Bobnapples Posted August 28, 2004 #1 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Is soap making you itch from bathing because of the softwater? I found that it made my ankles itch so I surfed the net and found this site that has a body bar that works very well in the soft water and rinses totally off. Here is the net site : http://airwatersolutions.com/soap.html Holland America should look into it for use in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhannah Posted August 28, 2004 #2 Share Posted August 28, 2004 I've never had any reaction to the soaps on HAL ships. Do you normally have sensitivity to detergents and the like, or was this unique to your cruise experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobnapples Posted August 28, 2004 Author #3 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Vegas Jim I find it only happens when the water has been soften. Never give me a problem other than at that time. I have heard others mention it so I posted the net site where I get my soap to use on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDRMark Posted August 28, 2004 #4 Share Posted August 28, 2004 There's never a copper around when you need one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhshapiro Posted August 28, 2004 #5 Share Posted August 28, 2004 I have somewhat sensitive skin also, and I find that olive oil based soap from "Kiss My Face" works fine and does not cause itching even with the soft water found on most cruise ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobnapples Posted August 28, 2004 Author #6 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Thanks MHShipiro I have in on my ankles and it drive me crazy with the scratching I have to do to do to try to relieve it. As for the one who is looking for the copper, let them have the same problem and they will know how it feels. A good soap makes me able to enjoy the cruise!!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyk47 Posted August 28, 2004 #7 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Interesting. We actually have the reverse situation. Typically soaps don't work as well in hard water and, in fact, we have our own water softener for our house. Before it was installed we had more trouble with soap related dry skin, etc., and it certainly has made a difference in our laundry. Never have had a problem on a cruise though we tend to bring our own bath soap but just the kind of gentle soaps you can find in a regular grocery store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire O'Brien Posted August 28, 2004 #8 Share Posted August 28, 2004 We find the Oil of Olay bodywash is excellent on board ship, nice and mositurizing and you can even use it as a shampoo. Walmart often have it on special and then it is not at all expensive. One bottle lasts a long time. The water they make on board is not actually softened as such but is very pure water which has been distilled from seawater. Softened water at home on land is usually hard water which has been treated to soften it and contains other added chemicals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted August 28, 2004 #9 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Husband has very sensitive skin - due to medications - and so far todate - he has never had a problem with either HAL's sopas or shampoos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhannah Posted August 28, 2004 #10 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Softened water at home on land is usually hard water which has been treated to soften it and contains other added chemicals.Water softening systems use either salt or potassium to periodically clean the resin that removes the "earth" from the water. Our system uses salt. There is about the same amount of salt in a gallon of water that there is in a slice of bread. (i.e., very little.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhshapiro Posted August 28, 2004 #11 Share Posted August 28, 2004 The water on cruise ships is "soft" because essentially all the minerals have been removed by the purification system (either a distiller or reverse osmosis system). In hard water soaps form precipitates, which are easy to rinse off. However, in soft water the fats in the soap form a layer that clings to your skin and is hard to rinse off. Most soaps include animal fats and detergents, and some people are allergic to the detergent residue that remains on the skin. There are some soaps that are made only from vegetable fats (and no detergents) - remember the old Palmolive Soap (palm and olive oil based). The olive oil soaps have no detergents and no animal fats, so some people find them less irritating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmorejj Posted August 28, 2004 #12 Share Posted August 28, 2004 I have extremely sensitive skin, so I started making my own soap about 5 years ago. It is made from a base of pure glycerin, to which I can add lanolin, cocoa butter, aloe etc plus perfume oils. I`ve never itched since I started making my own and its a whole bunch cheaper.....jean :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted August 28, 2004 #13 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Thank you, Mark, for your explanation. Makes sense to me and I will be looking for some Palmolive to bring on Zuiderdam with us. The last cruises we had on her, I did notice I had a hard time rinsing off the soap but it did not irritate either my DH or my skin. I didn't understand why the difference on Zuiderdam when I had never had that issue on any other ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted August 28, 2004 #14 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Jean......Your homemade soap sounds wonderful. Makes me think of the fabulous green soap I always buy from the ladies in Dominica. The first time we were there, many years ago, we walked down the pier to a small 'market' the ladies had set up. They were selling big bars of a coconut scented green soap that was subtle enough to really appeal to me in the Caribbean. I bought a few bars (more to feel I contributed a little something to these women with small children than out of a great need for the soap.) I feel bad to keep saying No, Thank You to everything they are selling. I don't really want t-shirts or trinkets etc I used one of the bars that night in the shower and was amazed how much I liked it. Very moisturizing. Now....I am always happy if Dominica is on our itinerary as I load up on more soap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhshapiro Posted August 28, 2004 #15 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Palmolive has gotten really hard to find these days. I also have had a hard time finding "Kiss My Face" olive oil soaps in the retail outlets recently, but I have been able to order them directly on the Internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocngypz Posted August 28, 2004 #16 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Actually, it's the other way around. "Softened" water is a very powerful cleaner. Bathtub ring is soap (really very few true soaps still out in the marketplace) scum and minerals from your water. A whole house system(especially when combined with an r/o system) eliminates bathtub ring.. you use just a smidge of shampoo.. a little bigger smidge of liquid laundry detergent, etc. Desalinated water still contains high levels of other minerals. Water onboard ships has high concentrations of halogen (type of chlorine) to pass any CDC inspection. This will make you itch. Ever take a bath onboard??? There's the good old bathtub ring... ergo hard water. Water spots are a result of hard water. When you have soft water.. there are no water spots.. no bathtub ring... your clothes are softer (provided you don't use too much detergent, your hair is cleaner, the element in your hot water heater is clean, the water pump in your washer lasts longer and your razor blades even last longer too because they don't have to cut through the mineral deposits left on your skin. At home, try rinsing your hair after shampooing with hard water.. and see the difference. it's much softer.. that's because the vinegar helps remove the mineral buildup. The salt used in water treatment systems is for knocking the mineral buildup out of the filtration media. There's not very much which actually passes back through to your taps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imsulin Posted August 28, 2004 #17 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Bath and shower water (and toilet water) on cruise ships is desalinated water - not loaded "fresh" water. All cruise ships have their own desalination plants, which can continually supply desalinated fresh water from ocean water. Just an FYI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherInFlorida Posted August 28, 2004 #18 Share Posted August 28, 2004 I've always been told that it is the hard water that is difficult to rinse off and that you will get that slippery clean feeling after rinsing in soft water. However, this does not mean "softened" water which is entirely different. True soft water, such as from a spring like where I grew up, leaves you feeling soap free and completely refreshed. It also leaves your hair feeling softly wonderful and limp as a dish rag:( . Still there is nothing like a bath or shower in soft water. Softened water, on the other hand, is another animal. And while your dishes will come clear as a bell with it (without that hard water residue that is also left on your skin:eek: ), it will not leave you with the same feeling as the real thing. In New Jersey I had a water softener and was deathly allergic to whatever made it soft (not the salt because ocean water clears up my skin:confused: ). I'd never had the problem before and it cleared up when we moved away . I am hypersensitive and cannot use anything with PABA, lanolin or zinc oxide either so this wouldn't happen with everyone, but it definitely could explain a slightly itchy feeling after showering in "softened" water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDL1771 Posted August 30, 2004 #19 Share Posted August 30, 2004 I live in Western New York where the water is very hard. Whenever I travel someplace with soft water, my hair goes limp. I usually have a lot of volume to my hair, but not when it is washed with soft water. Does anyone have any advice on what kind of shampoo I could use to add the body back that the soft water on the cruise is going to take away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhannah Posted August 30, 2004 #20 Share Posted August 30, 2004 Most every shampoo brand has a formula for extra body/volume. You might try one of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherInFlorida Posted August 30, 2004 #21 Share Posted August 30, 2004 MDL, yes I would try one of those. I happen to like Pantene with extra body (or something like that) that has a conditioner in it. Beyond that, I just put a lot of junk in my hair to "dirty" it up a little and that's what gives it the body. The reason your hair goes limp in soft water is because it is completely clean with no residue of any kind left on it. In effect, you have to put the residue back in. Sounds gross, I know, but that's an absolute fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmorejj Posted August 30, 2004 #22 Share Posted August 30, 2004 S7S, It was after we visited Dominica and purchased some of their wonderful green soap that I started making my own. I took one 30 min. class at a craft store and haven`t looked back!! Whenever grandkids or nieces stop by, they always want to make soap with me. There are several web sites for supplies. I also make bath salts, and lip balm.....jean :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltydog28 Posted August 30, 2004 #23 Share Posted August 30, 2004 jean-a friend of my daughters' is in to making her own bath and body products. A few years ago we were in London and we found Lush. We had been ordering on line, when we saw they opened a store in NYC. Their 'newspaper' gave our friend alot of ideas. And if I am in Ireland or Bermuda I always buy Radox. Do you have a problem with laundry detergent? Take care, Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASM Posted August 30, 2004 #24 Share Posted August 30, 2004 I haven't used soap in years but my Oil of Olay body wash works fine onboard and on the coast. I do use less shampoo however, and that helps the limpness problem. I like Aussie volumizing shampoo but it's very hard to find around here, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmorejj Posted August 30, 2004 #25 Share Posted August 30, 2004 Pat, I absolutely love Lush products, they have many stores in Toronto, and I purchase them when I`m there. I`ve also experimented with making bath bombs like the ones from lush. We also used Radox at home in England. Laundry detergent bothers my skin, so I usually use baby detergent such as Dreft for my things. I`ve also used Baking soda in the final rinse water to get rid of residue soap.....jean :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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