Hello ladies,
Weird title huh? Imagine the high decision point we have in our lives every month when we have to decide which face wash/shampoo/soap is the best, the ones that would suit us, which product to pick with the thousands of options we have in front of us, online and in stores. I stand in front of aisles, picking up and keeping most of the bottles, asking the expert there about the best product, reading the reviews, and still in a dilemma. We all know that most of the stuff we slather on our bodies are chemicals and some “unwanted chemicals,” SLS for example is present in almost each and every bottle that we pick up. Even when we know that there are infinite number of chemicals in our products, we still cannot live without them.
We always prefer to smell beautiful, feel fresh with the body wash/soap we have and keep all our pimples and problems at bay with the face wash we have on our bathroom counter, and can never even imagine a day without these beauty products. But would you believe me if I tell you that I lived without them for 2 weeks! Well, here is my story without the most essentials in my life!
It all started when my body wash got over one find day and me and my husband were sooper lazy to go out and get it in the evening, so we decided that we would go the next day, so the morning was a no body wash morning and that evening was a festival here and so all the shops were closed. So, after two mornings of “no body wash,” I started to feel uneasy and searched the internet of what would happen as I felt I am not clean, and the results scared me – it told bathing without shampoo/face wash and body wash is better than using one! Startled, I checked almost all the results Google had popped up and being curious, I wanted to try! Yes, I did cheat in between with shampoo as I oil my hair, but other than that, I went without no face wash and no body wash.
How it worked for me:
For the Body: After skipping the body wash, I scrubbed my body every day with plain warm water with a pair of exfoliating gloves or a loofah. It was a gentle scrub focusing a bit more on underarms, feet and inner thighs. After that, I rubbed my body in circular motions, starting from the foot to the top, with the shower running.
For the face: I felt I would be an oil vending machine when I decided I would go without a face wash, but luckily nothing like that happened! I rubbed my face with finger tips just like you do with a face wash, but here minus the face wash, concentrating a bit on my T-zone (I have a combination skin).
For the hair: I have an oily scalp and I shampoo alternate days and you realize the amount of chemicals I slather on my hair! And this was the hardest part. I oil my hair before taking bath and as I used only water, I didn’t oil for a week and as I mentioned before, I cheated on a weekend with some hot oil deep condition and shampoo, but I made sure, I diluted the shampoo and used it. I did not follow up with a conditioner, but used some green tea and lemon water poured as a final rinse. On alternate days, I massaged my scalp as I let the shower run over, removing the dead cells and also giving a massage.
P.S. Also, read how Shikha went the “no poo” way here. She has also mentioned that the chemicals that are present in shampoos does more harm than good! Also check out her alternate methods that can be used instead of a shampoo and conditioner.
The results:
Body: Initially, I felt dirty, but I never had body odor, stinky underarms, or anything. It’s a light, unnoticeable sweaty smell and without soap and scrubbing, I did not have any dead cells. My underarms felt fresh even without a deodorant. Our body produces natural oils, and when we use a soap/body wash, it strips away the natural oils, and our skin feels dry. I used to have dry legs after shower with body wash and soap, but I never experienced such a condition by skipping body wash. As I wanted to go chemical free, I applied some homemade pure coconut oil.
Face: I have combination skin and when I started skipping face wash, I felt my skin is not dry like before and the oils that were secreted gave a natural, healthy, and glowing look to my skin. However as I go to work, I do not like to look pale, so I followed with moisturization and used MAC studio fix powder, some kajal, eyeliner and a lip gloss!(some chemicals again!!) But my evening routine was chemical free with some olive oil+ coconut oil for my face.
Hair: As I have mentioned earlier, I have a super oily scalp and by the second day, it looks like I have oiled my hair. Without using any shampoo, I saw that my hair was less oily than it used to be! As we strip away the oil from the hair with harsh shampoos, the body produces more and more oil to compensate and with no shampoo being used, the oil secretion became normal, I guess? And I massaged with my fingers gently every time I shampooed and before that I made sure that I removed all the tangles and gently combed my hair and thus making the oil that is secreted on the scalp throughout.
My hair turned shinier, less oily and looked fuller! I think the chemicals that I used earlier weighed my hair down, but as I didn’t want to stop using oil, I had a hot oil deep treatment on weekends and washed hair with diluted shampoo.
So, this is my story and believe me, it works! I know it sounds gross, weird to go without shampoo/body wash/face wash, but the results are amazing, you only feel more beautiful with the natural oils doing its magic for your body.
Also, did you guys know that soap also strips away the natural odor that attracts the opposite sex? I read this and I was gaping at my monitor :D:D
I know to start this it is really difficult as we have a routine that we follow! But why not try at least once a week, so that we can allow our natural oils to do some magic. The transition period is tough, initially your body won’t like it as it is used to secreting a lot of oil and keeps doing it, but once it accepts, you are one lucky person! God made us in a way where our body produces all the oils necessary to keep our skin moisturized and healthy and we strip them and load it again up with some more products to compensate when it was not needed at all in the first place. And yes, we can save some tension with all the products to choose from and of course the lot of money we spend!
So, let me know the results if you dare to try 
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