Over the past six weeks, Nicky, 42, has cut her daily routine, and all the products associated with it, out of her life altogether. Yes, for 40 days and 40 nights, there has been no showering, no hair washing, no teeth cleaning and no deodorant. She was, in effect, seeking to find out whether we are all simply wasting our money in the name of vanity. 

    By the end of the fourth week, something extraordinary happened. Nicky noticed that not only was she physically feeling better than she had done in a long time, her skin had begun to glow. At the same time, a persistent cyst on her eye disappeared. Aside from that, her skin looked fresher and brighter than it had for a decade. 

    “I'd never want to do anything like that again because not washing affects your friendships, family relationships and self-confidence,” she says. “Thank goodness I work from home, otherwise it would most likely have had a detrimental effect on my career. 

    “A bar of soap, organic shampoo and conditioner, and a basic moisturiser are all I need now. I no longer wash my hair every day and I no longer feel self-conscious if I'm not done up to the nines. While I wouldn't suggest anyone else takes things to the extreme that I did, they can rest assured that when it comes to their beauty routines, less is more.” 

    在過(guò)去的六個(gè)星期，42歲的女性尼奇做了一個(gè)極端的生活體驗(yàn)：徹底拋棄所有美容化妝用品。整整40個(gè)白天40個(gè)黑夜，她不洗澡、不洗頭、不刷牙、不用任何除臭劑。她想看看，平日在這些東西上面花的錢(qián)是否只是滿足了虛榮心。

    實(shí)驗(yàn)到了第四周，非凡的結(jié)果出來(lái)了。她不但感到身體狀況比以前好，皮膚也有了光澤。同時(shí)，她的眼睛囊腫也消失了。皮膚看上去比12年來(lái)任何時(shí)候都要健康。

    然而，實(shí)驗(yàn)也讓她吃了不少苦頭。她說(shuō)，“我再也不會(huì)干這樣的傻事了，不洗頭不洗澡影響朋友關(guān)系、家庭關(guān)系，也打擊自己的自信。幸好我是在家里工作，否則說(shuō)不定工作都丟了。”

    “我現(xiàn)在只用肥皂、有機(jī)洗發(fā)精和護(hù)發(fā)劑，再加一點(diǎn)潤(rùn)膚水。我不再每天洗頭，即使不打扮得光鮮無(wú)比也不會(huì)覺(jué)得有什么不妥。雖然我不會(huì)建議別人也象我一樣極端，我還是想說(shuō)，在美容護(hù)理上面，越簡(jiǎn)單越好。”