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cphug184 t1_j6ae019 wrote

If you were an early 1800s agrarian far from urban life, what sort of personal hygiene did you practice? Please cover teeth, bathing, pooping and hair. I’ve read nothing about day to day hygiene.

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jezreelite t1_j6dxbiy wrote

In the morning, you'd wake up and have a sponge bath using a wash basin and a pitcher. A full bath would likely only be once a week. If you were a poor person, you would probably share the bath water with your family members.

Your hair would likely be washed only once a week and probably with soap. Shampoo was first introduced to Europeans in 1814, but those in rural areas would likely not have had access to it. There were a lot of hair care tonics available, often of dubious benefit, and very wealthy women were known to wash their hair in things like cognac and eggs.

For your teeth, you'd use a toothbrush or a tooth cloth and tooth powder or paste. A tooth cloth would be likely for people in rural areas and their tooth paste or powder would likely be homemade. At this point, the fact that sugar causes cavities was not understood by most, but having bad breath was still a faux pas.

After pooping, you'd probably use a rag, water, newspaper, brown paper, or your hands, unless you happened to be particularly rich. Toilet paper was not made commercially until the 1850s and only the wealthy used it.

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cphug184 t1_j6fjn6j wrote

Well that was perfect! More advanced than I thought. And glad I didn’t live then. Thank you!

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