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Personal hygiene

Over the decades of long-duration flight in the Russian space program, various specialized items of clothing and hygiene have been developed to ensure the comfort of those living on board a space station. Personal hygiene items are described on this page.

Researchers at the Russian Institute of Medical-Biological Problems consider hygiene as a major contributor towards psychological comfort, and devised various products to enable this.

People shed microscopic skin particles continuously on Earth, and this process is accelerated in zero-gravity (up to 3 grams of skin can be shed daily, and 5000 cells of epithelium when changing clothes. Something not to dwell upon too much). People also sweat more in orbit.

Wet towel kit

Keeping clean in orbit requires somewhat different tactics to what people are used to on Earth. Experiments with shower devices in the past on the Salyut stations and Mir proved impractical; setting up the shower took a lot of time and water does not flow but breaks into droplets and adheres to the skin, and a cosmonaut can choke on the water droplets. Water on a space station is also a scarce commodity to be preserved whenever possible. So wet fabric towels and napkins, treated with a special disinfecting lotion, are utilized instead. These are apparently quite effective. The towels are fabric rather than paper, as the latter material could introduce dust particles into the Station atmosphere.

People can become oversensitive to strong odors in space, so no products that emit these are brought onboard. There are no alcohol-based personal hygiene products; instead, the wet towels have a mild blended odor of almond and green apples. Also, as humidity in the Station’s atmosphere is recycled, any alcohol in the air would be recycled as pure vodka, not water!

Cleaning teeth is also important; salivation is reduced in zero-g and saliva becomes more concentrated. This can lead to a build-up of tartar. So a menthol-tasting chewing gum is provided (an off-the-shelf brand) to be chewed after each meal. Toothpaste is also used. An Oral Cavity Hygiene Kit includes a rubber finger cover that is used to massage the gums.

Women are allowed to take some of their personal cosmetics on board if they wish, such as lipstick and eyeshadow.

Men can shave using a manual or electric razor. The latter is modified to catch hair so it doesn’t float all over the place. (Mark Shuttleworth mentioned in one of his ISS training diaries that the ISS-approved manual razor was the Gillette Sensor Excel.)

For NASA shuttle flights, items that can be bought commercially on Earth are used. These tend to be used with water; for the short-term Shuttle missions this is not a concern.

Hair is kept clean with an alcohol-free shampoo called “Aelita”, «Аелита». It is applied with a napkin and rubbed into the hair.

Hygiene items are packed into a kit called “Komfort”, «Комфорт». This is a blue, portfolio-like bag weighing about 1.1 kg with Velcro strips for attaching it to the walls of the Station. There are three designations of Komfort:

  • Komfort-1: used on the Soyuz, containing items for a crew of three.
  • Komfort-2 (or 1M): the basic set.
  • Komfort-3: Refills for the Komfort-2. A crew member consumes about 1 kg of expenable hygienic items daily (towels, napkins, lotions, toothpaste, shampoo).

Below are extracts from the Service Module Medical Operations, Book 1, issued by Energiya in 2000. The designations for the Komfort kit are a bit different to that mentioned above (perhaps 1M is the same as 2).

Komfort personal hygiene set

Komfort 1-M diagram

Note: Komfort-1M, «Комфорт 1-М» set is made up with account of crewmember’s personal features.

Komfort-1M set contents (for individual use):

  • Massage brush
  • Hairbrush
  • Safety razor (or razor system)
  • Razor blades (or set of cartridges)
  • Shaving cream
  • After-shave cream (or gel, jelly and balm)
  • Toothpaste
  • Tooth brush
  • Toothpicks (or dental floss)
  • Scissors
  • Cuticle tongs
  • Nail file
  • Powder
  • Hygienic lipstick (or balm for lips)
  • Cosmetic cream
  • Cream for hands (gel or balm)
  • Deodorant

Komfort-3 set contents (for replenishment of Komfort-1M set):

  • Massage brush
  • Hairbrush
  • Safety razor
  • Razor blades or cartridges
  • Shaving cream
  • After-shave cream
  • Toothpaste
  • Tooth brush
  • Toothpicks
  • Scissors
  • Cuticle tongs
  • Nail file

For brushing teeth, use toothpaste and Oral Cavity Hygiene kit

Right: open View of Komfort-1M Personal Hygiene Set

Aelita hygiene set

Purpose: Aelita, «Аелита» set is used for hair care

Contents of Aelita hygiene set:

  • Aelita-И set (suffices for 3-4 uses): 4 ea.
  • Aelita-И (shampoo): 1 bottle
  • Paper tissues (vacuum-packed): 4 ea.
  • Plastic bags: 4 ea.
  • Usage information, description – inside cover

Personal hygiene articles

Personal Hygiene Articles Kit
Wet tissues for morning hygiene procedures and for daytime use (for the face, neck, hands and legs) and for treatment of personal hygiene items (3 packages per 2 days for each crewmember)
Personal Hygiene Articles Kit – З
Wet towels for hygiene after physical exercise and during change of underwear (1 towel per 3 days for each crewmember)
Personal Hygiene Articles Kit – Д
Dry towels (bath towels) for hygiene after physical exercise (1 towel per 3 days for each crewmember)
Personal Hygiene Articles Kit – Д
Dry towels (made of lint-free fabric) for hygiene after physical exercise and after wet towel use (1 towel per 3 days for each crewmember)
Personal Hygiene Articles Kit – Д
Wipes for meal utensils for treatment of meal utensils (1 package per day for each crewmember)
Personal Hygiene Articles Kit – Д
Cap-shaped wipes for oral cavity (2 cap-shaped wipes per day for one crewmember if necessary)
Personal Hygiene Articles Kit – Д
Dry wipes (1 package per day for each crewmember)
Medical Chewing Gum Kit
Sugar-free chewing gum in sticks (consumption – 3 sticks per day after each meal. Chewing time – 5 min).
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