h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

After much research I have found that the stuff in a well known brand of shower gel, is (almost (inserted only for legal reasons)) identical to thats brand Bubble Bath (sorry Bath Foam or whatever). The only difference is that the Foam bath is a quarter of the price.

The brand if you are interested in Santex.

Carlas

Someone once said there's not that much difference between shower gel and washing up liquid.. No wonder fairy makes your hands soft. I agree that it's all a con.

Its all sodium laureth sulphate when it comes down to it

The real reason that some shower gels and similar products (eg shampoos, foam bath etc) are so expensive is because of the top quality of their main ingredient - "Aqua". This obviously differentiates them from other products which rely on a sub-standard ingredient, commonly known as "Water".

Without getting too detailed about how these high quality products are crafted, it is safe to say that a surprisingly small number of companies (about 3?) makes a large number of the different brands we see in stores. They have obviously gone to great lengths to install the necessary piping to deliver "Aqua" to their factories alongside their existing "Water" supplies, which they undoubtedly need to have in place as well. The high costs which we as consumers have to pay is inevitable because of the expensive swtiching and cleaning systems which need to be installed at these factories to ensure that "Aqua" based products are not contaminated by "Water".

In extremity (a little known town in Lesotho) I have used peach scented washing -up liquid instead of shower gel / shampoo. It did the cleaning part OK but somehow the skin was left dry and the hair less shiny - or so I was conned into thinking at the time

i have also tryed using the washing up liquid but got the same results but i have heard that use can use salt some how but taking a packet of table salt into the shower doesn't really grab me as a great marketing idea.

The water is streaming, hair slicks down the back of a girl (there are not enough guys in these ad.s) coyly caressing her body (suggestion is the biggest selling point) making you know that if you step out of that shower you will be as ravishing after your sea-salt (well table salt is just sooo common) scrub and will fold into the arms of a huge snuggly towel held for you by an equally enjoyable companion (male, rugged, shaved chest) fades to product name and other identifying marks... Simple really, you just fill in the blanks of the standard format. Let's face it, the reason we are conned is because that is what we see, that is what appeals at a quite primal level, that is why we are willing to be duped.

A chemistry teacher once told us that we could in theory all wash in Sodium Hydroxide solution... the idea being that the oils in your skin are turned into soaps, leaving your skin as clean as you would ever see it, dissolving the dirt and carrying it away. "In time," he added "your skin would probably dissolve too."