Personal cleaning options for long term camping

[ladee]

I haven't showered or shampooed in months. For hair, I use a really good brush, often, and when it's feeling a bit too oily, I sprinkle bakingsoda baby powder on the brush to help dry it out. The only thing I have to be really careful about is getting too much soda on my scalp or it will build up. Yuk. But, honestly? My hair has never had this kind of body or texture. I love it. For body cleanliness, I typically use a hand towel with alcohol (I use both the hand sanitizer and liquid alcohol, depends on my mood) and a body brush to help remove dead skin layers. I've recently tried some sugared oil body scrub that leaves my skin soft and supple, but is kind of a pain to work with, so it's still a work in progress. I've checked with my acupuncturist (who gets up close and personal) if I have body odor. She was stunned when I told her how long it'd been since I'd showered. So, no stinkies. Admittedly, I don't live a lifestyle where I get dirty.

Now to the really important part: private parts, as alluded to in the OP's post ... I use the bucket method for toilet and I don't need any more privacy than it provides, by using hand-made wet wipes. I use Viva brand select-a-size paper towels, folded in a sealed container, wetted with a 5% vinegar water solution. No paper dust. No odor. No build up. And as environmentally friendly as I can get for the "problem."

It's not that I'm against showers or water ... but when you're not capable of lifting more than about 6 pounds of something, hauling water INTO the van is an issue, so wash ups are at a premium and I'm going to use as little as possible.

 

[IanC]

In my travelling days in my early 20's I would love to bathe in streams and rivers - an option not included in the poll. In the New England states, even on a hot day the water in some of the streams was so icy that it took 5 minutes to get the nerve to submerge, but man, did it ever feel great when you dried off - tingling all over. I'm sure there is some disagreement about using soap in natural waterways, but since soap is mostly fat, I'm doubting that the tiny bit I added to the millions of gallons had an impact. I plan to keep that as an option.

 

[Almost There]

In my travelling days in my early 20's I would love to bathe in streams and rivers - an option not included in the poll. In the New England states, even on a hot day the water in some of the streams was so icy that it took 5 minutes to get the nerve to submerge, but man, did it ever feel great when you dried off - tingling all over. I'm sure there is some disagreement about using soap in natural waterways, but since soap is mostly fat, I'm doubting that the tiny bit I added to the millions of gallons had an impact. I plan to keep that as an option.

It's not that one person makes an impact on the 'millions of gallons', it's that collectively we all have a major impact on the water and the planet. And it's only collectively that we can even start to make an improvement on the damage we have already done.

50 years ago I didn't hesitate to drink water from the lakes in northern Ontario, heck even the lakes in cottage country in southern Ontario were clean enough to drink from without worry.

Today, not even our northern lakes with low human traffic are safe - why, because we polluted them!!

Leave no trace doesn't only apply to leaving trash around - it applies to how we think about our environment.

For the planets' sake please consider at least using a biodegradable soap like Campsuds or Dr. Bonners. Use them at least 100 feet from any natural water source and rather than just dumping the water, broadcast it over as large an area as you can.

Swim in our lakes, but please leave the soap at the campsite!

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now (pun intended.... )

 

[TrainChaser]

I lived in Ford van for seven months.  I got a fantastic bathing tip from an article either in TMEN or Backwoods Home about a year before it came in handy.

I sat on a towel on the raised platform bed, and had another towel handy -- a bathroom hand towel is fine, you don't need a big one.  The bucket I used (dedicated to bathing) was a 1-gallon plastic one from the paint department of a hardware store.

Heat some water to bathing temperature.  Add about one tablespoon of regular baking soda (Bicarbonate of Soda) to each quart of water.  Use a washcloth, starting with face, and stinkiest areas (armpits and crotch) last. 

This mixture cleans extremely well, removing body oils, sweat and odor, is easy on the skin, and NEEDS NO RINSING.  If your skin looks powdery when you're dry, you've overdone the soda (more is not better -- Guys, are you listening?).

After two months of living in the van, I got a job, but had to live in the van for five more months.  My supervisor asked where I lived, and I told her: I was camping at the fairgrounds.  When she asked me how I kept clean, I told her.  She was amazed, and said that she would never have known I wasn't taking a shower every day.  IT REALLY DOES WORK!

Sue (aka ShiloDogSmith)

 

[purplepeopleeater]

I have true the " no poo" method with my long hair but my scalp would sooner or later start to itch no matter how much I brushed and combed.

I did discover that I could take the tube part of a sock and use it as a thick ponytail holder in a high loose ponytail and with a squirt bottle wet my scalp, wash it and rinse without washing all of my hair all the time,using less water.

 

[purplepeopleeater]

I have tried the " no poo" method with my long hair but my scalp would sooner or later start to itch no matter how much I brushed and combed.

I did discover that I could take the tube part of a sock and use it as a thick ponytail holder in a high loose ponytail and with a squirt bottle wet my scalp, wash it and rinse without washing all of my hair all the time,using less water.