# Head & Shoulders, A High Theft Item **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188 "2009-01-27T05:16:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/21 "2009-01-27T17:44:24Z")
> [@Auntbeast](#): > > Recently they began locking up the infant formula. It is very expensive and to be honest, once you are on that train, it isn’t like you have other options. I guess in my mind, if I knew stuff was going to be stolen, I’d much rather them steal formula. > > Excuse me, I think my bleeding-heart liberal is showing. They’re not stealing it to feed their kids. It’s the powder of choice for diluting cocaine. ---
**Author:** ![KnitWit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@KnitWit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KnitWit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/22 "2009-01-27T17:47:07Z")
> [@Tully\_Mars](#): > > They’re not stealing it to feed their kids. It’s the powder of choice for diluting cocaine. Are you serious? I assumed it was liquid formula. Dang, I’m an idjit…no street smarts whatsoever. I can see me kindly asking some drug fiend who stole a case of baby formula what else he needed. “Uh…I could use a new scale and some Sudafed. The old formula, not the new stuff. Oh, and a case of baking soda.” Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/23 "2009-01-27T17:54:55Z")
> [@KnitWit](#): > > Are you serious? I assumed it was liquid formula. Dang, I’m an idjit…no street smarts whatsoever. I can see me kindly asking some drug fiend who stole a case of baby formula what else he needed. > > “Uh…I could use a new scale and some Sudafed. The old formula, not the new stuff. Oh, and a case of baking soda.” > > Duh. Yep. My wife has been in the supermarket business for fifteen years and it’s been an ongoing problem. Texas’ WIC program makes it easy for folks to get all the milk and formula they need for their kids, so if someone is stealing powdered formula, it’s a pretty safe bet they’re involved in distributing drugs. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/24 "2009-01-27T18:22:32Z")
I remember going into a Walgreen’s one time and having to get someone to unlock a cabinet so I could get some Lactaid. I guess there must be a lot of criminals who are lactose-intolerant. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/25 "2009-01-27T19:03:29Z")
My husband and I both lost our jobs. I applied for foodstamps and was denied. When my daughter switched to formula, I always bought powdered, it would have never occurred to me to use the liquid. So I doubt if I was going to steal it, I’d steal the liquid, except maybe, they are smaller containers. WTF would anyone cut cocaine with formula? It isn’t even close to white. Really? They use it to cut drugs? And geez, cost wise, wouldn’t corn starch be the most economical choice? Not to mention, ounce for ounce, formula seems to give cocaine a run for its money. I am so out of the loop. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/26 "2009-01-27T19:18:39Z")
> [@clayton\_e](#): > > Someone I know used to buy condoms, lube, duct tape, and a zucchini from Wal Mart (I know of this one veggie.. I think he would chose other random objects each time). He got the idea from that webcomic.. [xcyxadayadayada.com](http://xcyxadayadayada.com) something or other. On Christmas morning 2008 I went to CVS to buy batteries for the kids’ new toys (I had asked my wife to buy AAA batteries but she bought AA, figuring they were nearly as good). To get a special price on the batteries I needed to buy something else, so I grabbed a bottle of CVS’s version of AstroGlide (which, BTW, is better and cheaper than real AstroGlide). So there I am with 16 AAA batteries and a bottle of lube on Christmas morning. I’m pretty sure I heard the cashier start giggling as I walked out. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/27 "2009-01-27T21:03:01Z")
Today I happend to see the Asst Manager in the store and asked him about it. He said “If anything is behind a case, it’s because we have high shrinkage on it.” I looked around this Walgreens and very few things were behind cases, razor blades were, the baby formula was and the Prilosec type antacids were. I was a bit surprised condoms were out in the open. So I guess it doesn’t explain WHY people steal “Head & Shoulders” only that they do. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/28 "2009-01-27T21:47:59Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I was a bit surprised condoms were out in the open. The one thing you really don’t want is high shrinkage on condoms. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/29 "2009-01-28T01:12:33Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > It’s especially embarrassing when you’re buying all 4 items simultaneously. [Homer] “Um, let me have one of those porno magazines… a large box of condoms… a bottle of Old Harper… a couple of those panty shields… andsomeillegalfireworks… and one of those disposable enemas. Ah, make it two.” [/Homer] Joe ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/30 "2009-01-28T02:38:43Z")
> [@Auntbeast](#): > > Recently they began locking up the infant formula. It is very expensive and to be honest, once you are on that train, it isn’t like you have other options. I guess in my mind, if I knew stuff was going to be stolen, I’d much rather them steal formula. > > Excuse me, I think my bleeding-heart liberal is showing. In 1999 I was working as a stocker at a grocery store. I got the short end of the stick, so I was assigned the baby food aisle. Formula came in on the truck on Tuesday. Everyone and their second cousin with a WIC card came in that day. You could get one canister of Enfamil with a yellow top with the card once a week. Enfamil with a yellow top sold out within five minutes every week and there was no more until the truck came back the next Tuesday. It didn’t help that we only got about nine to fifteen canisters a week. Shortly after that they started locking the formula behind the counter. It seems to last a lot longer that way. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/31 "2009-01-28T10:07:07Z")
> [@Auntbeast](#): > > Recently they began locking up the infant formula. It is very expensive and to be honest, once you are on that train, it isn’t like you have other options. I guess in my mind, if I knew stuff was going to be stolen, I’d much rather them steal formula. > > Excuse me, I think my bleeding-heart liberal is showing. I have locked up quite a few shoplifters in the last decade. All of them have either fallen into the category of high school/college kid doing it on a stupid whim or drug addict looking for money. I’m sure there are probably instances when someone was stealing only what their familiy needs. But I have never seen it. Liquid formula is also stolen a lot. Not to cut drugs but because it falls into the category of being relatively small and high priced. Also it is sold in neighborhood bodegas that are willing to bolster their inventory. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/32 "2009-01-29T14:34:02Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > It’s especially embarrassing when you’re buying all 4 items simultaneously. Thank god,I thought that I was the only one… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/33 "2009-01-29T14:35:42Z")
> [@KnitWit](#): > > Rumor has it, Head & Shoulders will take paint off walls. A beautician instructed me to use it for a couple of weeks to help alleviate a hair color disaster. She claimed it would reduce some of the unwanted color rather quickly. This is purely anecdotal, but it did seem to do just that. She explained that she went to a hair styling seminar during which an instructor put some Head & Shoulders on a wall and came back a day later to demonstrate that it had, indeed, stripped paint. To lighten your hair from too much dark coloring mistake, you can also use dish soap. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/34 "2009-01-29T17:40:27Z")
Can someone explain the reasoning of the shelf thingies that **aren’t** locked, but require you to life up a plastic panel and reach behind a little plastic lip to pick up an item? They’re obviously not theft proofing – are they thought to make it slightly less convenient to just sweep a shelf full of stuff into a boost bag? Do they work? How is it decided which items go behind there (I’ve been seeing lots of this at my drugstore recently, on some pretty boring and it would seem low value stuff)? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/35 "2009-01-29T18:37:41Z")
> [@Jaglavak](#): > > [hijack] > > I used Head & Shoulders off and on for years. It would give temporary improvement but soon those pesky flakes would be back. And when I stopped using it the dandruff was worse than ever. > > I forget where I heard about it, but apparently Milk of Magnesia is supposed to be a better remedy. Eventually I got fed up enough and gave it a try. It was pretty much like dumping mud in my hair. I left it in for a few minutes and then washed it out with regular shampoo. > > Two applications and it looks like I’m cured. I might even be able to wear a black sweater again. From which I conclude that H&S is yet another consumer scam, and I’ve foolishly made a yacht payment or two for the dirtbags who manufacture the stuff. Every year my opinion of the pharmaceutical industry slips even lower. > > [/hijack] **Jaglavak** , that is very interesting. Can you please link to an specific product milk of magnesia for sale somewhere? What exactly is the active ingredient in milk of magnesia? I haven’t got the faintest clue what that stuff is, or what it looks like, or where to get it. ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/36 "2009-01-29T18:55:36Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > What exactly is the active ingredient in milk of magnesia? It’s [magnesium hydroxide](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_of_magnesia), and used as a laxative. Amazon has it [here](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=milk+of+magnesia). ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/37 "2009-01-29T19:04:30Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > **Jaglavak** , that is very interesting. Can you please link to an specific product milk of magnesia for sale somewhere? What exactly is the active ingredient in milk of magnesia? I haven’t got the faintest clue what that stuff is, or what it looks like, or where to get it. Author Paula Begoun, who writes various beauty product review books (with breakdowns of what the chemicals are/do in various products, etc.) recommends milk of magnesia as an occasional face wash in people with very oily skin. I tend to get a lot of oil in my “T-zone” and finally gave in and used it at one point, and it did work in cutting down the oil! I suspect whatever it can do on the face, it does on the scalp too, whether it’s just soaking up excess oil or scrubbing your pores or whatever. :smack: And if I’d read that Wiki link, I’d see that usage was listed right there on the page. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/38 "2009-01-29T19:10:58Z")
Huh. Another product that isn’t for sale OTC here in the Netherlands. Great tip tho. It’s the same with baking soda. No-one here gives that stuff the many uses you people give it, and it is only for sale in Chinese stores, not in mainstream supermarkets. Such differences are one of the reasons I love this board. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/39 "2009-01-29T20:42:48Z")
**Maastrict** - How do you bake without baking soda? StG ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188/40 "2009-01-29T20:59:07Z")
I was buying a nice pair of work gloves at my local hardware store, and I was shocked to see that one brand of gloves was locked up. I mean, they were nice ($25) gloves, but I was still surprised that they’d have so much theft on freakin _work gloves_. I can’t think of a drug connection, so I’m assuming that people are stealing them for resale somewhere else. Ebay, maybe? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shoulders-a-high-theft-item/483188.md?page=3)