Soap and Water

"Wash every day—and you'll die young, my son!" people often said those words, and that was long ago, of course.

Napoleon's wife had new clothes every month, instead of a bath. ("It's quicker," she always said.) Rich people did not often have a bath. They washed their hands and faces, but not their bodies. Many poor people did not wash at all. A young man once said to a doctor, "Soap and water have never touched my body." (And the doctor answered, "That's true, I know ... ")

Why didn't people wash in those days long ago?

Well, they did not have water in their houses. They carried water from rivers or from holes in the ground (i.e., wells). In towns, people bought it from a water-carrier. Sometimes it was expensive; and soap was always expensive. They drank water, of course; and so they were clean inside. They did not think about the outside! And this is true: they just did not like a bath.

Modern life is different. We use a lot of soap and water. And we are all quite clean. However, a few people use too much soap; and they often get ill. Who are these people?

Many young women work as hairdressers. They wash and then "dress" other women's hair. That is their job and they like it. Young hairdressers sometimes wash dirty heads on a busy day! Their hands are soapy for seven or eight hours every day; and that is not a good thing. A young hairdresser's hands are often red and ugly; and she must then go to a doctor.