A sea of refillable blue glass
Yesterday was quite a day.
I churned out a batch of back-to-back interviews for the BBC, hoofing from one county to the next with effortless ease, all from the comfort of my local studio in Somerset and I had a really insightful time.
Some of the questions we’re positively deep and meaningful. Some of the braver presenters cherry-picked some of the saucy tips from the bedroom and other areas and I found myself recommending they go make some Naked Pizza on more than one occasion.
But one of the topics that came up repeatedly was that of cleaning the house and the body. I must say, I answered them all honestly and I think some of DJ’s were shocked by my answers, but I suspect secretly, they fancied giving a few ideas a go.
In a nutshell, I recommended that people stop being so manic about cleaning BOTH the house and the body, particularly the body!
If you strip your delicate personage of all of its natural oils with a daily shower or bath, it’ll be no wonder you have dry or unbalanced skin! The funny thing is, quite often, folks will smear a cream or potion all over their body afterwards to compensate for how tight their skin feels – how bizarre!
I suggested they cut this routine right down, particularly for hair washing, as the body would be working overtime to try and restore the natural oils that it’s just been stripped of.
If you go through the barrier (which is often more a mental than physical one) by not washing your mop for a fortnight, your brain would eventually get the message and would tone down its sebum production. You could then migrate towards a weekly hair wash or perhaps even more infrequently than that and you’d soon find a dramatic improvement in the condition of your mane. You would, of course, also notice a distinct reduction in the amount of plastic bottled products you bring into the house for your ablutions too!
The body is a very clever unit and it responds to everything you do to it. If you give it a chance to be ‘itself‘ it might just reward you with an even more glowing appearance.
Anyway, for those of you who have the stomach for it, here’s my routine, like it or lump it and I invite anyone who thinks I might smell like a tramp to sniff me out and judge for yourself!
I shower maybe once or twice a month.
I indulge in a bath maybe once or twice a month. When I do, I put in a handful of Tidmans Dead sea salt and a few drops of my chosen essential oil. I don’t always wash my body with soap when I’m in it and am happy for the water and salt to do a perfectly good job instead.
I certainly don’t wash my body every day and if I do have a sloosh, I’ll use water and a little organic soap.
I wash my hair two or three times a month and its in gorgeous condition if I say so myself.
I don’t use body creams, I’ll occasionally use a Lush cocoa butter bar if I want a little extra moisture.
I don’t use soap on my face and haven’t done so for years – I have no (well, very few) wrinkles. more like laughter lines just around my eyes. I clean and moisturise my face in one go with a few drops of oil and that’s it! In recent years, I’ve been using one from Neal’s Yard Remedies (with geranium and rose oils in it) which was around £14 a bottle and it lasted me about 9 months. When it ran out, I just made my own using sweet almond oil or grape seed oil as the carrier (base oil) and I added a few drops of my favourite essential oils for a lovely smell, often favouring grapefruit and lemon, rosemary and rose. I’m now also trying an oil from Monty’s range to see how it performs and it’s all very good so far.
I use a beautiful shampoo and conditioner from Herb UK‘s Organics range which contains no plastic (lots of shampoos do you know..) (they also do the Tints of Nature colours) and buy it in the salon sized bottle and it lasts my family of 5 for well over a year.
I don’t paint my nails. I don’t dye my hair. I use Dr. Haushka‘s make up very occasionally (preferring to let my skin go au natural) and Burt’s Bees lip colours, which are made from honey and are just lovely.
I don’t use perfume any more, I use a few drops of my favourite oils behind the ears and currently favour coconut, because it feels ‘sunshiney’!
I use a rock crystal deodorant from Botanicals which is excellent and I probably only use it once a week at that…
So there you have it. My beauty routine (or lack of it) up for all to see!
As I said before, your body is an incredible and beautifully organic being – you should try letting it simply ‘be’.
If nothing else, you’ll save yourself a fortune in bottles and your pheromones might just have the perfect opportunity to attract a gorgeous mate…
Rubbishly yours,
TSx
Your ‘beauty routine’ sounds just like mine, Tracey.
My hubby loves that I smell like me and not a bottle of perfume. And I’m often mistaken for younger than my age. **blush**
I don’t even wash my face, I have to say; I’ve given up doing that! I splash some water on it in the bath, which is around once a week for me.
My skin and hair are in better condition now than they were when I spent a fortune on cleansing, toning, moisturising and all those hair treatments. I’m getting some silver hairs now and I’m happy to grow old disgracefully
My challenge is that other people’s products such as perfume and hairspray really effect me – my eyes itch, I sneeze and sometimes feel wheezy. A lot of the time I feel nauseous from all these chemical smells, so I need to choose my close friends very carefully! Do you find this too? Washing powder is a total nightmare for me; I can smell it in the garden wafting over from neighbours. It was never like that when I was using it all myself; I’ve become more sensitive now I no longer use it all……..
Afternoon Mrs Green – how lovely to see I’m not alone! LOLOL…
I know what you mean about strong chemical smells from other places and people. I did a rare trip to a supermarket yesterday to get a few things (yes, I do go in occasionally) and the washing powder and cleaning product aisles were overpoweringly wafty – I felt quite uncomfortable after my toxic overload and was pleased to get outside again.
It’s interesting to analyse how you feel about the products you used to embrace, once you’ve turned the green corner…
TSx
Hiya – Im dying to ask about naked pizza but dont think Id dare!!!!!!
Another really good post here and Ive been trying to wean off of shampoing my hair every day too. Ive always done it in the shower every day and just give it a once over with a 2 in 1 jobbie. But I keep getting dry skin on my back and neck of all places and I reckon that might have something to do with it.
Its hard changing a long habbit but Im determined to see if this is the problem and to cut it out.
All the best here,
Mandie xxxxx
Having read this interesting thread, I’ve been trying to push washing my hair along a day or two this week. It’s been a bit uncomfortable and I felt a tad grim but my daughter has tried this and reckon it works. I am going to keep a note of how many days I can manage. Good Luck with it Mandie.
I had problems with really itchy dry skin on my back, I used to wash it in the bath and after trying all sorts of lotions I thought I’d just not wash my back anymore. Within a month there was a huge improvement. I shower once a week and only use shower gel, a tiny bit does under my arms & my girlie bits and bobs, the rest gets a rinse. The rest of the time I have a top to toe wash at the sink.
The bath dead sea salts are ace and with a few drops of lavender are my monthly treat. Nice tip Tracey!
I have very dry skin and having read this article I’m going to switch to organic ranges now. I’ve also started not using soap on my face and just splashing it with water in the morning. I’m using almond oil on my cheeks and so far so good.
Yes Tracey…naked pizza?? I think we need to know LOL
Hi Debbie and Mandie – great news here ladies I hope your adjustments go well.
Remember, your bodies are trying to change ‘your’ habits of a lifetime, so you might need a little patience, but the results will be very interesting to see.
Please drop us a note back in a few weeks if you can to let us know how its going.
TS x
PS: Naked pizza? I promise, but another day….it’s a bit of a (tomato) saucy post…
Hi Tracey.
I’m loving reading your rubbish book!
I smugly thought I knew loads about this kinda thing, but I’ve learnt so much from you!
But a question r.e the washing thing; what if you do regular exercise? Having moved from an active outdoor lifestyle to a more sedentary one, I have just started going for actual runs. I would feel horrible and I’m sure I’d smell of b.o if I didn’t wash after building up a sweat. What’s your take on this?
G x
Hi Gemma,
Smashing to see you on here old friend and thanks for your kind words too – I’m really glad you like the book!
If you are building up a sticky sweat with exercise, of course, that does warrant a little more personal care and attention.
In the first instance, I would advise you to wear cotton undies/tee shirts etc both before and after your exercise session. Ideally made from organic fibres if possible, to let your body breathe and regulate itself in a chemical free environment.
If money is a little tight, visit some of the great organic cotton retailers like Rapanui Clothing, Natural Collection etc and ask if they have any reduced price old stock in the bargain basement box….
If you are hopping in the shower regularly, try a nice gel like the ones from the guys at Green People. Their range is free from SLS/SLES, Parabens, phthalates and artificial fragrances and it suitable for vegans and vegetarians too.
Finally, try not to suppress your body’s instinctive reaction to create sweat to cool you down by using an antiperspirant – go for a deodorant instead.
And afterwards, let your body cool down before you plaster it all over in clothes again, getting all hot and bothered before you’ve even left the gym and don’t forget to drink lots of water to replace your lost fluids.
TS x