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November 5, 2009 2:56 AM

I have a pale pink bottle with a liquid inside. How can I figure out what it is?

I think it is shampoo or soap, or maybe even lotion. I found it in my closet. I think it's homemade. I won't put it on my hair, but I will taste it for testing purposes.

posted by past to grab bag (13 comments total)

Nobody's going to be able to help without more information. Try using it as hand soap; does it bubble up like shampoo or soap or does it seem more like lotion or conditioner? Does the bottle have any sort of label or text? Go ahead and taste it if you want (I wouldn't, but you seem to really want to know what this stuff is).. maybe even taste your hand soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner to have something to compare to.

Another thing to consider.. how could it have ended up in your closet? Ask around your house or ask any friend that may have had access tot he closet.
posted by Sufi at 3:31 AM on November 5

Fill your lungs with air then sniff it. What does it smell like?
posted by devnull at 3:49 AM on November 5

Send it to a lab and have its ingredients analyzed.
posted by Houstonian at 3:54 AM on November 5 [1 favorite]

Mix some of it vigorously with some oil. Leave it for a while. If the oil is still mixed in and hasn't separated, this is probably some kind of soap or shampoo.
posted by emilyw at 4:24 AM on November 5

Is the liquid pink? Calamine lotion or Pepto-Bismol.
posted by libraryhead at 4:34 AM on November 5

Mix some of it vigorously with some oil. Leave it for a while. If the oil is still mixed in and hasn't separated, this is probably some kind of soap or shampoo.

That's a neat idea, but a lipophilic oily substance would also mix neatly with oil. Try doing that, but also mixing another bit of it with water. If it doesn't separate from either, it's probably a surfactant like shampoo.
posted by exogenous at 4:56 AM on November 5

> I won't put it on my hair, but I will taste it...
Listen, I like my hair too, but your priorities are incorrect here.
posted by twistofrhyme at 5:22 AM on November 5 [22 favorites]

[Hey folks, deleted some comments. Can we address the question, please?]
posted by vacapinta at 6:00 AM on November 5

You think it might be lotion, soap, or shampoo? There isn't all that much difference between the three and experimenting with the substance is the only way you can tell how best to use it. Try shampooing (I realize you said you wouldn't but a bad result can easily be washed out.) Does it leave your hair oily or too fly away? Get your hands dirty and wash with it. Does it leave your hands clean? Apply it to your hands and let it dry. Does it feel itchy when dry or does it feel good? If you really can't figure out which application the stuff is made for, I would imagine that using it as a soap-- provided you really wash and rinse well-- is the least likely to cause complications.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:07 AM on November 5

Chances are that if it is not something you remember, it is not worth tasting, applying, or using. Throw it away.
posted by JJ86 at 6:11 AM on November 5

Dump.
Of course you realize that losing a bottle of home made shampoo or lotion or lavender liqueur is not going to hurt anyone. But okay, it is just so absolutely much more interesting to figure out what is in that bottle. Fwiw it could be carpet cleaner, or something the previous tenant made for the old lady downstairs who has been missing ever since.
This is like eating random toadstools (people do it all the time), or like this one:
One day, cleaners came to tidy up an abandoned Amsterdam antique store below where a good friend lived. In the process, an open jar was found that contained some fluid matter. One of the workers put his fist into it. It turned out to be hydrochloric acid.
But if you want to go on with this, why not shampoo a teddy bear first?
posted by Namlit at 6:29 AM on November 5

Sufi: I tasted it, and at first it tasted quite nice, like a flower. Then that flower rapidly decayed, and also coated the inside of my mouth. It was pretty bad, but also an interesting experience.

emilyw and exogenous: It forms into tiny globules when mixed with oil, and strands when mixed with water.

twistofrhyme: An understandable sentiment. However, suddenly, with no chemical agents or premeditated manipulation, my hair has achieved a beauteous dignity, never seen before. So I can't mess with it. Also, I like to taste things.

Secret Life of Gravy: Good suggestion. I rubbed it into my hands and now they are feeling nice.

JJ86: I don't remember much, and also, I was hoping it would be some sort of divine substance, like the mashings of bee hearts, or something similar.

OK, so I think it's lotion, and I will be rubbing it as such from this point forward. Thanks for taking the time to think about my problem.
posted by past at 6:35 AM on November 5

If this is indeed homemade lotion, that stuff goes bad, and can harbor bacteria. If it's old enough that its provenance is unknown, I don't think it's safe to keep and use.
posted by ErikaB at 8:14 AM on November 5