# Lifebuoy Soap - YIKES! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500 "2006-03-30T03:57:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/1 "2006-03-30T03:57:58Z")
Had a nostalgia attack about a week ago and decided to order three bars of Lifebuoy® soap from the Vermont Country Store. **OH MY GOD !!!** I opened the package it came in, and the smell liked to knock me to my knees! I live in an apartment, and I am just now getting rid of the smell. Fellow Boomers, did we really bathe with that soap??? Was it really the first deodorant soap? If so, then I think the reason might be because its smell is worse than the smell it was designed to protect against. I am thinking of using it as a mosquito protectant when I ride my bike on the Silver Comet Trail. In short, I prefer the smell of BO over the smell of that soap! Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/2 "2006-03-30T05:07:17Z")
Thanks so much **Quasi** , way to make me feel _really_ old mate. 😃 It has been bloody decades since I have even _thought_ of **Lifebuoy** , (I’m sure they don’t even sell it in Aus anymore) but unfortunately can still vividly remember that especially pungent whoof. When I was a wee kid we had to wash our hair with it too, so we could never escape that aroma. I’m certainly in no hurry to smell it again. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/3 "2006-03-30T05:11:29Z")
You gave me flashbacks of Irish Spring. That stuff is very pungent too. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/4 "2006-03-30T08:03:49Z")
I saw an entry in a book on Aussie brands and advertising for Lifebuoy soap while I was in Australia recently – it triggered off nostalgia for me, mainly of the TV ads that used to be on here in NZ. I think we used to have it here at home, but not much. (Washing hair with it, **kambuckta**? Thank heaven I never had to have that inflicted on me – but it now explains why others I went to school with had the whiff). ---
**Author:** ![Kingspades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@Kingspades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kingspades)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/5 "2006-03-30T11:51:39Z")
“Over the years I got to be quite a connoisseur of soap. Though my personal preference was for Lux, I found that Palmolive had a nice, piquant, after-dinner flavor - heavy, but with a touch of mellow smoothness. Lifebuoy, on the other hand…” ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/6 "2006-03-30T16:54:50Z")
I was a letter carrier for the USPS, long ago, in a galaxy not too far away. On a particularly hot summer day, a Tuesday, if I recall correctly, I got four cases of sample boxes to deliver to my suburban mail route. Four cases of Irish Spring deodorant soap. One hundred and ninety six bars of that malodorous crap to sit in my truck and in my mail bag for eight hours in the summer sun. The next day, another case for the thirty two other clients on my route got their samples. I threw out the extra ones before leaving the office. To this very day, the smell of it clings to me, I swear! For months the sound of an Irish brogue would make me gag. (shudder) Tris ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/7 "2006-03-30T17:04:42Z")
They still sell it to parents for kids with the worst potty mouths. Them dropping the F-bomb in the worst situations requires some of the bigger tactical weaponry. BTW, I have brushed my teeth with Ivory and even Dove before when there was no toothpaste. Not bad at all. ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/8 "2006-03-30T20:09:26Z")
I love the smell of Irish Spring. But it’s useless to me because it is terribly drying. I hate perfume, though. Wonder what the hell that’s all about…? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/9 "2006-03-30T20:24:54Z")
I think the google ads highlight the real need for the product and this was probably even more important in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/10 "2006-03-30T20:27:06Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > They still sell it to parents for kids with the worst potty mouths. Them dropping the F-bomb in the worst situations requires some of the bigger tactical weaponry. Oh, come on – there can’t be much of a market in that. How many kids can fit twenty-three of the vilest curses into the short period of time they have to file past the Pope? Even calling the President an f’ing douchebag to his face warrants Dial at most. Maybe a spoonful of black pepper, like my parents used to use _in extremis_. Certainly not Lifebouy. That’s a bit overmuch. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/11 "2006-03-30T20:32:18Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > They still sell it to parents for kids with the worst potty mouths. Them dropping the F-bomb in the worst situations requires some of the bigger tactical weaponry. > > BTW, I have brushed my teeth with Ivory and even Dove before when there was no toothpaste. Not bad at all. Geez, man. That’s awful. I’ve used baking soda before. That works very well, and there’s no icky, soapy taste. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/12 "2006-03-30T20:42:27Z")
**Kingspades** summed it up nicely. That’s exactly what I thought of when I saw this thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/13 "2006-03-30T20:43:36Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Geez, man. That’s awful. I’ve used baking soda before. That works very well, and there’s no icky, soapy taste. I use baking soda most of the time and that is what I was really out of but I didn’t want to admit it. Take a lick on a bar of Ivory or Dove the next time you see one. It isn’t bad at all although the sensation of brushing with it is odd. Good foam. I can tell you what not to put in your mouth - dishwashing soap in a bottle like Dawn. It will ruin your week. I would imagine any kind of laundry detergent would be just as bad. My father used to brush his teeth with Comet once in a while to get them really clean. I have seen him do it but never tried it myself. He said it wasn’t that bad but you shouldn’t swallow it. Sound advise. Hydrogen Peroxide straight from the bottle makes good mouthwash and just makes you feel clean. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/14 "2006-03-30T21:22:52Z")
Why the spelling of Life **Bouy** , anybody know? It seems like the commericals referred to it as “Life **BOY** ” although I freely admit my memory could be incorrect. If it’s a play on words somehow, I don’t get it. I soap someone can help. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/15 "2006-03-30T21:24:16Z")
> [@Ellen Cherry](#): > > Why the spelling of Life **Bouy** :smack: Spelled correctly, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/16 "2006-03-30T21:26:45Z")
> [@Ellen Cherry](#): > > Why the spelling of Life **Bouy** , anybody know? It seems like the commericals referred to it as “Life **BOY** ” although I freely admit my memory could be incorrect. If it’s a play on words somehow, I don’t get it. > > I soap someone can help. 😃 It’s LifeBuoy. You know what that is don’t you? A buoy - like a buoy in the water. A life buoy is a rescue one. I always thought they were saying Life Boy as well but that doesn’t make much sense. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/17 "2006-03-30T21:34:35Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > It’s LifeBuoy. You know what that is don’t you? A buoy - like a buoy in the water. A life buoy is a rescue one. I always thought they were saying Life Boy as well but that doesn’t make much sense. Could be a British thing, that’s where it’s from. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/18 "2006-03-30T21:38:01Z")
Believe it or not, this says that LifeBuoy is still the biggest selling soap in the world. Even though the U.S. has learned to deal with filth mouth in other ways, that is not the case in places like India. [http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Lifebuoy\_Soap-52571-1.html](http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Lifebuoy_Soap-52571-1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/19 "2006-03-30T21:52:44Z")
I can’t remember Lifebuoy, but has anyone smelled Lever2000? Nastiest stuff on the planet! We bought some huge amount at Sam’s Club - like 30 bars. I gave them away. We prefer Safeguard. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500/20 "2006-03-30T21:59:04Z")
> [@Dolores Reborn](#): > > I can’t remember Lifebuoy, but has anyone smelled Lever2000? Nastiest stuff on the planet! Did you know they’re both from the same company? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifebuoy-soap-yikes/350500.md?page=2)