What Did Ancient Humans Actually Do Before Soap?

How did ancient people get clean without soap? Long before showers and shampoo, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and the people of the Indus Valley relied on oil, steam, scrapers and clever engineering to stay clean. In this documentary, we follow a Greek athlete with a strigil, step inside a Roman bathhouse, and discover the surprising way Roman fullers cleaned clothes. In this video, you will learn: Whether soap-like substances existed in the ancient world, and why they were not the everyday body cleaner How Greek athletes used olive oil and a strigil How a Roman bathhouse worked, from the hot caldarium to the cold frigidarium, and how underfloor heating warmed the rooms Why Roman fullers used urine to clean clothes, and the tax on it according to Suetonius What Pliny the Elder and Galen wrote about soap How ancient Egyptians used natron, oils and plant pastes What Mesopotamian clay tablets, the Indus Valley drains and the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro tell us What historians still debate, including how clean bath water really was Some details of ancient hygiene are uncertain, and this video points out where the evidence is limited. If you enjoy ancient history and daily life in the ancient world, subscribe for more stories, and tell us in the comments which method you would have chosen.