# What's the straight dope on taking showers without soap or scrubbing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 15, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-taking-showers-without-soap-or-scrubbing/915355 "2020-07-15T01:12:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-taking-showers-without-soap-or-scrubbing/915355/21 "2020-07-15T22:30:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, and the oils are not a bad thing, in fact some experts have said that only use soap where you are obviously dirty, and your hands, armpits, groin and asscrack. Anecdata: I’ve been doing exactly this for a few years and my skin is in better condition than when I used to use soap all over. I wash my face daily with warm or hot water, but I only use soap on it when I have to get something like sunscreen off. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-taking-showers-without-soap-or-scrubbing/915355/22 "2020-07-16T01:02:00Z")
Yes, many Dermatologists say to not scrub off the natural oils on your skin, if possible. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-taking-showers-without-soap-or-scrubbing/915355/23 "2020-07-16T01:11:10Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Take a Navy Shower. In the bad old days, ships were short of fresh hot water. > > So you get wet, 20-30 seconds. > Soap up with water off and scrub. > Scrub and rinse for 1-2 minutes. > Much cleaner than no soap and no extra water used than what you’re doing today. We were still doing this on submarines in '07. I suspect they still are today. Potable water tanks are only so big, and sometimes for operational reasons they have to shut off the desalination systems. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-taking-showers-without-soap-or-scrubbing/915355/24 "2020-07-16T14:27:29Z")
A soapless shower with no scrubbing is called “running through the sprinkler.” We did this as kids. While it felt wonderful in the heat of a summer day, we were still stinky kids with dirty feet and greasy hair. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-taking-showers-without-soap-or-scrubbing/915355/25 "2020-07-16T15:38:47Z")
Here we are. Yep, it’s the toweling that will remove much of the stuff, while leaving your skin oil intact. And your towel may be a bit dirtier. This thread is actually making a case for the evening soapless shower… ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-taking-showers-without-soap-or-scrubbing/915355/27 "2020-07-16T17:53:31Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But perhaps your girlfriend finds something objectionable in the way you smell after your scrubless shower, and that’s why she wants you to clean more thoroughly. This is my guess. Take the hint, OP! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-taking-showers-without-soap-or-scrubbing/915355/28 "2020-07-16T19:59:24Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > > [@What\_Exit](#): > > > > Take a Navy Shower. In the bad old days, ships were short of fresh hot water. > > > > > So you get wet, 20-30 seconds. > > > Soap up with water off and scrub. > > > Scrub and rinse for 1-2 minutes. > > > Much cleaner than no soap and no extra water used than what you’re doing today. > > We were still doing this on submarines in '07. I suspect they still are today. Potable water tanks are only so big, and sometimes for operational reasons they have to shut off the desalination systems. Remember the shower heads that had a timed shutoff? 😉 We ended up with one in a box of random rummage bought from DRMO here in New London and put it in the barn shower - it had a microscopic [like 2.5 gallon] tanked hot water heater and otherwise you would end up with a blast of cold water… During chemo I pretty much didn’t really sweat, and the crap I was being infused with seemed to kill of the microbes in/on my skin so I didn’t really get any sort of body odor xcept for smelling sort of medicinal. If I took soap showers, my skin went all alligator on me until I found a superfatted shea butter [bar soap](https://www.bravosierra.com/products/hair-body-solid-cleansing-bar) that also was able to be used as a shampoo. I think I was using soap pretty much only on my preport access days other than when hand washing. This soap saved my hands as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-taking-showers-without-soap-or-scrubbing/915355.md?page=1)