Millennials Are Fine Without Fabric Softener; P&G Looks to Fix That

http://www.wsj.com/articles/fabric-softener-sales-are-losing-their-bounce-1481889602?mod=e2fb

by lxm • 10 years ago

34 62 10 years ago

wsj.com

crabstraggler• 10 years ago

thats because fabric softener is a scam. clothing doesnt need oil added to it. its gross.

if downy didnt make their product with copious fragrances and dyes it would just be like a bottle of crisco.

douche• 10 years ago

Much like virtually everything in the personal care category. Shampoo is a scam. Conditioner is a scam. Lotions and washes and creams are scams. Antibacterial xyz is a scam.

Hot water and plain soap work wonders all by themselves.

trendia• 10 years ago

Not only is antibacterial soap a scam (you don't need it), it also causes antibiotic resistance.

colinbartlett• 10 years ago

There are lots of products I consume that are not necessary or are even a luxury, yet I would not consider any of them a scam.

arstin• 10 years ago

Heh, right now it's 10F and my hands are bloody and busted open from getting extremely dry and chapped after a few hours in the cold. Lotion would absolutely help right now...if I happened to own any! Alas, I am a tech nerd!

Likewise, this time of year I'm reminded by nature to buy a bottle of really good quality moisturizing shampoo. My experience has also suggested any conditioner you can buy at Walmart is a scam, but for certain heads and certain climates, spending more on the good stuff makes the difference between your hair being anemic or healthy. I switch to nice shampoo every winter and year after year the difference is night and day within a week or two.

Fabric softener on the other hand...what a waste!

Yaggo3• 10 years ago

Shampoo is a scam. Conditioner is a scam.

That's why I don't use those either (in shower). Usually I wash with water only, sometimes with some bar soap.

For killing bacteries in my armpits (which causes the bad smell of sweat, thus "deodorant") I use coconut oil. Works superbly, but makes stains in shirts as a downside.

x0x0• 10 years ago

You must not have dry skin. 3-5x daily application of Aquaphor keeps my hands mildly dry rather than cracked and bleeding. And it works great on your face to help prevent wind burn while skiing.

kristopolous• 10 years ago

If I use the "wrong" brand or no shampoo and conditioner, I'll get terrible dandruff that can even lead to it mixed with dried blood.

If I use Aveeno brand shampoo and conditioner, this never happens, ever. Not a single white flake. Nothing else has done it. Totally brand loyal and that stuff isn't cheap, nor is it advertised as a dandruff product

mercnet• 10 years ago

All these scented detergents and fabric softeners would cause my back to break out into pimples. I read a tip on reddit to switch to All Free Clear detergent which finally eliminated my problem. So good luck P&G as they will probably just add to the labels "naturally scented".

jrs235• 10 years ago

If I approach the laundry detergent aisle at a store my skin begins to itch.

CodeWriter23• 10 years ago

I don't use any P&G products. Mostly because the abundance of phthalates in their products literally causes me to stop breathing.

colanderman• 10 years ago

Along a similar line, does anyone under the age of 50 use Borax [1]? I assume people must have found it useful for laundry at some point in time, but I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how or why to use it.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Mule_Team_Borax

nielsbot• 10 years ago

Never used Borax (except as hand soap). But I have used this: http://mrsstewart.com Another throwback laundry product. (I was inspired to try it when I read they make new clothes look whiter by tinting them blue)

mikestew• 10 years ago

I don't know about new clothes, as bluing works because it's complementary to yellow, which usually means "used". https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluing_(fabric)

Also a key ingredient in growing crystals, if I remember my children chemistry experiments correctly.

droithomme2• 10 years ago

I use Borax and find it helpful. My water supply doesn't have chlorine in it. The boron reduces problems with mildew. It also allegedly softens the water, but I use baking soda as my primary water softener.

I also have successfully used Borax solution in cleaning of porous surfaces to eradicate mildew problems in areas that bleach doesn't work to eliminate long term.

abakker2• 10 years ago

Can second this. I use it in all my laundry in SF - drastically reduces mildew. I also dissolve it into the hot water I used in my carpet shampooer. I have an allergy to mold, and borax has proven to be extremely effective in reducing mold to tolerable levels.

I'm a millennial.

pasquinelli• 10 years ago

My wife uses borax to make our laundry detergent.

yuubi• 10 years ago

Under 50.

Used "Terro Ant Killer II", which is syrup that contains borax and works about as well as the original formula that contained arsenic.

sndean• 10 years ago

I use borax pretty much every day in a biochem lab. 20 g of borax in 1 L of water works really well as a cheap buffer for DNA work.

But I had no idea it was (or how it would be used) for laundry.

poulsbohemian• 10 years ago

Yes, I keep a box in the cupboard because it has lots of household uses apart from laundry. Cleans drains pretty well, good ant killer.

rokosbasilisk• 10 years ago

Doesnt alot of research show millenials are exceptionally poor, I wonder how much of not using it is just saving money.

gtaylor• 10 years ago

I can't speak for everyone, but I just don't feel like using it. I can't notice a difference. Not worth it.

grogenaut• 10 years ago

I'm older than a millenial and I don't ever use it unless its really dry and staticy. When I was in St. Louis I'd use it in the winter. I generate maybe 2 sparks all winter in Seattle no matter how hard I try and shock people.

droithomme2• 10 years ago

I'm older than millennial and don't understand any need or benefit from this product category.

The article suggests that the use of these products will extend the life of your clothes. This is a remarkable claim and it is striking they provide absolutely no evidence for it.

tmuir• 10 years ago

Is there any form of marketing that encourages critical thinking?

jeena• 10 years ago

I have the same problem with hair conditioner, I've been using it for years and my (long) hair is gotten worse and worse, got tangled and really hard to cumb the next day after washing. I then read an article about hair conditioner and how it becomes a layer of silicon over your hair which first makes it nice and soft but starts to stick together, etc.

I was sceptical but really tired of that problem, so it was either cutting off the long hair or trying something else, so I stopped using hair conditioner. In the beginning it got worse, but after a couple of weeks it got better, mich better. I was able to go for days without washing my hair and still had no problems to comb it, and it was still shiny and all. I never looked back and still had long hair for a couple mor years.

Perhaps it's just not for my hair, but advertising on the telly during my teenager years said that you have to use it, so I did.

niftich• 10 years ago

I'm in this demographic. When I was a teenager and living with my parents, we used liquid fabric softener, but when I went to college and had to deal with a shared laundromat, I pared down my laundry products to make it more convenient: a medium-sized bottle of liquid detergent, and a box of dryer sheets impregnated with fabric softeners.

Now that I'm living on my own, I switched to a giant box of powdered detergent, which I prefer, but would have been more inconvenient to handle in college. I still use the same kind and brand of dryer sheets, and I'm not convinced I'm missing anything.

raverbashing10• 10 years ago

Dryer sheets seems to help with static buildup in clothes, but apart from that it seems it's less effective than the liquid softener versions

sundaeofshock2• 10 years ago

I roll up some aluminum foil to combat static. Reusable and cheap.

galago2• 10 years ago

Another problem they might face: As an adult, I've never used shampoo. I can see that shampoo/conditioner might provide interesting outcomes for people with long hair carefully maintained for aesthetic reasons. For me though, its like fabric softener, a product category from which I will never purchase.

Perceptes• 10 years ago

How do you clean your hair?

coderzach• 10 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_poo

bicubic• 10 years ago

Just using running water and a comb is enough. If you have short hair and don't work in particulate rich environments, there's no reason to use shampoo.

Turing_Machine• 10 years ago

If you have a buzz cut (or some other very short hairstyle, as it sounds like the OP does), you might as well just use the same soap you use for your face. It will work fine.

galago2• 10 years ago

I'm sorry for the lack of clarification. My morning shower starts with the bar soap on the top of my head and precedes downwards. One could think of this is how the US military now uses the same fuel for aircraft, tanks and trucks. I still wash my hair, but I'm on a mono-soap system. Is this sub-optimal for attracting sexual partners?--I can't say. It is very convenient, however.

raverbashing10• 10 years ago

Yes, you don't need shampoo if you're bald or cut your hair (very) short

Otherwise, it only goes to add to the stereotype, I guess

And yes, it absolutely does make a difference.

coldtea4• 10 years ago

And yes, it absolutely does make a difference.

No, it absolutely doesn't, if you still wash your hair.

Not to mention you can use ordinary soap or shower gel and it will do just fine.

The proliferation of such BS (non existent back in the day -- the first synthetic shampoos were introduced in the 1930s, with daily shampooing becoming the norm in the US by the 1970s and 1980s) is mostly due to marketing and cargo cult.

pmontra• 10 years ago

This is an interesting read about the subject https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water

I live in a city with hard water and I feel a difference when I do or don't wash with a softener. Without it clothes are somewhat stiff. Washing with water at room temperature helps and no softener is required. I add it only when washing with hot water.

Anyway I'm not buying anything special. Believe it or not, vinagar works as softener. I'm using the cheapest white vinagar (nearly transparent) in the supermarket. Clothes don't have any smell and it's less than a Euro per months of usage. My mother has been using it forever and me too for many years now.

Very important: don't mix it with soap. Use it only if your washing machine has separate compartments for liquid soap and liquid softener. If it's one of those washing machine where you put soap powder and softener powder directly on clothes (I've seen them when I was little and in the USA), no vinegar in there.

Millennials Are Fine Without Fabric Softener; P&G Looks to Fix That

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