First there was caffeinated beer. Now there’s caffeinated soap.
Shower Shock (aka “The Original Caffeinated Soap”) is the hygiene equivalent of Jolt (aka “The World’s Most Powerful Cola”). At 200 milligrams of caffeine per wash, consider Shower Shock your own Jolt-on-a-Rope or “the ultimate clean buzz,” as the makers of Shower Shock call it. “Mornings have never been so invigorating!” say the press materials for Shower Shock, distributed by thinkgeek.com.
A vegetable-based glycerine soap, Shower Shock is scented with peppermint oil — lots of peppermint oil. Picture sudsing yourself up with a big breath mint.
It smells so minty fresh it may take great self restraint to stop yourself from washing your mouth out with it.
In addition, each 4-ounce bar is infused with caffeine anhydrous. There are 12 “servings,” or showers, per bar with 200 milligrams of caffeine per serving, say the folks at thinkgeek.com. The caffeine is absorbed through the skin.
So. What will be the next consumer good to be infused with caffeine? Bacon? Milk? Tobacco? Shaving cream? Marital aids? Feel free to speculate in the comments.
Milk infused with caffeine? That’s called iced coffee. 🙂
Marital aids with caffeine is going a little bit over the line. On the other hand, it would provide another form of stimulation. 🙂
Holy arrythmia, Batman.
Minty fresh and caffeinated? Hot damn. I’ll cuss just to get the Ralphie treatment.
Dilute! Dilute! OK!
(Remember when you suds up, kids, that there are some places peppermint oil just doesn’t belong…)
Don’t forget caffeinated gum, which has the added bonus of having been invented by a Rice alum. (I met him through the NY area Rice alumni group I’ve been active with.) The minute he starts making cinnamon gum, I’m all over this.
The caffeine is absorbed through the skin.
So they may say, but I find it hard to believe enough caffeine could be absorbed through the skin during the course of an average shower to matter. And it isn’t volatile, so you won’t be inhaling it either. Sounds like a silly gimmick to me.
To the extent this soap has any stimulant effect whatsoever, I’d attribute it to the smell of peppermint oil and to the placebo effect.