Ray peat perspective of showering daily
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@Luke I haven't used soap for shower for many many years but I still use shampoo once, twice a week.
Try to find a decent shampoo that isnt that bad and its ok, I use scandinavian biolabs. Most shampoo tend to take away all the fats, makes it really dry
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@williambjr, gotcha. I tried searching his interviews for his opinion on showering and not showering or reduced frequency, but didn’t find anything. Personally, I would trust your experience.
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@luke, my natural scent or “odor” is basically non-existent due to my diet so I’m not sure how effective my cleanser is in that regard, but I use one that’s a centuries-old, Asian recipe made with soapberries (cleanses via saponins) and other fruit/herbs with probiotics. It’s technically edible. I’ve been using it for at least a decade and before that I made my own soapberry cleanser—just brewed up soapberry (reetha), acacia (shikakai) and gooseberry (amla) together with herbs like horsetail and nettle, and added floral oils.
For my body, I bathe with just water then use monoï oil (Tahitian gardenias macerated in coconut oil) all over to lock in moisture, but my hair is thigh length and would be a tangled mess if I didn’t shampoo it—I did the no-poo method for a year and it was a disaster. I don’t know if the cleanser and oil are endocrine disrupters by Ray’s standards—they aren’t by the EWG’s, last I checked—but their ingredients are nutritive (per the indigenous) and my hair and skin are noticeably healthier, i.e., shinier hair with less breakage/fallout and softer, clearer skin.
In case you’re interested, this is the shampoo:
https://www.earthtemplefoods.com/products/raw-soap-nut-shampoo-with-probiotics-1-gallon
And to check the safety of skincare products, here’s the EWG website:
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@Jennifer A shame the shampoo company dont ship outside of usa, would like to try that nut shampoo.
The monoi oil, is that good?
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@heyman, there are several companies selling the same soap nut probiotic cleanser and conditioner, but some with the addition of essential oils. Here are two that ship internationally:
https://rootsandleaves.info/collections/bath-shower-care
I’ve been using the monoï oil for over a decade and it’s one of only 3 products I kept when I simplified my skincare routine, I think it’s that good. It goes on lighter than the plain, virgin coconut oil that was my previous staple, the gardenia’s anti-inflammatory properties drawn out through the maceration process calm my skin when it gets irritated from hiking in harsher conditions, and it smells nice, IMO—it’s a strong floral when first applied but softens quickly to an exotic vanilla scent, at least with my body chemistry.
I like macerated oils, in general, and have made a variety including osmanthus, an anti-inflammatory containing caffeic and chlorogenic acid and a scent reminiscent of apricot, and one for inducing sleep when I struggled with insomnia that combined chamomile with vanilla, an anti-inflammatory known to mimic the relaxing scent of breast milk, which may sound weird but I read studies showing its effectiveness on babies and it worked on me, too. I’ve been thinking of trialing one that combines vanilla with sandalwood and tobacco leaf as a pain relief ointment. I bet it would smell particularly nice on a man, better than Bengay, anyway. lol
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@Jennifer Thank you very much for the reply!
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Yeah, I prefer to shower every day, but I only use shampoo and bodywash twice a week (and the bodywash only under the arms and sometimes nether regions). I get the one from Aldi with the fewest ingredients (my only demand is that the ingredient list is shorter than a Dostoevsky novel). Normally products for "ultra sensitive skin" have the least bad ingredients, but I assume that's still very bad. It does dry out the hair, like heyman mentioned.
Years ago I used a seasalt soap based on coconut oil, but I don't remember whether that had other bad ingredients.
I needed almost no shampoo when I shaved my hair to 9mm, but it doesn't look good. Also, my hair is pretty messy, so I have to use a hair wax based on coconut oil, which probably contributes to the greasy look I get when I don't use shampoo.
I've never been a big party attender, but I never went to a party where I didn't probably offend most of the people there by talking about what I was interested in. (Ray Peat)
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@williambjr, my pleasure.
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@Luke, I know what you mean. My hair has a mind of its own. Soap dries it out and the monoï oil makes it look like an oil slick if I apply more than a few drops. To keep down the ringlets I have around the crown of my head, I used jasmine and tuberose floral waxes (the waxy byproduct of the floral absolute extraction process) as a pomade and that was light compared to conventional products, and also aloe vera as a gel from an aloe plant I had when VoS from the old RPF forum and I were experimenting with emodin/quinones. A benefit of the soap nut cleanser is it doesn’t leave a film like most soaps and conventional shampoos do so my hair feels smooth and silky, i.e., manageable, without product.
The cleanser is actually very easy to make. You just boil the soapberries in a pot with water, then add a natural preservative like rosemary if you want it to last longer without refrigeration. For added benefits, you could add chamomile, hibiscus and/or marshmallow root (for moisture), and horsetail (for strengthening) and nettle (for shine) during the boiling process. Knowing that you don’t need much cleanser, it would probably be effective for you. I only question its effectiveness for men with a strong scent. I got my soapberries and herbs from the company below. I’ve been making my own skincare and buying from Mountain Rose Herbs since I was a teen so I trust the quality of their products, but you likely can find soapberries in Europe.
https://mountainroseherbs.com/soap-nuts-deseeded
The only other thing I can think of is if the glycerin was removed from the soap you get, if Aldi has a glycerin soap, it might not dry your hair out as much, since glycerin is a humectant. You only use soap twice a week so I personally wouldn’t worry about less than ideal ingredients.
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@Jennifer
The only problem I have with making my own soap is that I would feel like Tyler Durden in Fight Club (if you know book or movie and know how the soap was made).I found a soap with only coconut oil, sea salt and shea butter online. I think I will try that one.
@heyman I don't quite remember, but aren't you from Germany? This is the soap I found:
https://mannaseife.de/produkte/alle-mannas/seifen-flussigseifen-duschgels/coco-salzseifeI've never been a big party attender, but I never went to a party where I didn't probably offend most of the people there by talking about what I was interested in. (Ray Peat)
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@Luke Im not a germany boy, and the soap looks nice
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@Luke, I haven’t, but most men I know have mentioned Fight Club, though, it’s usually in reference to Brad Pitt’s physique, not soap. I’ve only seen two movies he is in and I found them disturbing so I haven’t felt compelled to watch it, but now I’m curious about the soap. Please say it doesn’t contain Jeffrey Dahmer type ingredients?
I’m glad you found a soap. Fingers crossed it works well for you.
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@Jennifer said in Ray peat perspective of showering daily:
@Luke, I haven’t, but most men I know have mentioned Fight Club, though, it’s usually in reference to Brad Pitt’s physique, not soap. I’ve only seen two movies he is in and I found them disturbing so I haven’t felt compelled to watch it, but now I’m curious about the soap. Please say it doesn’t contain Jeffrey Dahmer type ingredients?
Not quite. He made soap from human fat from liposuction (what he didn't tell his customers of course).
I've never been a big party attender, but I never went to a party where I didn't probably offend most of the people there by talking about what I was interested in. (Ray Peat)
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@Luke said in Ray peat perspective of showering daily:
@Jennifer said in Ray peat perspective of showering daily:
@Luke, I haven’t, but most men I know have mentioned Fight Club, though, it’s usually in reference to Brad Pitt’s physique, not soap. I’ve only seen two movies he is in and I found them disturbing so I haven’t felt compelled to watch it, but now I’m curious about the soap. Please say it doesn’t contain Jeffrey Dahmer type ingredients?
Not quite. He made soap from human fat from liposuction (what he didn't tell his customers of course).
Eww. His business model didn’t age well, given the current BBL trend.
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@Luke for a sec thought you were talking about Charlie's soap on LGS
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Not about the effects of showering, but I came across this Q&A on body odor that I thought was interesting:
Question: Does Ray have any thoughts as to why taking supplemental T3 may cause a negative change in body odor?" Negative being worsening? That's what I assume.
Ray Peat: Yeah, it can increase your sweat production. Just taking one or two showers with 10% sulfur soap can eliminate permanently a bad balance of bacteria on your skin and can make a difference in the odor of your body, the sweat for a long time.
