Body Wipes: Two Fixes for When You Just Can’t Shower

Whether you’re out camping, hiking or even just going from the gym to work, it’s easy to not feel your freshest after getting your sweat on. No matter if you’re going an hour or, ahem, six days without a shower, we put these two get-fresh products to the test to see how clean they really make you feel!

Paper Shower

About two nights into my trip, the name of this one alone was enough for me to praise it. A shower of any kind? Yes, yes, YES! While no product will ever be as glorious as a real shower, this Paper Shower was definitely better than nothing. Taking a Paper Shower is a two-part process. After securing a secluded place in the woods, you get half-naked and wipe yourself down with the moist towelette. For me, it was amazing/gross to see just how dirty I was after two nights in the backcountry. Next, you dry that moistness off with the dry towelette.

In theory, the two-part cleaning process makes sense, but in a dry climate like the Rockies, it wasn’t really necessary as just about as soon as you wiped yourself down the first time, Mother Nature took care of the drying part. The towelettes themselves were unscented and didn’t exactly make you feel squeaky clean, but they definitely improved matters. They also didn’t commit the biggest cleaning-wipe sin of all: leaving a gross sticky film. At about $1 a Paper Shower, they’re more than worth the money. Of course, I probably would have paid just about anything for a real shower by night four…

Playtex Sport Body Wipes

Not to get too, er, personal, but after a long, hot workout or, again, six days without anything but a Paper Shower, things everywhere on the body can get pretty fragrant…and not in a good way. While out on the trail, I also took a few of the new Playtex Sport Body Wipes that are alcohol-free and safe enough to use on the “entire body.” So, that I did. I wiped myself down on nights three and six and had very different results. The first time I used these, I loved them. With a nice fresh scent, they took off sunscreen and dirt from the day, and my skin and nether-region felt about 20 times better. When I tried them later on in the trip it was a little different story. Granted, I was a lot more gross by night six, but these wipes seemed to leave more of a film than a clean feeling, leaving my skin slightly sticky. Not what you’re looking for in a sleeping bag, let me tell ya.

My advice on these Playtex wipes? They are best used as they’re marketed (duh, Jenn, right?!): after a workout. Don’t rely on them as a shower, paper or not. Great for the locker room and packaged in a cute and inconspicuous-looking sleeve that easily fits in your purse or gym bag, they are a good refresher that’s more grown up than baby wipes.

Do you use products like these to freshen up? Love ’em? Hate ’em? Tell us about it! —Jenn