ballantyne, a medical biophysicist turned author and lifestyle guru known as the Paleo Mom, has been an advocate of living in a more “stone age” way since reaching a healthy weight after adopting the Paleo diet. She uses only water to wash, even though she is “at the gym sweating buckets six hours a week”. “I use coconut oil to shave and that’s it,” she says. “Over time, my skin has adjusted. I don’t smell.” She is working on a book about the human microbiome and is convinced her odour-free armpits are a sign that her skin microbiome is healthy.
Honestly this not washing with soap idea is not new and recently gaining celebrity endorsement. Many celebs including Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell, admit that they do not wash on the regular. Ashton Kutcher says "I wash my armpits and my crotch daily, and nothing else ever." Cameon Diaz has not used antiperspirant in over 20 years.
Personally, what helps guide my decisions is seek knowledge about what worked hundreds of thousands of years ago before modern consumerism, following the truth of how we evolved in synergy with our planet. In many cases, ancient methods have proven to be better aligned with the most advanced understanding of microbiome balance.
in 2500 BC there are reports Sumerians used clay tablets made from vegetable oil and potash as a skin cleansing agent (in addition to pain water) [s].
In the 1700s, most people in the upper class seldom, if ever, bathed. They occasionally washed their faces and hands, and kept themselves “clean” by changing the white linens under their clothing [s].”
Daily bathing was a common custom in Japan during the Middle Ages in Europe. And in Iceland, pools warmed with water from hot springs were popular gathering places on Saturday evenings.
Ancient Egyptians bathed regularly. The Ebers papyrus, a medical document from about 1500 BC describes combining animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to form a soap-like material used for treating skin diseases, as well as for washing [s].”
In America, the idea of bathing is really just a result of 1900’s marketing influence. “The manufacture and promotion of soap played a huge role in promoting cleanliness as a desirable, appealing lifestyle[s].”
During the 1950’s people would bathe once a week, now we are bathing once every day. “There’s nothing wrong with just rinsing,” says Sandy Skotnicki, a Toronto-based dermatologist and the author of the 2018 book Beyond Soap. “I’ve talked to people who haven’t used any kind of detergent in years and they’re perfectly fine. [s]”
Mixed reports but whats more of a factor to consider for this discussion is WHAT they used for “soap.” The soap our ancient ancestors were using are not the same ingredients we are exposed to today. In fact they are worlds apart.
Back then, soap was a combination of animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to form a soap-like materials. Real whole ingredients from plant or animal sources. It was not a science experiment requiring Bunsen-Burners and test tubes.
Todays “soaps” are designed to remove dirt and oils from skin with the use of chemicals called surfactants, which surround dirt in a structures called micelles that allows for dirt and/or oil to be washed off our skin surface with water. There exist 4 classes of surfactants commonly used in personal care and cleaning products today; Anionic Surfactants (having a negative charge on their hydrophilic end which attack a broad range of soils, its useful in soaps and detergents by creating a foam when mixed), Nonionic Surfactants (neutral, they do not have any charge on their hydrophilic end often used for all-purpose cleaners), Cationic Surfactants (having a positive charge on their hydrophilic end making them useful in anti-static products, like fabric softeners) and Amphoteric Surfactants (having a dual charge on their hydrophilic end, both positive and negative which are often used in personal care products such as shampoos and cosmetics). I don’t want to go toooo deep into the science of body wash… you could here tho. The most common surfactants in today’s soaps and body washes are the anionic “Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS)” and “sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)” and to a lesser degree “Alkyl glucosides, taurates and sulfosuccinates.”
If I have learned anything in the past 5 years it’s that we need to AVOID sulfates for “their potential to form carcinogens that can ultimately lead to kidney damage and hormone disruption [s].”
The most common side effect when using products containing ammonium lauryl sulphate is skin irritation. In the same way that the detergent pulls oily debris off your skin, it can also pull of the skin’s necessary oils and upset the barrier they provide [s].
Course you could just make your own soap following a simple recipe using: animal fat or vegetable oil, 100 percent pure lye, distilled water, essential or skin-safe fragrance oils. The concern here tho is how these ingredients disrupt and alter our skins delicate ecosystem.
I feel like I’ve gone down a rabbit hole that I’m not sure how to get back from….
So what’s better? Soap or no soap?
If you’re going to use soap, Oil and milk-based cleansing techniques have been found to be less disruptive to important skin pH levels than modern surfactant-based cleansers. Another valuable option that is gaining more popularity and clinical aclaim is the use of probiotic cleansing products. One for example contains ammonia-oxidising bacteria (AOB), which is a bacteria peacekeeper that once existed on our skin, but has been cleaned away with modern hygiene and lifestyles.
Michelle Strutton, a global beauty analyst at the research firm Mintel, says that while probiotic skincare still has a low market share, it has increased more than 300% from 2015 to 2019 [s]
OR like my title suggests, go without suds for a while. See how you like it, you know know how something is for you until you see for yourself.
