Was it really that bad? You be the judge. As one commenter wrote, “And these same filth mongers wonder why disease’s are so abundant, you that dang important or special you can’t take three to five minutes to scrub your…” Others used the forum to discuss their own bathing habits, ranging from showering twice a day, to every other day, to lathering up with baby wipes after a strong run. Opinions and tempers ran high. It seems that people take their bathing habits with a defense that might have rivaled what the Japanese threw down at Iwo Jima.

Why? Well, because bathing is personal. People take it as a sign of class, culture, and identity. But as the NY Times pointed out, letting go of a daily shower is no longer for just people who like to chain themselves to trees. So as a shout out for the people who live among, who drive a Prius or a Hummer – here are five practical reasons not to wash daily.

1. You will strip your skin of natural oils.

Dry skin is sometimes caused when your skin’s natural oils are stripped off it like a bad wallpaper. Your skin naturally lubricates itself with natural oil. Yes, you still want to wash your body. But washing it too much could cause problems. Dr. Richard Gallo is chief of the dermatology division at the University of California, San Diego. As he told the NY Times, over-washing can cause eczema flare ups. According to Dr. Gallo, “It’s not just removing the lipids and oils on your skin that’s drying it out,” he said. It could also be “removing some of the good bacteria that help maintain a healthy balance of skin.”

2. Dry shampoo is awesome.

So maybe you’re too busy for a daily shower. Or you want a quick rinse but not the time investment of washing your hair. Dry shampoo has been used for centuries – essentially, it’s a fine powder or corn meal that can grab dirt and excess oil from your hair. Comb it through and you’re clean. Read our review of a great dry shampoo here.

3. Most of us can live a productive, fulfilling life without antiperspirants.

Antiperspirants are tricky because they contain aluminum chloride and aluminum chlorohydrate to stop you from sweating. Some worry that this is unnatural and worse, could cause cancer. While the NY Times points out that the National Cancer Institute and the Alzheimer’s Association don’t share those concerns, some are just reluctant to stop their bodies from doing what it’s designed to do – sweat.

4. Some natural deodorants really do work.

If you use a natural deodorant, odds are that you’re going to sweat a little. But consider taking a day or two without it. See how much you really sweat. You might be surprised. Recently, a friend gave anti-perspirant the heave-ho. As she wrote to me, “maybe I’m just more mellow lately, but I’m really not sweating all that much.” We’ve already covered natural and/or organic deodorants – if you’re interested in giving natural deodorant a go, try the sprays first.

5. You can conserve water.

Okay, so yes, this is a green reason to step away from the daily shower. But is that so terrible? As the EPA reports, a full bath tub requires about 70 gallons of water, while taking a five-minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons.” So if you’re able to sponge bath just once a week, you’re saving quite a bit of water.

Image: eelke dekker

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Overloaded by trash, the city tries an unusual method to combat the smell. Next strategy? Perhaps recycling.

Article by Kathy Ehrich Dowd and image by Th145 via Wikimedia Commons. First published March 2010 at Tonic.com.

Stinky landfills are a bit like stinky armpits – only a whole lot bigger. And what do we do when our armpits smell a bit rank? Put on some deodorant, of course. And it seems Beijing has come up with the same solution for their foul-smelling pits of garbage.

According to Treehugger.com, the city is installing 100 giant deodorant guns at its Asuwei dump site, following smell complaints from local residents.

The high-pressure fragrance cannons reportedly spray gallons of an odor-fighting agent per minute, with a range of up to 20 feet. City officials will also cover the trash with plastic to help minimize the stench.

Although their smell-control efforts might work in the short-term, it doesn’t solve Beijing’s bigger issue: it can’t keep up with all the trash it produces. Local officials say the city of 17 million generates more than 18,000 tons of trash daily, 700 tons more than its current dumps are equipped to handle.

“All landfill and treatment sites in Beijing will be full in four years. That’s how long it takes to build a treatment plant. So we need to act right now to resolve the issue,” said Wang Weiping, a waste expert in the city government. “It’s necessary to restructure the current disposal system. We cannot rely on landfill anymore. It’s a waste of space.”

One reason for the trash problem is it seems Chinese citizens are not very good recyclers. Less than 4 percent of its trash is recycled, versus 35 percent in the UK and US. (Go us!)

So it seems those deodorant guns are simply a stop-gap measure. But perhaps all that stinky trash will motivate China to recycle a lot more. In other words, perhaps Red China will become Green China before we know it.

Editor’s note: Article by Kathy Ehrich Dowd and image by Th145 via Wikimedia Commons. Originally published by our friends at Tonic.com. Tonic is a digital media company and news source dedicated to promoting the good that happens each day around the world. Tonic tells the stories of people and organizations who are working to make a difference, by inspiring good in themselves and others. Be sure to visit them and say hi, and follow Tonic on Twitter, too!

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