
Camping is all great and fun but naturally, it comes with a set of difficulties too. Everybody gets dirty when they’re enjoying a camping trip. You get sweaty, you don’t get to shower much, your clothes get all wet and dirty from your activities. These are inevitable when you enjoy a camping trip. Getting dirty is one thing and poor personal hygiene is a completely different story.
At the same time, we know how you feel when you have to spend a night or two outside, in the middle of the woods, without having your usual facilities. If you are new to camping, maintaining personal hygiene on a camping trip must be a pressing problem. Trust us, we felt the same way before we knew these hygiene tips for campers.
- Pack at least two outfits and do your laundry
- A daily rinse with biodegradable soap
- Bathing is a must
- Sanitizer and baby wipes
- Wear moisture-wicking clothes and underwear
- Dry shampoo is a lifesaver
- Use a sleeping bag liner
- Use natural personal hygiene products
- How to manage your periods
- Method of brushing your teeth
- Urinating and pooping
All of these hygiene tips for campers are nature friendly. We assure you, better personal hygiene will give you the confidence you need to maximize the comfortableness of your camping trip.
Pack at least two outfits and do your laundry
After a long day of outdoor activities, your clothes will be covered in dirt and sweat. Even though your camping trip is a short one, you must pack at least two outfits and several pairs of socks and underwear. Wet and dirty clothes can cause skin rashes and irritations. Packing several outfits can be a problem since we only have limited space.
Therefore, we recommend packing at least two outfits and washing them each night. Changing socks and underwear regularly is very important.
If you set your tent near a lake, pond, or river, you can use that natural water source to do your laundry. If not, you have to take extra water with you for laundry. Here is how you can wash your clothes easily.
- Put your clothes, water, and detergent powder into a gallon-size Ziploc bag and seal it.
- Shake the bag well, five minutes should be more than enough to do the magic.
- Damp out the water, refill the bag with clean water and do the previous trick again
- Dispose of the water again and we are done.
- Hang the wet clothes near your tent and let them dry through the night
We recommend you use a natural detergent powder and do not dispose of the detergent mix water near the natural water source.
A daily rinse with biodegradable soap
Camping and hiking are tiring outdoor activities so believe us when we say daily rinse can do wonders in a short camping trip. Daily rinse is essential to keep up your hygiene and to have a good night’s sleep. Sleep also plays a major role in your good health.
Rinse your face, neck, armpits, and feet with clean water and biodegradable soap. Use a microfiber towel to get rid of the unnecessary moisture from your body. It is essential to get rid of the buildup of sweat and dirt.
Microfiber towels dry pretty quickly so this is a pretty handy tip and will work better than a cotton towel. If you plan to use soap, please be careful to pack bio-graded soap to preserve the environment.
Soap promotes algae growth in natural water sources so as experienced campers we never use chemical-based soap and we dispose of our soap mixed water at least 200 meters away from the water source.
Bathing is a must
As we said before, you can keep up with your good hygiene by only having a daily rinse on a short camping trip. But if your trip is much longer than that you need to bathe or at least wash your hair. Bathing can be tricky if you don’t have bathroom facilities in your campground.
Go for a swim or have a bath in a flowing river which will rinse the unhealthy bacteria off of your body. However, don’t use chemically based shampoo or soap when you are swimming or bathing. It can be very harmful to water creatures.
If you are not comfortable with bathing in a river consider packing a portable shower. It will be a worthy investment since you can re-use it.
These are sacks or containers that you can fill with water and use hand pumps, gravity, solar energy, or rechargeable batteries to create a pressurized water flow. You may need to find a natural water source or pack extra water for your camping shower.
Sanitizer and baby wipes
The easiest way to stay healthy while doing outdoor activities is by maintaining your hand hygiene. But we can’t use soap and water every time our hands get dirty in the woods. Even though it’s the most hygienic way to clean our hands, we have to look for an alternative. The best option is to use hand sanitizer.
Remember to use an unscented and alcohol-based sanitizer. Sanitize your hand after every bathroom break and before cooking and eating. Make sure to trip your nails shorter before going for a camping trip.
You can use baby wipes or camping wipes to stay clean after a bathroom break and clean yourself with a baby wipe. Even baby wipes can be used to clean your whole body.
After your outdoor activities, remove all your clothes and clean your body with a baby wipe. Use one side of the wipe to clean your face and neck. Then flip it over and do armpits and groin areas of your body. There are body wipes that are created especially for campers.
Wear moisture-wicking clothes and underwear
If you are a frequent camper, buying clothes that are made out of moisture-wicking material such as nylon, spandex, wool or any synthetic material can save you from a lot of trouble. Cotton absorbs all the sweat and dirt pretty well and you will have to stay in those wet clothes throughout the day.
Since bacteria are very active in moist conditions cotton clothes are a big “No”. Especially when you buy underwear for a camping trip choose any material besides cotton underwear. This will help to keep your sensitive area dry and clean.
Always pack extra pairs of socks and underwear and change them daily. Wet socks and underwear can cause yeast infections so always keep them dry.
Campers prefer to wear their underwear and socks inside and out. This method is suitable if you are going on a long trip. In this method, you can wear your underwear one day and let it dry within your tent, flip it inside out and wear it for the second day.
Some campers wear it for two days straight before flipping the inside out. However, we don’t recommend it because it can cause irritations and rashes in your sensitive areas.
Dry shampoo is a lifesaver
No matter how many times you wash your hair, your scalp will work well with sweat and dirt to produce extra oil which will make your hair greasy. If you get irritated by greasy hair like me then dry shampoo is here to the rescue. This will do wonders for annoying greasy hair.
Dry shampoo can keep your hair and scalp clean when you don’t have time to wash your hair. It will absorb the extra oil and moist from your scalp.
Dry shampoo comes in powder form, shake the bottle well, and put the powder directly to the roots so you can cut down the building-up oil. This is a great everyday hack to keep your hair greasy free and it will add up some extra volume to the hair.
If you don’t feel like buying dry shampoo without giving this a try then you must put some good old baby powder to your roots and see the results by yourself. We do not recommend using baby powder again and again. But use it once and if it works you can go for a dry shampoo.
Use a sleeping bag liner
Hold on! We know what you think of the sleeping bag liner created to provide an additional layer that will give us enough warmth. But we use the liner to protect our sleeping bags from ourselves.
If you notice that you’ve gotten pretty dirty from your hiking trips, a sleeping bag liner will help you to contain the dirt from soaking them into your sleeping bag. Use the sleeping bag liner to sleep in your bag so you won’t get the sleeping bag all dirty and sweaty.
On the other hand, you can easily wash it off like your clothes as we previously described with a Ziploc bag and detergent powder.
An inflated sleeping bag liner will help you to get more comfortable as well. Sleeping in an Inflating bag liner will give you a refreshing feeling.
Use natural personal hygiene products
Taking your hygiene products with you for your camping trip is essential. If you are a woman it is a must you should have a pouch with all the essential personal hygiene products. Below items should be included in your pouch.
- Biodegradable soap
- Toothbrush, toothpaste & floss
- Period products
- Toilet paper
- Sunscreen
- Deodorant
- Sanitizer
- Period proof underwear or period products
When you buy these, always remember to buy natural and unscented products because scented products can attract bugs and other animals such as bears. Also, Scented products are chemically based if you are a camper it is your responsibility to preserve the nature you now enjoy for future generations.
Sunscreen is also an essential thing to avoid sunburns and sun rashes because some sunburns can be very intense and will need proper medication.
Keep a Ziplock bag inside your pouch to collect your waste. It will come in handy in several instances.
Our favorite natural products are coconut oil-based organic ones. Can be a little expensive but very environmentally friendly and not harmful for your body.
How to manage your periods
Personally, getting my periods while I’m on a camping trip used to be an absolute nightmare for me. Here are some strategies to manage your periods.
You can use pads, tampons, or period cups. Choose one which you are most comfortable with. Or you can use tablets to delay your period. Just don’t cancel your trip only because of the period.
Many campers love to use period cups since you can minimize the waste and it is easier to carry. But we recommend you try this at home before your camping trip to see whether you are comfortable with it or not. You can wear a cup for the whole day without having to change it. When you take out the cup, dig a hole and put the content of the cup into the hole, and bury it. Wash the cup afterward with soap.
If you prefer pads and tampons that’s okay too. Pack a dog poop bag or party bag to put your used pad and tampons so the others can’t see what’s inside. Or else you can put used one to a separate polythene bag and put that into a dog poop bag or Ziplock party bag, this will help to avoid the bad smell every time you open the Ziplock bag.
The final method is packing period-proof underwear instead of pads and tampons. A pair of period-proof underwear holds up to two tampons worth of blood and removes all waste that you have to carry throughout the trip. Used underwear must be kept inside a party bag and use previously talked method to wash them. Dry them overnight and you can re-use them.
Method of brushing your teeth
Dental hygiene is extremely important, but it’s an often-overlooked and ignored part of any camping or backpacking trip. Try these tips to keep your teeth white and clean.
I have heard many campers say that they don’t brush their teeth because toothpaste is bad for nature. But remember it will cause gum problems and bad breath.
- Use organic or natural toothpaste
- Go at least 200 meters away from your tent and any natural water source to avoid contamination and brush your teeth.
- Before spitting, take a big sip of water and swish it around your mouth, let the toothpaste dilute and then spit the water out of your mouth by spraying it to several spots instead of one spot.
If you use dental floss, don’t leave it around because it can be eaten by some animal and they will get hurt. Put them into your waste bag and take the waste with you.
Urinating and pooping
Urinating while camping is not much of a problem. Choose a place to urinate which is away from a natural water source and wipe yourself after urinating.
Pooping is a major issue if you don’t have bathroom facilities in your campground. Not to worry we have it covered in this article.
Search for an ideal and safe place away from the water sources to do your business out in the woods and dig a hole for your solid waste which should be 6” to 8” deep. You need to take a small shovel to dig that hole. Do your business and cover the hole with soil. Remember to wash your hands afterward.
Don’t leave used toilet paper within the whole, pack them in a Ziplock bag and burn them afterward. Regular campers use leaves to wipe themselves and if you decide to try this make sure to bury them with your human waste without leaving them around. Which will attract animals.
Many families have their RV which has bathroom facilities, Most of the campers find this as a worthy investment because the above process is unmanageable if you have kids.

Common hygiene tips for campers
Prior to your trip, get to know your campground and the safety precautions that you should take to make your trip a success. Below hygiene tips for campers are pretty common yet frequently used.
Untangled hair – If you have long hair, your hair will be tangled in your camping trip. We suggest braiding your hair before leaving for the camping trip and using a hat to secure the braid. At the end of the day, you take off the braids and put on some dry shampoo and comb.
Prevent foot blisters – Do a foot scrub daily and clean your feet using water or wipes to get off any dirt and sweat. Always wear cleaned and dry socks. Since you are wearing socks and shoes throughout the entire day it’s best if you let your feet breathe in the night.
Clothes to sleep in – Pack some clothes which are only used to sleep in. After your outdoor activities get cleaned up and change into these night clothes so you can save your sleeping bag from getting dirty. One pair of PJs will be enough and this will increase your comfort.
Deodorant – Using deodorant while camping is a good thing to avoid skin rashes due to heat. But remember to use unscented deodorant because scented ones can attract wildlife since they can sense your track.
Thigh rash is pretty common among campers/ If you are a thick person, you know what we are talking about. Apply a layer of deodorant or put baby powder on your thighs to avoid thigh rashes.
Just don’t cancel your camping trip because you’re afraid of your hygiene. Use the above hygiene tips for campers and enjoy your camping trip without holding yourself back from having fun.
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