How clean do you stay on the playa?

illy dilly · Post by **illy dilly** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:37 am

For girls hair we have a chair, a table, a spray bottle and two plastic tubs.
We do it sorta like at a hair salon. One girl sits there and gets her hair washed. Then switch. The first tub is for cleaning and gets really dirty! The second tub is for rinsing.
Then the first tub is emptied, and becomes the rinsing tub for the next person. By using a spary bottle the amount of water used can be greatly reduced.

For other body parts. A wash cloth, spray bottle, small/medium towel, soap.
Spray the dirty area, then get the wash cloth really soapy and wet. Wipe(scrub if necessary) the soapy wash cloth on the dirty area, then spray some more and wipe with towel.

Jax Dee · Post by **Jax Dee** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 9:07 pm

I stay pretty clean and feel fresh the whole week without showers. I use unscented baby wipes twice a day all over. Then moisterize with an alpha-hydroxy acid containing one to neutralize the alkali. I brushed my hair out every night to get the tangles and dust out, then used dry shampoo every morning before doing my hair for the day. I used lavendar febreze on the stinky clothes. My camp mates were all jokingly disgusted with how fresh and clean I looked and smelled every day. They are of the mind to just be dirty all week

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:35 am

[youtube][/youtube]

oh....shit, i must be stoned....i thought this was a drug thread.

tattoogoddess · Post by **tattoogoddess** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 5:57 pm

sorry to bump this but did not want to make a new thread.

Can you burn baby wipes once they have dried out? I tend to get pretty narly if i dont clean off every day or hell 2 times a day. I don't like being stinky at all. Puts me in a funk ( no pun). So I wont be doing to much showering but will get a few. so baby wipes will be the go to. I have a ton of them with me. so burn or not?

Post by **trilobyte** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 6:20 pm

From the Survival Guide...

Burn only clean untreated wood or paper and nothing oversized that will spill ash or burning debris onto the playa.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:06 pm

So, babywipes are treated (with that weird soapy stuff that's they are infused with)? And they are cotton... So the best thing is to save them (they will dry out) and throw them away when you get back to the Sands.

At least that's what I infer from Trilo's quote.

Ano · Post by **Ano** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:02 pm

tattoogoddess wrote:sorry to bump this but did not want to make a new thread.

Can you burn baby wipes once they have dried out? I tend to get pretty narly if i dont clean off every day or hell 2 times a day. I don't like being stinky at all. Puts me in a funk ( no pun). So I wont be doing to much showering but will get a few. so baby wipes will be the go to. I have a ton of them with me. so burn or not?

Just a note - you'd be surprised how hard it is to smell bad or feel "dirty" out there. I'm a pretty big clean-guy, I like my showers in the default, warm and long. However, it's so dry out there that... well, you don't really sweat, beyond when you cover yourself up in your tent at night to warm up or if you go out dancing all night in warm-ish clothes. That coating of dust you end up earning after a day or two does wonders in making you feel pretty okay about the whole thing. I even had the option of taking a shower with someone elses water without having to worry about anything, and I declined it because I didn't see much of a point.. I also loved how badass my hair looked in the dust.

I ended up in the human carcass wash late in the week, though, I'm not sure how, and while I definitely felt cleaner after the whole deal (and a bit dirtier in some ways...), I didn't really need it. Weird how that works.

I have to tell you, though, that first warm shower back at my house? Abso-fucking-lutely beyond divine.

Post by **Eric** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:06 pm

Ano wrote:I have to tell you, though, that first warm shower back at my house? Abso-fucking-lutely beyond divine.

Agreed. I haven't showered on the playa since 2007 (he was cute & needed help getting his back washed), but I take probably my longest shower of the whole year when we hit the hotel in Reno. I'm normally a 15 minute max shower guy, but that first one... damn. 30-45 minutes, then again before bed...

tattoogoddess · Post by **tattoogoddess** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:03 pm

I'm more worried about my naughty bits staying fresh and my boobies lol tmi? I'm sensitive to my smell? Some people don't smell at all in that region some do. All body chemistry. Make sense? The rest of me smells like nothing after a few days of not showering. But bigger people get that well yeah. You need showers everyday. yeah tmi.
Yeah was not sure what they are made of thought maybe part paper. I don't have a kid so unfamiliar territory.

Rice · Post by **Rice** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:10 pm

tattoogoddess wrote:I'm more worried about my naughty bits staying fresh and my boobies lol tmi? I'm sensitive to my smell? Some people don't smell at all in that region some do. All body chemistry. Make sense? The rest of me smells like nothing after a few days of not showering. But bigger people get that well yeah. You need showers everyday. yeah tmi.
Yeah was not sure what they are made of thought maybe part paper. I don't have a kid so unfamiliar territory.

scentless baby wipes work pretty well.

My girlfriend uses a pump up garden sprayer to get clean. Tried it last burn and it worked quite well. (dont know exact mixture though)

Post by **Eric** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:12 pm

I use a couple baby wipes on my face & my bits every day, and my hands when eating- just toss them into your "take home" trash when you're done. Not burnable, but not really going to add a ton to your garbage unless you use a ton. I go through maybe 1 1/2 tubs of them for the week.

shykat · Post by **shykat** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 12:48 am

Haul in enough water for one shower every day, useing a solar camping shower....haul the grey water back out with me....

lucky420 · Post by **lucky420** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:44 am

Baby wipes and a spray bottle for the bod. I bring a big tub to wash my hair in and use a towel wicking system to get rid of the water. If I don't wash or rinse my hair out it will start to dread within a day or two, but that works too

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:51 am

i sneak into gerlach every day where three vietnamese girls give me a happy finish sponge bath.

tmi?

ranger magnum · Post by **ranger magnum** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:39 pm

trilobyte wrote:From the Survival Guide...
Burn only clean untreated wood or paper and nothing oversized that will spill ash or burning debris onto the playa.

[/quo

[edited by moderator: baby wipes are not considered burnables.]

Disagree. There is nothing toxic in babywipes. Everything made of paper is treated with something; its just not always toxic.

Treated wood generally means pressure treated wood and plywood, as both of these are treated with ingredients that may be toxic when burned.

Burn all the babywipes you want.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:47 pm

So, you're reading it as [untreated wood] and [paper], not [untreated][wood and paper].

Post by **trilobyte** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:58 pm

Treated means more than just pressure-treated lumber.

bluesbob · Post by **bluesbob** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:41 pm

I usually baby wipe it everyday, but at least twice during the week I do a thorough wash. I just use a wash basin and do my hair, wash cloth to clean everything else. If there is a camp shower available I use it. Every Monday when I finally get home I'm a wreck. Love it.

Post by **AntiM** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:54 pm

Baby wipes and a garden sprayer. A hand held mister like the ones used in salons would suffice, plus there will be a village shower if things get really out of hand.

Without humidity, body funk is different. Even lady bits don't get as swampy. I can say this with a great deal of experience, having lived in both very humid and very dry climates. I do wear cotton underwear most of the time on the playa, just to wick away moisture and keep the dust out of the nooks and crannies. A matter of personal preference.

YMMV, of course.

bluesbob · Post by **bluesbob** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:45 pm

I want to add that "clean" is relative. I left the playa one year and drove 1200 miles to a friends house in SoCal. All the way home I believed I was pretty clean. I got to my friend's home and he snapped a pic. He showed it to me. I looked like I had just rolled in the dust at the gate. Hey...everyone looked just like me when I left!

wh..sh · Post by **wh..sh** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:12 am

Jax Dee wrote:I stay pretty clean and feel fresh the whole week without showers. I use unscented baby wipes twice a day all over. Then moisterize with an alpha-hydroxy acid containing one to neutralize the alkali. I brushed my hair out every night to get the tangles and dust out, then used dry shampoo every morning before doing my hair for the day. I used lavendar febreze on the stinky clothes. My camp mates were all jokingly disgusted with how fresh and clean I looked and smelled every day. They are of the mind to just be dirty all week

Right!
There is nothing more surprising when some random stranger tells you that you smell great. Although, like bluesbob said, the standards are pretty low.

Dr. Pyro · Post by **Dr. Pyro** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:24 am

wh..sh wrote: the standards are pretty low.

Standards?

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:45 am

I swear by garden sprayers. We keep two or three loaded all the time and have spontaneous water fights which may or may not turn into communal cleansing opportunities. The sprayers are handy for BASIC fire extinguishers too.

It is surprising how playa dust seems to subdue odors much like talcum powder.

But BUT BUT!!! Don't sweat??? Are you kidding me? Everybody sweats! It just evaporates before you realize it. That evaporation is what keeps your body from hyperthermia! When your clothing is caked with salt, that is the remnant of sweat! Thus, why you need more than just water to keep hydrated.

Being a foot fetish kinda guy, I wash my feet with vinegar water, slather them with aloe vera and finish with cocoabutter lotion twice a day. Our camp offers this service for anyone who wishes and we even clean the inside of your footwear so your feet walk away happy!

One other thing which is associated with sweat: EYEWASH! If sweat runs down your forehead and into your eyes, with playa dust in the mix, IT HURTS! Keep some bottled contact lens cleaning solution handy for such occasions,,, it's pretty refreshing the rest of the time too!

wh..sh · Post by **wh..sh** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:52 am

Dr. Pyro wrote:
wh..sh wrote: the standards are pretty low.
Standards?

sorry, I take it back.

Drawingablank · Post by **Drawingablank** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:52 am

I just want to point out for any Birgins reading this that although any of the methods discussed in this thread will get you clean - there is no way to really stay clean on the playa (short of borrowing a space suit from NASA).

You can definitely get rid of the b.o., accumulated sunscreen, and other nastyness but within minutes you will have that patina of dust again.

lucky420 · Post by **lucky420** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 11:45 am

Im a dirty dirty bitch...

well my mind is anyways...beebop

Gonzo Frothwood · Post by **Gonzo Frothwood** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:07 pm

CLEAN!?! The crunchy bits fall off on day 4.

ultratang7 · Post by **ultratang7** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:27 am

Embrace the funk!

Ok, that WAS my motto, untill day 3 when my awesome niehbors graciously let me use their showering system. It was amazing, even if it really only got the dust off for a few minutes. My campmates, however, decided not to shower, and they seemed comfortable.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:27 am

lucky420 wrote:Im a dirty dirty bitch...

well my mind is anyways...beebop

How clean do you stay on the playa?

How do you keep clean on the playa?

it's a gift economy.

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