Personal hygene (the naughty spot question)

I don't use anything but Gold Bond powder deodorizes and dries wet sweaty parts. A little goes a long way. If you find a stream (I always do) dive in and soap with some Dr Bronners.

Derrick

Thank you for the answer but I'm not sure about jumping into a water source (I suppose large enough won't matter)….or what other travellers might think of me doing that.

I was in your situation.. had a long hike, no shower and a flight to catch afterwards.

I just had a dip in a river I found halfway through. It was warm, so I dried off quite quickly. Obviously by time I finished the hike I was not at my freshest so I stopped by a hotel in Enumclaw, begged the hotel manager to let me rent a room by the hour to shower and shave, then off I went :)

FWIW, you should never use soap in or near a water source. Even the biodegradable stuff is harmful to aquatic life. Also shouldn't if you've applied Deet/sunscreen.

Anyway, yes, I normally just rinse off sweaty parts in whatever water source I find. I've also used showers at a nearby campground, truck stop or community recreation center.

I have struggled with staying somewhat clean on longer trips – I frequently do trips of a week or more, and yes, it is a challenge to not offend others, let alone yourself.

+1 on not using ANY kind of soap in/near water sources.

Here's my routine:

at the end of each day I go to the stream/lake with my trusty bandana and just rinse off as much as I can. The bandana helps with some scrubbing, which really seems to help.

I do carry these little disposable towels for more, ahem, personal hygiene. I get them at Cabelas, in the marine section – they are little dried out discs about the size of a nickel that when wet open up to a super nice wet wipe. Even my longest trip without resupply – 11 days – that's only 11 little cloths and that's not too bad. They also end up drying out again, so weight and bulk are kind of a non-issue.

Anyway – my 2 cents.

+2 on keeping soap out of water sources. Even biodegradable soap pollutes the water.

I do 6 nights often

Use sufficient toilet paper

Otherwise I just ignore it. I take shower when I get home. My wife doesn't complain too much but she is glad that I take shower. Maybe I sweat a little less than the average person.

I never used to do much hygiene stuff (only bathing when it was sunny and a nice lake etc.) until I started consistently doing longer trips consecutively because I found that when I went on longer trips consecutively I started having "problems" and discomfort related to the lack of hygiene (monkey butt, acne etc.).

Once you get into the habit of backcountry hygiene routine that works for you, it's easy. The supplies I need:
1) Bandana for "sponge baths"
2) Little pack towel to dry off.

When it's too cold or the water source is not large enough to bathe in,you just give yourself a sponge bath with a wet bandana while standing near a water source and scrub away (soaps not really needed). If you know that you will be near a lot of campers and you care about modesty…..I sometimes have to take a pair of 1.5 oz. oz shorty soccer shorts (stuff I'd never wear this outside of this purpose). Although you often can dry out in the sun…….in order to allow you to still wash when it's late or cold I take the 2 oz. pack towel. For me, the weight is worth it because I sleep so much better feeling refreshed and I have much greater overall comfort. Also, I find that you get less blisters and feet issues when you keep your feet clean. With this routine, I don't really smell + I wear a wool shirt and socks. Socks get washed every evening. With a polyester shirt……I will stink no matter what!

check this out:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/magazine/my-no-soap-no-shampoo-bacteria-rich-hygiene-experiment.html

Perhaps someone(s) can contact AOBiome in Cambridge, Mass. and volunteer to test their product in a backpacking situation?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/magazine/my-no-soap-no-shampoo-bacteria-rich-hygiene-experiment.html

Billy

I don’t usually see any personal hygene threads on here so I thought I’d ask a couple questions :).

This is your week then.

Clean

and a classic. 04 Article

On a several week trip down the Green River in Utah I did water was scarce since I had to bring all of it with me, plus enough for an extra several days overland at the end. The Green River there, BTW, is very alkaline and full of dense silt. What I did that seemed to work – though I didn't have anyone with me to smell me – was to allot myself about 3/4 cup of water to "wash up". I carried a squirt bottle of alcohol (today I would probably use Purell) and would do arm pits and neither bits with that. The water was supposed to get as much of the salts off crucial areas of my body as was practicable under the circumstances, and the alcohol to try to get some of the bacteria. It seemed to work well as I had no complaints, though the rest of my body gradually turned the color of sandstone dust.

At any rate the alcohol was also very cooling at the end of a long day so that was an added perk – what passes for feeling refreshed under those circumstances. The main point is, I suppose, that if you concentrate on the areas that may potentially cause suffering and ignore the vanity stuff in a pinch you can do what you need to do with very little.

Also Mik, there are loads of hygiene threads on here over the last decade plus. Search is your friend.

Can't you just have a wash!? ;)
I'm guessing it must be a desert area?

A cup of warm water is enough to wash 'pits and bits' properly in my experience.

A way to avoid the weight of 'wipes' is to dry them out beforehand – then they weigh nearly nothing. Repackage in a baggie. A splash of water rehydrates them.

I've tried the alcohol method, but found it stung! (below waist)

I do a head-to-toe wipe down every day.

I wear long pants to minimize the depth and extent of leg dirt.

I take a 1 ounce squeeze bottle of a low-sudsing, easy to rinse soap, good for ten+ days, (1.4 ounces weight). Dr Bronners Unscented is one, but I find it harder to rinse than others, like AGS's Campsoap. (I also use it to wash clothes every 5 days.) I use my half-kerchief for a washcloth.

I fill a 1 liter bottle, walk well away from the source, then wet, soap, and rinse, head to toe. I can get it all done in less than the 15 minutes it takes for dinner to soak.

I undress, wash, and re-dress in as small a section possible, donning my sleep hat, (headnet if necessary), my LS sleep T, and sleep shorts. Mosquitoes speed the process considerably, with wind shirt and wind pants added if necessary. Putting dirty socks on clean feet doesn't work for me, so feet get done later when I'm at the tent and ready to turn in.

For me, having clean thighs and other part make sleeping much better. Oily, dirty skin, especially when in direct contact with other oily, dirty skin cannot "breath", leading to a sticky clammy feeling.

YMMV

2nd a lot of posts here, would just add that there can be a lot said for inner hygiene too.

I've noticed a pretty noticeable change in body chemistry, odor, etc since i've gradually but ever increasingly changed both my diet and general health lifestyle.

Being very regular, eating less processed foods, eating much more veggies, nuts, seeds, and fruits, less heavy meats and certain cheeses etc, drinking very little alcohol and when do, wine and beer, drinking lots of water or herbal teas, eating more probiotic foods, having a more laid back and more positive attitude, exercising regularly, occasional colonics, etc, etc are all your friends and help out a lot in internal hygiene, and reduce outer body odor, various skin issues, etc.

I know, because i have very mild psoriasis which use to be more severe (as well as much decreased body odor or depressive states than before), and now is rarely noticeable though i don't have the extreme discipline to fully get rid of it (which also requires certain herbal supplements, even more disciplined diet, and regular chiro which i can't afford). Btw, mainstream western medicine says that psoriasis is an incurable, genetic issue. Normally only the symptoms are treated via drugs or UV. Like a lot of mainstream western medicine in relation to chronic issues, it's off and incomplete.

Combined with good old fashioned soap and water, away from water sources, can go a long way.

You do NOT want to shave unless you plan to continue to shave on your trip. Otherwise the stubble, by day 3 or 4, will irritate you no end.

I've done a couple 5 day trips (kayaking) and typically just found a waterfall and stepped in naked to wash up (no soap). Cold? Yes. But it got the sweat and grime off me.

Even at home I almost never wash with soap unless I've been working on a car or something and need to get off the oils. I always just wash with water and go about my day. I do this mostly because I have EXTREMELY sensitive skin. Most soaps dry me out hard core, or cause irritation and breakouts. When I do I use this stuff called African Black Soap.

When Im backpacking I do what somebody else here mentioned, take some slightly dried wet wipes in a baggie. I use the Coleman bio wipes that are about 2-3 times the size of a regular wet wipe. They usually dont need it if I kept in a baggie but I squeeze a little water in them to re-hydrate them if necessary, and scrub myself from the top, down. Key there is to do the ass last! lol! I almost always do this after my regular morning bowel movement (TMI?), so I bury them with that. They are bio-degradable and non-toxic, and less than a 1/3 of an ounce a sheet (when wet). A weeks worth of them is just a couple ounces. If I were on a long trip (2 weeks+), I'd prob only do it every other day. The comfort of being somewhat clean, and not smelling myself as I walk down the trail, is more than worth the tiny bit of extra weight to me.

I know this may not work for some, but I am a very non-stinky person. Sure I get sweaty, oily, and "swampy" just as much as the next guy but it rarely ever has a bad odor. This definitely has to do with my diet, of that I am sure. I drink a almost only water and the occasional fruit smoothie. I eat a lot of fruit, veggies, oats and grains, and eat meat only 2-3 times a month usually raw (Sushi). On the rare occasion that I eat a burger (or eat cooked meat in general), drink a soda, or eat some junk food, and then do physical activity I can definitely notice a difference in my own 'stench.'

I shower. I carry an old personal sun shower I got years ago that holds ~3L (2.7oz). I try to get into camp mid-afternoon every couple of days so I can get the water solar heated and shower up. If there are no trees to hang it from, it can be (clumsily) hand held. If I stop too late for solar heating, I'll either add some heated water or shower cold. The closet thing I can find today is the Sea to Summit Pocket shower at ~4.2 oz., so I hope mine never dies or somebody makes a lighter one. After showering, I refill it and hang it up or place it on a slanted rock and use it for washing hands/dishes and for general water supply in camp. It doubles as a water bag.

Once the stink builds up after a few days, I apply a thin film of neosporin to the pits. That stuff knocks back the bacteria that causes the worst stink. Usually I can go a few days between applications.

I carry a disposable razor (~0.5oz) and shave when the beard starts to itch after a few days. You can use your camera display as a mirror or take one of those super-lightweight mirrors. A drop or two of camp soap will lube OK with ample pre-moistening to soften things up.

At night change into a clean top and underwear, made from cotton or wool – not synthetics.

I developed a problem with extreme crotch funk (like I almost went to see a doctor) from a long trip wearing the same synthetic underwear night and day. Synthetics don't absorb water which makes them hard to wash. Sometimes when synthetics get real funky it can take several washings in a washing machine to get them clean. I managed to beat it back by rigorous washing and switching to cotton underwear. Now I hike in cotton underwear, I wear some called addidas climatelite 90% cotton and 10% spandex. Very high quality thin cotton that dries reasonable fast, I don't have a problem with sweat moisture building up even on really hot days.
Wool underwear is good but it stretches out easily and I prefer tight fitting underwear.

…

Hey Justin, I looked up the Adidas Climalite's because I liked the idea of a 90% cotton/10% spandex brief and all I could find on their website was a 91% polyester/9% elastan combination. Are you sure of the cotton/spandex mix?

Steve, these are the briefs:
http://www.jcpenney.com/men/sale/adidas-2-pk-stretch-boxer-briefs/prod.jump?ppId=1c4bd45
I bought them for cheap at a local discount store (I think it was Ross), maybe they are discontinuing them.

I am really keen on the 'dried out wet wipes' idea!! I also will have to look for larger ones…..I have experimented with KFC wet wipes biut those things were too small and too weak so the 'wipe' action tore them apart too easily.

One question though. If you dry out the antibacterial wipes and then rehydrate them does the antibacterial part of the wipe still be affective or will that chemical dry away as well making it just a wipe?

I've had to go as long as 30 days between showers. +30 on drying out baby wipes but I wouldn't count on any anti-bacterial properties to still be there. Another +30 on Goldbond; IME, that is the best defense against swamp@$$ and crotch funk. My largest concern with Goldbond is its minty smell and how bears are attracted to the smell of mint. I've said it before but I have visions of a bear dragging me out of my tarp by my daddy parts. Even so, if I was going on an extended trip into the woods or had to catch a flight immediately afterwards, I'd still bring some.

For shorter hikes, I use running shorts that have a liner. Anything longer than a weekend, I go commando or bring a change of shorts and start a wash one/wear one rotation. I use baby wipes after every movement and no fewer than once daily to polish off the undercarriage. This is critical for health reasons but again, to keep the funk to sub-WMD levels, I've found Goldbond to be critical here. I don't know if it's technique, genetics, or what but I've never had monkey butt.

Obviously +30 on taking a field bath however you can.

On some of my overseas business trips, my time on planes and in airports can be over 36 hours with no opportunity to shower (except for Incheon). Regular deodorant doesn't last but several of the extra strength ones do. Many of them are some kind of paste that is pushed through a plastic mesh before applying. You could carry some of that paste in a smaller container and apply it just before you head to the airport.