cheapskate beauty and hygiene: cosmetics frugal living health personal grooming
by SIF
17 comments
False choices in frugality: ‘Lotions and potions’ versus filth and rejection.
Do you strive to cut costs in personal hygiene? Minimize the amount of weird little vials in your travel case? Do you avoid slathering yourself in strange chemicals and them washing them down the drain? If you’re like me you willingly drop frivolous beauty products but you don’t want to sacrifice being clean, healthy and happy to your quest for simplicity. Given my preference for ‘AND’ rather than ‘OR’ on the path towards simplification, it comes as no surprise that this article has me festering with annoyance. The article from the Daily Mail tells the tale of one woman who opted not to step into the shower, not to rinse her hands, not to brush her teeth for six weeks with the objective of discovering:
. . . whether we are all simply wasting our money in the name of vanity. Are all the lotions and potions that women–and millions of men–use religiously every morning merely a form of social and psychological armour, or do they have a practical physical use?
Don’t get me wrong, I value the objective of the experiment and found the article entertaining (fun fact: after 6 weeks without bathing her bacteria counts were up 5000 times but still considered ‘normal’ by doctors. . .) I’d just ask that people examine the choice that the folks at the Daily Mail present to us: ‘lotions and potions’ or filth and rejection. The woman in question had been spending roughly 2,000 pounds a year on beauty products and then switched suddenly to not even dousing herself with water. She staggered from one extreme behavior to another–the actions of someone who has entirely lost touch with the difference between health and cleanliness and frivolous addiction to consumer beauty products.
I’m not particularly surprised that other moms at her kid’s school found her behavior odd–are you? People have been washing themselves to the best of their abilities since ancient times and people in third world countries with limited access to clean water continue to do whatever they can to stay clean. Not maintaining any form of personal hygiene is a behavior typically reserved to the highly depressed, the insane and it carries significant health risks*–two reasons why such behavior might be considered socially unacceptable.
*If you, like the subject of the Daily Mail article, have somehow forgotten about hand washing and germ theory, here is a very basic primer by the CDC.
Does one woman’s re-discovery that bathing serves a purpose mean that we should just default to using beauty and hygiene products without thought or question simply because some company invents them and markets them? The very premise of her experiment steers carelessly in the direction of a false choice. What about simply washing your hands several times a day with soap (or an alcohol solution if you have allergies to soap), brushing with a toothbrush and baking soda and, say, even partaking in a weekly shower with only water and a good scrub with a washcloth? That in itself may sound extreme to most people although it remains healthy and, dare I say, socially acceptable. For the frugal, health-conscious or the minimalist, it only requires two ingredients: baking soda and bar soap (or rubbing alcohol). Heck, she could have use the baking soda once a week too to wash her hair, but I digress. I admit that while the false choice presented by the article annoys me, the topic fascinates me and I’m glad it’s reaching mainstream consideration.
I’m curious to know about the various middle paths my readers (quite possibly not a mainstream sampling of people) take between good personal hygiene and social acceptance on one hand and minimalism and frugality on the other. How many personal hygiene products have you been able to cut out? Which ones are non-negotiable?
I had to LOL when you said to take a shower and just use hot water and a washcloth. I do that. 
I DO use soap on the parts that need it though.
I think you should guest post on my blog one day. I would love that!
My daughters and I all use Soda Water (boiled water with Baking Soda) and Vinegar 2x a week to shower – or whenever our hair looks greasy. We all wash daily with Dr. Bronners Peppermint Soap (because I love the smell and we use so little).
My 11 yo and myself use cornstarch and/or baking soda for deoderant.
I do not shave, and my daughters will not shave. They will be introduced to the world of body sugaring (better for them, better for the environment).
We use coconut oil for moisturizer and face cream (its in all the expensive face creams out there – and with good reason).
DH has a skin condition – ichtheosis – he fails to produce some chemical which would help his skin retain mositure and shed dead skin cells. As a result he physically has scales. He is currently using Pine Tar Soap (we have tried oatmeal, goats milk, aloe, etc soaps). He has tried Coconut Oil which does bring him some releif but he needs more moisture than it provides, so I have purchased various “natural” moisturizers containing milk, hemp, oatmeal anything that might help him.
We brush with Tom’s of Main Toothpast. I often brush with just BS paste and do a vinegar (white) mouth rinse and I have never had any comments or complaints (and trust me DH would be the first to complain).
So its not an either or, its a question of giving up manufactured formulas with ingredients we cannot understand or pronounce.
This is an interesting topic. I have worked hard to break my ‘product’ habit. But when you work in a corporate environment, it can be hard.
Here’s a book you might be interested in reading:
http://www.thedirtonclean.com/
It takes you through the history of personal hygiene. Historically, there were periods of time where water was thought to be the cause of all diseases and then later on it was revered as the cure all.
I think we’re a way too ‘clean’. We have hand sanitizing pumps in every room at work. We use antibacterial soap. We’re setting ourselves up for a bacterial disaster.
Not only do I now use less product, I make sure that the ingredients are responsible.
Jennifer–you could always try the no ‘poo thing when you have a week off. I actually was only icky before I started the baking soda (yep, I attempted cider only at first, duh). I find the baking soda to be pretty drying. Also, if you have longer hair, I found I could just pull mine back into a ponytail and it really doesn’t look so bad–then again, I have curly hair so the grease isn’t as visible I think. I like your observation that photos of people before commercial shampoo look good. You’re right. It makes you wonder . . .
Mrs. Money–Hah, I do the same sometimes, but haven’t forgone soap . . .yet. No, but seriously, if I could find a way to become equally clean with something more simple than soap (or make my own soap) I’d do it. As for guest posting, that sounds fun. Send me an email about what topics you cover in guest posts . . .
Tree, sounds like a good blend of home made and store bought. By the way, I love the Bronners soaps. Believe it or not, I was introduced to it by the Bronners, whose child was in my class once. Good stuff.
Bebby–excellent point about the antibacterial soaps and resistant bacteria. I am completely against resistant bacteria . And the book you mention sounds great. I may have to check that out.
I have changed me regimen over the past few months. I don’t use hairspray or gel anymore. I’ve been dyeing my own hair for 2 years. Every 4-6 weeks I struggle with whether to continue dyeing or not. Of all the products out there, hair dye has got to be one of the most toxic. (It doesn’t pass the smell test).
I think I have alot of gray now, and since I’m still in the corporate world, where old is bad, this gives me pause. I’ve told a few people that I’m going to let it grow out. But I don’t know if I have the guts to do it. We’ll see. . . .
Tina–you know, hair dye is probably one of the worst. I have a friend who is a hairdresser and when she was pregnant she wasn’t allowed to mix or prepare the dye–not that everyone is pregnant, but apparently it’s not great stuff. I did hair color for a while too (hah, peer pressure at work, as you mention!), but stopped a some time ago and refuse to go back . . . for the reasons you mention. I’m planning on just letting the grey come actually–DH told me he’ll let me know if I look ridiculous I say, there’s no way I’ll look ridiculous with my natural hair. . .
I wonder if you couldn’t go to a hairdresser once during the transition phase and get grey hi-lights in there slowly but surely so it’s not such a big change all at once ( I have a friend who did something like that). . . AND, I’ve seen some pretty classy ladies with grey hair. Even on TV recently I saw a famous French philosopher with beautiful grey hair–very stylish.
I remember reading about that journalist who didn’t bathe for six weeks. Those are the kinds of articles meant get your attention, kind of like ‘Super Size Me’ (the guy who ate only McDonald’s for a month, and ruined his health). It does smell a bit like a publicity stunt (no pun intended!) but I guess it’s always good to give a little kick to things we blindly assume are necessary.
What is body sugaring? Gotta look that up… Here in Spain they’re really into laser hair-removal and now there’s another one that uses some kind of light. Always pushing it at the hairdresser, but they make me kind of nervous. Had a friend who tried that laser removal and her thigh was hot for hours afterwards…
I’ve tried to cut back on the chemical crap and find natural alternatives for most things. I’m going to try Tree’s suggestion of coconut oil for a moisturizer. I recently bought a bar of Dr. Bronner’s castile soap. I am so sick of all the plastic bottles in my life. Maddening.
This might also help Tree’s husband–nettle tea. I have a friend who has a skin condition and she drinks a big pot of heavily-steeped nettle tea each day. Drastically improved her skin condition. I started drinking it because I’ve heard it’s good for hormonal and insulin resistance issues. Dunno about that, but I do know that my allergies have virtually disappeared. I’m starting to think nettle tea is a panacea!
One thing I’m still holding onto is hair dye. I don’t do it myself, because it always looks like crap, but I’m getting tired of spending a fortune at the salon. I read that sage tea is great for coloring grey. So, I’m giving it a try starting this month. Basically, you just steep the tea until it has cooled, pour it on your head, let it dry and then wash it out as normal. At first, this rinse needs to be done once a week. After it starts working (3-4 weeks) you can do it once a month. We’ll see!
In other news–I love the term “false choices.” So true!
we live in the subtropics so we shower every day – with soap! – sometimes in summer twice a day. quick showers, usually cold water – well in summer anyway.
we use the basics – soap, shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirant/deodorant – and that is pretty much it. I would never go antiperspirant free (Ive tried the crystals -ok in winter, no go n summer).
the only other potion we wont give up is 30+ sunblock – a deal breaker here with such a high incidence of skin cancer.
Tracy–good point, perhaps the weirdness of the whole thing was, in fact, intended to get people to sit up and take attention. The middle path is hardly as exciting. Body sugaring–Tree will have to correct me if I’m wrong, but I just assumed it was that process kind of like in the Perisan movie, Caramel where the women would make a sort of hot caramel solution out of sugar and use it to wax their legs??? But I could be totally wrong–Tree?
As for laser hair removal . . . I float back and forth on body hair (in terms of what I think about it and what I do about it). Lasering it seems so . . . permanent.
Consciously Frugal–nettle tea sounds interesting. I have a friend from the UK who swears by all things nettle–like soup, for example. Since I’m interested in foraging and local foods, and since nettles are plentiful around here, I may have to (carefully) harvest and prepare some. I hadn’t heard about allergies or hormones, but I know nettles are high in iron. Interesting idea about the hair dye from sage tea. You’ll have to let us know how it works.
Paula–it’s very interesting that you mention the sunblock. I’ve been thinking about this myself as I typically wear number 50 as advised by my doctor. I have vitaligo–like Michael Jackson did only not quite so bad! That means I have a few unpigmented patches on my legs/feet . . .one even that sometimes emerges on my forehead. If I wear sunblock you can’t see them, and more importantly, I don’t get skin cancer. I’ve been trying to use less sunblock and increase the use of hats, but I think that when I hit the high elevations this summer for hiking, I’ll be using it again for sure. I honestly don’t know of any natural solution to this problem (ok, well, I’ve heard of slathering mud on oneself, but I won’t be doing that).
[...] personally have a strong (logical) bias for being clean, which my brain has (illogically) come to associate with smelling good. If you’re like [...]
I have yet to try the no-poo thing, although I really want to. I am still worried about how to handle the detox period in the face of my employers. All the jobs I’ve ever had were public enough to require I be well-groomed, and while that hasn’t ever seemed to mean makeup (thank goodness, I can’t stand how itchy it makes me) or high fashion, greasy hair isn’t well-groomed.
If people would stop buying my sister and I body wash for breakfast, lunch and dinner Christmas, birthday, and other holidays, I would definitely switch to bar soap, but it seems wasteful to not use what you are given, and we seem to have gallons of it stored under our cabinets.
The baking soda toothpaste I have used in the past and now I think I will do it again.
I have stopped taking over the counter drugs. I find I do the same with as I do without unless the pain is incredibly severe, in which case I will take them. Putting chemicals created in a lab on my skin, hair, or in my body weirds me out. We have all these diseases we can’t figure out what causes them, and yet if you bring up the fact that many of them are new, no one seems to think our drastic shift in lifestyle from 150 years ago has anything to do with it. It wasn’t until the 1980s that people started washing their hair daily. Even on The Brady Bunch, which was from the 1970s Marcia would turn down a date with the excuse “I have to wash my hair”, leading me to think it was still a once-a-week, but possibly more time-intensive activity. After all, if she washed her hair every day she would never have had time for a date! Before commercial shampoo was available, pictures show women with beautiful hair that looks healthier than women of today.
I may start trying the baking soda thing, and if my hair starts to look gross, I will just shampoo again. I’d really like to break the habit.
But my main outlook is that we don’t know what those chemicals that we can hardly pronounce are really doing to us, and that they are safe. Just because the government agencies say they are safe to use doesn’t mean we know anything about long term use.