hygiene: to wash or not to wash?

[cacian]

''for the modern man hygiene means that one has to shower and apply deodorant everyday without fail.(not that I do the deodorant I mean)
for the aristocrat 17th century Frenchman it meant that he or she changed his/her linen shirt daily and dabbed his/her hand in water but never touched the rest of his/her body with water or soap.
for the roman in the first century it involved two or more hours of splashing soaking and steaming the body in water rakking off sweat with oil and giving himself/herself a final oiling daily.
St Francis praised a dirty body 'as a stinking badge of piety' but demonstrated his charity by washing lepers''.

These are few quotes lines from a book I am reading called:
''CLEAN an unsanitised history of washing'' by Katherine Ashenburg

how important is cleanliness to you?
I would say health and presentation would depend on it and that is where clothes become the icon to cleanliness.
Those who wear might bare the signs of dirt but those who nude one would never rebute dirt at first glance for it is nay visible.

[cafolini]

An important post. Nice job.

[kiki1982]

Well, I think it largely depended on the country as well, and on the person, I suspect. Just one example of aristocray: Queen Caroline (wife of King George II) bathed every day. People found that quite singluar as bathing was not very popular in the early 1700s. On the other hand, they used to have special devices to scratch under their wigs :sick:. But Germans have always been very diligent in that department.

I have often wondered what people who had only one outfit such as farmers and some servants must have smelt like. But then maybe the smell of rotting food adn faeces would distract you...

In view of that, I find the modern craze against any type of smell pretty stupid. Washing all over every day isn't necessary, although it gives you a fresh feeling. My grandparents and parents only took a bath once a week and they were also perfectly clean.

Great post, I might have a look for that book.

[osho]

This is a very interesting topic. I came from a community wherein we did not use soap or deodorant or any chemicals for cleaning our bodies. I used clay to cleanse my body and hair and at times we used to some shrubs for foams or lathers. Even in our toilets we did not use soaps. We used to take bath in rivers and sometimes in spring-wells and fountains and we took bath everyday. In our culture we had to take bath everyday but now there are deviations but as a child I always took bath in cold water. We had to wash our Gods too. We used to worship many gods everyday since different Gods had different roles and purposes.

[Delta40]

Depends on the sort of guy I want to attract....

[cacian]

Depends on the sort of guy I want to attract....

LOl the sort of guy is interesting. How many are there Delta? ;)

[cacian]

This is a very interesting topic. I came from a community wherein we did not use soap or deodorant or any chemicals for cleaning our bodies. I used clay to cleanse my body and hair and at times we used to some shrubs for foams or lathers. Even in our toilets we did not use soaps. We used to take bath in rivers and sometimes in spring-wells and fountains and we took bath everyday. In our culture we had to take bath everyday but now there are deviations but as a child I always took bath in cold water. We had to wash our Gods too. We used to worship many gods everyday since different Gods had different roles and purposes.

How do you wash a god osho? and why cold water for a bath? I am not sure I understand the lack of soap usage in your culture it must have some king of meaning.

[cacian]

Well, I think it largely depended on the country as well, and on the person, I suspect. Just one example of aristocray: Queen Caroline (wife of King George II) bathed every day. People found that quite singluar as bathing was not very popular in the early 1700s. On the other hand, they used to have special devices to scratch under their wigs :sick:. But Germans have always been very diligent in that department.
I have always found the wearing of wigs rather intriguing. It must be very hot and uncomfortable on top already existing hair.
The fact they did not remove the wigs to wash their hair is rather strange to me.
Also I ma guessing the lack of air and light/sunlight to one's hair and head ultimately is very unbeneficial long term. It is not healthy I do not think.


I have often wondered what people who had only one outfit such as farmers and some servants must have smelt like. But then maybe the smell of rotting food adn faeces would distract you...
I am sure farmers and other workers must have had other garments to swap with it surely.

In view of that, I find the modern craze against any type of smell pretty stupid. Washing all over every day isn't necessary, although it gives you a fresh feeling. My grandparents and parents only took a bath once a week and they were also perfectly clean.
I think it depends on the person and what they did at the time it is all relative on how much should one wash or how often. Some people have a fear of water which can be aggravated with washing everyday.

Great post, I might have a look for that book.
you will like the book it is really good :)

[cafolini]

I think you missed one of the famous keys of not washing. Many believed that bathing would finish with the blessed water of baptism; a no-no.

[cacian]

I think you missed one of the famous keys of not washing. Many believed that bathing would finish with the blessed water of baptism; a no-no.

Interesting I never knew that about baptism. That is truly magnified belief.
Whilst on the subject does baptism also occur in the sea or does it have to be in non salted water?
Apparently and according to the book during the renaissance people though of the sea as ugly because it frightened them.
The Romantic view of the sea meant that young ladies seeing it for the first time were expected to break down. When Charlotte Bronte travelled to Bridington, where she caught her first glimpse of the sea' she could not speak till she had shed some tears''. Is there some kind of significance to do with cleanliness from within when one viewed the sea?

[kiki1982]

I have always found the wearing of wigs rather intriguing. It must be very hot and uncomfortable on top already existing hair.
The fact they did not remove the wigs to wash their hair is rather strange to me.
Also I ma guessing the lack of air and light/sunlight to one's hair and head ultimately is very unbeneficial long term. It is not healthy I do not think

Indeed, you're right, that's why rich people who wore wigs shaved their hair off altogether. People who couldn't pay for a wig (wigs were made of expensive human hair or horse hair) completed their own hair with hair pieces because you could never get the volume of a wig with just natural hair.

But the problem was also that probably lice and flees were rife, even in rich people's wigs. Must have been fun, those days :D.
Was it Donne who wrote that lovely erotic poem about the flee? Great that :D.


I am sure farmers and other workers must have had other garments to swap with it surely.

I'm not sure. You see, I believe Jane Eyre only had one everyday dress and one good silk dress. I'm not sure about her undergarments. But still, when do you wash it if you wear it all the time? Not to mention that washing linen was a major activity which took up a whole day or more for family mothers and it was hard work before the washing machine.
Farmers did apparently change their gear when they got home, if you can believe The Tenant, but I wonder about the lowest paid workers.

[Phocion]

Well i take about a half-dozen baths a year and there's nothing wrong with my hygiene.