Cold Showers

[ladysprite]

It is summer. It is hot, and muggy, and I live in a house without air conditioning, and I work out. The practical upshot of this is that I wind up hot, sweaty, and borderline miserable on a fairly regular basis.

Thankfully, many years ago Lush used to sell what they called 'Cold Showers' - little single-shower-sized plastic-wrapped freezeable blisters of their shower gels that you stored in your freezer. On hot, miserable days they are a godsend. Unfortunately, they don't make them anymore, and thus I have been hoarding my stash and rationing them out slowly and grudgingly, hoping to make them last.

Until last week, when I was taking one out of the freezer and simultaneously mourning the fact that I'd have one less round of blissfully icy suds and fighting angrily with the packaging, and I realized that what I had in my hand was, functionally, an ice cube. Why couldn't I just make these myself? I thought. Then I wouldn't ever have to run out, and I could make them out of anything I wanted to. And I wouldn't have to fight to try to peel sticky plastic wrap off the damn things while they melted in my hand.

I figured there had to be some reason it wouldn't work. They probably had to put something into the gel to make it freeze properly, or something like that. But I decided to try, with a new ice cube tray and an old container of shower gel that wasn't my favorite, just in case it didn't work.

It worked perfectly.

So, if you're looking for a way to cool off in a heinously steamy summer, or if you just feel like fooling around and playing with new ideas, freeze your shower gel. One standard ice cube is about perfect for one person, and it's hella easy. Heck, even if you're not living through an oppressive heat wave, it's worth trying, just for the fun factor....

Comments

[mermaidlady]

That's so clever!

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

Do you just rub it directly on your skin then to get it to melt?

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Yep - they work best when you use them like a little tiny bar of soap. They melt pretty quickly, so you can't linger with them, but they usually last just long enough to wash your whole body.

[denimskater.livejournal.com]

Knit yourself a pair of long forearm/wristwarmers from wool, but knit in an extra layer so you have a long pocket on the inside of your forearm. In the winter, you have armwarmers with a pocket. In the summer, put a blue ice gel-pack in them - the wool keeps them from making your forearms *too* cold, but the whole thing holds ice near your forearms. Magic!

[goldenoak.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! Thank you for the idea! :)

[ravenrose.livejournal.com]

You are one smart cookie. Now if we could only get them to remain frozen at Threads... lol

Looking forward to KICKING MESSMER'S BUTT with ya!

[laurion]

I've been taking cold showers before bedtime. My shampoo has been all warm and runny from the weather. I suppose that means I've been doing the opposite. But the cold showers are interesting. When I get in the water feels warm on my legs and arms, and cold on my torso thanks to the differences in core temperature versus extremities -- a very odd sensation. But after a little bit my core cools down. Then I don't dry off quite completely and go to bed under the ceiling fan so evaporation keeps me cool long enough to fall asleep.

I like the idea of frozen soaps, but I'd probably find the direct application of something at that low a temperature to be uncomfortable. And I don't use shower gel...