A new years resolution you should consider is: Stop using shaving cream! Jeffrey Tucker expands on this revolutionary idea in his article The Shaving Cream Racket.
"The problem is this. Shaving cream does something evil to the skin. It somehow weakens the pores and makes the top layer mushy and unresponsive."
"You won't have the face of a tenderized chicken breast. Your skin will be solid and robust. You will feel the same revulsion I do as you encounter that long row of shaving products at the drug store. You too will feel pity on the seventh eights of the human race that does not understand this simple point."
"Stop the insanity!"
Happy New Year!
Just to supplement: http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson283.html.
I read that some months ago and I'm yet to scared to try.
I shave in the shower without cream and I finish off the areas around my mouth and chin with an electric shaver afterwards. Works very well and doesn't take long.
I stopped shaving. I also stopped using shampoo/conditioner. It'll be a year next month that I've been hair product free.
Never used it, so dunno what all the fuss is about. Didn't even know it was uncommon to shave with water only.
I would like to thank Mr. Jeffrey Tucker for this insane sounding idea that has saved the skin on my face. I have always hated shaving - now I can shave quickly and for like two weeks your skin gets stronger every shave. Even less acne. People have noticed my skin looking healthier and I always tell them "I stopped using shaving cream." And they give me weird looks, ha!
Everyone I know is too chicken to try it but my face should be proof enough this works. The mineral oil sounds weird to me, I just went straight to warm water, no problem.
I have always hated shaving - now I can shave quickly and for like two weeks your skin gets stronger every shave.
Don't worry. You will come around to hating it again, I do. A waste of time and a chore.
I also stopped using shampoo/conditioner.
How do you wash your hair then? Just hot water?
Yep. In the shower I scrub my hair like I would normally to make sure all the natural oils are distributed evenly in my hair, and then towel dry. It works for me. My hair actually tends to be less oily if it doesn't get too long, because shampoo strips the hair of it's natural oils, and dries it out, so it will over replenish itself to have a balance, so then you supposed to use conditioner after shampoo to add this balance in, and it's just more chemicals on top of chemicals. I decided to just opt out of the entire process. Now I'm more worried about the chemicals in tap water that I can't control til I get a filter on my showerhead.
Yeah, I've read before that using no shampoo is a thing that some people are dedicated to. Supposedly it takes about 30 days and then your hair will have selfadjusted.
In the same topic of stuff that deceivingly does more harm than good, over enginereed running shoes are a plague. Ridiculous how many people believe that humans are evolutionary abortions whose legs and feet can't function well, and believe that putting a stiff pillow under the foot will help.
Ridiculous how many people believe that humans are evolutionary abortions whose legs and feet can't function well
That appears to be true, although I can't say that any kind of shoes could help.
Merlin, any person without a major feet deformation can have healthy feet, no matter if lank, robust, short or tall.
Here a good introductory video for barefoot or close to barefoot running.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrnj-7YKZE
I facepalmed... but then I remembered that I read that some people don't use shampoo (like Bert) and then thought...Maybe that's not so ridiculous as it sounds. But I will try once I finish my cream (which is almost empty) :D even though my face skin is 9/10.
(english is not my native language, sorry for grammar.)
I shave with a DE razor and use shave soap from The Art of Shaving.
As to the shampoo question, here's my take.
As far as I know, in most of the areas of the world that the people here represent, shampoo is the norm. It's considered weird or something to not use it. Almost everybody uses it, and nearly nobody questions it. With an almost religious devotion, just about everyone squeezes something (they don't know what!) out of a plastic bottle, and massages it into their hair, for a solid 5-10 minutes or more, almost every single day of their life. And, if you're crazy enough to say that you don't use it, many questions follow, for the most obvious example an incredulous, "Then how the hell do you keep your hair clean?" Of course virtually nobody wants to hear that something that they've been doing forever has been a completely useless (and maybe even counter-productive!), religious ceremony, accomplishing absolutely nothing but distributing some money to a sham industry. But, at the same time, their natural curiousity overwhelms them: So they keep asking for clarifications, and they listen.
But let's try to be more charitable: Most people, at some time or another, independently tested whether using shampoo was worthwhile. Everybody remembers going on a trip without any shampoo, and finding that their hair went to hell in just 3 days. Everybody has experienced sleeping over at a friend's place for a few days, and forgetting about all of their hygienic habits: Their teeth go to shit. They smell awful. Their hair becomes an oily, disgusting mess. And so on. And so forth. Hell, every teenager wakes up almost every morning to a waxy chaos on their head. And everybody understands that just 5-10 minutes with the shampoo sets everything back to normal. A few moments with it, and everything's all right. I mean, how could it be a religious devotion, if everybody has independently verified its utility at one point or another?
Well, here we discover the real insidiousness of shampoo: Stop using your shampoo for 3 days, and your hair becomes shit. So you admit your mistake, and get back with the shampoo habit. But stop using it for 6 weeks, and what happens? Everything's fine. Wait those 6 weeks, and your hair will be cleaner and healthier than ever. You simply have to get through the initial, painful correction. (Doesn't that sound familiar?) But most people mistake the correction for the problem. They think that they've verified its usefulness, but all that they've done is seen what the recession (the correction!) would look like, and ran the opposite way: Their only reaction is to pump more shampoo into the system: to try to keep the boom going. Or something. Well, maybe the analogy is breaking down at this point. But, either way, here we reveal the real treacherousness of shampoo: It creates the problem (dries out your hair by destroying a lot of oil, and your body starts trying to compensate by producing more oil), and then once it wears off it suggests itself as the solution (Shampoo: "Too much oil? I'll destroy it for you!"). It compensates for itself. Just trick enough people into starting up with it, and it'll take care of the rest. It pretends to offer to clean your hair; but all that it does is make you dependent on it.
If I wrote it more than a few weeks ago, I probably hate it by now.
Hell, who knows how many products one uses needlessly?
Calling it a "shaving cream racket" is a little dramatic. You still have to use something...he even says baby oil or mineral oil. I've heard of people use olive oil, too.
I've never used shaving cream (or anything apart from water) - what's it supposed to do?
Actually I suggested oil in the transition but the truth is that you need nothing but a warmed face out of the shower. It's pretty simple. Shower, dry, walk over to mirror and throw than razor on there. Off comes the stubble. The end. Some "art"!!
Publisher, Laissez-Faire Books
I just started the whole no shaving cream thing. So far so good. As for shampoo, what about folks who get dandruff?
Freedom has always been the only route to progress.
My four months in prison... err, the army.. we weren't allowed to wear deoderant. The situation was similar. It smells at first, then your body adapts. I have never used shaving cream, and I usually use both a double bladed razor and an electric shaver. Regarding shampoo... I didn't use it in the army, but I didn't have any hair there... but I don't live in a cave, so I can't go six weeks with smelly, dirty, oily hair (and I get dandruff, otherwise).
I get it even with barely any hair
Johnathan, the one part of the body that adapted to the lack of deoderant was your brain/nose that got used to the smell and couldn't perceive it anymore.
Regarding all this shaving thing, I had good results with hot water, but i rarely shave anyway, Im fine with a good trimmer.
Deodorant is another tried and tested waste of money. I seldom wear deodorant, the only times I do are when I go to work, and it's Tom's organic deodorant when I do. Other than that I can go days without wearing it and I won't smell, actually, my lady friend said she prefers it compared to deodorant. Once your body gets adjusted with not having foreign chemicals shoved into it's pores daily it will get back to it's natural balance.
When I started making the transition I'd noticed I could go a while without deodorant, and then I'd wear something like Old Spice, go skate, and then smell horrible. That these chemicals don't mix with my natural body process. I started wearing stuff like Tom's and I noticed it was nowhere near as bad, but even with deodorant if I was doing some physical activity that would have generated a lot of sweat I couldn't tell the difference in not and in wearing deodorant, except that deodorant was just a damp inconvenience (and odor wise I'd still prefer my own natural smell compared to that of some foreign chemical which smelled worse to me).
From this I have that shampoo (just think of the name sham and poo) and conditioner have done no good to my hair, and to add to my evidence I know 5 people that are hair stylist, and they are surprised at how nice my hair is. I also have that deodorant (especially the corporate stuff) smells wretched compared to my own natural smell.
Also, when I shower, I refuse to put soap anywhere near my armpits and face, everywhere else is fine.
Your all just a bunch of hippies! :P
That can't be overstated. I told my dad, my chiropractor, that I suspect shoes of ruining the top class sprint speed that I had as a kid. He said that shoes are the scourge of humanity. If was up to me soccer would be played in slippers. I wore neoprene slippers for years. Much to my frustration, they are not sold here any more. Now I wear my Powercats as walking shoes. Those poor kids in Brazil that can't afford cleats... they are not the unlucky ones, believe me.
I use nothing on my face for shaving.
I do not use deodorant.
I use unscented shampoo. The chlorine in the water main is my issue. I've had some nasty reactions to swimming pools where the concentration is a little higher. What can you do with state monopolized piping?
Would more basic the shoe be better? I generally skate in Vans which have nearly no padding and the soles are thinner (and flater) than other skate shoes, which gives them way more board feel. Due to the cold weather I've been wearing thicker shoes so my feet aren't freezing at the park, or when I'm not skating I'm wearing my engineer boots. I remember the worst pair of shoes I had to skate in had to be the most padded shoes I've owned.
Caley McKibbin: The chlorine in the water main is my issue. I've had some nasty reactions to swimming pools where the concentration is a little higher. What can you do with state monopolized piping?
The chlorine in the water main is my issue. I've had some nasty reactions to swimming pools where the concentration is a little higher. What can you do with state monopolized piping?
Man when I was driving through the States last summer, the chlorine is some cities was so bad. Canadian tap water doesn't have nearly as much chemicals in them. Atlanta and Minneapolis were particularly gross.
No, you actually start to perspire a lot less.
I thought running was technically bad for $_some_joint in your legs?
Would more basic the shoe be better?
Flexibility is the most important thing. Ideally what you want is something like this. I need to find something like this near me. For cold weather simply use extra socks. I run in the snow for 2 hours with my Powercats, which use waterproof material, and 2 pairs or socks. Barely damp and not a cold toe.
It depends on how your joints are built. I have sacroilac problems and knee/foot problerms on the right side. When I was 9 I clocked a 14.07s 100m with a small step stride in phys. ed. class. I probably normally do a shitty 12s now. Last summer I started doing sprint training in socks. Everything miraculously improved in nearly an instant. I'll give you a million dollars if you can solve my joint problems.
I tried not using shaving cream after reading the article, to poor results. I wasn't getting as close a shave as I was before, and I did it for the recommended amount of time. I tried baby oil too, and still wasn't getting acceptable results. I find that I get the closest shave with a high quality cream such as Taylor of Old Bond Street applied with a badger hair brush.
I have been wanting to try some of the shoes that form to the natural shape of your feet, but I am reluctant to for fear of pain during the transition period.
jtucker: Actually I suggested oil in the transition but the truth is that you need nothing but a warmed face out of the shower. It's pretty simple. Shower, dry, walk over to mirror and throw than razor on there. Off comes the stubble. The end. Some "art"!!
What kind of a razor are you using?
Merlin: Hell, who knows how many products one uses needlessly?
Most, but shampoo is remarkably interesting for how insidious its mechanism is.
Well as my skepticism cuts both ways--how is this different from shaving a) in the shower b) with soap? Isn't that primarily what shaving cream is made of anyhow?
I do have shaving oil that works except for the fact that if you use a safety razor it get's gunked up beyond salvage in short order. Maybe it's time to attempt to use a straight razor without recreating a scene from sweney todd.
The shoe thing is interesting, a lot of minimalists are absolutely zealous in their hatred of typical footwear. I'm a bit in the middle. It depends on your weight, age, bone density, foot strike, and a myriad of factors.
I have sensitive skin, I'd love to try shaving without cream, but I imagine my skin would be torn to shreds.
Caley, I have the Vibram FiveFingers, the KSO model. I love it, not only for running, but it's also great for riding a bicycle too.
If you want something less "weird" but still quite comfy and minimal, I also recommend Soft Star shoes. It's my day by day shoe.
http://softstarshoes.com/
Here a great blog with news and reviews of minimal shoes
http://birthdayshoes.com/
Jonathan, wrong running is bad for your joints, running with proper technique is not. Do you when you lift weight and has to stress the muscles instead of the joints? It's the same thing for running. The problem with current running shoes is how numb and stiff they make you feet, what makes wrong technique feels more tolerable til the situation becomes more critical. It's like the manipulation of interest rates.