The skin is our biggest organ.  And, everything that touches our skin enters our body.  That, combined with the knowledge that HUNDREDS of chemicals are assumed to be safe and approved for use in personal care products (and the food supply) in the US without any safety testing whatsoever, and quickly one begins to understand why natural personal care products are so important!  But, it is more than just the products.  What you wash, when you wash and how you wash matters also!

First a little relevant information.  We have more bacteria in / on our bodies than we have cells.  These includes both beneficial bacteria and harmful bacteria and both play a critical role in our health.  The balance of the good versus the bad is key!  Similar to our guts, our skin is covered in bacteria at all times, good and bad.  Many of us know that using antibiotics destroys our good gut bacteria, but, we do not give as much thought to what happens to the beneficial bacteria on our skin every time we take a shower.  Similar to using antibiotics, if you kill or wash off all of the bacteria on your skin you create an opportunity for bad bacteria to take over!

Another important piece of knowledge is how vitamin D3 is produced on our skin.  The sun’s energy turns cholesterol and other chemicals in our skin into vitamin D3.  The vitamin then needs to be absorbed through the skin and transported to your liver and then your kidneys to be transformed into active vitamin D.  It takes UP TO 48 HOURS before the majority of vitamin D3 is absorbed by your body from your skin!   So, if you spend a day in the sun, producing lots of beneficial Vitamin D3 and then take a shower and wash it all away with soap, you will not be absorbing that Vitamin D3!   (Note, this is only one of MANY important beneficial roles cholesterol plays in our bodies.)

Given our current washing routine in the US, combined with the limited time outdoors, there is no wonder we have an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency!!!  Why should you care?  Vitamin D deficiency suppresses your immune system and contributes to fatigue, poor bone health, depression, hair loss, muscle pain, respiratory issues, asthma, diabetes, and more!

Below is my simple washing routine to help address all of the above and get us a little closer to doing things as nature intended.

#1 Use Natural Soap

I love Dr. Bronner’s!  This pure castile soap is as clean as they come.  This is the only soap we use for personal care in our house.  We use it for body wash and hand soap.  I even use it as dish soap, but do alternate it with other products in the kitchen.  Dr. Bronner’s comes very concentrated!  Dilute 1 part soap with 10 parts water.  We like using foaming pump bottles.  You can either buy an empty foaming soap pump bottle or buy one with soap already in it and then refill.  If you insist on using bar soap, Dr. Bronner’s offers bar soap or Kirk’s fragrance free bar soap is a good choice.  You can find some more suggestions on how to use Dr. Bronner’s Soap on their website.

Stop Overusing Soap in the Shower! 

There is no need to wash your body with soap every day.  In fact, there is more harm then good to this practice.  The downside include, washing away healthy oil, washing away vitamin D3, drying out your skin and disturbing the bacteria balance.  So, when taking a shower, use soap where the sun does not shin (your stinky areas), but unless you have been in a chlorinated pool or rolling around in the dirt, there is no reason to wash your legs, back, stomach, arms, etc. with soap ever day.  And, taking more than one shower a day is not advisable!  Keep the shower quick and on point!

Stop Washing Off the Vitamin D!

I am repeating this once again because it is SOOOO important!  It takes up to 48 hours for vitamin D3 to be absorbed into our skin.  Stop washing it off with soap every day!!!

Wash Your Hands with Soap and Water!

Never use antibacterial products, including hand sanitizer!  They are not safe, period.  Take the extra minutes to wash your hands with soap and water.  Yes, even when out!  And, especially at kids birthday parties!!!  Those bounce houses have lead in them and lots of other harmful chemicals!  And, these chemicals are in every environment, everywhere you go!  Putting antibacterial goo on your hands will not wash away the chemicals, it will just introduce new ones.  And then all of that loveliness touches food and gets ingested!  Wash your hands!!!

A Special Note for Babies

There is zero good reason to give babies baths every day and lots of bad ones as outlined above.  Wash their privates with soap and water (ideally after every poop), wash any spit up that gets on their bodies and wash their hands.  And, rinse them completely before and after using the pool.  That is all they need.  If you want to do a bath every week or two for fun, do so knowing that you are not doing it for health reasons.  But definitely skip daily baths!