Marina Fogle has revealed her family have ‘never felt or smelt better’ after ‘giving up soap’ as she becomes the latest celebrity to confess to having lax washing habits.
Marina, who has two children Ludovic, 11 and Iona, 10, with husband and adventurer, Ben Fogle, went on to admit how she was left ‘horrified’ when she found out her son, hadn’t washed his hair with shampoo in two years.
‘But, as the adoring mother who is acutely aware that my days of being able to kiss his blonde head are numbered, I take every opportunity to do this, and never once suspected that he was boycotting shampoo,’ she explained, speaking to The Telegraph.
She went on to say how Ludovic justified his actions by arguing that the family dog Storm doesn’t wash her hair and ‘smells just fine.’
It comes after Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Jake Gyllenhaal have all spoken publicly about their unusual washing habits.
Marina Fogle is the latest celeb to ditch the soap as she joins the likes of Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Jake Gyllenhaal in confessing to having lax washing habits. Pictured, Marina with her adventurer husband following the wedding of Flora Ogilvy at St James’s Church in Piccadilly, central London on September 10, 2021
Ben, with his wife Marina, left, who founded the Parent Hood pocdcast, where she discusses parenting, and son Ludo, 11 and daughter Iona, ten, during a family holiday in 2019
While she admits she is not ‘anti-soap’ and that visitors will see handwash in the kitchen – particularly amid Covid-19 – she says the family ‘just don’t seem to need it.’
Marina went on to say how after struggling to control the eczema she developed aged 28, she has been left with sensitive skin.
And, after being ‘reluctant’ to use steroid cream for obvious readers, says she is always on the lookout for habits that will make her skin condition ‘less angry.’
She added: ‘Soap is one thing that doesn’t help, so I’ll shower in the morning but I’ll use water to wash, with no soap.’
Marina went on to explain how according to dermatalogists, our skin barrier is perfectly balanced – adding that applying soap is thought to break down this barrier, resulting in skin conditions that need further products to resolve it.
Describing how the skincare industry is ‘largely built on the insecurity that we need to improve the way we look and smell,’ Marina continued: ‘I would hate to smell in a way that polite society deemed unacceptable.
Marina’s confession comes after Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis first kicked off the public conversation about celebrity hygiene during a podcast appearance in July. Pictured, attending the 6th Annual breakthrough Awards arrivals in America on 3 December 2017
Jake Gyllenhaal previously told Vanity Fair that he finds bathing to be ‘less necessary’ at times. Pictured, attending the Film Independent Special Screening of “The Guilty” at Harmony Gold on September 18, 2021 in Los Angeles
‘The reality is though I don’t, and since my personal hygiene functions perfectly well without soap, I’m happy to do without. Or normal deodorant, for that matter.’
Marina added that after her husband Ben advised using a natural salt spray a few years ago, she has stuck with it.
Not only has the lack of soap and deodrant helped her eczema, according to Marina, it’s also reduced their household’s water consumption, while the waste water the family produce also has less polluting soap and no micro plastics.
However, she does admit she was ‘horrified’ when she found out her 11-year-old son hadn’t washed his hair with shampoo for two years – adding how he justified it by explaining how the family dog doesn’t wash her hair and yet smells fine.
She added: ‘Maybe some of us don’t need soap, while others really do. Maybe at a certain point in our lives we don’t need as much washing as at others.’
Marina’s confession comes after Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis first kicked off the public conversation about celebrity hygiene during a podcast appearance in July, with Ashton telling Armchair Expert host Dax Shephard: ‘I wash my armpits and crotch daily and nothing else ever.’
Mila said she washes her ‘slits and t**s’ and also revealed that she did not bathe her children Wyatt, six, and Dimitri, four, ‘everyday’ when they were infants.
The revelation led to a series of other stars coming out to reveal their washing habits, with Jake Gyllenhaal telling Vanity Fair: ‘More and more I find bathing to be less necessary, at times.’
He noted: ‘I do also think that there’s a whole world of not bathing that is also really helpful for skin maintenance, and we naturally clean ourselves.’