Articles and such things

[petronia]

The Great Unwashed (NYT)

In summer one can't do this, I think, unless one lives in full-blast AC 24/7 and never goes outside - even if one doesn't need deodorant dried sweat makes one smell like a hobo. (Dried summer sweat is the most unappealing of "people smells", IMO, sort of metallic?) Stinkiness is also a matter of genetic lottery, medication, fabrics against the skin, diet... But all else being equal, the body adjusts to the regimen imposed on it. It's not a matter of others not noticing, you take longer to actually get grubby. XD; Also I've always used those mineral crystal things which have no scent or residue and don't prevent you from sweating, but I know ppl for whom they don't work at all.

I'd always been taught to wash my hair every other day, and by the end of the second day it would be itchy and greasy and horrid. But as I get older (1) and lazier (2) and my hair gets longer (3) and I hit upon better shampoos/conditioners (4) this has slowly ceased to be the case. Since the perm I've been washing my hair every three days to give it a rest, and it still looks and feels perfectly fine; just that - to my amusement - it's curliest after being washed and slowly straightens out until the perm is unnoticeable (my hair is naturally a bit wavy). My 18-year-old self would have flatly refused to believe that possible. As it is I only really need to wash my hair after the gym, which encourages me to exercise, since the shower facilities are always deserted by the time I'm done and are thus more luxurious than home. XD

Did Somebody Just Try To Buy The British Government?

It's a bit Wodehouse meets Dan Brown, somehow. XD; The funny thing when one hits upon stuff like this - I mean, various happenings in Doctor Who or the BBC!AU iteration of Mycroft Holmes remain fantasy, but the realization that the actual probable/improbable line is a bit to the left of where one'd mentally drawn it.

Comments

Experiences of dirt

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

I've had to forego daily showers several times in my life. Wiping down with a warm facecloth got me quite clean enough, even in summer. The eyeopener was that my underarms didn't smell *except* after I'd showered. That did it for the anti-bacterial soap (and the carbolic, alas.) But there's an itchy period I never quite got over so yeah, daily shower/ bath it is.

Switching to an herbal shampoo let me go three or four days between washing, when like you I was getting perilously close to every day and my hair was greasy with it.

I haven't used deodorant or anti-perspirant for eighteen months. Washing with ordinary soap and splashing a bit of rubbing alcohol at need takes care of any sweat smells. (I have the nose to end all noses, BTW. I smell the poos before the kids have them. And I'm a champion sweater as well.)

[asiamorela.livejournal.com]

I also have long hair (takes 1 1/2 hour to dry up), so for me there's 'only-body shower' (tie my hair up in a knot and try not to get it too wet) and 'hair-included shower'. I just don't have the time (or need) to wash my hair daily, but I'll gladly step in the shower for a quick body-only rinse every day, especially on hot summer days when it's all you can do not to hide away in your fridge... Not so much a question of odour (I sweat precious little except after workout, and my sweat smells rather neutral), just personal comfort.

In the summer, I used the compulsory shower at the swimming-pool much as you do at the gym: a pretext for exercise. Unfortunately swimming-pools stink too much of chlorine to be properly 'luxurious', but at home, when time allows, I definitely consider showers as an excuse to pamper myself. Once again, it's not all about cleanliness.

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

I stopped using deodorant, except on hot days. My sense of smell is horrible, lol, so if I did smell I would probably not be able to tell. But hopefully I do not.

Shower every day, but am thinking of washing my hair less because it's gotten thin and brittle. I work in the city and take public transportation, so I shower every day. On a weekend when I don't leave the apartment, I might skip a shower.

also

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

I had the biggest put-down of my life from my noble friend Lord Strathclyde when I told him this story. He said, "Why you? You're not important enough to have the answer to a question like that". He is quite right, I am not important enough, but the answer to the next question was, "You haven't got the experience for it". Yes I do. I have had one of the biggest experiences in the laundering of terrorist money and funny money that anyone has had in the City. I have handled billions of pounds of terrorist money.

It's like a surrealist comedy sketch...

Re: also

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I am still unsure whether the bit about the IRA was wholly a joke or not. XD;

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I usually shower every other day, except in unusual circumstances (like when I'm on an archaeological dig, it's almost always necessary to shower daily). I was doing the no-shampoo thing for a long time, but since I've been in the U.K. this fall, it's not working. My hair got way greasy. I think the water here must be harder than back home, or there's not enough water pressure, or something. In general, the no-shampoo thing works better the curly-er/thicker your hair is; if you have thin or straight hair, generally it needs washed more often.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Water quality does make a lot of difference, yeah - I find my hair and skin are better in Shanghai, even though the water system is worse (it's catching up now, though; I still wouldn't drink tap, but at least I can rinse my mouth in it without feeling gross XD;).