00:00I'm Lucy Fink and this week is five days of cold showers.
00:04Hey guys!
00:05What's up?
00:06I'm Lucy.
00:06Hi.
00:07This episode idea came from multiple comments that I try five days of taking cold showers
00:12and decided that I'd wait to take the plunge until it was one of the coldest months of the year.
00:17Go big or go home.
00:18So here we are.
00:19And now it's time.
00:20If you Google potential benefits of cold showers, you'll see that the internet makes some pretty bold claims.
00:29Really?
00:30So let's get into it.
00:34Today on day one, I woke up, I turned on my shower, and I just jumped right in.
00:39I didn't really give myself too much time today to plan or figure out the proper way to do this.
00:44I just kind of got in there and screamed.
00:47Oh no!
00:49Ah!
00:50I am rarely in those situations where I'm just so physically uncomfortable that I'm finding it hard to remember to
00:56breathe.
00:57But that's exactly what happened in the cold shower.
00:59When you're facing that stream of water and it's coming down on you and landing on your legs,
01:04you just constantly push your butt back to avoid getting the water on your shoulders and on your chest and
01:10your stomach
01:10because those are the most sensitive areas.
01:12But I made sure to scoop up the water and to throw it on all of those areas so that
01:16I got the cold water everywhere.
01:18But the moment I turned the water off, I felt like an internal heater came on.
01:22And I'm not sure if that's because the air was warmer than the water was.
01:26But either way, my hands and feet were still really cold when I got out.
01:29And I essentially stepped out of the shower and I wrapped the towel around me and I just shivered into
01:34a pile on the floor.
01:35I will say though, the cold shower woke me up.
01:39I was definitely alert in the morning after that one.
01:42Yeah, way more alert.
01:46Day 2.
01:47I came across an article on Refinery29 about Miranda Care and her everyday routine.
01:52And what do you know, girl takes cold showers.
01:55She wakes up at 6am, she puts a tablespoon of coconut oil in her mouth for 20 minutes,
02:01and while she's swishing it around, she rubs coconut oil all over her body,
02:05and then hops into a cold shower.
02:07I tried oil pulling before during 5 days of coconut oil,
02:10and I didn't love the texture of the solid coconut oil in my mouth.
02:14But I spooned a tablespoon of coconut oil into my mouth,
02:17then I rubbed the oil all over my body.
02:20Once I was all lathered up, I turned on the cold shower and I stepped in.
02:24Because I was swishing the coconut oil in my mouth, I could only breathe through my nose,
02:28so I actually had to remember to breathe more frequently if I wanted to get oxygen to my brain.
02:33When I got out, I spit the oil into my garbage can,
02:36and this is very important because if you spit the oil anywhere else, it can clog up your drains.
02:40And that was that.
02:41I spent the same exact amount of time in the shower today as I did yesterday,
02:45but because today I was focused on swishing the oil and massaging it into my skin,
02:49it really helped the time pass faster.
02:52It felt like more of a morning ritual than a torturous shower experience, so that was good.
02:59I think that a lot of people that try this cold shower experiment are doing it to see if it
03:04gives them better hair.
03:05R29's senior sex and relationships writer, Maria Del Russo, did an experiment for us on site
03:11where she rinsed her hair with cold water for 30 days to see what type of effects it had on
03:15her.
03:16So before I tried washing my hair today, I asked her to send me some of her thoughts.
03:19She explained to me what our hair looks like microscopically and how cold water can supposedly have an effect on
03:25that.
03:26Hey Lucy, it's Maria.
03:27A lot of people think that their hair just is like a solid tube, and it's not.
03:32It's actually made up of these tiny microscopic layers that lay on top of each other.
03:36Hair is healthy, the shingles lay flat and they reflect light really well,
03:40which is why healthy hair looks super shiny.
03:43Cold water is supposed to make it so that the cuticle lays completely flat.
03:47Number one thing that a lot of people complain about when they're washing their hair with cold water
03:53is that it doesn't feel as clean and it's kind of more difficult to work up a lather.
03:59I promise you that your hair is getting clean, but don't pile on extra product.
04:04When you are finished, don't use as much hair product as you usually would in your hair.
04:09Good luck and try not to shiver too much in the shower.
04:13So, with Maria's advice in the back of my head, I just got in there.
04:17And oh, man.
04:22This experience was actually pretty hilarious.
04:25Whoa.
04:28Oh, okay.
04:31My back is cold.
04:33I followed Maria's advice and used less shampoo than I normally would.
04:37Then I lathered it up really quickly and just sort of screamed and huffed and puffed and scrubbed until the
04:42entire thing was over.
04:43Whoa.
04:44When I got out of the shower, I took her advice again and I didn't use any product in it.
04:49I just brushed it, put it into a braid, and I left for my shoot.
04:52Now I'm on my way to my shoot for the day.
04:55I'm letting my hair dry naturally in a braid and I'm going to hope, crossing my fingers, that it's looking
05:00nice and shiny.
05:01And now I'm back home and we can see how my hair dried.
05:05It does feel pretty good.
05:07And I guess it looks slightly shiny, but I'm not sure how noticeable this shine would be as compared to
05:13how my hair looks every day after a warm shower.
05:16What do you think?
05:17Do you notice anything different?
05:19Huh?
05:22So this morning, I turned my cold shower experience into a bit of a spa morning.
05:27I came into the bathroom wrapped in a warm, huge, fluffy blanket.
05:31I started by using a dry brush, which, as I read in another Refinery29 article, has a ton of benefits.
05:37It speeds up the transport of oxygen to the body's cells and tissues, which stimulates your lymphatic system.
05:44It exfoliates your skin, eliminating clogged pores and ingrown hairs.
05:48I followed it up by putting almond oil onto my skin.
05:51Finally, when I was all warm and brushed and oiled up, I got into the shower.
05:56This time, I followed specific directions for what you're actually supposed to do in a cold shower.
06:01I spent the entire time under the water vigorously massaging myself.
06:05This definitely helped me stay warmer because I was active the entire time and I was keeping the blood flowing
06:10and circulating.
06:11I even followed directions of an article that told me I'm supposed to take a few short breaks in the
06:16middle of the cold shower,
06:17where I turned the water off, but I kept massaging my skin.
06:20When I got out, I felt that warm sensation again that I had previously felt when getting out of the
06:25cold shower,
06:25and I was really curious about it, so I decided to look it up.
06:28There's an ancient Indian term for this.
06:31Ishnan.
06:32There's a whole science and grace to it, but essentially, it's hydrotherapy.
06:36When the cold water hits your skin, the blood comes rushing to the surface in self-defense,
06:40which leaves you feeling warmer on the spot.
06:42I was in and out of the bathroom in just 15 minutes this morning,
06:46but I somehow felt like I had a full-on spa awakening experience.
06:51It was amazing.
06:54Day five.
06:55My last cold shower of the week.
06:57I'm starting to notice how much more efficient I've been over the past few mornings.
07:01Put some more oil on.
07:03Did a quick soap and water rinse in my cold shower.
07:05Got out very quickly.
07:07I noticed that I even had extra time.
07:09Time to brew a pot of coffee.
07:10Make myself something to eat.
07:12And even to sit down and make a mood board to help me plan for the next episode of Try
07:17Living with Lucie.
07:17So, while I can't tell you if the cold showers really did improve my skin or my hair or make
07:23me more fertile,
07:24I can tell you that adding a ritualistic aspect to my morning did make me feel more efficient,
07:29and the cold water definitely energized me and woke me up.
07:33As always, let me know what you want to see me try next time for five days at a time.
