DryBath: Showering no longer requires water with this clear gel

A South African student, inspired by a friend too lazy to shower, has taken the water out of bathing with his new invention. DryBath is a clear gel that claims to replace the need for water and soap.

The invention won Ludwick Marishane, 22, a student at the University of Cape Town, the 2011 Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

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DryBath is already being manufactured commercially for major global airlines and militaries as it can provide refreshment to passengers on long-haul flights and offer soldiers an alternative to bathing in areas where they often go weeks without a shower.

Marishane explains his product in the video below:

Unlike anti-bacterial hand sanitizers, DryBath is free from a heavy alcohol smell. It's odorless, biodegradable, hypo-allergenic, and contains moisturizers.

"DryBath will go a long way in helping communities," Marishane tells Reuters.

He sees the potential in third-world countries where water conservation is a serious concern, hoping it will "save the lives of the over 2 million destitute people who
suffer and often die from easily treatable diseases like trachoma, diarrhoea, etc.," the official site for Headboy Industries, Marishane's company, states.

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"I invented it to benefit people from the poorest communities in the world, and also for people in the developed world. For people without water, DryBath provides empowerment as an affordable tool to achieve lifesaving personal hygiene without having to be dependent on stagnant community water infrastructure development," Marishane tells business strategist Carol Roth in an interview for the Huffington Post.

"For wealthier communities, it offers a convenient way to save time and decrease their unhealthy practice of unnecessary daily bathing (which is proven to cause continuous drying of the skin), while achieving adequate personal hygiene. In both situations, precious water is saved, which can be put to better use."

Marishane sells DryBath in individual one-use packets — one packet replaces one bath — for 50 cents a piece in poor communities and for $1.50 each to his corporate clients.

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