"I have not taken a shower in over 12 years:" Here's what a chemical engineer suggests we try instead

BOSTON -- Forget the soap and bath gels! A Massachusetts company says spraying live bacteria on your skin is all you need to keep clean.

"I have not taken a shower in over 12 years," Dave Whitlock said.

It may sound crazy -- but Whitlock, a chemical engineer and MIT grad says he doesn't miss bathing at all.

"No one did clinical trials on people taking showers every day. So what's the basis for assuming that that is a healthy practice?" Whitlock said.

In fact, what Whitlock does believe is healthy is restoring good bacteria to our skin that our ancestors enjoyed long ago -- bacteria that's been slowly stripped away by excessive cleaning.

To prove his theory, Whitlock helped found "Aobiome," a company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"We've confused clean with sterile," Jasmina Aganovic said.

Aganovic, also an MIT grad, says as humans, we need to reconnect with our environment.

"We've taken the dirt out of our lives. We don't spend as much time outdoors as we used to -- even as little children," Aganovic said.

To add a little dirt back into our lives, Aobiome has created "Mother Dirt" -- specifically the AO+ mist containing live bacteria that's sprayed directly on the skin twice a day. It has no odor, and feels like water.

"Our users are able to reduce their dependence on conventional products. Examples include cutting out or cutting down on deodorant, cutting out or cutting down on moisturizers," Aganovic said.

There's a Mother Dirt shampoo and cleanser that doesn't contain bacteria, but Aganovic says it won't interfere with it either.

While Whitlock still doesn't shower, he does use Mother Dirt every day and hopes the rest of the world will join him.

"I would like a billion people a day to use this," Whitlock said.

While Aobiome officials believe in the health benefits of these live bacteria, they're not making any scientific claims right now -- but they will soon begin clinical trials on inflammatory skin conditions like acne.