Since I posted that skin story last September, yesterday I had a visit with my dermatologist and learned some additional information. So this update.
One thing the almost 350 million people who voted in the last election (even those in cemeteries) would be in full agreement on is the importance of personal hygiene. The guy in the elevator who didn't think that was important gets dagger looks from his fellow lifters. Americans spend billions of dollars every year on soaps and cleansing lotion, paying tribute to the quest for an immaculate persona and the eradication of unpleasant odors.
It is said that Samuel Johnson, author of the first English dictionary, while celebrated for his erudition, avoided bathing for long periods of time. Seated in an eating establishment one evening, a lady at the next table addressed him saying, "Sir, you smell." "No, Madam," he replied, "you smell, I stink."
My grand niece, Drew Saylor, who is a dermatologist, agees that soap should be confined to breakfast dishes and underwear but not skin. She tells us soap washes away beneficial oils and microbiome produced by the body. Eliminate soap and at a minimum you avoid dry skin and, she thinks, there's a whole world beyond that.
Amazon will send you three bars of Cetaphil non-soap cleanser for $9.00, Imagine this: after 90 years I end up shilling for Big Pharma.
