Baby shampoo *is* the best defog

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DukeAMO

Contributor
Messages
485
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98
Location
North Carolina, United States
# of dives
50 - 99
I guess I didn't believe people when they told me that Johnson's Baby Shampoo is the best defog. I thought, surely the commercial defog products must work better; otherwise, how would they make money on them? I've been using Sea Gold defog gel, but I still had foggy masks pretty often. People blamed it on user error: applying it too long before the dive, rinsing off too much, whatever. I finally decided to try the spray bottle of baby-shampoo-and-water on the boat, and had my first several fog-free dives. They had cut it with water enough that you don't even have to rinse it off; you just spray it on a dry mask and rub it around. Cool!

Useful article: How to Defog a Diving Mask
 
Yes, it does. I actually like a different shampoo, but the point is the same. Way better then commercial preparations.
 
Yeah, I think Johnson's is just popular because it's cheap, it comes in travel sizes, and baby shampoo doesn't burn your eyes if you need to clear your mask mid-dive.

I once tried the toothpaste-as-defog trick, and my eyes burned from the mint!
 
Yes, it does. I actually like a different shampoo, but the point is the same. Way better then commercial preparations.

Come on Frank, share your preference. Nosey bast*rds like me want to know. :)
 
Come on Frank, share your preference. Nosey bast*rds like me want to know. :)

It's called 5 star and made in Oakland, CA. http://www.amazon.com/All-Natural-S...563146&sr=1-4&keywords=cal-ben+five+star+soap It's been tested as non-polluting in San Francisco Bay, which has the toughest water quality standards in the country. We use it as deck shower soap so folks don't get the deck covered in soap scum. And we can discharge it into a marine sanctuary.
 
Thanks Frank! As usual, you rock (the boat, eh?). I'm just about to order some up myself. As soon as I read the reviews and someone noted that it's "good at cleaning out hair color" I was in. I've been trying to rinse this gray stuff out for years...
 
I never knew this. I use baby shampoo to rinse out the BC. I've been using the commercial stuff (Sea Drops) in the pool. I find spit at times doesn't work as well, especially in the pool. Most times it's fine for the ocean. I must try the shampoo--I assume you wipe it very dry--so no soap bubbles come when you are clearing the mask?
 
I never knew this. I use baby shampoo to rinse out the BC. I've been using the commercial stuff (Sea Drops) in the pool. I find spit at times doesn't work as well, especially in the pool. Most times it's fine for the ocean. I must try the shampoo--I assume you wipe it very dry--so no soap bubbles come when you are clearing the mask?

I don't wipe it at all. I put a squirt of soap in my mask, wipe it around, quick swish in the shower (I wouldn't ever use a mask bucket) and on my face. I'm told I sometimes bubble underwater. I assume they mean I foam at the mask. :)
 
I had trouble with the commercial anti-fog products as well. I now lick my fingers and wipe well, let it dry, and repeat. I'll typically do a partial flood and rinse once in the water. Never had a fogged mask since.
 

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