How to Keep Clean When You're Tired, Sick or in a Hurry

The flu hit me early this year and I was absolutely exhausted - too tired to think about standing in a shower or taking a tub. But I had to stay clean, so I thought back to the old days when my mother was a nurse, and they gave alcohol rubs,and had other ways to keep patients tidy. You CAN spot clean yourself. There's a comic bit from George Carlin about only having to clean the really dirty parts of yourself - under the arms, and the excretory sections, and he's not totally off the mark. I washed my face and hands and teeth as usual. But for other parts I went to plan B.

The alternatives call for using slightly scented cologne (the cheap kind works well, as it's almost all alcohol) for refreshing yourself and giving yourself what some call a "whore's bath." It's akin to the old alcohol rub, except easier to do yourself. Then you swab your armpits with soap and water before re-applying deodorant. I also like baby cleaning wipes for spot cleaning. You can use them for the nether dirty bits quite nicely on a daily basis to keep from being funky.

For the hair - you can use dry shampoo. They sell this - but I prefer to use scented dusting powder. The scents that tend toward citrusare the nicest, I think. You pat your hair, leave it on and brush it out to remove excess oil and to freshen up the hair. It's very effective if left overnight and brushed out the next morning. Dusting powder can easily be carried around in a small container, and so is a good alternative for traveling. This method is also good if you just have oily bangs or other part of hair to freshen up. To add shine,as the powder does dull the hair, apply some of the newer non-oily hair glosses/anti-frizz serum, etc.. If your hair is longer, this is the time to wear it up - as less-than-squeaky clean hair is best for holding up dos.

There is also a produce I got once from Salon Selectives called "air it out" which is a spray you apply to freshen your hair. It's available on the net, although I don't know if they still manufacture it. I also have sprayed my hair after cleaning with very light cologne. Make sure it goes with the scent of the powder you have used.

Your hair will react surprisingly well to dry cleaning. In the old days, hair wasn't washed nearly as much, and women depended on lots of brushing to keep it silky and distribute the oils. Hence the "100 brush strokes" idea. I also understand how old ladies used to get their hair done once a week, because you can wait that long between shampoos if your hair is dry. If you could manage it, you could go to a salon to wash your hair - or have someone at home do it for you.
But that knack of home nursing has seemed to have gone by the wayside except in extreme cases.

When I have had to go out with crummy hair in the past, I have also resorted to scarves and hats covering my head, while I spent whatever energy I had on keeping the rest of me clean. Of course, wear fresh clothing and underwear! That will help keep you hygienic.

Now mind you, I am not recommending this for daily use. But if you are caught traveling and have to freshen up, or are home sick and have really limited energy, it's a way, for the time being, to clean up. You can't, however, apply the powder to the hair more than once, or at the most twice, before it demands washing. But it's a lot better than showing up with obviously greasy, unwashed hair - sick or not. They say your own natural oils are the best thing for your hair, anyway. So, perhaps giving it a rest from shampoos, and so on for a while isn't the worst thing that's happened to it!

They do it for carpets, why not us? Hoorah for spot cleaning.