Since I vary between mostly bedridden/roombound every little bit of energy spent on hygiene is precious and not to be wasted. Over the years I have learned, and am continuing to learn, which is and isn't necessary, and how to reduce expenditure. I'm curious to see what others do, too.
Here are a few of mine:
My journey as far as my hair goes started about 5 years ago when my MCS became severe and overnight I was completely without shampoo or conditioner of any kind. Having curly, dry hair, I tried the baking soda/vinegar rinse method and had to oil my hair to make it anywhere close to manageable, resulting in something halfway presentable. Then I found a place that could make custom conditioner for me and I really loved that, but began reacting and had to stop.
Then my focus was on ignoring my hair, it was a little depressing. Short hair for me was more work than long hair because it'd be all afro-like and in the way. But my long hair was terribly difficult to manage without hair products because of the frizziness (what curls do when they aren't happy). After ignoring it for a few months, rinsing it occasionally, I started to notice it was getting straight and soft and shiny--that is, it was manageable! And it looks better than it did with any other alternative method I've tried. I've done some research and the sebum from the scalp can act as a natural hair conditioner just like lanolin conditions wool, if you don't strip it away. And it looks like that's what's happening with my hair.
It actually doesn't seem dirty at all. The only time it ever starts to smell is if I go several days without taking my hair down, massaging my scalp and brushing/combing/running my fingers through my hair to redistribute the sebum. But as long as I do that once a day or every other day or so it doesn't smell bad at all, and it feels soft and looks presentable. I hope to have my curls back someday, but in the meantime this will do just fine.
Okay, now I want to hear what everyone else does!
Here are a few of mine:
- Electric toothbrush, much less back-and forth motion.
- No shaving. I keep legs and armpits covered anyway, so it isn't really noticeable, and it means I get to spend that energy on other things. And there's nothing dirty about having hair where it's naturally supposed to be.
- No makeup. Most of this is due to my MCS, but even when I bought mineral makeup that should be okay I found it took too much energy. Not only putting it on, but also having to take it off before putting my face on my pillow, which just wasn't happening.
- I do not lather my entire body with soap. There's no need to, and again, wasted energy. A few years ago my MCS became so extremely severe that I could not tolerate any soap at all, not even organic single ingredient soaps. I really tried it all. So I lived completely without soap for a few years, and I learned what actually needs soap and what doesn't. Now that I have soap again, I use it only on what's dirty; the vast majority of my skin surface cleans just fine with plain old water. As a bonus this means I don't need lotion, as the natural oils seem to take care of skin dryness all on their own.
- After years of experimentation I now don't wash my hair. At all. I don't even get it wet. This saves me the energy of trying to dry my hair and the exhaustion of washing, rinsing, conditioning, etc.
- No shaving. I keep legs and armpits covered anyway, so it isn't really noticeable, and it means I get to spend that energy on other things. And there's nothing dirty about having hair where it's naturally supposed to be.
- No makeup. Most of this is due to my MCS, but even when I bought mineral makeup that should be okay I found it took too much energy. Not only putting it on, but also having to take it off before putting my face on my pillow, which just wasn't happening.
- I do not lather my entire body with soap. There's no need to, and again, wasted energy. A few years ago my MCS became so extremely severe that I could not tolerate any soap at all, not even organic single ingredient soaps. I really tried it all. So I lived completely without soap for a few years, and I learned what actually needs soap and what doesn't. Now that I have soap again, I use it only on what's dirty; the vast majority of my skin surface cleans just fine with plain old water. As a bonus this means I don't need lotion, as the natural oils seem to take care of skin dryness all on their own.
- After years of experimentation I now don't wash my hair. At all. I don't even get it wet. This saves me the energy of trying to dry my hair and the exhaustion of washing, rinsing, conditioning, etc.
My journey as far as my hair goes started about 5 years ago when my MCS became severe and overnight I was completely without shampoo or conditioner of any kind. Having curly, dry hair, I tried the baking soda/vinegar rinse method and had to oil my hair to make it anywhere close to manageable, resulting in something halfway presentable. Then I found a place that could make custom conditioner for me and I really loved that, but began reacting and had to stop.
Then my focus was on ignoring my hair, it was a little depressing. Short hair for me was more work than long hair because it'd be all afro-like and in the way. But my long hair was terribly difficult to manage without hair products because of the frizziness (what curls do when they aren't happy). After ignoring it for a few months, rinsing it occasionally, I started to notice it was getting straight and soft and shiny--that is, it was manageable! And it looks better than it did with any other alternative method I've tried. I've done some research and the sebum from the scalp can act as a natural hair conditioner just like lanolin conditions wool, if you don't strip it away. And it looks like that's what's happening with my hair.
It actually doesn't seem dirty at all. The only time it ever starts to smell is if I go several days without taking my hair down, massaging my scalp and brushing/combing/running my fingers through my hair to redistribute the sebum. But as long as I do that once a day or every other day or so it doesn't smell bad at all, and it feels soft and looks presentable. I hope to have my curls back someday, but in the meantime this will do just fine.
Okay, now I want to hear what everyone else does!