Bee Hive Dictionary
Unplugged: Where a family gathers together and decides to abolish cable television in their household, due to firm belief that television has very little positive impact in their personal lives.
Unschooling: Choosing to educate our children in a less conventional, yet more fostering environment.
Unbleached: Consistently eliminating white sugar, white flour, toilet paper, and any other bleached products in our home (oh, but if we're talking root upkeep in the hair department, a contradiction to belief is accepted, always).
Uncentral: Dislocate most activities outdoors unless weather opposes.
Unpasteurized: Expelling items overly processed and or pasteurized from their natural state.
Unshowering: Constraining showering to no more than once per week.
The time has come.
I've mentioned not showering often, or my lack of showering, but I am unsure if I have actually defined just how limited my showering may be.
According to our dictionary, once a week, if that.
Today was my "shower day", thus sparking the motivation to disclose the dirty truth (pun absolutely intended).
The other source of inspiration happens to be economical. Although we are not so desperate to be cutting out showers, we sure have noticed quite a difference in the last eight months since the process began. Not to mention, The Wind Tunnel's water pricing has just increased a whopping 23%! With a large lawn to care for, every shower counts!
Here are the real reasons for unshowering:
-More chemicals enter our body through skin absorption and the inhalation of steam while showering than they do from drinking water.
-A warm shower opens the pores of the skin and allows a high rate of absorption of chlorine and other chemicals.
-The steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 20 times the level of chlorine and other synthetic chemicals than tap water due to the fact that these chemicals vaporize at a lower temperature and at a much faster rate than water.
-Inhalation of chlorine and chemical vapors is known to be a strong irritant to the tissues in our lungs and a suspected cause of asthma and bronchitis.
-The inhaled chemicals enter directly into our bloodstream and have magnified adverse effects as compared to ingested chemicals that are partially filtered out by the liver and kidneys.
-The longer the shower, the greater concentration of chlorine gas in the air we breathe.
-A warm shower opens the pores of the skin and allows a high rate of absorption of chlorine and other chemicals.
-The steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 20 times the level of chlorine and other synthetic chemicals than tap water due to the fact that these chemicals vaporize at a lower temperature and at a much faster rate than water.
-Inhalation of chlorine and chemical vapors is known to be a strong irritant to the tissues in our lungs and a suspected cause of asthma and bronchitis.
-The inhaled chemicals enter directly into our bloodstream and have magnified adverse effects as compared to ingested chemicals that are partially filtered out by the liver and kidneys.
-The longer the shower, the greater concentration of chlorine gas in the air we breathe.
-Showering strips the skin of the body's naturally producing microbial oils, which help fight of disease and infections.
-Research shows that Vitamin D takes up to 48 hours to completely absorb into one's skin. That means the times you do try to spend out in the sun to get this essential vitamin may be wasteful if you shower quickly thereafter. Even when you think you are doing something right for your skin, showering in treated water can actually cancel out your efforts!
-Did you know that chlorine is the leading cause to hair loss and thinning hair?
-It's proven that showering less means less fine lines and wrinkles in the skin because the natural moisture and elasticity in the skin remains, rather than being stripped off by harsh chemicals.
Moving on to the positive.
Since you're so interested in my daily routine, I figured I would at least clear up the fact that I do rinse and clean all needed areas daily. Got it? I don't go unclean (or unkept for that matter).
I use the overly awesome Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap for our whole family. We use the mild baby soap for the children and Daddy Mock and I use the Peppermint. It's especially refreshing when you're just washing certain areas and not submersing your body. Daddy Mock enjoys how it tickles the body and opens the sinuses. And, it's all natural and has very few and simple ingredients (not to mention very cost-efficient).
For my face (and body if I choose to take a break from EVCO), I use Aubrey Organics. Their three step system and night hydrator are AMAZING and, of course, all natural. Oh, and they're sunscreen is safe, too!
What can I do to empower you to unshower?
My challenge to you... If you daily shower, try going to every other day, then every two days. Honestly, if you can get over not showering daily, the rest is very simple as you quickly lose count of what day you're on, not to mention the convenience of eliminating showering time wise!
I also time my "shower day" with washing sheets so that everything is clean and fresh that week. Daddy Mock loves shower day! I actually use my razor rather than my electric shaver, so I get the full, prima donna experience. Such luxury!
Who's with me? Are you going to try it? Pick up some Dr. Bronner's and you'll be glad!