Damaging showers? Researcher rejects showers consistently for 12 years

David Whitlock is not a tramp sleeping under bridges, but earned his scientific degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nevertheless, he behaves like someone who has not seen running water for 12 years: he does not shower.

Bacteria instead of water
Whitlock wants to prove on his own that shower gel and soap harm the body. He assumes that the fragrant cosmetics destroy the natural protective film of the skin against pathogens and instead relies on "Mother Dirt", a bacterial spray developed by him.

If you do not take a shower, it stinks. That does not have to be right. (Pathdoc / fotolia.com)

Spray for the skin flora
His spray contains bacteria that also occur in the dirt; It is intended to neutralize harmful substances on the skin and prevent infections while protecting the natural skin flora.

Showering is not self-evident
Taking a shower daily is a matter of course for many today. This practice has only been established for several decades and only in the rich industrialized countries.

One bath day per weekche
Even for people in the countryside in the 1960s, the weekly bath day was normal. The whole family jumped once a week in the tub of hot water and scrubbed thoroughly.

Dry dry
In many drylands, water is far too precious to waste wasting your body every day. For example, traditional American Natives are stunned by the fountains in Las Vegas; their ancestors invented dry-washing in the Nevada desert. They cleaned themselves with sweat lodges and then rubbed the sweat off with sand from the body.

water collapse
It also made sense to save water in their arid home. Conversely, today the big cities of the southwest, which pump water in quantities from the soil and the Colorado from an unsolved water problem - and from a possible collapse.

Alternatives to showering
Like the desert Indians, desert populations developed techniques to keep themselves clean without water. The Berbers of Morocco know a variety of "deodorants", "shampoos" and "face masks" of earth, stones and plants that cleanse the skin - with a minimum of water.

Sweat against stink
The sweat lodge, we call it sauna, works through a natural wash. Because sweat is not waste, it is used to cool and purify the body as well. So, fresh sweat washes away the dirt in the form of potential pathogens, bacterial waste, food debris, and contaminants.

If you dry your body after showering with birch branches without taking a shower, it will not feel dirty, but cleaner than having showered ten times.

Damned to stink?
Sweat does not stink in general, but intense odors are caused by old sweat, when bacteria decompose, by fragrances that are biologically of sexual attraction (but are perceived in the office as penetrating) and the connection between unwashed clothes and lack of body hygiene.

In old sweat, waste products of the body dry as well as foreign substances.

Showers equal hygiene?
But body hygiene does not mean you need to take a shower every day. Removing old sweat without water eliminates the unpleasant odor just as well - for example with sponges, leaves or brushes. Also, rubbing off the skin with a dry soap made from crushed minerals and herbs removes unwanted scents.

Showering alone does not help
Conversely, we do not remove the odor of sweat by simply letting the water run over the body while showering, but also by washing with a cloth, brushing off and lathering.

Showering is not a scent
Shampoos contain fragrances - herbs that we rub into the skin without water also contain such substances.

Stinking traditional people?
Our ancestors in the Middle Ages probably stank up to the sky. They dumped the garbage in the river or in front of the front door, feces and urine of farm animals on the dung heap betrayed the farm from afar. Sailors slept close by, and noblemen whitewashed their body odor with perfume.

However, if you are among Navajo, Tuareg or Bushmen, you know that these people have an unobtrusive and unusual body odor, but not, for our noses, stink like the inhabitants of a home for male homeless people.

They dry themselves dry, they brush their teeth with fragrant plants and anus such as armpits with powders of plants and stones. Even Whitlock is maintained according to eyewitnesses and spreads no unpleasant body odor.

What do scientists say??
Cord Sunderkötter from the University of Münster considers daily showering problematic. It damages the skin flora because it also flushes away beneficial bacteria.

According to the Munich dermatologist Christoph Liebich, such bacteria fight off pathogens. In other words, whoever takes a shower daily is susceptible to diseases.

Water or shampoo?
Liebich recommends people who perspire a lot like body workers or athletes only to cleanse the sweaty areas like the armpits - with water. Too much shampoo or soap reduces the fat content of the skin.

Antiseptic soaps?
Frequent showering with antiseptic soaps reminiscent of peeled bananas in plastic packaging: The skin flora itself has an antiseptic effect against harmful pathogens. To shower it off and then soap it is absurd.

It is important to cream after showering, because washing and rubbing dry removes moisture from the skin.

Showering is not washing hands
Unlike showers, we should wash our hands frequently, preferably before each meal and after each use of the toilet. Because most pathogens come from the hand into the mouth and from there into the body. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)