How much Dr. Bronners will I use in 3 months?

[Stacey F]

My hair is well below my shoulders and needs to be washed frequently. I'll use it for washing clothes, body, and dishes. How much should I pack?

[drowning in spam]

You'll use (waste) a lot if you use the bottle it comes in. I recommend transferring it to a dropper bottle or switching to castile bar soap. I used Kirk's castile bar soap and had one bar last well over a month even though I was using it also every day for washing myself and my clothes….and I was grinding the bar into my clothes, which used it up much faster than necessary. Also, Kirk's is much less expensive.

[Michael Davis]

This is a bit on the side of this topic, but I just wanted to call attention to the recent bear attack on the AT. I can't find the post right now but, an experienced young female hiker left her hammock set up and walked to a nearby shelter. Her food was hung, but there was a bottle of Dr. Bonners Peppermint soap in a sack left in the hammock. The bear ravaged the hammock trying to find the source of the smell.

Fortunately, she wasn't in the hammock! I have quit taking my Dr. Bonner's Peppermint soap on the trail since then.

[Angelo R.]

…or just hang the peppermint soap with your food.

[drowning in spam]

Michael, that's part of the reason why my Bronner's is eucalyptus…I hope that will be fine unless some very hungry koalas comes my way.

[Bob Bankhead]

Dr Bonners also makes a totally unscented soap. REI carries it.

18-in-1 Hemp Unscented Baby-Mild Pure Castile Soap

[Stacey F]

Not many bears where I am going, and they are still extremely shy. If anyone knows how much soap they used on a short trip I could extrapolate. Much appreciated!

[BER —]

@stacey
This of course will no answer your question directly, but I'm not sure anyone could give you more than a rough guess given the variables.

You might have the best luck by calculating an a
amount yourself. Try washing your hair/body, a set of clothes, a days worth of trail dishes at home. How much did it take for each? From there I think you could get a pretty good idea of how much soap you would use in 3 months based on your expected frequency of washing your hair, clothes, and dishes.

I really like koalas. Perhaps I should look for the eucalyptus soap…

[Tyler H]

I'm enjoying this discussion of the 18-in-1.

I think eucalyptus would attract bears just as well as peppermint, I don't think they have a preference.

Does anybody have a knowledge or opinion of whether Dr. B is antibiotic? It seems like soap in the backcountry is key to hygiene (see long list of articles and threads here on BPL) – wouldn't antibiotic properties be an important property of soap if it's meant to eliminate coliforms, etc?

[Jack G]

IMO Dr. B's is not very good as a shampoo, YMMV. I've been packing a travel size J.R. Liggett shampoo bar and using that for everything. I use it as my everyday shampoo at home as well. A travel size bar should last you at least a week. Pack 12 of those and you are done.

Mini Traveler Refill Pack

[Link .]

You could use Dr. Bronners tea tree soap
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil

[drowning in spam]

I think eucalyptus would attract bears just as well as peppermint, I don't think they have a preference.

Seeing as how eucalyptus would be poisonous for a bear to consume, I would hope not…then again, I've run off a bear that nibbled on a bag of tobacco and a bottle of bleach.

[Tyler H]

Bears are attracted to petroleum, my guess is they want the bottle more than the soap. Maybe a bar isn't a bad idea…

[Mike M]

I pack 0.3 oz for a week and usually have some left over, month would be roughly 1.2 oz, 3 months just shy of 4 oz

the stuff (Dr B's) is very concentrated, a little goes a long way!

definitely repackage unless your not re-supplying (which for 3 months is very improbable)

I also use the unscented stuff- I'm not much for scented stuff :)

[backpackerchick]

I have medium brown hair. When I use Dr. Bronners I get a white residue — even at home when I can really rinse it out well. It feels icky not clean. I noticed when I use it as "bubble bath" (doesn't bubble much), it leaves white stuff in the tub. I don't mind using it as soap. I usually use the unscented baby variety.

I find it takes a fair of Dr. Bronner's to work up a lather. I like suds! How much I would use in three months depends on how often I can resupply. If I had to carry 3 months worth, I wouldn't use very much! If I could resupply every couple days, I would indulge in lather.

Just a reminder, not useful in salt water :)

Antibiotic? If you are using the word in a pharmaceutical/medical context…No. However tea tree and eucalyptus oils (probably others as well) have been shown to have some antibiotic activity against certain organisms. The flavoured Dr. Bronner's products probably don't contain much of these oils.

Just because a substance has antibiotic activity against an organism does not mean that such activity is clinically significant — that it will prevent infection or fight infection. I am not in the mood to dig up specific trials (and I am not trying to make this point) but I think tea tree oil has been found (in RCTs) to be clinically effective against some common fungal infections. if you are interested…I refer you to Google.

[backpackerchick]

Stacy, a question is whether you are carrying it. Are you going on a mission of some sort where you will be living in a village and want to be clean? At least 2 liters! Maybe 3.Long hair (mine is just above shoulders and medium-fine strands but a good bit of hair) takes a lot if you want to get it clean! And you used the word "frequently". Forget the dropper bottles! As I mentioned above, it leaves a visible white residue on my brown hair that makes it feel really ratty, not clean. Feels nasty (rat's nest, hard to comb thru) — so try it first (if you get the mysterious white stuff, you can wash it out with real shampoo! Maybe it is just my hair. Or the water though I have tried it in a few different places.

Ha. I just saw your other post!

Forget it! Buy your soap locally! Good grief! If you have sensitive skin, visit a local pharmacy (chemist) and ask for a gentle cleanser. Just say you have eczema — it's the same word in about every language it seems! And you will get some gentle cleanser.

Check out http://www.tynan.com Sounds like a wonderful adventure! Have fun. RU keeping a blog?

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