Coronavirus: Admit it, you’re washing less. Is it really good for you?

Style guru Susannah Constantine has become a WFH unwasher. But should we follow her lead or will we just become smelly crusties?

Style guru Susannah Constantine (L) (seen here in better groomed days with TV co-host Trinny Woodhall) hasn’t washed her hair for weeks.

So, be honest, when was the last time you washed your hair? Most of us have adopted a rather laissez-faire approach to grooming recently. Sales figures for the consumer goods giant Unilever’s personal hygiene range suggest that we are not only using shampoo less frequently, we are also not as inclined to reach for the deodorant, take a shower or shave. As we prepare to return to our normal way of life, though, will we revert to our old ablutionary habits?

Perhaps not. On Instagram, where there are 164,000 posts dedicated to the “no poo” movement – in favour of ditching shampoo – the new great unwashed claim that the results of not cleansing their locks for a week or longer have been a revelation.

Recently, the What Not to Wear presenter Susannah Constantine, 57, posted an update on being a shampoo shunner. “Finally, after 6 weeks I have washed hair,” she told her Instagram followers. “It’s incredibly silky and normally it goes quite frizzy, but it hasn’t. Overall, I think it’s done my hair the most amazing amount of good.”

Showering is being publicly spurned too, with 32,900 posts featuring the defiantly proud hashtag “no shower”. Yet what happens when you stop washing? James Hamblin, the author of Clean – scheduled to be published by Penguin Random House in August – quit conventional showering four years ago and instead rinses only with plain water every few days. “I have always washed my hands with soap – especially now, as that remains an extremely important way to prevent communicable diseases,” he says.

My book is coming out in July. It‘s about skin microbes. I worked on it for 4 years so it doesn’t contain the word coronavirus.

The last chapter is about the value of parks. Seemed a stretch to connect that to microbes then. Now seems pretty obvious. https://t.co/JSA8UaFPxA pic.twitter.com/b2ouuA0lK5

— James Hamblin (@jameshamblin) May 16, 2020

Beyond that, his personal hygiene regimen is best described as minimal. In his book Hamblin describes how initially he had to “push through some oiliness and smelliness” and transition gradually rather than going cold turkey, but now his close friends say that he looks – and smells – OK.

“I now don’t use anything on my hair or skin and just rinse off in the shower when I’m visibly dirty or after a run,” he says. “You do develop layers of dead skin that need exfoliating, but I just rub my hands together on my face in the water to do that.”

Hamblin insists there is scientific evidence to support his regimen. “Excessive use of soap and other skincare products on our bodies can harm our health in a number of ways even on a short-term basis, altering the chemicals of the skin by washing with products can change things, such as washing off the skin’s natural oils.”

Experts agree that chemical-laden gels and soaps can strip the skin of the lipids that keep it supple and moisturised, leading to inflammation and irritation. “The outer layer of the skin’s surface – the stratum corneum – consists of dead skin cells held together by lipids,” explains Dr Zainab Laftah, a consultant dermatologist at the London Dermatology Centre. “Overwashing with hot water and soaps can remove the skin’s natural oil, leading to a compromise in the skin’s barrier function.”

The same is true of hair washing. Over-shampoo and the soap strips hair of sebum, the oil secreted by the scalp to ward off bacteria, and hair can become dry, brittle and prone to breaking. “We are sold products that strip natural oils and then we are sold products to replace them,” Hamblin says. “Once I’d broken out of the cycle and stopped using them, I found my hair was naturally better conditioned.”

Stopping altogether isn’t easy. Constantine said she had to sleep with a towel on her pillow during her no-shampoo trial, especially after running.

“Your scalp is skin – it is a living tissue that produces oil, sweats and sheds skin cells. It starts to smell when it’s not washed,” says Anabel Kingsley, a consultant trichologist at the Philip Kingsley Clinic in Mayfair, London. “This is because bacteria begins to break down oils and sweat when they’re left on your skin, and this produces a distinctive musky scent.”

There’s the risk of excess build-up of dead skin cells in the hair follicle and of dandruff and spots if you are prone to them. “No external part of you, including your hair, is self-cleansing,” she says. “It’s a nonsensical myth perhaps perpetuated because, once your scalp and hair get past a certain point of greasiness, you can’t really notice it as much.” You don’t have to wash it daily, she says. “It’s a case of balance. I’d say don’t leave more than three days between shampoos.”

Over-shampoo and the soap strips hair of sebum, the oil secreted by the scalp to ward off bacteria, and hair can become dry, brittle and prone to breaking. Picture: Thinkstock

Overwashing the body and scalp has been shown to disrupt our skin’s delicate microbial layer, potentially even weakening our immune defences and increasing our vulnerability to allergies including eczema and to conditions such as atopic dermatitis.

“Washing and scrubbing too frequently causes disruption of these microcolonies on the skin surface,” Laftah says. “Since conventional soaps are alkaline, they can change the skin’s natural pH of 5.5, also altering the resident skin bacteria and the skin’s natural immune system.”

Even so, if we were to stop washing altogether, the outcome would be decidedly unpleasant. “A few days without a shower or bath is fine, but several weeks renders the skin more prone to infection. Eventually a thick, brown adherent crust, a condition known as dermatitis neglecta, will start to develop on the skin.”

Still, if there was an ideal time to experiment, Hamblin says it is now. “Obviously there are psychological aspects to it and most people who usually work in an office don’t want to turn up looking as if they have just woken up. Some people just like the ritual and feeling of freshness and use their daily shower as a time to think, so they will discover they miss that.”

Natural soaps are better than chemical products.

Top tips for unwashing

1. “Lukewarm showers using simple fragrance-free soaps or soap substitute emollients is a starter for protecting your skin against harsh products and too hot water,” Dr Zainab Laftah says.

2. If you want to cut down, begin by using less of all cleansing products. “Less soap and shower gel, less shampoo, less conditioner,” James Hamblin says. “And transition from using them every day, to every other day, to every three.”

3. Wash hair less often if you like, but don’t go more than a week without cleansing it. “Your scalp produces oil and washing your hair simply gets rid of old oil, and then your scalp quickly replaces it,” Anabel Kingsley says. “Your scalp contains more oil glands than any other area of your body, so it’s really not prone to dryness.” A well-formulated gentle shampoo won’t strip your scalp, nor will it make your scalp greasier, she says.

4. Get to know your limitations. “When it comes to washing frequency, much depends on your level of activity, your environment, the climate and your tendencies towards sweating, body odour and oiliness,” Zainab Laftah says.

5. Let your hair dry naturally. “If you heat-style your hair after every shampoo, the good of cleansing will be outweighed by the damage of styling,” Kingsley says. “People with coarser and curlier hair often find they prefer how their hair looks and feels a few days after shampooing.”

The Times