# Consequences of not bathing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569 "2004-11-08T01:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/21 "2004-11-08T15:44:50Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > I think that another reason you don’t see bathtubs in restored buildings is that in past centuries, bathtubs weren’t permanent fixtures, like today. They were freestanding metal tubs that were brought out and filled when it was time to bathe. I’m pretty sure the colonial governor of Virginia didn’t usually bathe in the stream next to his house. Yep, and they were often the same tubs used to wash the laundry and bleed the pigs at slaughtertime and smoosh the apples for cider at harvest and a number of other uses. So maybe the tub was in the laundry or near the slaughterhouse. Having multiple watertight tubs was simply too expensive for most people. If your tub had pig guts or cider or laundry in it, you’d simply wait to take a bath another day. On a related note, is it true that people in desert areas “wash” with sand? How does that work, exactly? Sounds painful. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/22 "2004-11-08T15:50:02Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I read somewhere that quite few west coat hippies during the 60’s were developing mysterious skin lesions. The local MD’s had never seen anything like it. It was only when a doctor was reading a century-old medical dictionary that he able to identify the lesions, and (most importantly) the cause: lack of bathing. > > It was later realized that it was in vogue amongst many Haight Ashbury hippies of the 60’s to forgo bathing (_yuck_), and they developed skins conditions that had not been seen for a hundred years. (And least that’s what I read.) I recall reading something along these lines, where doctors were seeing diseases that hadn’t been seen in so long that they had names like “the rot” and “the crud”. It does have rather the flavor of an urban legend, though… ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/23 "2004-11-08T15:50:35Z")
Once I didn’t bathe for a little over a month (unless you count rain, snow or ice storms.) It was winter so I got to wear a lot of layers. My hair didn’t get too greasy, I rubbed snow through it all the time. I didn’t get any infections or die or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/24 "2004-11-08T15:56:02Z")
Oh, btw, I’m not trying to condone it or prove it doesn’t cause problems. I KNOW it does. I just wanted to share an anecdote. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/25 "2004-11-08T16:20:45Z")
There is a local religion that doesn’t permit washing of hair. My father met one of their adherents once, when he was working at the gas station (yes, he’s Indian. Yes, he doesn’t speak very good English. And yes, he worked at a gas station. Laugh. I still do.) She hadn’t washed her hair in 17 years, she said! :eek: Anyway, she seemed to be doing just fine…her hair was long, too. I would have thought lice at least, but she didn’t say. She washed everything else I presume. ---
**Author:** ![twelvericepaddies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@twelvericepaddies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twelvericepaddies)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/26 "2004-11-08T18:11:51Z")
I am surprised that nobody mentioned Tibet and parts of China where they are reputed to bathe only at birth and wedding. I know this is true. The various natives in the far North of Canada also are pretty sealed up in heavy clothing and bathe only very infrequently. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/27 "2004-11-08T18:58:47Z")
It was said of Queen Elizabeth I that, “she bathes once a year, needith it or no.” ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/28 "2004-11-08T19:27:11Z")
> [@twelvericepaddies](#): > > The various natives in the far North of Canada also are pretty sealed up in heavy clothing and bathe only very infrequently. You might want to qualify that as to time period, for these days, folks in the far north of Canada bathe as much as anyone else hereabouts. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/29 "2004-11-08T19:32:16Z")
> [@Elenia28](#): > > There is a local religion that doesn’t permit washing of hair. My father met one of their adherents once, when he was working at the gas station (yes, he’s Indian. Yes, he doesn’t speak very good English. And yes, he worked at a gas station. Laugh. I still do.) She hadn’t washed her hair in 17 years, she said! :eek: Anyway, she seemed to be doing just fine…her hair was long, too. I would have thought lice at least, but she didn’t say. She washed everything else I presume. I can remember many years ago seeing a programme on TV where they tested the theory that not washing your hair had no detremental effect. It took a few weeks for people to get used to it but then the natural oils in the body took over and the hair then was kept clean by the oils. I’ve just tried to back this up by searching but had no luck. I’m convinced I didn’t dream it though. ---
**Author:** ![Mirasawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mirasawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirasawa)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/30 "2004-11-08T20:23:29Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > I can remember many years ago seeing a programme on TV where they tested the theory that not washing your hair had no detremental effect. It took a few weeks for people to get used to it but then the natural oils in the body took over and the hair then was kept clean by the oils. > I’ve just tried to back this up by searching but had no luck. I’m convinced I didn’t dream it though. Long hair still would need to be combed. I hear that cleans the hair somehow, perhaps by mechanical removal of stuff that ain’t hair. Wasn’t it fairly recently that Americans traditionally took baths on Saturday night? Splish splash… \_ \_ ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/31 "2004-11-09T00:40:23Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I read somewhere that quite few west coat hippies during the 60’s were developing mysterious skin lesions. The local MD’s had never seen anything like it. It was only when a doctor was reading a century-old medical dictionary that he able to identify the lesions, and (most importantly) the cause: lack of bathing. > > It was later realized that it was in vogue amongst many Haight Ashbury hippies of the 60’s to forgo bathing (_yuck_), and they developed skins conditions that had not been seen for a hundred years. (And least that’s what I read.) Ich…why, exactly, was this popular among hippies? Were they copying Mao,\* or something? \*Mao Tse Tung said he didn’t bathe…although he did swim in a pool fairly often. He didn’t brush his teeth, though, IIRC. (Which I almost hope I’m _not_ Recalling Correctly.) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/32 "2004-11-09T01:08:15Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Ich…why, exactly, was this popular among hippies? Were they copying Mao,\* or something? > > \*Mao Tse Tung said he didn’t bathe…although he did swim in a pool fairly often. He didn’t brush his teeth, though, IIRC. (Which I almost hope I’m _not_ Recalling Correctly.) Bleaaarrrrghhchh! I guess some hippies really were scuzzy. I went to college in the late '70s, at a time when many of us strove to continue some of the lifestyle elements of hippie culture–long hair, “head” music, and for some, drugs. But we all **washed**. I had fairly oily hair when I was younger; if I didn’t wash it at least once a day, it felt terrible! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/33 "2004-11-09T02:58:50Z")
When my dad was growing up in the poor rural South, you bathed on Saturday night. (So you’d be clean on Sunday, of course.) I assume it’s because all hot water had to be heated on the stove. I’m pretty sure all 8 kids had just the one set of bathwater, and they worked _hard_ as tenant farmers so you know they were dirty. Of course, I’m sure they _washed_ throughout the week, just not a full-on bath. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/34 "2004-11-09T03:28:57Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > What would happen to me if I stopped bathing? (This one is purely hypothetical-- I value cleanliness very highly, I’m just curious!) Within a week, I suppose I would reek pretty badly. Within a month – what? Would someone who never bathed eventually succumb to various infections? Any information would be appreciated! There’s an awful lot of misinformation being promulgated in this thread. Nowadays we have such a fetish about cleanliness that we imagine we will become sick simply by not bathing. Not bathing, in and of itself, doesn’t have any particular ill effects. Off course, with the modern taboo against having any discernable natural body odor, it would affect your social life. If you were walking around with little or no clothes there is no reason you would get skin infections. However, if you habitually wore wet or sweaty clothes there could be a problem. You wouldn’t develop lice unless you came in contact with someone else who had them (or their clothes or bedding). As has been pointed out, in certain societies bathing has not been common. It doesn’t mean they were necessarily less healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/35 "2004-11-09T03:46:27Z")
I was wondering more about hunter-gatherers, cave dwellers and human-like hominids… before the invention of organised washing. Surely our ancestors developed to withstand the effects of not bathing more than the occasional swim in a creek. I remember reading that children exposed to dirt have stronger immunie systems that those kept squeaky-clean. Is it possible that our frequent bathing makes us weaker? ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/36 "2004-11-09T13:50:27Z")
> [@Mirasawa](#): > > Long hair still would need to be combed. I hear that cleans the hair somehow, perhaps by mechanical removal of stuff that ain’t hair. > > Wasn’t it fairly recently that Americans traditionally took baths on Saturday night? > Splish splash… > > \_ > \_ Combing it would certainly get the physical crud out, and my understanding is that in medieval society, various powders would be combed through the hair, absorbing the oil, but it was a process that took quite some time. But I don’t think the oils on hair are any great risk in themselves; so long as the hair was combed and the scalp rubbed to get rid of skin flakes, it doesn’t matter much if your hair is oily. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/37 "2004-11-10T00:14:01Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Ich…why, exactly, was this popular among hippies? Were they copying Mao,\* or something? The hippies of the day decided that pretty much everything their parents ever told them was wrong. Including, unfortunately, the need to bathe reasonably often. ---
**Author:** ![olefin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/38 "2004-11-10T01:16:52Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yep, and they were often the same tubs used to wash the laundry and bleed the pigs at slaughtertime and smoosh the apples for cider at harvest and a number of other uses. So maybe the tub was in the laundry or near the slaughterhouse. Having multiple watertight tubs was simply too expensive for most people. If your tub had pig guts or cider or laundry in it, you’d simply wait to take a bath another day. Yep, that was the way it was for my first 13 years. We only had one tub and it was used for everything. Bathing was a weekly thing… in the summer time. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/39 "2004-11-10T04:09:56Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Combing it would certainly get the physical crud out, and my understanding is that in medieval society, various powders would be combed through the hair, absorbing the oil, but it was a process that took quite some time. But I don’t think the oils on hair are any great risk in themselves; so long as the hair was combed and the scalp rubbed to get rid of skin flakes, it doesn’t matter much if your hair is oily. There is an old woman who volunteers in the museum in which I work. She used to be a rural school teacher, so she’s very familiar with “old time” customs which haven’t quite died out to this day in some parts. She told me just the other day about ladies she knew who “washed” their hair with corn meal. They would rub it vigorously into their scalp and hair, and then carefully comb it out, removing the skin flakes and oil.\* This was a way of washing the hair in the winter when hauling in water for a bath, and then shivering in a lukewarm tub of water in a cold room seemed unappealing. She didn’t say, but I’d imagine they would use “lice combs” to comb out the cornmeal residue since a regular comb wouldn’t be fine enough. I imagine that the “sand baths” **WhyNot** mentioned would be much the same way. I doubt highly that you would vigorously scrub the skin, but sort of rub the sand gently over the surface to absorb oils. (On the plus side it would do a hell of an exfoiliating job!) I also doubt that the sand would be rubbed into, ahem . . . _sensitive_ areas. - You can also use this method on oily spots on clothing which can’t be washed. Many of the clothing items in earlier times couldn’t be laundered. (What would be washed is the linens you wore next to the skin.) You would rub the spots with cornmeal or powdered bran. ---
**Author:** ![jester21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@jester21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jester21)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569/40 "2004-11-10T07:36:21Z")
but peeps keep implying otherwise Not bathing does NOT cause Lice. Bathing does NOT cure lice. The only requirement for lice is hair. Bathed or not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consequences-of-not-bathing/273569.md?page=3)