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jennbliven's review against another edition
5.0
Devoured this book, I couldn't stop reading, but somehow I wanted more? I wanted to know exactly what I should do, but he didn't give me "my personal prescription" for healthy skin, hmmm :) Overall, excellent book, and great message.
cqs's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book works most effectively, and is at is most compelling, as a history/contemporary analysis of the business of cleanliness - how advertising and capitalism invented the modern notion of "clean" to sell products that may or may not be necessary to good living.
ibby2's review against another edition
4.0
I recommend this book to everyone. Clean completely changed my view of hygiene and skin care. At the beginning of the year, I did a project on demodex mites, which live on the skin and feed on our dead skin cells and sebum. I was disgusted and went home to scrub down my entire body and rid myself of the mites. After reading Clean, I realize how little is known about the complexities of the integumentary system and how the microbiome interacts with it. I feel more neutral now towards the mites on my skin. I’m trying to shower less and use less soap to encourage biodiversity of my skin’s microbiome. My main takeaway is that cleanliness and skin health is all about balance. We have to find a balance between retaining our helpful microbes and removing harmful ones. The healthiest place to be is between minimalism and maximalism.
zuomiriam's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful, engrossing read, evidently researched and fussed over. The writing is clear and engaging, and the ideas presented in this book have been rather a paradigm shift for me. Dr. Hamblin moves through the evolution of the present notion of cleanliness and spends some time thinking aloud about the future of not just skincare but of microbiome research and essential hygiene access. Instead of repeatedly urging readers to do less, Hamblin shares an approach to skincare that involves much more (or is it less?) than bottles and bottles of products.
katieyak's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Great information about the soap industry. Wish it went into more details about why certain skin care is bad
jenmangler's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting read and got me to think about things, like the history of soap, that I'd never really considered before.