+109 You can't understand how even royalty in the Middle Ages went without bathing for years at a time. Your hair gets really gross after you don't wash it for half a week. Amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

If you only use a little bit of shampoo/conditioner and no beauty products, it won't get gross easily.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

The soap they used in those days were very different from now. Some of the earliest forms of soap were made by mixing animal fat with wood ashes. Then lye soap, was made, and it works but it was harsh on your skin so people didn't use it everyday.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

My guess would be something to do with our diets. I read somewhere that people in those times got along well without dentists because their diets didn't contain as much sugar. I would wager a guess that our bodies produce more grease and gross stuff because we eat a lot more grease and gross stuff than we used to.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

That's what I was thinking. But then how do you explain smelly hippie vegans? hmm

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Drugs.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

If they're vegan, I'm assuming they'd only be consuming organic drugs, so shrooms or cannabis. Idk if shrooms make you smell bad though.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Not sure! I just Googled "vegan stink" for some answers, and my brief search has brought back several contradicting results. Some say vegetarians/vegans smell bad because they may have a poor diet or are eating a lot of onions and garlic. Others say vegetarians/vegans smell better and rarely even need to use deodorant. Personally, I couldn't tell you. I haven't met anyone in person that I know to be a vegan, nor do I really notice people's smells too often.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

http://boingboing.net/2011/01/04/i-havent-used-soap-i.html

by Anonymous 11 years ago

If you go for a week or so without using soap, and instead just rinse yourself off with water, you'll find that your hair is much softer and more manageable; your skin will be less greasy and less acne-prone, and it saves a lot of money. The problem is that it's difficult to find a week when you won't be around others, and since in the first week or two you get REALLY dirty and oily before your skin balances out, it's hard to get started on that.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I'm not entirely sure what they used back then to wash their hair, but the shampoo we use now a days can actually be harmful. Shampoo strips our hair of the natural oils our scalp creates. So once the oils are stripped, our scalp creates tons more to compensate, making our hair greasy. It's actually healthier to not use shampoo at all. I read a blog of a lady who altogether stopped using shampoo and instead used another mixture (using less harsh stuff, like baking soda and something else I think, that only cleaned the hair and not stripped the oils). It took her hair awhile to completely un-grease(lol?), but once it did, you can see the difference. Hair dressers commented that her hair was much healthier than most. And plus it'd be nice considering hair products can cost a buttload over time. I'm too lazy to look for the blog now, but if anyone else is interested I could attempt to find it. I've always wanted to try it out, but it takes awhile for your hair to be un-greased, and I can't stand it when its gross.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I'm interested please make the attempt you said you could attempt

by Anonymous 10 years ago