3 years ago
WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) - Caffeine. It is the fuel that drives our jazzed up, sleep deprived world. And while most people seem content to swill it down by the cup or pint, what if you could literally bathe yourself in it?
Enter Shower Shock. It's soap loaded down with caffeine and John Frazier from ThinkGeek.com says you can absorb up to 200 milligrams, a couple of cups of coffee's worth, while you lather up. "We were approached by the manufacturer ... who said we can put caffeine in anything."
He also says he uses it himself. "So a little caffeinated soap, that 10 or 15 minutes in the morning, will give you that little extra something," he said. Frazier claims ThinkGeek.com, which specializes in gadgets on the bleeding edge of technology, is currently selling a couple hundred bars a week on-line, to customers who likely want a morning boost even before they get downstairs for coffee.
But are they really getting that? Anastasia Snelling, Professor of Health and Nutrition at American University, says Shower Shock is likely more good marketing that substance.
Our conversation went like this: "Can you absorb it?" "No." "You don't think so?" "Very small amounts of caffeine can be absorbed through the skin." "No! It doesn't work?" "It doesn't work"
Snelling says research shows you'd have to leave caffeinated soap on for an hour or more to actually absorb enough of the stimulant to have any effect.
When we asked Frazier about this he backed off a bit on the 200 milligrams claim, saying 40 or 50 was more like it. But the package on the bar still says 200 milligrams. So I guess you'll have to take a shower with it to see how much 'shock' you really get.
Written by Derek McGinty9NEWS NOW
