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To Soap or not to Soap

What are the ideas of using soap???

If shampoo is not good for the skin, then i don't see how soap can be good for the skin?? Anyway, i found this VERY detailed link on how to dry brush: http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/healingtechniques/Dry_Brushing_Technique.htm But then it ends by saying to use soap at the end. Other than that, it goes into why dry brushing is good, and the techniques to use. I guess the big problem with not using soap would be going out in public and stinking. Anybody have any natural homemade suggestions about this??

Thanks.

Comments

  • worleyhimself2worleyhimself2 Raw Newbie

    is "soap" bad for the chemicals or in general? There is plenty of soaps and shampoos that are very clean in ingredients. like dr.bronners. there is a difference between perspiration and bo. bo is the bacteria emitting from your insides. how about some internal soap like blue green algae or zinc? soap can be very drying to the skin if used too much, even if the soap is nourishing. I am very active and shower only once a week, just because.

    you can just use anti bacteria foods. like honey as a face wash or coconut oil. aloe vera as well. leave the aloe vera on over night and just reactivate it with water in the morning. aloe vera keeps deep into your pores to clean up.

  • emtpdmomemtpdmom Raw Newbie

    Rawcanadian, thank you so much for the link. I've been dry brushing occasionally for the last month or so. This article has excellent guidelines. I'll be "brushing up" on my brushing techniques and schedule.

  • MeditatingMeditating Raw Newbie

    I dry brush regularly and then shower off. I use a shower filter to make sure I am not uptaking chlorine and fluoride through my skin.

    I keep all natural soap in my home, like Dr. Bonners. I also have a collection of homemade natural soaps, which are mainly used if I have guests. Soap softens dirt and makes it easier to be removed from whatever it is attached too.

    I probably use soap when showering once every two weeks, otherwise I just dry brush. However, any easy way to get very clean and soften your skin at the same time is to make a salt (you can also use sugar) scrub. I try to do this once a week.

    Mix salt with a natural oil, like coconut or sunflower, until it is a slightly oily paste. The mixture will make the tub very slippery so put a towel down in the bathtub so you don't fall. First, stand underneath the showerhead with water running to put moisture in your skin. Turn off the water and sit on the side of the tub. Take a few fingers of the mixture and scrub your body using small circular motions. After you have finished your entire body, rinse well with the warmest water you can stand. All the salt/sugar will dissolve and you will be covered with a thin veil of the oil.

    If you use the oil mixture when you are dry, your skin will feel soft due to the oil but your skin will actually be dry and the residual oil will keep moisture from entering your skin. That is the reason to shower first, so you plump your skin up with moisture and then the oil seals the moisture in.

    If you dry brush regularly and use this technique once a week, you will never have that dead skin that rolls up from the friction of drying off your body.

  • My bathing routine is almost exactly like Meditating's. I brush daily then wash off with flitered water. Once a week, more or less, I do a salt or sugar scrub. Then once in a blue moon, if I feel particularly dirty or have been doing something that's made a mess of me or whatever, I use a little Dr. Bronner's. I buy the little bitty bottles of Dr. Bronner's and they last me a very long time.

    I rub a little coconut oil into my skin if I feel like it after bathing.

    If I do Bikram yoga, I will wash off the sweatiest parts of me with a little very dilute Dr. Bronner's, and just rinse my hair well with water.

    That's it.

    Anyway, long story short, I use very little soap at all, except for hand washing about which I am quite the stickler.

    In fact I will admit to having an array of differently-scented natural hand soap pumps distributed around the house at all the sinks.

    Were it not for hand washing, I feel if needed I could live without soap quite happily.

  • Meditating, what kind of sugar and salt do you use?

  • I know you did not address me, but FYI, I use all kinds of salt - sea salt, pink salt, dead sea salt, celtic salt, or epsom salts... whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

    I usually use brown sugar for my sugar scrubs as it's nice and soft.

  • blueyzblueyz Raw Newbie

    I have swithched over in the last year to a locally made goat's milk soap, which has been much better on my skin(body, not face). I use that in the shower about 2-3 times a week. About 1x a week, especially in the winter I do a coconut oil/turbinado sugar scrub. My skin is SO much better!! In the summer I don't do the oil scrub as much but my skin gets very dry in the winter so I really need it. The plus side is that switching over ALL my excema went away, which 3 different creams from Dr's never cured!

  • MeditatingMeditating Raw Newbie

    BLUEYZ - I like the goat's milk soaps too. They leave my skin feeling smoother.

    RAWFREAK4FR - Like HOLY GUACAMOLE, I use several types of salt. A few years ago I bought several cases of french table salt from a wholesale distributor when I was making scrubs for a fundraiser. I still have 1/2 a case left and continue to use that.

    I think most people use brown sugar whenever using a sugar. The purpose behind either sugar or salt is to have a small granule that will polish the skin. The oil actually helps with the polishing because it allows the granules to glide over the skin and remove dead surface cells.

    I remember the first time I read about a salt scrub and made one and after it was over I thought to myself, "This must be the way a princess felt after visiting an ancient spa."

  • I rarely use soap for washing up and I shower at least once a week (twice if my hair is looking icky and then its a water only rinse for that anyways). I find soap dries my skin out too much so now I just scrub with one of those puffy wash clothes.

    Personaly, I dont really think soap is necessary to "be clean". You can scrub off a lot dirt and such without soap.

  • internettouristinternettourist Raw Newbie

    Soap and shampoo

    Soap--because I soak in water with epsom salts in it everyday, I usually do not use soap. If I have run out of salts or I am taking a faster bath, I'll use some oatmeal soap. My yoga teacher, Yoda with the good skin and bod, soaked in epsom salts. That's why I do it.

    Shampoo--yes, everytime I wash my hair. I usually wash my hair every second day. If I get to a third day without washing my hair, I feel that it is too greasy.

  • chriscarltonchriscarlton Raw Newbie

    20 years - No soap, no way, never!

    If you wash properly, hot water is all you need.

  • MEDITATING, a filter that BLOCKS FLUORIDE??? Really?? Where can I find one of those filters?

  • I could really use some help here...

    I teach swimming lessons in a nicely heated saline pool(which does contain chlorine, btw) . After 3 and half hours in the water, I am a prune. Lately I have been having trouble with very dry skin and hair. I have short hair, and it sticks up like a scrub brush and prickles my neck and head when I sleep. My scalp is itchy. I don't generally use shampoo or soap, but I am at a loss of what to do to rinse the chlorine off my skin and out of my hair. Any suggestions?

  • http://lush.com They make products from fresh, organic fruit and vegetables, essential oils and safe synthetics. Their soaps are made by hand and they do not test on animals.

  • Parsley ... I would rinse off with water first. Then, ACV (apple cider vinegar) hugely diluted with water would be a good final rinse for your hair. Actually, works on your skin as well. It will soften your skin somewhat. To additionally soften your skin, use olive oil. Doesn't take much at all .. can do your entire body with a tablespoon or two max. add a few drops of your fav essential oil and give yourself a full body 'rubdown' after you get out of the shower. Your skin will suck it right in and look beautiful. If you use olive oil on your scalp, your hair will be really oily, but you could use it as a scalp treatment, then shampoo your hair afterwards then rinse with the acv/water mixture.

    I rehab houses, and olive oil saves the day for me all the time. It takes paint off my skin, restores moisture to my skin after I've been working with mudd/tape (drywall) etc. Doesn't stain clothes either.

    For showering, I use Dr. Bonners soap.

  • Thanks rawlady. Could I just bring a bottle of diluted ACV with me to work to rinse off with? That like sounds super easy relief (and cheap!)

  • I keep a large plastic cup in my shower, and a small container of ACV. While in the shower, I put a tiny bit of ACT in the cup, fill with water, and rinse my hair with it.

    So, instead of bringing it already diluted, it may be easier to bring a tiny container of the ACV and dilute it when you use it. I'm assuming you are taking a shower after being in the chlorine? If you dont have a container to dilute in, putting a tiny amount of ACV on a sponge and wiping off while under a shower spray may work as well.

    I found this site http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art41572.asp

    They recommend a larger acv/water ratio than I use ... but it gives you some good ideas.

  • Raw_OrleansRaw_Orleans Raw Newbie

    There are Lots of Herbal/Natural Soaps Out there... Try Iherbs.com ... Use My Referal Code DEW156 For a $5.00 Discount I Get a 4$ Commission... Join ther Referal System to Get Your Own Commission...

  • I've been using olive oil soap for my hair and body. i don't find it drys my skin at all. but i've never had a dry skin problem to begin with.

    I recently started using Biotene conditioner though, trying to keep my hair nice and full.

    Olive oil is great too. I generally use it twice a week on my elbows, knees, feet and chest. A nice foot massage before bed is really relaxing with olive, or sesame oil.

  • No soap, no poo! I do wash my hands with soap if they get dirty. I have a bottle of dr bronner's at home and use whatever soap if i am out, ie in a park, at a friends or in a store.

    I do daily dry brushing of my body and combing of my hair. Shower daily, just a rinse, no soap or shampoo and only coconut oil for moisturizer if I need it, like my knees and elbows, dry spots do happen. I will use olive oil or coconut oil on my hands and wipe them with a towel to get rid of the greasy excess, or just wipe my hands on my nose and forehead. eww I know, but it works. and it's raw and vegan, lol.

    I quit using soap and shampoo when I "went raw". I'm still using toothpaste but when I run out I will probably just not use it anymore.

    I have oily skin and hair, so I don't find I need conditioner or moisturizer if I don't use soap.

    I know this won't work for everyone, some people have drier skin. I don't have any advice, but this is how I do it.

    Cheers to you!

  • Oh, one other thing.

    If my hair gets greasy, and it does every three weeks or so, I grab a jar and put a 1/4 cup baking soda in it and take it to the shower with me. When my hair is wet, I add water to the BS, about a quart, and pour that on my head. Rinse it out and the grease is gone.

    I have heard that some people use apple cider vinegar as a conditioner but I have never found the need.

    :)

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    I dry brush before my shower and put coconut oil on my legs, armpits and dry spots. So my legs and armpits are ready to shave and all my dry spots moisturized. I haven't used soap in a while.

    I do use shampoo from lush.com and it has done wonders to may hair. I don't wash my hair daily like I used to and it's very soft. I don't use any moisturizer or soap on my face and now, for the first time in a long time I don't have a problem with breaking out, dry flaking skin or greasy skin. I wear make up and use a hand towel to get it off at night. It's works really well

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