# Shave with Mouthwash? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295 "2021-05-03T15:28:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/21 "2021-05-05T01:00:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > But why would you continue to use it when you have access to stores where you can get real shaving cream? To simplify life. People used to just use soap to shave. I still do mostly. A popular brand of ibuprofen in Australia recently came out with packaging that said “Back pain” or “Headaches”. I suppose they figured people with back pain or a headache would buy it since it was more specific and presumably more effective than ordinary ibuprofen sold by competitors. But it was just plain ol’ ibuprofen. The manufacturer got fined $6M dollars for engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct. I hope the point I’m making is clear. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/22 "2021-05-05T04:50:16Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > A popular brand of ibuprofen in Australia recently came out with packaging that said “Back pain” or “Headaches”. I suppose they figured people with back pain or a headache would buy it since it was more specific and presumably more effective than ordinary ibuprofen sold by competitors. But it was just plain ol’ ibuprofen. The manufacturer got fined $6M dollars for engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct. I think the issue there was that they were selling the “targeted” product at a price premium compared to their own identical but non targeted product. So people were buying headache specific Nurofen at a higher price than they could get standard Nurofen because it was advertised as being specifically for headaches when it was the same product, chemically. Your point remains of course. Advertising works. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/23 "2021-05-05T05:19:00Z")
Pricing was certainly part of it but I don’t know enough about the case to say whether it was a critical part of the ACCC’s case. Advertising works but my point more specifically is that there is a buck to be made by implying consumers need a specific product, even when that product isn’t actually significantly different to or better than existing (and probably cheaper) products. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/24 "2021-05-05T06:07:20Z")
My point was they were “competing” with their own product, not a competitors. [Nurofen settles $3.5 million class action: Australian Consumer Law Update | Newcastle & Sydney | Butlers News](https://butlers.net.au/nurofen-settles-3-5-million-class-action-australian-consumer-law-update/#:~:text=Consumer%20Law%20Update-,Nurofen%20settles%20%243.5%20million%20class%20action%3A%20Australian%20Consumer%20Law%20Update,class%20action%20against%20the%20product). ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/25 "2021-05-05T06:18:26Z")
[“The retail price of the Nurofen Specific Pain Products was significantly higher than that of other comparable analgesic products which also act as general pain relievers. Price sampling conducted by the ACCC before the proceedings were commenced indicated that the Nurofen Specific Pain products were being sold at retail prices almost double that of Nurofen’s standard ibuprofen products **and the general pain relief products of its competitors**.”](https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/court-finds-nurofen-made-misleading-specific-pain-claims) My emphasis. It appears to have been both. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/26 "2021-05-05T06:22:52Z")
True. I think it may have been easier to defend if it was only more expensive than their competitors. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/27 "2021-05-10T14:20:09Z")
I was on a trip, just had a disposable razor, and shaved “dry”. Worked fine! I realized I’d spent decades buying shaving products needlessly, and stopped right there. NOTE: If I haven’t shaved in a week, I’ll shave after a shower (or just get my face wet for a few minutes, the hairs absorb water and get softer). ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/28 "2021-05-10T18:05:26Z")
All you keg women, you better put on the wall, ‘Cause I’m gonna get drunk and do my dirty talk, The monkey and the baboon playin’ in the grass, Well the monkey got mad and whipped his yas, yas, yas, Talkin’ 'bout shave 'em, mama’s gonna shave 'em dry “Shave 'em Dry”, Lucille Bogan (It means sex without foreplay. I’ve also heard “shave 'em dry” used to mean slit someone’s throat. Language is endlessly mutable.) ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/29 "2021-05-10T18:23:05Z")
(Note about above: I got those lyrics off Wikipedia. I should have checked before posting - never trust lyrics transcriptions off the internet. The line “[All you keg women, you better put on the wall](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOi-abNrn0k)”: well I don’t know what a “keg woman” is, so I’m sure that part’s wrong, though I can’t say what she’s singing - sounds like “cack women”, which means nothing to me but might to someone versed in the idiom. The last word is definitley walk, not wall. I suppose “put on the walk” could mean to walk in a sexy way; but that’s just a guess.) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/30 "2021-12-17T23:53:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You might naturally think that it works as well the other way round but no, using shaving cream for mouthwash is not a good idea. Good as place as any to post this… I was in a hurry a while back and needed to brush my teeth. I took a swig of mouthwash, jabbed in a toothbrush and brushed away. Spit it out and called it done. Haven’t used toothpaste since. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/31 "2021-12-18T06:24:37Z")
Does the alcohol in mouthwash make hairs stand out more? > [@19USMC69](#): > > Duh! I forgot about posting this before. I’ve had a few episodes with zombie threads where I thought I should contribute a point, only to read the thread and run across the same point someone posted years ago, and then realize “Hey! That was me!” ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/32 "2021-12-18T06:41:28Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > run across the same point someone posted years ago, and then realize “Hey! That was me!” So long as you made the same point. Not so good if you now disagree. 😳 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/33 "2021-12-18T06:44:02Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > So long as you made the same point. Not so good if you now disagree. 😳 🙂 But I’m so much more mature today than I was 10 years ago when I was only 55. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/34 "2021-12-18T11:12:14Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > As I understand it, shaving cream essentially has two functions. > > The first is as lubricant and pretty much anything that is slippery will work in that respect. Conditioner works well because it’s oily, but even plain water is of some use. > > The second is as an anti-bacterial to stop bacteria infecting any minor grazes and cuts you might cause to yourself while shaving. I think a critical function is being able to dissolve the oil that is on hairs on the face. And this is why it’s hard to shave with just water; it can’t dissolve the oil, so you have to press much harder to cut the hair and that leads to unevenness and irritation. > [@Princhester](#): > > it was just plain ol’ ibuprofen. The manufacturer got fined $6M dollars for engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct. Interesting. That kind of strategy is commonplace here in the UK. In China, there are even a couple of big companies that invented brands for this. E.g. there might be “mijin brand headache pills” and “princhester brand back ache pills” but it turns out that they are the same pills made by the same company (and princhester and mijin never existed as separate entities). Of all the ways for companies to deceive consumers though, I’m probably least uncomfortable about this one. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/35 "2021-12-18T12:34:12Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > > [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > > > So long as you made the same point. Not so good if you now disagree. 😳 🙂 > > But I’m so much more mature today than I was 10 years ago when I was only 55. I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/36 "2021-12-25T00:30:11Z")
_I always shave with mouthwash_ _To tighten up my beard_ _We always shave with mouthwash_ _Too bad you think it’s weird_ _It’s what we love_ ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295/37 "2021-12-25T16:46:00Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Anyhow, back in the early 60s when slicked-back greasy hair was the style he use Gleem brand toothpaste and Brylcreem hair goop. > > Both of which were white tubes with a prominent red stripe. Which squeezed out a white pasty stuff. > > You can see where this is going. 😝 Did this once when I was a little boy. My excuse for everything. Dan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shave-with-mouthwash/941295.md?page=1)