how soap sells a myth

[@answerinprogress]

Corrected captions are up! Sorry about the mishap 💛 - Sabrina

[@Jcewazhere]

Why start with part one? Be bold, start with part 42!

[@susgus13]

hello sabrina

[@mr.gagreflex]

Says these two comments were 1 hour ago and 59 minutes ago, like it took one minute to fix them

[@hobbyjoytv4530]

No offence but 5:13 Louis IV is not Louis XIV

[@yellowbadbeas]

0:53 coding dinosaurs

[@emilylinek2313]

I feel like y’all need to have a series called “The Rabbit Hole” where y’all just tell us about all the research and things you found that didn’t make it into the video

[@LeafStickbranch]

That would make a great side channel. Just all the parts that ended up on the cutting room floor

[@jayveerisdabest7500]

a podcast would be great

[@tiffanywong7938]

Yes 100%

[@jay-tbl]

I would watch this podcast!

[@ThePoodle]

there's already a popular channel called that i believe

[@CaravelClerihew]

As an art conservator (aka a professional cleaner) it's amazing how much science goes into the right sort of cleaner for the right sort of substance. Like, entire conferences are built around it.

[@marymurphy1429]

The fact that so much research is funded by people with something to sell or people who have ulterior motives is something that continues to make me seethe. At least the examples in the video are reporting those funding them, not every study actually does, people will lie about not having conflicts of interest when they absolutely do have a conflict of interest and it drives me wild

[@Asgar06]

isnt it funny that this video is sponsored by a skin care company?

[@GalladofBales]

@@Asgar06 yeah at some point you gotta just ignore it because youtubers wouldn't be able to afford to provide us quality content without sponsors, sadly

[@Draconicrose]

On the one hand, the companies developing (and selling) these products are the ones who have the most interest in these studies being done. On the other, they also have interest in the studies having certain conclusions sometimes. It's tough to discern which studies a company financed because the result is important to their development and research and which ones they financed because the result is important to their marketing team.

[@juliobastosjb]

In Brazil, industry funded research is so rare. Most of our research is government funded at some level.

[@chizknowsdabizyeet7609]

@@juliobastosjb Who funds the people in your government?

[@elk45]

I remember a moment in class when the room suddenly became split between people who scrub in the shower and people who just stand under the water. It was a crazy moment to realise how subjective 'normal' and 'clean' actually are.

[@Roozyj]

Similar to when you find out how people behave differently on the toilet. How much toilet paper, do you fold it or not, sit-down-wiping or stand-up-wiping... and it's a routine you do so often that it's hard to even imagine other people doing it differently xD

[@MegaLokopo]

@@Roozyj Yea, but people often forget people's needs vary so much more than most people initially realize.

[@gladitsnotme]

​​@@MegaLokoponobody NEEDS to stand while wiping poop off their butthole, except maybe obese people who can't reach. That's just weird.

[@hay5813]

​@@MegaLokopoPeople

[@Ratigan2]

Being too clean and not exposing yourself to some microbes can also be harmful from an immunology POV

[@sierrad.7654]

Sabrina is the only person I would listen to talk about soap for more than 5 minutes

[@prickitt1743]

Not even mat pat...

[@qwaabza]

Not even technoblade?

[@awesomekrisna3324]

​@@qwaabzaexactly what i thought after seeing this comment lmao

[@nosh9656]

matpat just got recommended to you

[@Socoolhippo]

fr tho

[@Dioxazine_Stars]

I appreciated the acknowledgment that mental heath impacts hygiene. Having both depression and ADHD, it is so unbelievably hard for me to find the energy and motivation to clean myself, even when I’m literally miserable and feel disgusting.

[@NiSE_Rafter]

Too relatable (I'm also diagnoaed with both). One of my indicators for things going downhill is not brushing my teeth and showering properly...

[@chrispi314]

Well, few years back, due to a skin problem a dermatologist told me to stop using soap, and to stop showering. He gave me more instruction on how to wash myself, and what products, other than soap, I can use. I can still shower, but less often like once or twice a week, but must avoid "normal" soap. I still struggle to apply those advices, but I have to recognized that most of my skin problem has disappeared, except one my hands, cause I'm still using water and soap, multiple times a day.

[@katethegoat7507]

Have you tried applying moisturizer on your hands after washing them?

[@sharielane]

@@katethegoat7507 I have had a similar routine suggested to me as the op. If they have what I have then moisturizer after washing is still not enough. I literally wash with sorbolene lotion /aqueous cream (I've tried dozens of the special "soap-free" alternatives over the years, they always leave my skin too dry), followed by a heavy application of a super moisturising cream within 5 minutes after showering, with additional moisturising reinforcement of petroleum jelly/vaseline on key places on my body to lock it in, and my hands still are rough as can be.

[@mikko.g]

TL:DR Hot water + soap seemed to leave my skin hurting, where as warm water and no soap seems to leave it feeling great. I used to get a lot of skin itch and dandruff. I stopped using shampoo and the dandruff went away, eventually the oily hair feeling from not using shampoo went away and it now feels dry and healthy all the time, with no dandruff. So as an experiment I reduced the soap to just pits/groin/feet, then reduced frequency of washing. Skin itch went away, foot odour vastly reduced. The skin naturally seemed to balance over time and just feels better. Now I do a sniff check every so often on the pits and groin and if there is a discernible odour I grab a lukewarm cloth and clean them. Regular showering now feels unnecessary and wasteful now and I can easily go months in-between showers without noticing any negative effects. I will routinely ask people I trust if they can detect any odour and so far nobody has ever been able too, where as when I showered regularly I definitely found that I stank if I skipped out on showering for a day, especially pits and feet.

[@shimadabr]

WTF, if I don't shower for a day I noticeably smell bad. Where do you live? Here in North of Brazil it's regularly 28º-35ºC so I don't see how this is generally applicable

[@em-jd4do]

I mean, there are a few skins diseases where the treatment literally is "don't shower" and nothing else because medicine isn't that good yet, and I suppose you might enter that category ? But it did disappear in your case, so is it eczema ?

[@malusdraco3793]

You’ve proved it IS possible to talk about personal hygiene without shaming people. It’s such a hard topic to talk about because people confuse what is healthy with what is baseline and with what is entirely optional. As someone on the “stinkier” end of the spectrum because I’m SO sensitive to artificial smells it feels like trying to talk to people about what we can do for ourselves is about as helpful as talking to a brick wall

[@cinnerman]

One other reason i want to say there is a huge variation in skincare is that everyone's skin is different and needs different things to be healthy. Like a person who has especially oily skin will need a different skincare routine than someone who's skin is very dry.

[@oliviaspring9690]

That’s what I was thinking. Also allergies. Some people may be allergic to effective ingredients and need alternatives.

[@WARnTEA]

@@oliviaspring9690 Theres a moisturizer that uses hemp, and IDK if its consistency is too thick preventing my forehead from sweating or if it has something to do with the hemp, but I’ve found out that using that moisturizer on my forehead causes terrible migraines. At first I thought I was lacking electrolytes because a gatorade would help stop the migraine, but later realized that when I used my expensive and thinner moisturizer that the migraines stopped and I haven’t received them anymore for the last year.

[@cinnerman]

@@oliviaspring9690 yeah!!! exactly.

[@anoukk_]

Yeah that's all fun and games but they make it surprisingly hard to actually find what works for you.

[@lilly_koii]

the same goes for hair and diets. everyone is different!

[@PhotonBeast]

The little whispered "Simba!" as she dabbed lotion on her forehead was hilarious

[@jamesclawson9243]

"now I have a smooth face to go with my smooth brain" cracked me up pretty good too

[@LeafStickbranch]

I've reinvented my hygiene routine recently bc I realized it was made when I was a teenager, aka at my stinkiest. I don't need nearly as many or as harsh products to stay hygienic now

[@metagrazer]

I love the irony of how skincare research is often funded by those trying to sell something... while the sponsor of this video is a skincare brand😆. I see what you did there...

[@devin6300]

For real tho

[@answerinprogress]

Hey folks! Our apologies for the captions, we’re working on fixing the issue asap!

[@RoelCandaeleARTISTSPAGE]

😘💓

[@misteasea]

Thank you!

[@I_am_Signal]

Skin care routine? Never heard of her. I simply just take a shower nearly daily.

[@eidanjacob5843]

missed opportunity to say "asoap"

[@husaynbootwala1729]

Please do a video on why the west refuses to use bidets, I have had this question for so long and I need ANSWERS!

[@OpalAeon]

"Now, there's been a depressive episode or two that's taken me to the stinky depths" Wow. That was much too real, and reminded me of the literal years I've lost to depression. Even when it's left, it's never really, completely gone, is it ? Hope you've taken great care of yourself since then, and still find the will to do so everyday for as long as possible. And as always, great content. The quality is consistently top notch, and the videos are always informative, keep up the good work!

[@cyglassworks]

I know this video isn't about the rubber ducks. Having said that, i have an idea that might help that one who keeps falling over. Most rubber ducks have a small hole in the bottom. So maybe if you squeeze a little air out, and suck up just a little water, it might help. We want enough weight centered at the base to counter that tipping force. However we do not want so much weight that it sinks. ❤

[@WyvernYT]

I was half expecting her to grab something sticky and attach a coin to the bottom.

[@Ratigan2]

Your spontaneous ducky advice is unexpected... but not unwelcome, fair traveller.

[@tristangrant6054]

As an engineering student, never have I been so offended by something I so wholeheartedly agree with

[@lune_fish1590]

Help my dad just said he’d agree but he doesn’t have that gene ☠️

[@gabetherootbeerguy]

Felted totally called out by Sabrina. It’s *fine* that I grew a finals beard

[@jasonreed7522]

I'm so glad someone else is just as weirdly passionate as i am that antibiotic soap is stupid. Soap by definition is an antibacterial substance because as a surfactant it shreds cell walls and "pops" bacteria. Antibacterial soap is like buying antibacterial bleach, bleach is also inherently antimicrobial as it chemically cooks them by denaturing their proteins. (This is also how it hurts us, but we need higher concentrations/doses than microbes so we use bleach to chlorinate our water.) I'm not sure if you have done a video on it yet but as a topic suggestion the history of water treatment could be interesting. I went down the rabbit hole when I wondered what was in the "liquid chlorine" my family uses to treat our pool, it can't be pure chlorine gas dissolved in water to the point it turns yellow because if it was it should all bubble out like a soda and kill you when you pour it in, therefore it must be some type of salt. Mystery solved by reading the label, googling "sodium hypochlorate" and learning its litterally just bleach. Then doing the same for the tablets and having a much longer name for what is basically 3 of the above stuck in a ring that is the solid form of bleach.

[@sarahwatts7152]

There's a great selection of pieces of media on the history of toilets/how people "went" through time. Not the same as water treatment, but dealing with wastewater came before water treatment by a mile

[@Zectifin]

it just helps create anti bacterial resistant bacteria.

[@melody3741]

What I don’t understand is if they were so concerned, why not just put alcohol or something similar

[@starsdestiny]

I kind of hoped for that chemistry/biological deep dive in soap. I'm not sure where I heard this but carex for example found a great way to sell soap was to advertise that soap kills 99.9% bacteria which I think other soaps also do. So effectively marketing the basics that their competitors don't think to do. Separate rabbit hole there are "soap free" ways of washing. I wonder if that does the hygiene things

[@safaiaryu12]

Yeah, I remember many years ago, I looked at Bill Nye (the Science Guy)'s website and he had a blog post about how antibacterial soap is generally unnecessary and is contributing to creating superbugs. I've never bought antibacterial soap since.

[@userbugs]

I'm a fellow doctor and I make my smell confusing on purpose. Mint tea leave conditioner, bourbon scented bodywash, and antiperspirant that is apparently the smell of a giant kraken. Aside from that, high grade sports-level sunscreen. Protect that skin. It's the only set you've got.

[@MegaLokopo]

Why not use a few feet of wood, glass, and insulation as sunscreen?

[@WyvernYT]

@@MegaLokopo I live in a damp climate; I use constant cloudy overcast as a sunscreen.

[@Mikewee777]

​@@MegaLokopoHave you seen those sleeping box prices ? The fart tunnels alone take up 80% of the price ... Septic problems often happen . Why do we need to own a roll machine box to visit the income generators ?

[@MegaLokopo]

@@Mikewee777 As a condition for hiring me, my boss is required to drive me to and from work every day, owning a car is optional regardless of what city you live in.

[@rezzy8590]

I also play that smell roulette. It's genuinely fun. Thankfully, I also have someone who compliments my smell every time we snuggle so I'm validated in my confusing choices.

[@forest-goddess]

i'd love to see one of these on haircare too! there's a very similar market and confusion around how to care for your hair. I still haven't figured out how to make my hair less frizzy, and i've tried so many things, lol

[@princessjellofish]

Maybe it's okay to have frizzy hair? I'd imagine this is something that many, many people experience, just never gets shown on TV

[@Man-ej6uv]

my hair is just frizzy and wavy/curly normally, might be normal lol

[@forest-goddess]

@@princessjellofish honestly, you're right, i just feel like it negatively impacts peoples' image of me and that people think im lazy because my hair is always so frizzy, even though i try very, very hard to make it stop being so frizzy.

[@shavonwalker2550]

I have curly kinky hair, so I get it. But the hair care situation could get them down a DEEP rabbit hole...

[@tsrenis]

Usually some kind of moisturizing can help with frizzy hair. There's also the chance that maybe you're overwashing your hair thereby constantly stripping it of its natural protective oils? I dunno.

[@cyberpupplays]

2:02 "A smooth face to match my smooth brain" is peak funny, it was said so casually

[@halfsourlizard9319]

The things I miss by blocking ads ...

[@misteasea]

I usually have my captions on and I'm pretty sure the captions are from a different part of the video's transcript, and according to the comments I'm not the only one who noticed this. Otherwise, thanks for always having (usually accurate) captions in these videos, it's really helpful and appreciated!

[@meri7108]

Boost

[@bemoty]

yeah it seems the captions are shifted a bit. everything before 2:15 does not seem to be in the transcript

[@Koala6492]

yeah... they are usually really useful and I personally am hard of hearing so this was a bit om a bummer hopefully its fixed soon

[@brodykidd3103]

Yeah, I'm at 4:00 and the captions are talking about public bath houses

[@mzhauss]

I was just about to comment this- I hope they see this soon!

[@pairoleggs]

i'm a senior in college and my big ol research paper for my major (anthropology) is on how the rapid changes in victorian era society affected the material culture (mainly death relating to clothing but also hygiene and disease). this was really interesting and makes me want to look more into the workers hygiene at the time and read more adverts in magazines. maybe even check old medical magazines to see if they said anything.... anyways, thanks for the inspiration guys, i needed a few more sources anyways

[@jasminelambert3753]

The little thing on the top of the moisturizer is a little spatula to scoop out the product instead of using your finger because your finger can introduce bacteria into the product

[@ghastdroid]

I have a question about the spatula thing, do you put the product on the spatula directly to the skin. Then you do what? I am guessing it gets cleaned and put back on its spot for future use, but how is that different from freshly washed hands? Is it because there's less chance of contact with contaminants so its cleaner that recently clean fingers? I tend to avoid the conundrum all together by using pump containers so the product doesn't come in contact with any surface (be it hands or tool) except what is pumped out, hell maybe you don't know the answer but if you do I would like to know so I can ease my contamination anxieties.

[@spiky_s6120]

@@ghastdroid I get what you mean :D in that case I would use the spatula and put the product on without the spatula touching my skin, trying to divide the product in a way that it is "product on skin - still some product on spatula", so it did not have contact to skin :) like I try with toothpaste on my brush. Then you could rub the rest off in a clean paper towel and store the spatula for reuse. That is how I manage the contamination anxiety, no evidence if it makes sense scientifically tho haha

[@waffle8946]

The chapters titles are such a joy “Sabrina feels stinky (unjustified)” “Me, drinking water: “it’s a metaphor, see?” “WASH YOUR HANDS”

[@Ratigan2]

She's obviously written them. Love the effort they put into the details.

[@jmdibonaventuro]

9:54 “Looking at you engineering students” As someone who works with engineering students frequently, thank you for the PSA. My experience recently has shown that it is extremely necessary.

[@jasminnyack1724]

So, i am a no one, but if you ever want a weird indepth conversation about skincare and the huge problems from someone who works in the industry with a degree, I have one. I have a lot of opinions (like the loss "testing" for cosmetics.) I would love too. Because i would love to, but the basic is this: cosmetics is mostly marketing and also a lack of understanding from even those who sell it expect from what the brands tell those selling it.

[@greygreygray]

Interesting

[@starsdestiny]

Yooooo a q&a would be fascinating! And you're not a "no one" 😊

[@annayakuhana3007]

Yes please! I've worked in the industry for a bit. Marketing cosmetics is all about finding a lie that is not regulated by the FDA yet.

[@PackOfWolves]

I love to have a Q and A with you!

[@paulcasanova1909]

Stinky Fact: Dermatologists recommend you only shower a few times a week. Of course this gets more nuanced with the kind of activity you do on the daily and what your environment is like. But the basic gist of what they found out was that your skin has a micro ecology of its own, and your body produces specific oils, enzymes, hormones, etc. Constantly washing it (like washing it every day) messes up this ecology, stripping it of it's vital oils to keep the skin hydrated and deodorized (your body does produce it's own version of deodorant and constantly deodorizing will make your body stop producing it on its own)

[@sidasterdisaster]

Tragically this also only works when you don’t have the “sweat profusely at all times even while cold” gene. But yeah! So many people don’t need to shower every day. Same goes for washing your hair!

[@skypaver989]

sounds to me like you're stinky

[@bok9596]

see, i knew i wasnt crazy. i shower every 3 days, using my hair as an indicator of when the dirt has built up and needs to be washed. i only use soap when im especially stinky. if im not smelly, i just scrub my normally sweaty areas with water, and i literally never touch my legs. i definitely should be doing a skin care routine nightly, its what works best for the skin on my face, but i just dont have enough motivation

[@danlightened]

And also, if one isn't in a hot and humid climate and doing physically intensive work, 2-3 times seem good enough. If you still feel the need to shower, skip soap every other time or according to your mileage. Or just use it on the funky bits. Although funky isn't bad and it okay for people to smell like people and not a bouquet of flowers. Infact, the apocrine glands that are found in places like the armpit, groin and scalp produce sweat and pheromones which is what attracts potential mates. Sadly, the fat in this kind of sweat is eaten by bacteria which gives rise to the funky smell that people have a problem with. Although it's mostly an American thing, which has been spreading across the globe due to their media influence.

[@xRaiofSunshine]

@@sidasterdisasterThat’s me :(

[@dmadalengoitia]

I lived in Chile for a year back in 2018. Santiago is a very dry and cold city compared to my home city (Lima, Peru) and for this reason I started to have skin bumps. I went to a dermatologist and she told me a secret "not every skin needs to be washed with soap every day, in your case only was your armpits, neck and genitals, the rest you can wash it from time to time... and some days you can even just take a shower without soap to clean your skin from sweat". I've been doing that for 5 years and I've never felt dirty at all.

[@strawberrired]

My skincare routine for the face is literally just "if it feels dry slap on some moisturizer" haha. As someone with chronically dry skin I'm amazed at how some people shower several times per day, if I did that I'd have to make a lotion budget. Likewise I'm sure someone who sweats a lot at night and goes to the gym every day would be appalled at my shower schedule so there really is no one size fits all.

[@manqobashongwe1301]

12:58 Bro is NOT ugly. Mellissa is not a 'spectacle'. And Sabrina is just gorgeous.

[@GalladofBales]

I think we need to also get over the obligation to shower daily. I do shower almost every day, but honestly if I barely moved or sweat for a day I'll just skip showering to save some of my skin and hair's natural oils. I've especially been trying to wash my hair less, so I'll use a shower cap when I want to only wash my body. I've also been trying to wash my clothes less, to not wear them out as quickly and to preserve soap and water. I like the takeaway that everyone should choose what their goals are and what their routine should be. Marketing will always skew towards using more and more and more and people should try to check in with themselves and see what they actually need. I think most people, in the US at least, are doing a bit too much with their hygiene routine.

[@777ynk]

Someone needs to talk about the role emotional trauma plays in hygiene

[@negative6442]

💀

[@ystl1093]

Intelexual Medai! She has a good video on hygiene too!

[@777ynk]

@@ystl1093 thanks! Gotta check it out

[@mynt4033]

Weaves for black women would actually be a great related episode to that. It's like hygiene in the sense that it's a personal beauty choice, but it fundamentally comes from traumatic race shaming of black women's natural hair

[@777ynk]

@@mynt4033 as a black man i can tell you that this is largely untrue in the women i know

[@miklaaca]

KraveBeauty and Answer in Progress collab is something I never expected but I'm really happy to see! Although, I wished Liah would appear in the video, I'm glad to see her supporting/sponsoring a more scientific approach in skincare and keeping the minimalistic message. I'm someone who, like Melissa, is being taught by my family member to do my skincare routine. I have acne around my period (sometimes a bad breakout too), have dry skin, and also have a skin condition that I have to see a dermatologist for. I do love watching "skinfluencer" or dermatologists youtube videos to look for product recommendations and learn more about products/ingredients I put on my skin, I'm interested in this topic. I learned that having a routine that I genuinely enjoy makes me stick to the routine more, and when I take good care of my skin, my skin doesn't get dry and rough, my skin condition doesn't get worse, and it makes me feel good that I take care of myself. Are there unnecessary products in my skincare routine? I guess so. But, I love using them so I will keep doing it!

[@letslegacy]

This is a question I've wondered about but never actually asked. The video is extremely well made, I feel like the team is getting better and better with each video haha. Thank you all for another amazing answer

[@goodguyamr6996]

Sabrina's reaction to Melissa and Taha's reasons for skincare are so real

[@Glen_lastname]

My skin care is shaving my face, washing my body, having working internal organs, being 20, and not minding how old men look.

[@---GOD---]

> Being 20 Lucky mofo

[@whispercat56235]

don't shave your whole face, just mustache area lol

[@---GOD---]

@@whispercat56235 Relax, mohammad. Let him shave however he wants.

[@ImNotQualifiedToSayThisBut]

Lol I shave my entire face too

[@kathrinlindern2697]

Sunscreen may be a good addition depending on your planned activities, the weather and your skintone.

[@lmelki89]

I love how Sabrina always barges in dramatically into Melissa's house

[@Ratigan2]

Someone needs to make a comic of her turning off the lights and going to bed and Sabrina just bursting through the door with another one of her antics

[@NickRowler]

I spent my teen and college years with horrible acne and rashes on my face. I tried almost every acne treatment including taking pills, none of them worked. I was sort of in a state of feeling hopeless. I then tried a routine where I focused more on moisturizing my face instead of washing it with all these products. And suddenly the acne was gone and my face was no longer a rosy pink.

[@gladitsnotme]

Zinc was what worked for my acne. Then 10 years later, tea tree oil calmed my oil production.

[@pickledkumera5065]

So, during my last year at uni I wrote a paper on the chemistry of the make up industry and the conclusion was... Wash your face with a cleaning agent. Soap works. Use a moisturiser. Use sunscreen when you go outside Everything else is fancy dressing to sell you a product. A product you probably don't need. You cannot stop your skin from aging. You can look after the skin you have.

[@rep-vile]

"Make-up industry" is not the same as the skincare industry. It's no fault to be more educated and aware of what you use inside and outside your body. -No legitimate dermatologist ever said you can stop aging, there are actions you can take to reduce your aging from diet and exercise, to skin care, to simply staying away from direct sunlight and your pillow covers. -A chemistry student of all people should realize the different reactions from each cleansing agent as they're not just the same. Generic soap doesn't work especially for the face as it's more sensitive compared to the rest of the body, gentle cleansers are the way to go, especially for someone with naturally very sensitive skin and/or dry skin. -The ingredients matter and at the same time consumers don't know which ones are good or bad, that's why there's a market, and also why there's dermatologists educating consumers. If you start taking a supplement, with no clue what's inside thinking "Well it's just a supplement, it supplements nutrients", that could have lethal consequences.

[@Hdtjdjbszh]

I just wash my skin with water, anything that sweats a lot gets some regular, unscented bar soap, anything that has touched or stepped in anything awful gets more soap.

[@Cationna]

Pure water isn't getting rid of neither oils nor, more importantly, germs, tho. I mean you do you, just throwing that out there.

[@tsrenis]

​@@CationnaSkin oils aren't necessarily a negative thing. You wash your face only to then apply moisturizer, moisturizer which has oil in it. That's what moisturizer is. It seals in moisture. The problem is bacteria specifically.

[@NothingXemnas]

​​@@Cationna In nearly a decade of not using soap anywhere besides sweaty skin folds (between the legs, armpits and between the toes) and my genitals, I never got skin infections. Our skin is always covered with a protective layer of beneficial bacteria that are constantly keeping harmful ones at bay. Mind you, harmful bacteria ALSO live on the skin and inside us, but they cannot do any harm because they are competing against other creatures, incluidng our own immune system. I do not recommend this if your immune system is suppressed, however... But if you are healthy, soap is pretty much unnecessary. Addendum: idk why we have products with probiotics (living, beneficial bacteria) for our guts, but not our skin, when both ONLY WORK properly because we co-evolved with them.

[@appa609]

GOJO is great for degreasing your skin. It's got sand in it to get deep into the crevices.

[@23Zakira]

​@@tsrenis Bacteria is everywhere. Why would I have to wash every centimeters of my body to get rid off it? Like are you people cats licking your body because I don't otherwise know how the bacteria would end up inside you.

[@UXXV]

Great video - one point to note, you can also change your skin with what you eat. Some problems are caused by sensitivity to certain food types so looking at the cause and not the effect is also worthwhile.

[@edopronk1303]

This indeed. For me it was cutting back on pig products.

[@UXXV]

Same - for me it was dairy. @@edopronk1303

[@WillieShawFilms]

I'm so pumped to see another answer to a question I've never said out loud but have always wondered. Get out of my head Answers in Progress!! haha

[@luizabonetti2163]

I loved how, when you asked the others and yourself why you all do skincare routine, the answer where "Childhood Trauma"

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

I started wearing moisturizer daily at age 12. I did it because my dermatologist gave me something to wash with to help with my minimal acne. I'm now 62. My cleanser is different now that I don't have acne, but I still wash my face.

[@LogicalNiko]

The thing that I always found interesting about bacteria is that the most effective removal method is via physical rubbing/brushing/scrubbing. I never really thought about it much until I saw something by Alton Brown explaining sanitation practices. I think it may have been at the early days of covid. But really soap is there for two things. One its a surfactant. So it helps reduce intermolecular forces and surface tension ensuring that things that get knocked loose wash away with the water. Secondly it provides both a polar and non-polar face. This means one side of it likes to repel water and loves fatty/oily molecules and the other side loves water and hates fatty/oily molecules. This duality makes it perfect for just surrounding things and helping them not deposit back onto surfaces once removed from a surface. As an engineer who took advanced chemistry, biology, physics, etc it seems so obvious of how it works, but I really never stopped to think about it. It always was just mentally "the stuff that makes things clean". But that is completely wrong. Physical forces remove dirt/bacteria/viruses/etc, soap is just there to help transport it away.

[@sniitzel]

This video was released at a perfect time! I am currently trying to unlearn the narrative about hygiene and skin care products I learned when I was a teenager. Years of marketing brainwashed us. It's sounds harsh, but the evidence is the amount of aisles you showed at the beginning. By the way, the amount of time you put into these videos is amazing, from the research to the storytelling, transitions, sound effects, humor... this is the quality I often miss on KZbin!

[@sniitzel]

CLEAN, I love the level of detail ❤

[@EKing-km9it]

"Now I have a smooth face to go with my smooth brain" IS SUCH AN UNDERRATED JOKE HERE 😭

[@RoxaneJ14]

Honestly I rarely use soap on my body appart from armpits and crotch every day (I tried not using soap in these areas but my nose was like girl nonono!) I will occasionally (maybe every 2 weeks) use an exfoliating glove to remove dead skin cells and even more occasionnally (maybe every 3 weeks) use actual soap on my entire body. I never get rashes, dry skin, oily skin, no issues. And I've also never been told that I stink (my loved ones definitely would let me know if it were the case). It's a different story for my face, I do some very basic stuff when my ADHD allows it (like cleanse my face and use a lotion and serum prescribed by my skincare guru of a best friend), but I use a moisturiser daily because I feel the need for it and can feel my skin cracking if I don't use it after wetting my face Honestly the whole "scrub daily" thing feels like a strategy from companies to sell us more soap and then body moisturizers because we've stripped our skin of all the natural and healthy oils it makes in the first place. Also, if it's no gross to wash your scalp with soap just once or twice a week, why would it be gross to do the same with your skin ? (I'm a 29 yo cis woman, otherwise interested in looking nice tru the use of nail polish and makeup, if that matters)

[@Freelix2000]

Any industry that blurs the line between medicine and anything else more subjective, like beauty, benefits from a lot of confusion and "figure it out yourself" strategy. If the entire skincare industry prescribed a somewhat definite routine, or even just a few routines depending on skin conditions and desired results, then if people tried it and found it didn't work, they would just stop doing it. But as it is now, if you find a routine, use it, and it doesn't cure your acne, doesn't make you look younger, and possibly causes other issues, the immediate tendency is to assume you're doing it wrong and buy a bunch more products.

[@rizzlerrickio]

All four of my siblings have had HORRIBLE acne during their teens and they all used face cleanser and all that cheap acne face masks. I never used any of it because my face is super sensitive to cleaning or acne products and I never ended up getting ANY acne! At least not as bad, I only get a few pimples popping up when I’m about to start my period. I remember when I tried out face cleaner because everyone else was doing it, it literally CAUSED my skin to break out into acne. 🤔 makes you wonder

[@AmirTapir]

This is video is a great complement to the Style Theory video! They got more into the science stuff but you took the history and why we do it! Thank you for sharing this with us and making our skin healthier!! I need to point out how much I love your transitions in every video. They really make me feel like we are on a tour beside you!!! Much love!!!

[@shilombaba]

*"I never know if I'm being sold things... let me just ask a doctor"* Awe... honey...

[@probablypablito]

Did the sponsor have any input on the video (other than the sponsored bit obviously)? Seems important for a research video

[@caseydavis57]

Was looking for a comment about this, made the entire thing feel disingenuous/sketchy at the least.

[@oswald2799]

I met an old Italian lady who was like 68 but looked a solid 30. Asked her what she did, literally just olive oil on the skin, eat generally well and exercise.

[@witerabid]

Wow, that was sad. I wonder if everyone's skin care routine is just based in childhood trauma because it sure seems like it.

[@LoveAhiru]

Having had a hard time most of my life with skincare routine I'm happy to say I now have my own routine. Built on the idea that I am the one whos gonna need to enjoy the smell of the products and the feel. Like yeah having smooth skin is nice, to me. Most of my childhood was built around the fact what *other people* would think about my skin. But by now I've just decided to build it around what *I* think of my skin.

[@lhpoetry]

I have found that showering every day and using shampoo have negative effects on my skin, because too many oils get stripped away by the shampoo, and my skin ends up being too moist or too dry (depending on where it is). I experimented with this when one of my black friends mentioned having to put oil in kids' hair, which I thought, "that doesn't seem like something people would have done 300 years ago..." I've generally found just washing every other day with water works best, although if you're doing a sweaty job, that doesn't exactly work, and I'm sure it's different depending on PH and humidity where you live. I will use soap with bodily fluids or heavy dirt. Also in a dry climate, showering makes me feel much more awake in the morning, so I do it too much, to the detriment of my skin health. I wonder if there's another way to my face feeling less droopy. I do use soap on my hands religiously, but am aware that having healthy bacteria on your hands is part of prevention for scary diseases as well, so I try to avoid sanitizer in most situations, unless there just isn't a place to wash my hands. I now understand that my 7th grade science fair project that compared how deadly bleach, soap, and anti-bacterial soap were to bacteria kinda misses the point (sure, bleach kills more, but also is worse to ingest than 95% of the bacteria out there)

[@gremlinlad3671]

i get what you’re saying, but hair oiling is something that goes back thousands of years. it’s generally something that’s benefits depend on your hair texture + how much oil your scalp produces, and less based on how often someone washes their hair.

[@lhpoetry]

@@gremlinlad3671: Cool! For me, I found my scalp was producing about 5 times as much oil as it needed because I was stripping it every day with shampoo and my body was compensating. Once I stopped doing that, after a while the oil levels in my hair stabilized and I didn't need shampoo anymore. (2 weeks after stopping, my hair was gross, now it's naturally a little oily but not gross and I almost never use shampoo) I understand that for people with different hair and scalps things can be different. But the amount of oil my scalp produced seemed to be correlated to how much shampoo I use.

[@saraevelyn3558]

Skincare is a mess of companies trying to sell you stuff you don’t need For me i fell into that rabbit hole of buying an extensive skincare routine that i later found out was just breaking me out and wasting my money. In the end i went back to the basics and which is cleanser,moisturizer,sunscreen in the morning. if i develop skin concerns i add a serum to help or treatment.

[@DaffyDuckTheWizzard]

Just wanted to say that whatever routine Melissa is doing, it seems to be working

[@meteorplum]

Now you need to make a follow-on video about how people are being sold soap to get rid of oil from their skin, and then are being sold moisturizers to put that oil back in. Hmmm.

[@playlistgod1244]

honestly I need the cleansers and soap. My skin is very oily, every day when I go in the shower, the water doesn't touch my skin but rolls off the thin invisible looking waxy coating on my skin. If I rub my fingers against it, every day dead skin cells come off, and if I don't remove it I get spots, my face too. So the strong/oil stripping shower gels and a decent cleanser that can get the dirt out of the pores and allow me to scrub off the dead skin cells on my face is needed for me, followed by the moisturiser so my skin is not dry. The times when I don't wash it, the dead skin cells just build up and I can rub them off in little rolls if I rub my face. Hydrating products like essences, sheet masks etc reduce the frequency and amount of dead skin cells that build up even more, so when I can afford it I swear by them. I also developed a wrinkle in my forehead and when I use the very hydrating essences etc, it almost disappears, which is why Koreans swear by these steps, because the hydration keeps your skin nice and alleviates further problems too. Interestingly the only product that my skin doesn't like is SPF because even just SPF15 makes my skin break out terribly, even foreign formulations that are meant to be better. But skincare is all optional. In reality, you could do no skincare and probably wouldn't get skin cancer if you don't live in a particularly hot/sunny place or are POC. So each to their own really.

[@TemmieTumpter]

This is actually a very basic concept that it feels like you've bent over backward to misrepresent here. Dirt and contaminants get on your skin, dissolved in oil. Wash off the dirty oil. Replace with clean oil (i.e. moisturizers). It's how we clean.... everything, really.

[@meteorplum]

@@TemmieTumpter I may have bent a little to make a joke. Also, your explanation could be the basis of the video I'm asking for.

[@MasuseDeMojo]

For years, I have used a normal soap cleanser with a Japanese style mesh exfoliating wash cloth. It takes away a lot of dead skin and dirt. Then I use witch hazel on my face to keep it smooth, and free of pimples and black heads; it is also great as an aftershave. It is an astringent, and can help to rid you of infections over time. The last thing you can use is Aloe Vera gel. It will keep your face moisturized, and give you some protection from the sun.

[@hugitkissitloveit8640]

Sounds like you're doing it right ✅️ just don't forget the sunscreen!

[@everyhandlesalreadytaken]

Aloe gel gives you no protection whatsoever from sun damage. It does soothe sunburns well, but that's a different thing entirely.

[@Matteesside]

That was a good video. Try not to use too much antibacterial stuff... A lot of soaps damage your skins microbiome so be careful. These videos always do so well. Informing and educating... despite the in video ads.

[@NotEmauz]

The subtitles seem completely wrong, is anyone else seeing that?

[@gabriellutz185]

totally

[@meri7108]

yep

[@nae_eoneo]

“This is a chopstick, and this is grapefruit juice,” said Sabrina Cruz calmly. She then proceeded to say, “DO NOT DEMONETIZE ME!”

[@duck8dodgers]

Good work, EXCEPT jojoba is a Spanish word so the "j" is pronounced like an "h" just like in javelina. I only mention it because I grew up in Arizona where you would occasionally spot a javelina and her little piglets hiding behind a jojoba bush.

[@WyvernYT]

That's the joke. Taha is British so he doesn't know that. (Yes, it's a thing.)

[@a_Minion_of_Soros]

I for one subscribe to the George Carlin theory of showers.... “I didn't wash today. I wasn't dirty. If I'm not dirty, I don't wash. Some weeks I don't have to shower at all. I just groom my three basic areas: teeth, hair, and asshole. And to save time, I use the same brush.” ― George Carlin, Brain Droppings

[@Leo-ct9pm]

The subtitles are wrong, they are about therapy. Edit : they are several minutes early.

[@elorabrowning-dj5ux]

that part where she said "I'm talking to the engineering students" 😂I'm dying of laughter. I may be comp sci not engineering, but still, that was perfect!

[@knite_errant]

really interesting video topic, awesome work !! i feel so much pressure as a woman to stay looking young forever. it's a losing game. time comes for us all and in any case, there are things i'd rather focus on than looking beautiful. every time i go down that path trying to look better i just end up thinking about how i look wayyy more often than i should. so i gotta stick to the basics and try and keep it to health,

[@Whiteghost77]

I swear to God a single video from this channel gives me more dopamine rush then any Netflix stuff.......seriously the one of the most awesome channel.......GREAT WORK.....

[@lordcuupa2896]

bro... the picture at 14:05 is crazy.

[@julecaesara482]

I loved that video! I was just missing one thing: Skin care can be very dependent on your environment. I grew up with Nivea (from the dark blue tin) and still use it because it's nice and fatty and protects my dry skin from flaking off me, it's cheap and everyone I know uses it or a knock off. But friends of mine from other countries haven't even heard of Nivea in their entire life, so... same goes for washcloths. I use one every day, yet when I asked a friends that was staying over if he wanted one for the shower, he had no idea what I was showing him; he perceived it as a tiny towel. When I was over at his house, I thought those round poufy luffa things were a toy for his cat.

[@meandyouagainstthealgorith5787]

Micelle is a word for the type of chemistry, I recall my chemistry teacher saying. It has one end that hooks to water and one end that hooks to hydrophobic material. Hydrophobic is just a word for that chemicals that avoid water. The result is everything gets washed away. It's a total flush. Getting yourself dirty using soap is like standing at the bottom of a waterfall, and worrying about fallling up the falls.

[@screwaccountnames]

The substance class is called surfactants, micelles are the small huddles they form in water with the hydrophobic "tails" huddled together and the hydrophilic "heads" sticking out.

[@rouxix]

If we're out there throwing out fun facts about surfactant I might as well just had mine. Egg yolk is a natural occuring surfactant and that make them really neat for cooking. You can also make paint by mixing pigments/food coloring, water and egg yolk. It's not industrial grade paint but still something fun to do with children.

[@Jamsterman25]

Watching this while showering is a transcendent experience

[@bsjeffrey]

i my twenties i made soap to sell for awhile. i still a lifetime supply of soap left. i haven't bought soap in 25 years.

[@Zircaa]

I feel like this video came at a perfect time, I've been just wondering about personal hygiene these days. At the beginning of the video I was kind of afraid that I'd be introduced to a million different skin things I'd never heard of and would leave the video feeling pressured and overwhelmed with the choices-- but leave it to answerinprogress to make the topic more approachable.

[@EliaquimGuedesCrispim]

In my country (Brazil), hygiene is a HUGE part of everyone's routine and being socially accepted and I think it's definitely a taboo. We live in a tropical country and we have a inclusion of cultures where showering is something you do daily, multiple times a day, and these mainly come from natives when this land was colonised. With all that, soap and toothpaste and deodorant and moisturizer and face creams are something almost integral to our routines.

[@EliaquimGuedesCrispim]

A stinky Brazilian is probably no Brazilian at all.

[@thata757]

Eu tava pensando nisso, muita gente nos comentários dizendo que você deve tomar banho 2x por semana e eu: Oi? 😂😂 eu como brasileira tomando banho 3x por dia

[@EliaquimGuedesCrispim]

@@thata757 siiiiiim, meu deus, não consigo nem me imaginar tomando banho apenas uma vez ao dia, avalie uma vez na semana sdfijsdijfdsijf

[@kaikanna]

That has to be the smoothest best working in of an ad I've ever seen. Congratulations! Well done.

[@Buckets41369]

I’ve not used soap or shampoo for two years. Nobody says I smell, my barber never comments on the cleanliness of my hair, my skin is fine and I never have breakouts of (b)acne or skin infections. Just rinse and rub with warm water then 1 minute of cold water. People love to hate this but never give a satisfying reason why.

[@EricaGamet]

I haven't used shampoo or conditioner for nearly 20 years now... my stylist always comments how nice my hair feels. I use natural soap all over and just warm water on the face most days. Exfoliate with a buff-puf. Use sunscreen.

[@kristoffer3000]

@@EricaGamet My hair went from being dry, greasy and awful to super soft and amazing when I stopped using shampoo, literally best thing I've ever done for my hair.

[@EricaGamet]

@@kristoffer3000 Yep! It's amazing what we thought we needed to do, but when you find out it's mostly marketing and realize you don't HAVE to do it...

[@kristoffer3000]

@@EricaGamet Yeah, it's really eye-opening when you realize that so much of what is "common knowledge" is just people listening to marketing and propaganda.

[@cameronschyuder9034]

@@EricaGamet some people don't have to do it, whereas others do. It's a worthwhile thing to experiment tho so you know what's best for yourself

[@RealClanCinema]

I was so excited and felt the passion until I was crushed realizing it was all an advertisement for Krave 😭

[@bluepapillion5232]

Love Liah Yoo, the KraveBeauty - Great Barrier Relief saved my face. That said, my routine is very simple, like wash and moisturize and call it done. Thanks for another great video.

[@GuidoHaverkort]

3:49 that's because there's a finite amount of medicine but the 'skin care' is all the same but packed differently

[@elliotitenov]

Sabrina called us "little stinkers", hence she watches Drew Gooden

[@deki9827]

I watch Danny Gonzales too.

[@mitHundundRad]

I haven't used shampoo or anything like that for my hair or body for many years. I was never more satisfied with my skin and hair and am regularly asked what kind of shampoo I use. Pure water, nothing more. I don't smell even in the hot summer. I say my body has reached a certain healthy balance that cannot be achieved with shampoo and co.

[@YasuTaniina]

Your next research project should be on sunscreen. Pros, cons, alternatives, etc. Whether or not you wear sunscreen, how often, what extent, etc. is not quite so cut and dry

[@DarkTwinge]

Seconded; the standard repeated advice seems to always just be an ultra-general "wear sunscreen". Then if you start looking into it, it feels really hard to trust when the advice practically becomes "even when you're inside all day, if you so much as glance at a window you should cover yourself in sunscreen"...

[@Inkinhart]

@@DarkTwinge Yeah, some people get really intense over sunscreen - I'm Australian, and I was taught to wear sunscreen on all exposed skin when the UV index is over 3, and if it gets too high get out of the sun entirely. Sure, you can burn if you're near a window on a high UV day, but you could also just ... move away from the window

[@Spikeba11]

If you wear shoes add wash your feet to the essential list. Shoes are hot and don't breath so they are mist which grows fungus like athletes foot. There are studies showing how wearing sandals drastically reduce the rate of foot fungus. So if you wear shoes you need to compensate with feet cleaning.

[@Coast2CoastTuber]

@0:05 this is all that matters. Thanks Sabrina

[@Tracy-xe9zu]

I'm a big fan of Dr. Dray, who has a channel here on KZbin; she's a board-certified dermatologist and is pretty good at acknowledging different skincare needs, what products are nonsense, dispelling myths, etc. She's the reason why I don't wash my entire body when it's not visibly dirty (just the smelly areas and my face), and also how I found out that acne-bacteria-killing ingredients like benzoyl peroxide work on BO-causing-bacteria as well.

[@Cationna]

Your skin is the first barrier of your immune system, so not only getting germs off of it, but also making sure that it doesn't have micro-wounds and isn't inflamed is important for your overall health. What I'm saying is, having SOME form of moisturising after stripping off the natural oils should probably be a requirement. Even if you have, like, perfect skin that never feels dry (is that even... a thing?), at least slap some aloe vera on it from time to time, ffs.

[@ariesmry]

What’s interesting is how companies sell you a product that creates an issue, then sells you the solution. Alternative solution: Your cleanser might be way too strong for your face… and you might not need it to begin with. Warm water and a face towel may do the job. Humans will never win the war against germs because our bodies are made up of germs (microbiomes) that keeps us healthy. So when we use products that claim to get rid of germs, these aren’t formulated target the bad germs and keep the good ones. They get rid of everything. Which opens you up to issues further down the line.

[@davidfulginiti5985]

Wow, 71 year old here, Been doing it wrong for the right reasons. I’ll up my game. Thanks it’s always fun to watch.

[@themagmabros]

Anyone reading this have a great day

[@bernardoliz10]

You too!

[@sgjdsyevkfhao]

how did she post 5 minuits ago and you coment 9 minuits ago? And Have a great day you too :)

[@hotpotato5587]

Feeling blessed because of you 😘

[@If-loki-was-a-fox]

Right back at you, kind stranger!

[@elealion1469]

Seriously, I've been watching your videos for a long time now and I really wish I could be friends with you. I absolutely adore what you do and how you do it! Our minds work in similar ways. I've been searching answers for the most random questions like this ever since I can remember, although never on such a scale :D You make an adventure out of it every time and I love all of it! The best thing is that I learn something interesting from every video - and rarely it is just an answer to the question, usually much more. Thank you!

[@m.guedes]

I am always impressed by how much American history derives from heavy marketing.

[@kristoffer3000]

Capitalist dystopias do be like that

[@CybenX_yt]

damn, bro is NOT ugly keep your head up king

[@onwardstovictoria7541]

I've ben thinking about this for weeks, because I use hand soap and a facial cleanser but I haven't used soap on my body in over 10 years. It started because of issues I had with normal soaps, and then I gave up and started washing with just water unless I was actually dirty from like oil or paint or something. The thing is, I'm clean: I smell fine, I look fine, no one's ever commented on it (and my sister would). So then I realised that why would I ever need to wash my belly with soap? it's literally always covered with cloth, the only thing dirting it is myself, and I'm pretty sure that, from an evolutionary standpoint, your skin doesn't produce dirt that can't be washed away with water. Why are so many people obsessed with bodywash then? It's just cultural panic and good marketing, I guess.

[@mariyamsaeed8279]

environment, culture, religion, climate, etc probs play a role too. and so do genetics. i can go dayssss and even more than a week without washing my hair and itll be fine but my aunt cant go past 1 day and im sure body oil production works differently for people in that way too. also its super hot and humid where i live and we have awful air pollution that together create this weird sticky film that NEEDS soap and water. its defo not one size fits all.

[@Cationna]

Oil doesn't get washed away with water

[@AmiCestLaVie]

What about when you wear sunscreen? That doesn't wash away with just water. Or when you sweat?

[@onwardstovictoria7541]

@AmiCestLaVie for sunscreen, sure, but I don't like the sun or sunny climates so usually I only have sunscreen in my face that I need to wash off. Sweat is mostly just water, and it washes off fine with just warm water; I do use excess shampoo to remove deodorant though.

[@onwardstovictoria7541]

​@@Cationna Yes, and if I put something oily on my skin I'll remove it appropriately, but the vast majority of time I'm just washing off the little bit of sweat that my body produced. Never in my entire life has my back, for example, felt oily just because. Unlike my face, wich tends to get really oily, the rest of my skin generally feels soft and nice, not sticky or anything (but my body-skin tends to be on the drier side). I think your body mostly gets used to whatever you put on it regularly.

[@rmdodsonbills]

My favorite story of historical hygiene is titled: El Dulce Olor de Santidad or The Sweet Odor of Sanctity. In Spain during the reconquest (when Christian powers fought to take the peninsula back from the Moorish Muslims) the Christians wanted to differentiate themselves from their moslem enemies (and also from the Jews in their midst). So because the Muslims who had worked their way across the dry North Africa from the dry Arabian Peninsula were so excited to have water in some abundance in what became Spain they washed everything they could and then made fountains from the rest (I'm oversimplifying and exaggerating, of course) and because the Jews had a tradition of cleanliness that traced back all the way to Mosaic law, the Christians decided that *not* washing was a good way to differentiate themselves. So they didn't wash routinely and then claimed that their body odor was a sign of how holy they were, the sweet odor of sanctity. Smelling good was a sign that you were bad. Queen Isabella--of Ferdinand and Isabella fame--bragged that she had only bathed twice in her life (the day she was born and her wedding night) even though, as Queen she could have gotten all the clean water she desired to bathe in.

[@Respectable_Username]

2:25 Thank you Taha for reminding me to book a GP appt to get a referral extension before my next therapy appt next week 😅

[@gio31415]

In my uni, that message should go to computer science students, believe me

[@dreadnought1109]

Skincare sponsor on skincare episode hurts credibility.

[@nuxveryn1740]

This needs more upvotes

[@Koz.for.Concern]

Oh.. A redditor...

[@dreadnought1109]

@@Koz.for.Concern ??

[@djoakeydoakey1076]

I'm pretty sure it's a conflict of interest.

[@phoenixvance6642]

Sponsorblock made me miss this. Good thing you mentioned that!