Soap(s).... ?

[Meat Hunter]

When taking a shower, what is the best soap(s) to use to remove the alkaline dust?

[tatonka]

i used a aloe vera bar soap, worked great.

[BoyScoutGirl]

I haven't used them myself but a lot of people recommend Dr. Bronner's...

[VultureChow]

Whatever you like that smells pretty and nice. You will be coated again soon enough.

But seriously, It's the friction and the water, not a particular type of soap that will get the dust off of you.

[tamarakay]

I use dr bronners peppermint. Very diluted in a ketchup bottle. Makes you feel all tingly clean even if its just an illusion.

Dust can be neutralized with vinegar water or lemon water.

[Sham]

I use Irish Spring. It makes me feel like I'm showering in a field of 4-leaf clover. I also bring extra small bars of soap from the hotel, along with those little shampoo bottles. I'm not real fussy, as long as it says "soap" on the package!

[theCryptofishist]

Let's change the name of this thread to Suds.


mmmmmmm ... Beeeeeeeeer...

[unjonharley]

Let's change the name of this thread to Suds.


mmmmmmm ... Beeeeeeeeer...

Homer is your father

[theCryptofishist]

face it, he's the father of us all...

[trilobyte]

None of the soaps out there will be able to neutralize the alkaline in the playa dust on their own - while you can get lemon scented soaps, there just isn't anything with the kind of acidity to neutralize the base/alkali in the dust.

Get a decent sized jug of cheap cider vinegar, available at pretty much any grocery store. Before showering or washing up, soak a washcloth with the vinegar, then wash/wipe up with that. The dust is now neutralized. Now wash up as you normally would, with your favorite soap. Mission accomplished.

Another trick is to eat pickles, and if so inclined drink pickle juice. If you want to make it boozy, have a pickleback (shot of whiskey with a shot of pickle juice) The vinegar in the brine is acidic enough that when it sweats out your pores, it will neutralize the playa dust.

[Savannah]

Vinegar or lemon followed by almost any decent body wash.

Body wash suds up way better than bar soap when using a solar shower, garden sprayer or squirt bottle.

[Sic Pup]

Another trick is to eat pickles, and if so inclined drink pickle juice. If you want to make it boozy, have a pickleback (shot of whiskey with a shot of pickle juice) The vinegar in the brine is acidic enough that when it sweats out your pores, it will neutralize the playa dust.

Really? That's a tough one to er, swallow.

Or are we just rationalizing?

"Here, drink this, and then this...it's good for you".

[VultureChow]

Human sweat tends to be slightly naturally acidic anyway, so I'm not sure that for a gentle passive coating of dust a special acidic wash would be necessary. Now if you are rolling in it naked or walking around in bare feet or flip flops, or have particularly sensitive skin, that's a different story.

[AntiM]

We have a couple types of Doc Bronners we haul to the playa each year in the kitchen bin. Each year we don't use them and haul them home. Mostly just baby wipes, and as has been said, water and friction.

[Aurorealis]

"Another trick is to eat pickles, and if so inclined drink pickle juice. If you want to make it boozy, have a pickleback (shot of whiskey with a shot of pickle juice) The vinegar in the brine is acidic enough that when it sweats out your pores, it will neutralize the playa dust."

So would drinking straight lemon juice have the same effect? (I'm talking shots of juice, not cups that I nurse on because I kinda like the enamel on my teeth.....)

[vachot]

Illusion? I think not! Pay attention to the sensitive areas.

[Savannah]

"Another trick is to eat pickles, and if so inclined drink pickle juice. If you want to make it boozy, have a pickleback (shot of whiskey with a shot of pickle juice) The vinegar in the brine is acidic enough that when it sweats out your pores, it will neutralize the playa dust."

So would drinking straight lemon juice have the same effect? (I'm talking shots of juice, not cups that I nurse on because I kinda like the enamel on my teeth.....)

Lemon juice works better on your exterior, unless you're drinking lemonade to directly soothe a playa-ravaged throat, which might be worth a try and I keep meaning to do.

People drink pickle juice out there because it's sweet and salty and hits the spot. Whether it sweats through is hard to say. Water and electrolytes are better.

[theCryptofishist]

"Another trick is to eat pickles, and if so inclined drink pickle juice. If you want to make it boozy, have a pickleback (shot of whiskey with a shot of pickle juice) The vinegar in the brine is acidic enough that when it sweats out your pores, it will neutralize the playa dust."

So would drinking straight lemon juice have the same effect? (I'm talking shots of juice, not cups that I nurse on because I kinda like the enamel on my teeth.....)

Lemon juice works better on your exterior, unless you're drinking lemonade to directly soothe a playa-ravaged throat, which might be worth a try and I keep meaning to do.

People drink pickle juice out there because it's sweet and salty and hits the spot. Whether it sweats through is hard to say. Water and electrolytes are better.

I dunno, Savannah. It seems half the people I run into there smell pickled.

[Hope-a-Lope]

Mmmmm.... I don't gotta be on playa to enjoy a pickleback.

[maladroit]

A dab of the regular body wash I use in defaultia works fine for me on a damp cloth. The sponge bath is very efficient at getting rid of playa grime since you're not just blasting yourself with water and hoping it knocks off the dust. I can get totally clean, including (short clipped) hair, using about 3 cups of water from a spray bottle.

[Captain Goddammit]

Pickle back - uh oh someone said the magic word…

Having done much slaving and toiling on trial-and-error and research on the pickle back, I've discovered that the best pickle juice to use is sweet-pickle juice; it's way better.
And good quality tequila instead of whiskey.

[LowePro]

Anything that's not too thick or creamy, so you can rinse easy without a lot of waste water.
Our camp favorite was Doc Bronners, diluted in the jug with water (about 1/2 and 1/2 ratio) with a shot of vinegar mixed into the jug. Worked well, fresh and tingly, and zapped the alkali dust. Rinses easy.

I'd avoid body washes with thick luxurious lather as you'll use much more water to rinse and your graywater will be foamy.

[Just_Joe]

I've been doing the homemade soap thang for the last month or so.
I've made individual batches with Playa and Trego Mud. I'm going to try Man ashes this weekend.
You guys are busy getting the Burn OFF your bodies and I'm trying to get it in

[9ah]

What's in those?

I've been doing the homemade soap thang for the last month or so.
I've made individual batches with Playa and Trego Mud. I'm going to try Man ashes this weekend.
You guys are busy getting the Burn OFF your bodies and I'm trying to get it in

[Just_Joe]

Coconut, olive, sunflower,canola oil and sodium hydroxide (lye).
The top bar is 20% (by weight) dried and sifted mud from the bottom of Trego Hot Springs.

The bottom bar is playa. I took a mortar and pestle to it and dumped it into the soap mixture as it was setting up. I've had better luck with a more recent batch where I made a playa "roux" before adding it to the mix.
The blue color is chunks of another batch of colored soap that I folded in.

I'm thinking of gifting them this year....

What's in those?

I've been doing the homemade soap thang for the last month or so.
I've made individual batches with Playa and Trego Mud. I'm going to try Man ashes this weekend.
You guys are busy getting the Burn OFF your bodies and I'm trying to get it in

[9ah]

Sounds delightful!

[BBadger]

I've been doing the homemade soap thang for the last month or so.
I've made individual batches with Playa and Trego Mud. I'm going to try Man ashes this weekend.
You guys are busy getting the Burn OFF your bodies and I'm trying to get it in

I think I'd be inclined to try and take a bite of those just to verify it's not candy.

[GreyCoyote]

I've been doing the homemade soap thang for the last month or so.
I've made individual batches with Playa and Trego Mud. I'm going to try Man ashes this weekend.
You guys are busy getting the Burn OFF your bodies and I'm trying to get it in

I think I'd be inclined to try and take a bite of those just to verify it's not candy.

So then you would be a meatcake with teeth and foaming at the mouth? Epic!!!

[theCryptofishist]

Rabid Meatcake--his superhero alter ego...