As a woman, my hygiene needs are just little different than Corbin's. But we find ourselves enduring the same length of time between showers, the same lack of clean laundry, and the same dirtiness. So, how do I keep myself clean and healthy? It's twofold, the products that I use and the processes that I've learned along the way. Lets tackle the stuff first and then I'll tell you about the things.
Stuff
I know from the many bathrooms that I've borrowed from friends and family members, that we all, but ladies especially, like our prodcuts. We like being clean. And if you know me, I really like being clean. So, now that I regularly go ten or more days between showers, how do I stay clean? We live in a pick-up truck. Between us and our gear, there isn't a ton of space and as such the products that I use must be kept to a minimum, but what I do have with me I've found incredibly useful. Here's a list of what I consider my most important products.
1. Summer's Eve Cleansing Wipes: These things are a godsend. If you're not a lady with lady parts that get hot and cramped in jeans, climbing harnesses, leggings, shorts, bathing suits, underwear, and pretty much anything else women wear, then you might find this to be a bit of useless information. But lady parts are sensative and if not kept clean can cause a lady at best mild discomfort and at worst a myriad of infections. Even if I don't shower, I make sure to clean myself every day with these babies and treat myself to a fresh pair of undies, if I'm wearing any. These aren't just any wipes either. I had some cheapo baby wipes that aggravated my skin and left me feeling uncomfortable. The pH balance and sensitive skin consideration go a long way in keeping me clean between showers.
2. Burt's Bees Natural Acne Gel Cleanser: I have acne prone skin, which is aggravated by not being washed regluarly and irriated by sunscreen, campfire smoke, candy, and it's own ruthlessness. I don't have space to maintain my normal face skin maintenance, but this stuff makes up for it. It was a recent discovery and is a tough enough cleanser that my acne is manageable and gentle enough that my skin isn't ashy and dried out in a matter of minutes. My acne has improved as well, which is more than I can say for many other products I've used in the past. What's nice too is that it's a little bottle, and a drop or two goes a long way.
3: Batiste Dry Shampoo: So, I mentioned we don't shower very often, but I'm not about to be walking around talking to people with hair that looks like it's been dipped in a grease vat. I'd been using Batiste dry shampoo for a little while, mostly for days when I hit snooze too often and still needed to look a like a mostly functional human adult at work. I wouldn't say it's a life saver by any means, just a means to keep myself from feeling so repulsive I can't make friends. My routine is usually to use it on the third day without a shower. I apply it very liberally and then go another three days. After that, I embrace the greasiness and apply coconut oil to keep my scalp happy until I can get clean again.
5: J.R. Liggett's Bar Shampoo: Funny story, most of what is in that bottle of shampoo in your shower is water. We pay for someone to put water in a bottle to rub on our head. Crazy, huh? In a never ending effort to take up less space, spend less money, and stay clean, I stumbled upon bar shampoo via an old college friend. This stuff lasts at least twice as long as a bottle of shampoo and costs half the price of the fancy all natural stuff it compares to. Granted, I could use Dr. Bronner's for shampoo, but I find that even with conditioner it dries out my scalp and as little as I get to shower, pissing off my scalp skin is the last thing I want to do.
8: PRJKT Ruby: Let me tell you a story. I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which I take nonstop hormonal birthcontrol to treat. When you go to the doctor, they write you a prescription for a drug with x number of refills before a given date. Once you're out of refills or the date has passed, you have to call your doctor to have them re-establish the prescription with your pharmacy. Women are encouraged to see their OB/GYN at least once a year, and in my case I have to have a check up every six months, and often times won't refill your prescription without you coming in for a visit. I ran out of birth control while one this trip and ran out of refills. I couldn't get back to see my doctor until March, and this company came to the rescue. Walgreens, even though they can see that I've had a long standing prescription, won't give me any pills, even at MSRP, without my doc giving them the go ahead. Now PRJKT Ruby gives you an option to get birthcontrol for $20 a month and you don't have to go to a pharmacy, they just delivery it to you. Which was perfect. Even though birthcontrol is free in Colorado, I can't just drive 1,400 miles to go get some pills that I need ASAP. If your access to birth control is limited, this is for you. If you need it delivered to you, this is for you. If you don't want to pay a high co-pay to go see your Gyneo just to get your birth control. This stuff is the bomb.
Things
Now, some things you can't buy, like experience. These are the things I've learned that help keep me comfortable while on the road.
1. Pee Rag: I know this sounds gross. I could probably come up with a more appealing name of it, but pee rag just rolls off the tongue in just the right way. As you've gathered, we live outside and spend most of our time in national forests and public lands and if you've ever been camping you're familiar with taking a squat in the woods. We are diligent Leave No Trace campers, but we also have very limited space in the truck for me to haul around used toilet paper, and good lord I'm not going to dig a hole every time I need to piss. Here enters the pee wrag, which is just a handkerchief whose sole purpose is for me to tidy up with after I urinate. This helps keep my lady bits from being prone to infections, keeps my panties cleaners longer, and minimizes trash. All I have to do is to consistently let it dry in the sun (which disinfects it) and I'm litterally a happy camper!
2. Homemade Wipes: My Aunt Becky showed us how to take some Bounty paper towels and using some basic ingredients like water, Dr. Bronner's, and almond oil, one can make their own wipes. These things are awesome. From wiping up after a messier than intended meal, cleaning my face when we're rationing water, or just wiping down the rest of my body inbetween showers, they're good for a myriad of uses that keep me feeling and smelling clean. In case you're interested in making your own, here's a recipe.
3. Comando: I'm sure by now youre sick of hearing about my lady bits, but when I'm wearing loose fitting clothes, I'm almost always going comando. The reason is that when we're putting in 8 hour days of driving, my parts don't get enough air and get hot and sweaty and I feel gross and I need to shower sooner than I may be able. But going comando and allowing my bits to breathe some adds a level of comfort that I never thought I could expect in the car. Also, less laundry when we do roll into town.
4. Hiking Skirt: Speaking of air flow, I have been converted to the hiking skirt party. I had read about this concept on a blog of a lady backpacker, and after an uncomfortable few hours of not being able to discretely pee on the side of the road without mooning everyone on the highway, I was sold on the concept. Also, pockets. I bought this one off of Amazon, but there are lots of brands and styles depending on your tastes. Paired with going comando, I can almost experience the joy that Corbin consistently rubs in my face of being able to pee without taking my clothes off. If only I could do it standing up.
4.Sink Shower: Really, water in general is key to all sorts of happiness, comfort, and sanitation. We carry 6 liters in Nalgenes, another 6 liters in our pack bladders, and 5 gallons in a reserve tank in the back. That seems like a lot of water, but when you're drinking 2 liters a day per person and doing dishes, it goes away fast. With such limited water, we have both become experts of the "sink shower" which is when one takes a washcloth, wets it, and then wipes down their body. No, it is not a substitute for a real shower, but when you're hot nd sweaty and about to crawl into bed, this is a lifesaver for prolonging the sanitation of your bedding, your clothes, and just keeping you comfortable.
5. Quick Drying Towel: Have you ever showered and when you went to use your towel it wasn't all the way dry? Sucked, didn't it? You probably just grabbed a new, dry towel. Well, we each have our own towel. Singular. One towel. And just as getting wet to get clean is essential, drying off properly is just as essential to staying clean. Thankfully, we invested in quick drying towels years ago for backpacking purposes, so we're always able to dry off after a regular or sink shower without adding too much bulk in our storage space.
6. Coconut Oil: This stuff can be used for seriously anything. We use it as our primary cooking oil because it tends to stay in a solid or semi-solid state which prevents spillage. In addition to that, it makes amazing loition for ones skin and hair. I've dried out my scalp and skin so much on this trip it's embarassing, and while I have lotion for my body, sometimes I need something a little more intense. Besides that, when my own natural oiliness overcomes my dry shampoo regiment, adding coconut oil helps my hair smell decent and even though it's still oily, it doesn't look greasy, if you know what I mean. I had applied coconut oil to my hair a day before this photo was taken and while you can tell that my hair is certainly not clean, it doesn't look dirty.
7. Brush your hair, even when it's dirty: This is seriously one of the most important lessons that I've learned and yet still don't practice regulary. I get into the habit that the only time I brush my hair is after a shower. But when I'm going 10 days without a shower, spots in my hair turn into full blow rats' nests that can only be cut out. It sucks. With all the dry shampoo and oil, my hair is primed for dreading as well, and if I don't brush or comb, I will regret it when I finally do get a shower. Brushing one's hair also helps distribute natural oils from the scalp more evenly throughout the hair, which prolongs the time it takes for me to look like a grease ball. Also, braids are a greasy-haired lady's best friend.
That's all I've got in regards to stuff and things that have made my time on the road tollerable and not a complete sanitary nightmare. But before I go, there is an important aspect to my hygiene that I've left out and want to share my thoughts on:
When you see someone brushing their teeth or washing their face in a rest stop bathroom, don't give dirty looks. You don't know their life. So many people tell us that its so cool what we're doing, but they don't know the ugly bits, and some of those people who have scowled at me washing my face in a McDonald's I'm sure would express the same enthusiasm for our trip. These moments of judgement hurt. I know my hair is greasy. I know I'm dirty and that you can probably smell me. I'm in this bathroom trying to minimize that affect on you and to maintain my own level of comfort. We couldn't afford to travel for this long if I paid $13 for a truck stop shower every other day. So if you even see someone trying to get clean in a public, or semi public bathroom, don't be quick to judge. They very well may be doing something that you admire and envy them for, and you're just walking in on the ugly parts of it.
P.S.
No one paid me to write this. These are just some of the things I feel have kept me sane and healthy and comfortable on this trip, when the reality of the situation is, it often uncomfortable. I hope that this is found to be somewhat informational and helpful to my traveling/backpacking/adventurous lady friends out there!