About a year ago, inspired by a book I read, I stopped using shampoo. The theory goes, shampoo is a form of soap that works by binding to non-water-soluble oil molecules and washing them away. That’s great if your hair feels greasy all the time, but what if it doesn’t? Your hair needs a certain amount of oil to be shiny and manageable and not frizzy… some people produce too much, so they need shampoo. But if your hair tends dry or frizy, you shouldn’t be removing the oil, which isn’t inherently dirty.
And truth be told, my hair is much shinier and more manageable now, with nice solid curls instead of nappy friz.
So, can the same theory be applied to body soap? Once again, your body produces natural oils which aren’t inherently dirty. Am I needlessly drying out my skin by using soap? Should I be using soap if I don’t feel greasy or oily? I’m thinking of switching over to some kind of “gentle cleansing bar”, to see if it makes my skin soft and smooth. It’s worth a shot.
