A review by devinayo
Clean: The New Science of Skin and the Beauty of Doing Less by James Hamblin
3.0
The book starts with an interesting premise: What if we've been assaulting the microbiome on our skin by adopting a series of regimens that are meant to clean or beautify our appearance? The author, James Hamblin, is proud to have not showered for 5 years, arguing that it's more beneficial to the skin microbiome and that our skin does not necessarily need the high level of maintenance that we've been doing.
There are a lot of interesting ideas in the book, from how acne and eczema can disappear when people stop showering or slathering their skin with drugs or various other creams to how our skin can emit chemicals that create an odor when there's something wrong inside our body. The author also went on many visits to talk to researchers, artisan soap creators, and bio-tech startup alike to discuss the idea of doing less to maintain microbiome on our skin.
Perhaps, the most important part of the book is the chapter when the author traces back the idea of cleanliness and hygiene throughout human history, and how the two often interchangeable concepts are actually different. According to Hamblin, our idea of hygiene is "disease-avoidance behaviors", and we start taking up showers as one of the regiments precisely to avoid the plague. However, as capitalists exploit our personal life, hygiene becomes a status symbol that is represented by cleanliness.
So, how much of our skin regimens are oriented toward hygiene, and how much is just about maintaining status? What is the balance? The author does not answer this straightforwardly, but he urges us to keep on questioning these questions in our personal lives. All in all, Clean is an easy read, but does not offer many new answers or insights to help us forward.
There are a lot of interesting ideas in the book, from how acne and eczema can disappear when people stop showering or slathering their skin with drugs or various other creams to how our skin can emit chemicals that create an odor when there's something wrong inside our body. The author also went on many visits to talk to researchers, artisan soap creators, and bio-tech startup alike to discuss the idea of doing less to maintain microbiome on our skin.
Perhaps, the most important part of the book is the chapter when the author traces back the idea of cleanliness and hygiene throughout human history, and how the two often interchangeable concepts are actually different. According to Hamblin, our idea of hygiene is "disease-avoidance behaviors", and we start taking up showers as one of the regiments precisely to avoid the plague. However, as capitalists exploit our personal life, hygiene becomes a status symbol that is represented by cleanliness.
So, how much of our skin regimens are oriented toward hygiene, and how much is just about maintaining status? What is the balance? The author does not answer this straightforwardly, but he urges us to keep on questioning these questions in our personal lives. All in all, Clean is an easy read, but does not offer many new answers or insights to help us forward.