Rethinking Cleanliness

The Ecological Cost of Cleanliness

This is the first part in a series examining our daily rituals. Here, we will deconstruct the modern idea of "cleanliness" and uncover its unintended costs. The practical solutions and new habits that arise from this understanding will be explored in a forthcoming partner post. For now, we start with a simple, fundamental question:

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So, what is our idea of cleanliness?

According to us, cleanliness is something devoid of harmful—or probably all— germs. It has to be absolutely aseptic, clean, zero. Almost 0% microbes on the surface, whether it's our skin, our hair, the tiles, the floor, or the bathroom. Absolute cleanliness.

Then, there has to be the sparkle. There has to be a cosmetic appeal. Our belief is that this appeal is paramount: the way it looks, the way it shines, the way it glows, the luster. The projection is important—how the skin looks, how the person looks, how the environment looks. If you're using a floor cleaner, the floor should shine, glow, smell good, feel wonderful. If it's our body, the skin should look resplendent, bright, emanating a glow, cosmetically very appealing. There should be no oil, no stains. The skin should look "wow, wonderful." These are the attributes we go by. Based on this, we decide what cleanliness is and what it is not.

Now, let's talk about the bath. Our idea of a bath is that it's taken to get clean. And what is the most important item in this bathing ritual ?

Its soap isn't it?

That's what most of us think ; bath cannot be complete without soap, or a body wash, or a shampoo.

Why? Because we believe that without them, you are essentially not cleaning yourself. It's just pouring water on your body and nothing else.

But let's ask the next question. What is cleanliness? Is it cleaning the body so it looks bright, resplendent, glowing, and oil-less? Before we answer, let's look at soap itself. Let's understand its chemistry and how it supposedly helps us be clean. Soap is nothing but a chemical, a soft bar or a lotion. How does that lotion help us become clean?

When we examine soap, we realize it has a dual nature. It's like a schizophrenic with two personalities. On one hand, soap loves water; it likes to attach to water. On the other, it loves fats. It has a lipophilic (fat-loving) end and a hydrophilic (water-loving) end. The lipophilic end hates water; it stays away from it and holds on to fat. The hydrophilic end hates fat; it holds on to water and moves away from fat. The key thing is, both these ends are like conjoined twins; they are attached to each other with their arms extending outwards to grasp on to what each holds dear!

So, when you apply soap to your body, the lipophilic part holds on to the fat on your skin. When you pour water, the hydrophilic- water loving part holds on to it. As water flows, it pulls the hydrophilic end along. The hydrophilic is attached to the lipophilic, so it pulls that along, and the lipophilic is holding on to your fat. As a result, it strips the fat away from your skin. You lose that fat as it is snatched away from you. In losing that fat, you look clean, you glow, the oily feeling is gone. You get that squeaky sound when you rub your skin, and you feel, "Oh wow, I'm so clean."

But is that truly cleanliness?

Before we answer, let's question the logic, the intelligence of the body itself. Why would the body be so stupid, so naive, so ignorant as to create oil which man must then laboriously wash off? Why would the body create this lipid, this exudate 'sebum' that comes from glands and coats our skin? Why does the body want to make us look oilier? Why does it want to ruin our cosmetic appeal?

The answer is: it isn't. The body is not trying to do that.

The skin is one of our biggest organs. Its primary work is to protect us from external toxins. It is our biggest defense organ. So, what does it do? First, it ensures nothing penetrates easily by creating an oil barrier. This is a critical barrier function. What does this oil do? Dust particles, dirt, noxious chemicals, gases, pollutants—they latch onto that oil and get stuck. So do microbes, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and molds. They all get stuck. This oil does not let them go or penetrate inside; it holds them, sticks to them, and disables them. That's the beauty of this lipid layer.

Second, this layer isn't just a trap for invaders. In its intelligence, the body ensures everything has multiple roles. This lipid layer also protects and holds onto water by not letting it easily evaporate and escape from the skin surface. It ensures the skin stays hydrated, maintaining a conducive environment for the skin itself and, yes, for microbes.

Ah, microbes. We want to be protected from microbes don't we? Why then does our skin nurture, protect and sustain a rich microbiome community right under our watchful eye?

Well.

This microbiome is not nurtured for no reason. These are soldiers fighting wars on our behalf, recruited from the outside to protect the barrier and ensure no transgressions. Nothing gets inside. This lipid layer protects these microbes too. It nourishes them, gives them protection, and ensures they can patrol, move, grow, survive and exist under this protective blanket. These microbes are our skin's mercenaries, hired and recruited for a very important task. Border protection!

Now, when we use soap, what are we doing? We are taking the oily protective blanket off.

By stripping this blanket, the biggest harm we do is, first, we remove the hydration barrier and the protective shield against smoke, smog, bacteria, and viruses. Second, we expose our army. When they are not cloaked and protected by the lipid layer, they become vulnerable. They can be killed or impacted by the elements of nature. And not just that—the soap itself is a harsh chemical. It can impact these microbes, wash them away, and destroy these colonies, thereby disabling the skin's very function: to protect us.

But there's more. Apart from oil and microbes, the skin maintains a specific pH. This pH keeps the skin healthy, sustains the microbiome, and ensures excellent immune and barrier function. It's a known fact, especially if you dye your hair, that you use something alkaline like ammonia. Its alkaline nature opens up the hair's cuticle to let pigments and coloring chemicals through. Similarly, when we use harsh or even partially alkaline soaps, they can have this "opening" impact, further weakening the skin's protective ability.

So, this is how we disable the skin. The cost of "cleanliness" at a personal level is staggeringly high. In the name of hygiene, we are actually opening up our skin to unhygienic elements, creating the very possibility that we might fall sick. Paradoxically, ironically, in the name of hygiene, we create unhygienic conditions.

If that were all, perhaps we could remediate it. But the impacts ripple outward. Akin to the radiation and shockwaves from the explosion of an atomic bomb. Whilst the primary explosion of the atomic bomb itself is powerful, the secondary impact is much more devastating.

So lets look at the toxic secondary downstream effects of soap.

When soap, toothpaste, shampoo, detergent and the likes flow into drains, they do not break down easily. The constituent phosphates, sulfates, surfactants, chemicals, antibiotics, and the microplastics pollute our waterways. The environmental cost is staggering, unbelievable. The profits of detergent and soap companies pale in comparison to the losses these chemicals create.

But who bears those losses? We do. And we are unknowingly tricked into paying these high costs because they are not obvious outright.

What are these costs?

· Environmental Catastrophe: Pollution of waterways, devastation of aquatic life, damage to soil and its microbiome, disruption of ecosystem balance, causing algal blooms, and decreasing oxygen in water bodies.

· Agricultural Poisoning: When this chemically skewed water enters agricultural fields, it disrupts the mineral balance of plants. Roots don't develop well; the plant's microbiome is damaged. The uptake of crucial micronutrients—manganese, selenium, iron, magnesium, copper, zinc—is impacted. The fruits and vegetables we harvest become incomplete, deficient in essential minerals.

· The Toxic Cycle: You might say, "I don't eat vegetables, I eat meat." But what do those animals feed on? The very grass irrigated with this toxic water. The animals become poisoned. Over time, the bioaccumulative effect of these toxins pollutes the meat. When we consume it, we collect all the toxins we spewed into the system back into our bodies.

So, what is the cost of cleanliness? And what is this "cleanliness" we are so fervently pursuing?

If we want to understand the impact of our small, daily acts meant to keep us safe, we must ask ourselves: Is there some deeper truth? We need to ask the most basic, even "stupid" questions. In my case, it started with, "What does soap really do?" and "What is cleanliness?" These questions seem absurd, like no-brainers. But on delving deeper, you realize cleanliness is not what we thought. Soap has little to do with true cleanliness. The deeper we go, we see that all the things we consume and use—soaps, surfactants, toothpaste—not only harm us but also the environment, with an exponential, amplifying impact on nature. Over years, their accumulated toxic damage is greater than we, or any scientist, might have imagined.

That is the problem with soap.

So, what can we do? We must start looking from a different perspective. We need to use safer biodegradable products. And, that too in moderation.

Yes, I use eco-friendly shampoos, but I try to use them as sparingly as possible. Not just because they're expensive, but because I need to ensure I do not overuse any chemical and poison my microbiome, or disrupt the intelligence my body uses to help me. To work synergistically with my body, I need to lead a life resonant with nature.

Have you ever looked at a Lions or a tiger's coat in the wild? Or a deer's or bison's? Their coat is sparkling, shining, beautiful—it resonates health. What soap did they use? You must ask yourself: How is it they resonate health? How are they so clean?

The answer is the body can take care of itself. All we need to do is provide an environment that helps it stay healthy. That is the least—and the most—we can do to stay clean.

To stay clean, we need to trust the body. To stay clean, we need to ensure we follow a life that resonates with the natural way of living. If we do that, we can not only ensure we stay clean and healthy but also minimize our devastating footprint on this fragile, beautiful world we call home.

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P.S: So, you’ve just finished reading this blog.

When you read these pieces, they are meant to pair with other blogs so that they can then offer a complete picture.

Some blogs like this one begin with me asking those simple questions: the problem statement and the theory that fractures the old logic. It might feel incomplete. It might leave you in limbo thinking, “If soap is problematic, then what do I do?”

Well, when I try to capture an idea in words, it’s almost impossible to lay it all out at once: the problem, the deep-down why it’s a problem, the theory, and the solution.

That’s where the blog pairs comes in—the solutions, the new rituals, the practical answers. Those are coming. They’ll be in forthcoming blogs. They will partner with this text to create a whole, cohesive ecosystem of understanding.

So, if a blog seems to end on a question, it’s because it’s an invitation. The intent is never to abandon you with a problem, but to prepare you for a solution that is thoughtful and integrated. If you’re waiting for that partner post and don’t see it, please do let me know.