Do We Wash Too Much?

Many people probably wash with soap far too often and it negatively impacts the health and look of their skin.

What I read: “A physician didn’t shower for 5 years. Here’s what he found out” by Derek Beres. Originally published October 2020 and updated November 2023.

Here’s either a confession or some truth telling, however you want to perceive it. I don’t shower every day.

Not only don’t I shower every day, but I also only typically use soap on my pits, crotch, and butt crack. Unless my body is especially dirty for some reason, I shower every other day. Sometimes I go three days.

Here’s another thing I’ve done since my 20s. With rare exception, I never use soap on my face.

I know, all of this is likely heresy to some of you. I’m sure many people reading this shower every day and use soap on their entire body. My guess is that applies to most of you. But years ago, after spending some time studying skincare in makeup school from where I graduated as a makeup artist, I decided washing my face with soap was counterproductive for my fair skin type, particularly if I wanted to keep my skin looking good.

I’m approaching 70 years of age and if comments from friends and those who meet me are accurate, I look rather damn good for my age. Many have commented that my skin doesn’t look its age. I credit that to two specific things: rarely using soap on my face and avoiding too much sun exposure.

Sadly, I didn’t consciously avoid sun exposure until my 40s or I believe my skin would look even better.

Now, I don’t think I’d ever go so far as James Hamblin who went five years without using soap as Derek Beres recounts in his article. But I’m convinced most of us use soap far more than we should and probably shower far more than is ideally healthy for our skin.

Though we certainly want to wash more often than once a year, Hamblin points out that many current hygiene and skincare rituals have moved us too far in the opposite direction. In fact, our expensive rituals may be more harmful than helpful. Additionally, modern hygiene and skincare is a time suck. As Hamblin points out, if you spend a half hour showering and applying products every day, you will devote over two years to grooming-related activities over the course of a century-long life.

The article points out six specific downsides to washing as much as we do.

1. It’s possible our obsession with using so much soap could be creating allergies.

2. As creepy as this might sound, certain mites live on our skin and possibly serve as natural exfoliants. Washing them away too often might be damaging.

3. Expensive soap is mostly sold through creative marketing and doesn’t clean you any better than simple, basic soap.

4. The skincare industry flourishes in large part because it’s unregulated.

5. Using disinfectants on surfaces might be counterproductive in the long run and could spawn chronic conditions because we’re not exposed to enough germs. I’ve read similar suggestions that antibacterial soap we use on our bodies might do the same.

6. Humans are ultimately animals and animals naturally smell. While none of us want to be offensively smelly, we should probably follow the less is more advice when washing.

As for the marketing machine that is the skincare industry, let me illustrate that with a personal story.

After I graduated from makeup school, I had an offer from a network connection to go to work for one of the world’s most expensive cosmetic and skincare product lines. I met with the connection who began to pitch why working for that product line was so great.

At one point he held up a jar of face cream that sold in high-end luxury stores for $80. He asked me what I thought it cost to make and package the product. I offered a guess and he answered that no, it only cost 80 cents to make. I was stunned.

He pointed out that what the product line was selling was exclusivity, glamour, and access to a lifestyle that signaled wealth. They were selling an $80 jar of face cream that cost only 80 cents to make. Should you not have done the math in your head, that is a 100x markup on the product.

I did not take the job.

From that point on I did a lot of personal research and learned that much of the cosmetics and skincare industry is indeed founded upon marketing and not scientific reality. Sure, some products are better than others, but few incredibly expensive products are so much better to warrant their exorbitant price.

I recall walking through a drugstore with a friend who was even more educated and informed about cosmetics and skincare products than I was while they pointed out some basic drugstore products that worked just as well as those found in the expensive department stores and boutiques.

I hope this post will make you reconsider washing with soap too much if that’s something you currently do. Also, if you’re spending lots of money on expensive skincare products, I hope you’ll do some investigations to see if you’re really getting what you’re paying for. Perhaps a smidgen of pure organic coconut oil on your face at night will moisturize you better for less.

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