Posted on 06/25/2019 2:25:28 PM PDT by Red Badger
Amidst the no-shampoo revolution, a look at global hygiene habits
Cleanliness, it turns out, has been one dirty trick. One reason early-20th-century Americans ramped up their weekly baths to daily showers is that marketing companies capitalized on the insecurities of a new class of office drones working in close quarters. As Gizmodo wrote last week, to sell products like "toilet soap" and Listerine to Americans, "the advertising industry had to create pseudoscientific maladies like 'bad breath' and 'body odor.'"
Take, for instance, Gizmodo's description of the philosophy of the Cleanliness Institute, which was founded by the Association of American Soap and Glycerine Producers:
The trade association wanted Americans to wash quite unwittingly after toilet, to wash without thought before eating, to jump into the tub as automatically as one might awake each new day.
And so we did. A Reddit user recently polled 562 people and found that most men said they showered daily. Women's bathing rituals were more diffuse, but about 60 percent preferred to shower three, four, or five times weekly.
Now is the dawn of a new, more pungent era, though. People are snapping up dry shampoo and No-Poo and coating themselves in bacteria. Dr. Sanjay Jain recently told Jezebel that "showers don't need to be too hot, or too long, and you should always pat dry, rather than rub, to avoid irritating your skin." One family went six months without using soap and raved about the results.
But as it turns out, Americans aren't alone when it comes to having overdone it with too-frequent showers and shampoos.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
My sense of smell is pretty much gone, too. It was a blessing while raising toddlers!
heh heh heh heh...
“Interesting that US bathing pales in comparison to Mexico bathing.”
I’m calling serious BS on that percentage. No way Mexicans bath more than us citizens. A bet less than half south of the border have regular availability of running water. Jumping in the creek does not count as bathing!!
LOL A blast from the past. It's hugh and series.
So where do I buy that?
:D
Air dry here.
Takes all night and half a day.
Yeah, the second graph is weird. Indicates Middle Easterners bathe more than US. And Mexico & Brazil bathe significantly more.
Maybe that’s me...down to the creek once when ice goes out and agin right before it comes back. Regular like, whether I need it or not...
That’s in the Feces District
B F L
IN 2008, I had 3 sinus surgeries. I lost my sense of smell for over a year. YOU NOT ONLY CAN’T SMELL, YOUR SENSE OF TASTE IS AFFECTED AS WELL............................
I have overly sensitive taste and smell senses. I can actually taste many things just from smelling them. Annoying!
Those guys have an immune system that is off the charts.
Agree, I have been ‘suffering’ tinnitus which I somewhat attribute to ‘blowing up my sinuses’ in a pressure tank situation some 55 years ago and not only have a constant ringing in my ears that is sometimes so intense I don’t hear it BUT at times I swear the person standing next to me should be able to.
It has also affected my odor detector - to a point...<: <:
But the question remains...
IF one CAN’T smell does it mean they DON’T smell?
I have had a few co-workers go to the gym before work or at lunch and come back and stink up the place. I asked one who thought it was ok to shower after work and not in the morning (I do not think he showered everyday). He has that greasy stuff in their hair. Some mask their smell by using lots of cologne which does not help. Explains the French use of it as they do not bath regularly.
Yeah i can add this. Shower twice a day. But if I mow the lawn, work out, do any sort of manual labor I take a shower and change clothes. All the clothes, not just some of the clothes. It’s not hard to be clean and everyone around you will thank you.
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