To me, not using products for a day was more or less an easy task. The products that I typically use that I had to omit were: deodorant, hair oil, bodywash, shampoo, and conditioner. At no point in my day did not using these products make me feel uncomfortable because I didn’t work out that day. I purposefully chose to not work out, though. Had I gotten sweaty, I would have felt less comfortable not showering and using deodorant.

There was one moment where I had an internal dilemma about my use of products. I have been using a hair growth product for the last year since a dermatologist identified my early onset hair loss. I think of this as a medicine that would fall outside of the no-product day challenge. Honestly, though, this product is cosmetic rather than health-related. 

No-product day made me think about how hair is one part of the body where men have expectations that feel like those the patriarchy often puts upon women. Young men who are losing their hair are seen as unattractive and therefore less worthy of attention. I have been afraid of losing my hair because lots of men in my extended family are bald and I like having lots of hair, but I am starting to reckon with this change and how it conflicts with societal expectations. 

Overall, my takeaway is that for cis-men the consumer culture around products is nowhere near as stringent and encompassing as it is for other people. Even with this privilege, I was still able to feel the pressure to buy products to change yourself given by our capitalist society.