Personal hygiene is taken for granted by many of us, but have you ever thought about what would happen to your body if you stopped washing it? Greasy hair and an unpleasant body odor probably comes to mind, but there are a lot of other ‘side effects.’ And they’re not just negative ones!
Curious? Check through and discover what would happen if you stopped bathing.
We have lots of bacteria in our bodies, and we’re exposed to many as well. But if you don’t bathe, you’ll get exposed to a lot more bad bacteria than if you cleaned your body.
Yes, everyone will start noticing your BO—you included! All the extra bacteria you’d carry would feed on protein and fatty acids, emitting gas that doesn’t smell very nice..It wouldn’t really matter if you lived isolated in a cave, and therefore had no contact with other humans. If this isn’t the case, then please consider that other people might suffer the consequences!
If you don’t wash your skin, its natural oils will mix with pollutants, making it itchy. You’ll find yourself itching and scratching all the time.
Fungus infections can easily spread on our feet. Now imagine not washing them. Again, the odor will also be pretty disgusting.
Excessive oil, mixed up with sweat and dirt, can really irritate your skin. This can develop in a wide variety of ways, including blemishes.
By not bathing, you put yourself at a higher risk of infection caused by bacteria and fungi, including jock itch, which usually develops in warm and moist areas of the body.
It goes without saying that your private parts do develop a strong odor if you don’t wash the area. Not only that, but you can develop all sort of problems, including yeast infections. Not to mention that it will itch a lot, and may even become painful.
Not washing yourself can really have an impact on your mental health. Not only will it make you feel dirty (because, well, you are), but sometimes a shower or bath can really give you that extra boost you need.
While your body has its protection mechanisms, not showering will make your body more exposed to a greater number of viruses and bacteria that can enter your body through places such as your mouth and eyes. As a result, you might get sick.
Have you ever seen people in movies with brown spots all over their faces and bodies? This is a condition that occurs when dead skin cells build up to a level so high that they cause hyperpigmentation (dark patches) and scales that resemble cornflakes.
Not bathing will mean that every day will be a bad hair day. Excessive oil and possibly other conditions such as dandruff will make you hair look and feel as dirty as it is.
You know those tan lines people get when their bodies are exposed to the sun, but the skin that is covered doesn’t get tan? Well, this is similar, except, it’s dirty skin, not tanned skin.
Washing up helps us get rid of dead skin cells. Every day we shed somewhere between 30-40 million cells. Now imagine how many layers will end up building up on your body if you don’t bathe…
You’ll collect lots of dust and dirt on your hair if you don’t wash it. This, mixed with excessive oil and potentially dandruff and other conditions likely to develop due to the lack of hygiene, will make your scalp itch. A lot.
Eczema on its own is already triggered by an overreactive immune system. If you don’t wash, your immune system will work extra hard to fight potential infections, so if you suffer from eczema it can get pretty bad.
Being dirty will likely make you feel dirty and just overall frumpy. This will then have an impact on how you dress and how you interact with other people.
Wearing sweaty clothes can increase the risk of developing skin abrasions and cuts. That, mixed with skin covered with bacteria and dead skin cells, can develop into a skin infection.
You might just become really aware of your body odor. This might lead to you becoming a bit paranoid about other people looking at you, or stepping away from you, because, well, you smell…
Things wouldn’t be as drastic if you kept some areas of your body clean. Places such as your armpits, groin, and face can become breeding grounds for harmful bacteria, so even if you don’t bathe, these are must-clean parts of your body. Baby wipes, perhaps?
Now, there are some benefits to not washing yourself. One of them is that you will restore your natural bacterial ecosystem. This is usually off balance because of all the chemicals you use and how frequently you use them.
If you stop bathing, your skin will eventually moisturize itself. Many times, all the soaps and shampoos we use deplete our skin of its natural oils and dry up our skin.
This is a no-brainer. If you don’t bathe, you won’t need to use these products, right? Certainly there’s no need to stock up!
And, of course, you will save money. Shampoos and conditioners as well as other skin care and hair care products used during and after showering can amount to quite an expense over time.
On average, a typical shower usually last around eight to nine minutes. During this time, about 17 gallons (65 liters) of water are used.
Not only are you saving water by not showering, but you also reduce the use of plastic in shampoo bottles for instance, and chemicals going down the drain.
Time is probably the world’s most valuable commodity, and you will save some of it by not washing yourself. You can, however, just reduce the time you spend bathing. This way you’ll save money and get clean.
