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Dr. James Hamblin stopped bathing for five years and claimed that he did not smell. He described soap and shampoo as useless and said that they damage the skin microbiomes.
A person from America has not bathed for 5 years. (Image: PTI)
Highlights
- Dr. James Hamblein stopped bathing for 5 years.
- Hamblein described soap and shampoo as useless, they damage the skin.
- Not even a bath does not smell, skin microbiom remains healthy.
Washington. What does it come to your mind when you think about personal cleaning? Bathing at least once a day. But a US doctor has challenged this general perception with full confidence. Dr. James Hamblein made headlines by claiming that he has not bathed for the last five years and he does not smell. If this was not enough, then he described shampoo, soap and other types of ‘cleanliness’ products useless and said that they have bad effects on the body.
Doctor James Hamblin is also a public health expert and writer. He questioned the need to bathe daily, he has given rise to a new debate. In an experiment, he stopped bathing for five years to understand whether cleanliness habits are necessary for health or just a personal choice. In a conversation with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Reporter of CNN at Chesing Life Podcast, Dr. Hamblein said that he stopped bathing regularly. And they do not smell.
Do not smell even when bathing
The use of Hamblein was to challenge the idea that it is necessary to take a bath again and again. He wanted to understand whether the use of private care products is really beneficial. Hamblein said that our skin is home to microbiom. It is a complex ecosystem of bacteria, which plays an important role in skin health. Repeated washing with soap and shampoo removes the oil and chemicals emanating from your skin. It is like removing soil from the lawn. Dr. Hamblin told Dr. Gupta in podcast that soap removes fat, lipids, oil on your skin from your skin.
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Soap affects the skin’s microbiom system
This can create a cycle, where we clean our skin, dry, and then use lotions and other products for compensation. He said that the skin is smaller than the microbiome intestine microbiome, but the principle is the same. Hamblin explained that these microorganisms are always with us. Until you sterilize yourself completely, which is not possible. It will soon spread again. Dr. Hamblin said that the biggest concern of the people is that if they do not take bath, then bad smell will start from their body. However, Hamblin found that over time, his body became favorable to it. Hamblein also said that even after exercising, when your body is soaked with sweat and salt, it can only be washed with water.
February 09, 2025, 15:53 IST
This person did not bathe for 5 years, said- now I do not feel the smell