NoRinse Waterless Body Wash
Although many campsites now have wonderful shower and ablution facilities, what about personal cleanliness and hygiene while wild camping or backpacking? Wouldn't it be useful (and environmentally friendly) to have a system for washing that didn't need any water?
That seems to be what 'No-Rinse' were thinking when developing the product they sent to us for review... their website mentions that the product was developed for (and still used by) NASA, so if it can keep astronauts clean, it's most likely good enough for us campers!
We were sent the No-Rinse body wash and shampoo for review. Conveniently, the products arrived the day before I was due to take an overnight train to Italy. Knowing the shower situation (or rather the lack thereof!) I thought it would be a perfect time to test out the body wash. If I could wash myself to a reasonable degree on the top bunk of a 6 person sleeper carriage then I'm sure it would be even easier while camping.
The first surprise was that the soap actually lathered... although it said it would on the packaging, I didn't expect to get a proper soap-like lather that just disappeared when towelled. The second surprise was that it removed a good deal of dirt and odour, just like regular soap. In short, it worked just like regular soap, but without the faff and hassle of requiring running water!
Although I went to bed shortly after washing, I didn't notice any adverse side effects such as dry skin or irritation. It genuinely felt as if I had washed myself 'normally'.
One concern I would have (if you can call it that) is that quite a bit of the body wash is required when washing. If you were planning a long trip, you would need to factor that into account and stock up accordingly. Having said that, I would estimate that you would get 4-5 full body washes out of a small 60ml container so one bottle would be perfect for a short/weekend camping trip.
The body wash, shampoo and several other waterless cleaning products are available at http://www.norinse.co.uk/
That seems to be what 'No-Rinse' were thinking when developing the product they sent to us for review... their website mentions that the product was developed for (and still used by) NASA, so if it can keep astronauts clean, it's most likely good enough for us campers!
We were sent the No-Rinse body wash and shampoo for review. Conveniently, the products arrived the day before I was due to take an overnight train to Italy. Knowing the shower situation (or rather the lack thereof!) I thought it would be a perfect time to test out the body wash. If I could wash myself to a reasonable degree on the top bunk of a 6 person sleeper carriage then I'm sure it would be even easier while camping.
The first surprise was that the soap actually lathered... although it said it would on the packaging, I didn't expect to get a proper soap-like lather that just disappeared when towelled. The second surprise was that it removed a good deal of dirt and odour, just like regular soap. In short, it worked just like regular soap, but without the faff and hassle of requiring running water!
Although I went to bed shortly after washing, I didn't notice any adverse side effects such as dry skin or irritation. It genuinely felt as if I had washed myself 'normally'.
One concern I would have (if you can call it that) is that quite a bit of the body wash is required when washing. If you were planning a long trip, you would need to factor that into account and stock up accordingly. Having said that, I would estimate that you would get 4-5 full body washes out of a small 60ml container so one bottle would be perfect for a short/weekend camping trip.
The body wash, shampoo and several other waterless cleaning products are available at http://www.norinse.co.uk/