In these crazy-scary days of global health concerns, we have a heightened awareness of the
importance of washing our hands to prevent and/or slow down the spread of germs and viruses. Here is a brief history of a soap that was a staple in my house when I was growing up. Whether washing with it retarded the spread of disease is unconfirmed. This soap is
Lava Soap — Whatever you’re into, Lava gets it out.
Pertinent Lava soap facts:
- heavy-duty hand cleaner
- originally produced in soap bar form
- developed by Waltke Company of St. Louis, Missouri in 1893
- contains ground pumice (hence the name 'lava')
- moisturizers added in recent years
- original beige bar without moisturizers is no longer manufactured
- comes in green wrapper,red wrapper, and liquid
This advertisement from 1950 promises that washing with Lava soap prevents polio. Unfortunately, there was no documented, scientific proof of this. (More HERE)
Here are our vintage television commercials extolling the advantages of washing with Lava.
Lava Hand Soap Commercial c. 1965
Lava Soap – “Wash Your Hands, Roger” (1960s or 1970s –
conflicting sources information)
Lava Soap c. 1989
Lava Soap c. 1990
My dad and grandpa washed with Lava soap to remove dirt and grease. It worked well. What about in your house? Did your family use Lava soap?
Until next time,
Kaye Spencer
Stay in contact with Kaye—
Resources:
Lava soap information—
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava_(soap)
Website: https://www.lavasoap.com/
Vintage Advertisement—
Pinterest. Etsy.com. Lava soap vintage ad c. 1950s. Accessed
2020.03-21. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/356136283019260162/
Vintage lava soap image—
Pinterest. rakukaren.com. Vintage Lava Soap image. Accessed
2020.03-21. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/349521621052204480/
OH MY GOSH! A blast from the past, for sure! Yes, my dad used it, and he had a "fingernail brush" he used, too. He worked in the oilfield as a chemical engineer, and his hobby was gardening, so Lava was something we did use in our house! Love this, Kaye!
ReplyDeleteCheryl,
DeleteIt is a blast from the past. My dad was a mechanic and we had a ranch, so lava was a staple. I remember how it wouldn't really lather, per se, but it would soap-up and mix with whatever grime was on his hands. It was a yucky looking glob of goop as he washed and scrubbed, but it cleaned like crazy.
When we kids had to stay with our Aunt Dobbie, it was Lava Soap for hands and Dial (that orange-yellow color!) soap for baths. How I hated that lava soap on my little soft hands, but that's all there was to wash with, and you didn't dare come to the table without washing off all the play-dirt, lol! Great blog, Kaye!
ReplyDeleteJodi,
DeleteLava was harsh, all right. We also used powdered Boraxo from a can. Now that stuff was harsh. I think Dial was the soap of choice for baths at our house, too, but I can't remember for sure. There was Ivory (yuck) and Castille bar soap. My mm still uses Castille. Thanks for stopping in to comment. *hugs*
We used Zest, but I do remember most of these comercials. What does that say about my age? Doris
ReplyDeleteI remember Lava soap. Pop used it after he worked in the garden or worked on his car. Our regular soap was Camay, "The soap of beautiful women." LOL I don't imagine they would use that phrase for advertisements today.
ReplyDeleteThat was fun and informative! Thanks for the laugh (and the reminder!)
ReplyDelete