- Time of past OR future Camino
- First one in 2005 from Moissac, France.
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your comet on Romans knew the benefits of healthy skin, they frequented the public baths on a daily basis as a social way to communicated and a means of cleanliness. nothing worse than sleeping next to one with smelling feet.Hi - that refugio shower scramble; problems of privacy, queues, will there be enough hot water, what to do with your bags, etc ... the thing is, you don't have to do it. A daily bath or shower - sometimes twice daily - is a very modern habit, promoted by producers of bathroom products and believing that false hype can verge on neurosis.
Our skin is our largest organ and is designed to exude oils and help the nurture of beneficial bacteria to protect us from external invasions - it is there to keep us healthy.
Every time we shower, if we use chemical products, we strip all of that away, leaving the body defenceless, and this is not a good thing to do at all.
We have five places where our bodies produce secretions that will smell after a few days. Armpits, feet, groin. If we gently soapy wash those parts (with a gentle soap) using a flannel then we will always smell sweet, the rest of the body can be rubbed down with clear water.
And this makes refugios really simple. If you carry a light collapsible bucket you can take it with you into the WC cubicle and clean yourself easily and simply, in total privacy, whenever you want. You can even do it behind a bush by a stream!
The Romans knew the benefits of healthy skin. Their method was to rub their skin all over with olive oil, use a strigil to scrape it off, and then plunge into a hot bath, then a cooler one. Soap didn't even exist.
Both men and women with long hair say they have problems if they stop washing their hair, and this is true as they constantly wash it with chemicals, stripping out all the oils and use a conditioner to try and replace them, so if they stop their hair goes frizzy - but, for thousands and thousands of years women didn't regularly wash their hair, instead they regularly brushed it. Think of all those female aristocrats sitting down having their hair brushed by a servant in films. The scalp produces oils specific to healthy hair and by regular long brushing this is moved to all of the hair, giving a beautiful healthy glow. (Gets rid of the split ends problem too).
I never take a bath and only shower about once every few months, without chemicals, but I do soapy wash smell producing areas and clear wash my skin daily. I have really healthy supple smooth skin and, no, I don't smell!
This constant showering and hair washing - it is habit, a consumer habit produced by adverts from bathroom product companies and, honestly, not only is it not necessary it is actually harmful to you as it strips away your body's defences. Their is a difference between cleanliness and sterility. "In cleanliness there is bacterial activity, there is life. Without bacteria there would be no life."
So - a different viewpoint .. but think about it! Carry a lightweight folding bucket and the whole shower saga in a refugio is over, gone, forever - and you will be much healthier too - win-win, don't you think?
No. Only the idle rich and those who could afford to do so did. Soldiers had bathhouses in their barracks. The rest got on with whatever they got on with, bathing as they could afford to. Slaves and the workers, in general the vast majority did not have an easy or a long life.your comet on Romans knew the benefits of healthy skin, they frequented the public baths on a daily basis as a social way to communicated and a means of cleanliness. nothing worse than sleeping next to one with smelling feet.
Returning from my first Camino (2008), my flight through Germany was delayed and I had to spend the night at the airport. The showers didn't open until 0500. I got into line and was told the men's shower was unavailable, but I could go into the women's. Towel in hand, I trooped in, passed all the ladies brushing hair, putting on makeup, walked into a cubicle, closed the door, showered, dressed and walked back out.After a walk of 20-40km in hot summer spain middays sun I would like to prefer not to abuse locals and fellow pilgrims with my look and smell.
Yes, I did shower every day. I do not sweat a lot, but it was a refreshing routine after the walk.
I did use a skin-gentle nature product for body, shaving and hair and to wash my clothes. It was a half a block of Aleppo-Soap. Way better than those overhyped Lush soapbars.
I did not experience any queues and only in the first municipal albergue in Galicia I had to shower with cold water. As a German I don't have problems with privacy in communal showers.
At home I shower every second day with the mentioned Aleppo soap.
BC
Roland
I agree with you about the necessity of such frequent showers. Not really necessary, for sure.Hi - that refugio shower scramble; problems of privacy, queues, will there be enough hot water, what to do with your bags, etc ... the thing is, you don't have to do it. A daily bath or shower - sometimes twice daily - is a very modern habit, promoted by producers of bathroom products and believing that false hype can verge on neurosis.
Our skin is our largest organ and is designed to exude oils and help the nurture of beneficial bacteria to protect us from external invasions - it is there to keep us healthy.
Every time we shower, if we use chemical products, we strip all of that away, leaving the body defenceless, and this is not a good thing to do at all.
We have five places where our bodies produce secretions that will smell after a few days. Armpits, feet, groin. If we gently soapy wash those parts (with a gentle soap) using a flannel then we will always smell sweet, the rest of the body can be rubbed down with clear water.
And this makes refugios really simple. If you carry a light collapsible bucket you can take it with you into the WC cubicle and clean yourself easily and simply, in total privacy, whenever you want. You can even do it behind a bush by a stream!
The Romans knew the benefits of healthy skin. Their method was to rub their skin all over with olive oil, use a strigil to scrape it off, and then plunge into a hot bath, then a cooler one. Soap didn't even exist.
Both men and women with long hair say they have problems if they stop washing their hair, and this is true as they constantly wash it with chemicals, stripping out all the oils and use a conditioner to try and replace them, so if they stop their hair goes frizzy - but, for thousands and thousands of years women didn't regularly wash their hair, instead they regularly brushed it. Think of all those female aristocrats sitting down having their hair brushed by a servant in films. The scalp produces oils specific to healthy hair and by regular long brushing this is moved to all of the hair, giving a beautiful healthy glow. (Gets rid of the split ends problem too).
I never take a bath and only shower about once every few months, without chemicals, but I do soapy wash smell producing areas and clear wash my skin daily. I have really healthy supple smooth skin and, no, I don't smell!
This constant showering and hair washing - it is habit, a consumer habit produced by adverts from bathroom product companies and, honestly, not only is it not necessary it is actually harmful to you as it strips away your body's defences. Their is a difference between cleanliness and sterility. "In cleanliness there is bacterial activity, there is life. Without bacteria there would be no life."
So - a different viewpoint .. but think about it! Carry a lightweight folding bucket and the whole shower saga in a refugio is over, gone, forever - and you will be much healthier too - win-win, don't you think?
I must not have that mental block - I tend to see everything I'm not supposed to see.... There is something I call the "mental block". It allows one to walk by a location and not see what you're not supposed to see ...
That was my thoughts exactly.I must not have that mental block - I tend to see everything I'm not supposed to see.
I always try to at least wash my feet after a long day - and then air them out. My feet get really sweaty after all those Camino kilometres!
No one wants to have the itching, burning, painful feeling from a foot infection! It happened to me once - and NEVER again!
I agree with you about the necessity of such frequent showers. Not really necessary, for sure.
But you’re recommending the portable light weight bucket, but not telling us that you actually use one yourself? Do you have a picture of such a thing that you put it in your backpack?
Very similar to me, but not because of the war. I grew up in a family of 5 kids and a weekly Saturday night bath to be clean for church on Sunday was all we knew. Our tub didn't have a shower head so we all had to share the same bath water.Back to the original comment, having been born shortly after WW2 we only had a bath once a week - I'm still here and (fingers crossed) still in good health.
Edit: But now wash/shower daily!!!
My son has long hair that grows in ringlets. He decided about 3 years ago to do that hippie thing and stopped washing it.
I don’t care what anyone says: it stinks. And when he asks me to get the tangles out or to put it in braids I can’t stand the disgusting feel of it. It feels like someone oiled my socks. To make matters worse, he puts carrot oil in his hair.
Gross.
My father was an alcoholic and a 2-pack a day smoker who did not bathe. He had clearly gone “nose blind” to his own stink. After he died it took me 2 weeks to air out his house of the BO stink.
I’ll stick to a daily shower.
I don’t use soap: I use my coffee grounds from the morning, mixed with sea salt. (On Camino, no, but in my ordinary life, yes). The coffee oils are nice on the skin, and the salt pulls out any impurities. There’s good exfoliation, and when I’m done, I smell like a freshly brewed cup of coffee. People actually remark on it quite pleasantly.
I like to think that my daily terry cloth rub down - besides setting me up for my day - gets the lymph flowing, which cannot be a bad thing.
He brushes his hair every day. He’s almost obsessive about it. It’s still disgusting. I wish he’d get over it.I decided to test the ‘no wash’ hair theory with my 2 boys, years ago.
It was more to do with seeing if it prevented the ubiquitous head lice they picked up at school, regardless of the number of times I caught an infestation early, and eradicated it.
If hair is left unwashed, it has to be brushed ... this is essential!!
Well - it worked.
Their hair smelled clean, did not get greasy and/or dirty, and the head lice problem went away.
This might have been because their hair was brushed daily but I didn’t use the lice comb, just an ordinary hair brush.
Btw - one of them had thick, curly, slightly long hair. I was so relieved that I no longer had to use that horrible, harsh lice comb on his hair ever again.
@Icacos
Great idea!
And a lot simpler than using one of those skin brushes ..
(efficient lymph drainage will help with removal of toxins etc. and lead to healthier skin - and bodies.)
He brushes his hair every day. He’s almost obsessive about it. It’s still disgusting. I wish he’d get over it.
Yes. I also rub on a bit of alcohol or hand sanitizer to each foot, especially between toes, after a rinse or wash down.
We are truly desperate!I’m enjoying this thread.
your comet on Romans knew the benefits of healthy skin, they frequented the public baths on a daily basis as a social way to communicated and a means of cleanliness. nothing worse than sleeping next to one with smelling feet.
@Faye Walker mentioned ringlets, not dreadlocks.
I agree with you about the necessity of such frequent showers. Not really necessary, for sure.
But you’re recommending the portable light weight bucket, but not telling us that you actually use one yourself? Do you have a picture of such a thing that you put it in your backpack?
He brushes his hair every day. He’s almost obsessive about it. It’s still disgusting. I wish he’d get over it.
And expanding, unfortunately, in my case.Our skin is our largest organ..
Huh? no dreadlocks. Just ringlets. And he likes to have a braid Sometimes.With dreadlocks???
Yes, into braids... which come out at the end of a day or two. Not dreads.But he wants her to plait it.
Ha ha, yep the good old days, tin bath in front of the fire on Saturday ready to be spotless for church on Sunday.Back to the original comment, having been born shortly after WW2 we only had a bath once a week - I'm still here and (fingers crossed) still in good health.
Edit: But now wash/shower daily!!!
Huh? no dreadlocks. Just ringlets. And he likes to have a braid Sometimes.
A picture of the highly regarded bucket you recommend and perhaps a (bathing suited) photo of you in action, pleae and thank you?Hi - that refugio shower scramble; problems of privacy, queues, will there be enough hot water, what to do with your bags, etc ... the thing is, you don't have to do it. A daily bath or shower - sometimes twice daily - is a very modern habit, promoted by producers of bathroom products and believing that false hype can verge on neurosis.
Our skin is our largest organ and is designed to exude oils and help the nurture of beneficial bacteria to protect us from external invasions - it is there to keep us healthy.
Every time we shower, if we use chemical products, we strip all of that away, leaving the body defenceless, and this is not a good thing to do at all.
We have five places where our bodies produce secretions that will smell after a few days. Armpits, feet, groin. If we gently soapy wash those parts (with a gentle soap) using a flannel then we will always smell sweet, the rest of the body can be rubbed down with clear water.
And this makes refugios really simple. If you carry a light collapsible bucket you can take it with you into the WC cubicle and clean yourself easily and simply, in total privacy, whenever you want. You can even do it behind a bush by a stream!
The Romans knew the benefits of healthy skin. Their method was to rub their skin all over with olive oil, use a strigil to scrape it off, and then plunge into a hot bath, then a cooler one. Soap didn't even exist.
Both men and women with long hair say they have problems if they stop washing their hair, and this is true as they constantly wash it with chemicals, stripping out all the oils and use a conditioner to try and replace them, so if they stop their hair goes frizzy - but, for thousands and thousands of years women didn't regularly wash their hair, instead they regularly brushed it. Think of all those female aristocrats sitting down having their hair brushed by a servant in films. The scalp produces oils specific to healthy hair and by regular long brushing this is moved to all of the hair, giving a beautiful healthy glow. (Gets rid of the split ends problem too).
I never take a bath and only shower about once every few months, without chemicals, but I do soapy wash smell producing areas and clear wash my skin daily. I have really healthy supple smooth skin and, no, I don't smell!
This constant showering and hair washing - it is habit, a consumer habit produced by adverts from bathroom product companies and, honestly, not only is it not necessary it is actually harmful to you as it strips away your body's defences. Their is a difference between cleanliness and sterility. "In cleanliness there is bacterial activity, there is life. Without bacteria there would be no life."
So - a different viewpoint .. but think about it! Carry a lightweight folding bucket and the whole shower saga in a refugio is over, gone, forever - and you will be much healthier too - win-win, don't you think?
A picture of the highly regarded bucket you recommend and perhaps a (bathing suited) photo of you in action, pleae and thank you?
Yes I’m enjoying the thread. My shower restores me after along hike. Psychologically. I can deal with the loss of essential oils in order to feel good. Feeling good is important.I’m enjoying this thread.
I have photos of me washing but only when wearing my invisibility cloak, sorry
but this is me with my original wicker bucket - didn't fold, didn't hold water, but things change in a hundred years and I am sorted now
In the UK on Ebay under £7 with free delivery - and they really work too - when the water is in it is stable - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-5L-Out...472110?hash=item59532bd9ee:g:L2QAAOSwyo1fGrS5
I agree. My daily showers - and occasionally I'd skip a few - were not just about cleanliness but were restorative to my spirit. And shower etiquette - length of time, waiting one's turn, leaving a space cleaner than how you found it, etc - is merely a common sense extension of the etiquette peregrinos should always extend to one another everywhere else.After a walk of 20-40km in hot summer spain middays sun I would like to prefer not to abuse locals and fellow pilgrims with my look and smell.
Yes, I did shower every day. I do not sweat a lot, but it was a refreshing routine after the walk.
I did use a skin-gentle nature product for body, shaving and hair and to wash my clothes. It was a half a block of Aleppo-Soap. Way better than those overhyped Lush soapbars.
I did not experience any queues and only in the first municipal albergue in Galicia I had to shower with cold water. As a German I don't have problems with privacy in communal showers.
At home I shower every second day with the mentioned Aleppo soap.
BC
Roland
An Ignobel Award surely awaits a sweaty researcher -- who, alas, may be required to accept it remotely.
I designed and invented a product I call the Exfoliating Soap Pocket Shower Buddy. (Shower Buddy for short.) It has three pockets that are each roughly 4" x 6" that open/close with Velcro. It has 8" looped polypro rope handles at each end and is about 32" long end to end. I used it on my Camino with just one bar of Castille soap in the center pocket. I used the outer pockets as my wash cloth. I also used it to wash clothes. After a quick rinse the Shower Buddy and soap dried quickly after use. I hung it on the outside of my pack as I walked. The fabric of the Shower Buddy exfoliated my skin and left me feeling refreshed after every shower. I used it aggressively in the areas that required aggressive scrubbing, and less so in more delicate areas. It worked well for me on Camino and I still use it at home. While on Camino, most showers were of the military style: face (entire head/hair), armpits, and crotch in that order. Get in, get wet, get washed, rinsed, and out.Hi - that refugio shower scramble; problems of privacy, queues, will there be enough hot water, what to do with your bags, etc ... the thing is, you don't have to do it. A daily bath or shower - sometimes twice daily - is a very modern habit, promoted by producers of bathroom products and believing that false hype can verge on neurosis.
Our skin is our largest organ and is designed to exude oils and help the nurture of beneficial bacteria to protect us from external invasions - it is there to keep us healthy.
Every time we shower, if we use chemical products, we strip all of that away, leaving the body defenceless, and this is not a good thing to do at all.
We have five places where our bodies produce secretions that will smell after a few days. Armpits, feet, groin. If we gently soapy wash those parts (with a gentle soap) using a flannel then we will always smell sweet, the rest of the body can be rubbed down with clear water.
And this makes refugios really simple. If you carry a light collapsible bucket you can take it with you into the WC cubicle and clean yourself easily and simply, in total privacy, whenever you want. You can even do it behind a bush by a stream!
The Romans knew the benefits of healthy skin. Their method was to rub their skin all over with olive oil, use a strigil to scrape it off, and then plunge into a hot bath, then a cooler one. Soap didn't even exist.
Both men and women with long hair say they have problems if they stop washing their hair, and this is true as they constantly wash it with chemicals, stripping out all the oils and use a conditioner to try and replace them, so if they stop their hair goes frizzy - but, for thousands and thousands of years women didn't regularly wash their hair, instead they regularly brushed it. Think of all those female aristocrats sitting down having their hair brushed by a servant in films. The scalp produces oils specific to healthy hair and by regular long brushing this is moved to all of the hair, giving a beautiful healthy glow. (Gets rid of the split ends problem too).
I never take a bath and only shower about once every few months, without chemicals, but I do soapy wash smell producing areas and clear wash my skin daily. I have really healthy supple smooth skin and, no, I don't smell!
This constant showering and hair washing - it is habit, a consumer habit produced by adverts from bathroom product companies and, honestly, not only is it not necessary it is actually harmful to you as it strips away your body's defences. Their is a difference between cleanliness and sterility. "In cleanliness there is bacterial activity, there is life. Without bacteria there would be no life."
So - a different viewpoint .. but think about it! Carry a lightweight folding bucket and the whole shower saga in a refugio is over, gone, forever - and you will be much healthier too - win-win, don't you think?
Methinks you're a sloppy washer.The only problem I have with a bucket wash is two things;
1. Washing the groin results in excess water flowing all the way down the legs. Washing the armpits results in water flowing all the way down the chest to the groin. Washing the head results in waterflowing all down the arms and neck. I'm a sloppy washer obviously.
Might as well hop under a shower and just wash the said parts anyway.
2. When under a shower, all the body is bathed in, lovely warm water hopefully. Exception- If showering in an alburgue most likely the water will be kind of warmish - for a few seconds anyway.
Washing with a bucket results in each of the said areas getting coldwhile the other said areas are attended to.
*******
Also, getting into bed with yucky feet is downright nasty. LOLI always try to at least wash my feet after a long day - and then air them out. My feet get really sweaty after all those Camino kilometres!
No one wants to have the itching, burning, painful feeling from a foot infection! It happened to me once - and NEVER again!
Of course, what you mean is that "in Spain, in camino albergues, ..." - i.e. not a statement on typical customs in Spain!in Spain, bathroom attendance in any shape or form is expected to be brief.
I have noticed that the lights are set to go out in public washrooms in Spain, in bars, etc., after a very short time. So I note where the switch is and hope that I can reach it, and/or the toilet paper, in the dark, when I have done what I need to do.Of course, what you mean is that "in Spain, in camino albergues, ..." - i.e. not a statement on typical customs in Spain!
What is that second emoticon? It looks very suggestiveAnd who you are with.
And speaking of showers, this is from my notes after getting to Santiago de Compostela:
I'm not totally insensitive, (in spite of what you may think), I have learned gratitude. I am going to go home and kiss my bathtub. I'm going to go down on my knees to my shower, which runs instant hot water, inside the showerbox without throwing it out the door, with somewhere to put the soap, and no queue outside.
So today, my innocent little children, I shall tell you all about lights and showers. A little education is a fine thing, and I'm sure your lives will be improved by the knowledge that, in Spain, bathroom attendance in any shape or form is expected to be brief. Going to the loo is like heading for Hades, just as dark and eventful, if not always as hot. The rooms are always situated in pseudo cupboards, always windowless, occasionally sans toilet paper. Just as you begin to settle in comfortably, the lights go out, plunging you into a state of panic as you realise you forgot to take note of the light switch location, just out of reach on the far wall. After a little frantic blindman fumbling, reoriented, you settle in again, only for the same thing to happen 30 seconds later, and 30 seconds after that...... Just don't bother taking the newspaper.
The shower, on the other hand, is a more refined form of torture. You strip off, look for a non existent dry spot to put your things, push a little button, and cold water issues forth. You look for a way of adding hot water, but this takes place without your input, so you leap out to avoid being scalded. Coward! There is no need, for now we have cold water again. And then the shower stops. You press the button again and we're back to stage one. You soap up, the shower stops. And then the lights go out...
I have noticed that the lights are set to go out in public washrooms in Spain, in bars, etc., after a very short time. So I note where the switch is and hope that I can reach it, and/or the toilet paper, in the dark, when I have done what I need to do.
Both are so very true! Two reasons why we love the Camino and can't wait to go back!You forgot about the broken shower head brackets! I found it a rare albergue shower where my arm didn't have to fill in for the broken shower head bracket.
Many are on a timer with a motion sensor. I have found myself wildly waving my arms about whilst still seated on the commode.
It seems to me that if you are going to do this (wash the five places with soapy water and the rest of the body with clear water) you might as well step into the shower. It really is the easiest way to wet the rest.of the body (other than a swim).We have five places where our bodies produce secretions that will smell after a few days. Armpits, feet, groin. If we gently soapy wash those parts (with a gentle soap) using a flannel then we will always smell sweet, the rest of the body can be rubbed down with clear water
Methinks you're a sloppy washer.
It seems to me that if you are going to do this (wash the five places with soapy water and the rest of the body with clear water) you might as well step into the shower. It really is the easiest way to wet the rest.of the body (other than a swim).
This does, however, seem a recipe for getting in and out of the shower quickly. Get in; wet yourself; wash the armpits, nether regions, feet; rinse, get out.
We have five places where our bodies produce secretions that will smell after a few days. Armpits, feet, groin.
I don't recommend that you do that in Lavacolla. I understand that the water in that stream is now seriously polluted.Yes, those are the key spots. In addition, whenever I happen to pass through Lavacolla, I also add ...
noseWhat is that second emoticon? It looks very suggestive
I thought that it meant where the neck was washedMmm, you may have missed the joke, it is now discredited but at one time it was believed that Lavacolla meant the place where pilgrims washed their bottoms.Of course, that may be why it is so polluted.....
...........
That is interesting! Why do you put hydrogen peroxide on your feet? I use it to clean my ears out. Never thought to put on my feet. Curious?Don’t need to carry anything since we try to stay in private rooms which usually provide amenities. However, even at home, I rarely use soap. I wash my hair about 2-3 times a week,with shampoo, and moisturizer, which roles down my body andI I cleanse with them. Occasionally, I use soap on my feet if necessary and use Hydrogen peroxide on them perhaps 1time a week.
On a Camino, I take a shower daily. Sometimes in the colder or warmer weather the hot or cold water helps adjust my body temperature or soothes sore muscles, and soap is not always necessary.
.
Yes I can walk for hours and feel tired and smelly but feel like a new person after a shower. Very restorative - I really look forward to it.I would tend to agree with lots of the comments.
Bad smell probably comes from dirty clothes rather than a dirty body.
But for me a shower at the end of the walk each day is just as much about freshening up.
It's very restorative.
What we are used to certainly plays a role too.
As a child in the UK we had a 'weekly' bath.
More frequently was considered unnecessary and expensive (cost of heating water)
A wash cloth/flannel was used daily in between baths.
Then in the Army, daily morning showers became the norm.
And through the day, after PT etc.
Then moving to Australia, in the summer heat, daily showers were the norm.
Then marrying a lady from Thailand, twice daily showers became the norm!
On waking and before bed.
Hard to get her to only take one on Camino!
I like showers. At least one per day, usually two.
On Camino I have one, after the walk.
Not in the morning as I don't want wet feet.
But I only use 'natural' soaps, like goats milk soap, which is chemical free.
Otherwise my skin dries out.
Horses for courses I guess
Picture?I designed and invented a product I call the Exfoliating Soap Pocket Shower Buddy. (Shower Buddy for short.) It has three pockets that are each roughly 4" x 6" that open/close with Velcro. It has 8" looped polypro rope handles at each end and is about 32" long end to end. I used it on my Camino with just one bar of Castille soap in the center pocket. I used the outer pockets as my wash cloth. I also used it to wash clothes. After a quick rinse the Shower Buddy and soap dried quickly after use. I hung it on the outside of my pack as I walked. The fabric of the Shower Buddy exfoliated my skin and left me feeling refreshed after every shower. I used it aggressively in the areas that required aggressive scrubbing, and less so in more delicate areas. It worked well for me on Camino and I still use it at home. While on Camino, most showers were of the military style: face (entire head/hair), armpits, and crotch in that order. Get in, get wet, get washed, rinsed, and out.
I never take a bath and only shower about once every few months, without chemicals, but I do soapy wash smell producing areas and clear wash my skin daily. I have really healthy supple smooth skin and, no, I don't smell!
If the Holy Grail is not showering, I just... ah, don’t want to be in that worldhave you asked a close........honest friend ?
Had been available in colors. Now only available in white. Soap inside end pockets for the sake of the picture. When using, you only need soap in the center pocket as the other two are used as a washcloth.Picture?
If the Holy Grail is not showering, I just... ah, don’t want to be in that world
Coming from a Pom ole mate Dave I hope this article is tongue in cheek, and that’s coming from a clean living convict from down under lolHi - that refugio shower scramble; problems of privacy, queues, will there be enough hot water, what to do with your bags, etc ... the thing is, you don't have to do it. A daily bath or shower - sometimes twice daily - is a very modern habit, promoted by producers of bathroom products and believing that false hype can verge on neurosis.
Our skin is our largest organ and is designed to exude oils and help the nurture of beneficial bacteria to protect us from external invasions - it is there to keep us healthy.
Every time we shower, if we use chemical products, we strip all of that away, leaving the body defenceless, and this is not a good thing to do at all.
We have five places where our bodies produce secretions that will smell after a few days. Armpits, feet, groin. If we gently soapy wash those parts (with a gentle soap) using a flannel then we will always smell sweet, the rest of the body can be rubbed down with clear water.
And this makes refugios really simple. If you carry a light collapsible bucket you can take it with you into the WC cubicle and clean yourself easily and simply, in total privacy, whenever you want. You can even do it behind a bush by a stream!
The Romans knew the benefits of healthy skin. Their method was to rub their skin all over with olive oil, use a strigil to scrape it off, and then plunge into a hot bath, then a cooler one. Soap didn't even exist.
Both men and women with long hair say they have problems if they stop washing their hair, and this is true as they constantly wash it with chemicals, stripping out all the oils and use a conditioner to try and replace them, so if they stop their hair goes frizzy - but, for thousands and thousands of years women didn't regularly wash their hair, instead they regularly brushed it. Think of all those female aristocrats sitting down having their hair brushed by a servant in films. The scalp produces oils specific to healthy hair and by regular long brushing this is moved to all of the hair, giving a beautiful healthy glow. (Gets rid of the split ends problem too).
I never take a bath and only shower about once every few months, without chemicals, but I do soapy wash smell producing areas and clear wash my skin daily. I have really healthy supple smooth skin and, no, I don't smell!
This constant showering and hair washing - it is habit, a consumer habit produced by adverts from bathroom product companies and, honestly, not only is it not necessary it is actually harmful to you as it strips away your body's defences. Their is a difference between cleanliness and sterility. "In cleanliness there is bacterial activity, there is life. Without bacteria there would be no life."
So - a different viewpoint .. but think about it! Carry a lightweight folding bucket and the whole shower saga in a refugio is over, gone, forever - and you will be much healthier too - win-win, don't you think?
Not avoiding soap and water anyway.Observation:
Conclusion:
- Hundreds of years ago, when bathing was very infrequent, people had 6, 8, or 10 children (that survived!).
- Nowadays, when bathing is daily, people have 1 or 2 children.
- ?
People with a higher quality of life and the option to choose often prefer to have fewer children, so they can have a higher quality of life.Observation:
Conclusion:
- Hundreds of years ago, when bathing was very infrequent, people had 6, 8, or 10 children (that survived!).
- Nowadays, when bathing is daily, people have 1 or 2 children.
- ?
Hundreds of years ago the mortality rate was quite high for babies and younger children, just because of lack of hygiene and healthy food.Not avoiding soap and water anyway.
I think you misunderstood my post, I meant not washing was not the cause of large families, it was tongue in cheek.Hundreds of years ago the mortality rate was quite high for babies and younger children, just because of lack of hygiene and healthy food.
That’s Ouroboros - the snake that swallowed it’s own tail. A self-fulfilling prophecy. One might equally argue that those who maximize their access to exploitable assets exploit the most assets. @sunwanderer, no doubt with a tongue stuffed cheek, explores the same playing field. Cause and effect in human life remains no more than the wobble of the moon that keeps the tide washing a different bit of beach every dayPeople with a higher quality of life and the option to choose often prefer to have fewer children, so they can have a higher quality of life.
Well, besides my studies in gerontology, there is the evidence of my younger brother, who went back to Africa after having spent many years there when younger. He found that the children of many whom he knew had 14 children when he lived there earlier, were now choosing to have fewer. There are various reasons for this, one being the move away from farming to urban living. But those who could now choose their number of children thought they were making this choice for the benefit of themselves and the children.That’s Ouroboros - the snake that swallowed it’s own tail. A self-fulfilling prophecy. One might equally argue that those who maximize their access to exploitable assets exploit the most assets. @sunwanderer, no doubt with a tongue stuffed cheek, explores the same playing field. Cause and effect in human life remains no more than the wobble of the moon that keeps the tide washing a different bit of beach every day
Absolutely. I was not aware that I had implied otherwise.Yes. But it’s the opportunity to exercise that choice that creates the opportunity not the choice.
Cold showers all round.
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