Hygiene-- on hygiene and cleaning thyself. OK, I'm just going to come out and say it. I hate dentists. Seriously, the equipment they use feels like it comes out of a medieval torture chamber, and nothing else gets as close to sensory hell for me.

In fact, I really don't like the whole hygiene industrial complex. If that isn't a thing, it is now. It's taken me almost 30 years to get used to and like using soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, et cetera. We've all heard the lectures on why hygiene is important and can probably recite them verbatim by now. Thanks, Mom. But until I discovered a few things I'm about to share with you, hygiene was a constant struggle and sometimes a source of shame for me.

Here's what finally helped me do what I know I needed to do without it being sensory hell. Understand the science. There's obviously a ton of well-documented, solid, scientific evidence about hygiene and cleanliness out there. There's also a lot of hearsay and bad information that have been passed down from generation to generation.

So start with a completely open mind and ask the Almighty Google the questions you need to answer for yourself. Why do we need to brush our teeth? Why is shampoo important to use every day? Hint, Google, no poo movement. [CHUCKLES]. There's a large amount of science to show that, depending on the person, you don't need to shampoo every day.

A few more questions to consider-- is taking a shower every day even a good idea? Does rolling around in the dirt have benefits? What are the detriments to having a cluttered room? Beyond the obvious. Once you start to understand the actual science versus what parents and society say, then you can begin to out what you actually need to do to take care of yourself.

Use the scientific method. First, define your objective. Is it to get your parents off your back? Smell better? Finally get a girlfriend or boyfriend? Be sick less often? Be less stressed? Pick one, or more than one. Then break it down into its parts. For example, if I want to not smell bad anymore, I'd start to do research to break down what actually causes me to smell, and then I'd create a hypothesis about what will help me reduce my smell using what's called the minimum effective dose.

What that means is, what is the minimum amount of time and energy I need to put towards showering to achieve my goal? Then you conduct an experiment to test that hypothesis and document the results. For me, it turns out I only need to shower three times weekly when I'm at home and not doing strenuous activity. This also works to test what makes hygiene activities easier for you. For example, I use a honey mango body wash for hair and body because I like the way it feels and smells.

There's a certain sunscreen I like that doesn't feel greasy at all. I use tooth powder instead of toothpaste because I prefer how it feels. So get funky. Try different things. Maybe you need a towel warmer to make the act of bathing a pleasant experience. Maybe you need a specific kind of toothbrush. Or maybe you just need more knowledge and a bit more motivation.