Why Ivory for enemas?

I like the small of Ivory although it was rarely used by mom. You had to be really constipated for that treatment. I think she even used it at work as a nurse in the 50's and 60's. I keep a bar around just for the smell.

I like the small of Ivory although it was rarely used by mom. You had to be really constipated for that treatment. I think she even used it at work as a nurse in the 50's and 60's. I keep a bar around just for the smell.

Oh yes! The scent of an Ivory bar of soap along with the scent of a red rubber enema bag - so dreaded when I was young, so loved now that I'm old.

I keep a qt jar under the sink with a floating bar all the time!!! Even have added a really healthy dose of Glycerin for added measure. Shake jar first, pour in about 1/4 jar to a 3qt bag and we are good to go!!! No heavy cramping, just good enough to do the task at hand!!

I haven't used Ivory. Back when I was using soap (sometimes still do), I liked Softsoap hand soap the best. Very mild, got some additional "action," but no irritation or cramping. I never used the antibacterial ( of course), but the regular worked well. The other I've used quite a bit is a Castile soap similar to Dr Bronners. I got a couple quarts of that several years ago, and I'm working on the 2nd quart. I find that soap, as many have said, irritates me enough inside to be unpleasant on expulsion, so I don't use it that often. I will try Ivory soon, since many of you seem to find it good.

@paula I keep a qt jar under the sink with a floating bar all the time!!! Even have added a really healthy dose of Glycerin for added measure. Shake jar first, pour in about 1/4 jar to a 3qt bag and we are good to go!!! No heavy cramping, just good enough to do the task at hand!!

I tried mixing other soaps with Ivory and have been disappointed in the results, though I haven't tried glycerine - sounds interesting.

I hope no one will mind my posing this question here, it didn't seem worth creating a new topic somehow.

Does anyone know if Ivory was also used or even known in the UK in those days? I know it was an American brand. I wonder if there was a British equivalent. Does anyone remember lifebuoy or imperial leather or Pears being used for enemas? I have read of castile soap being used, but I think... not certain, that this is non-branded? I'm not even quite sure what it is.

As everyone else has said. It was the purest, and the family doctor said that it worked the best

As everyone else has said. It was the purest, and the family doctor said that it worked the best

Reasonably pure, not much free alkali, and cheap.

Castile soap was originally soap made from saponified olive oil. Nowadays it often is made from coconut or palm oils instead. Again, originally quite pure with little free alkali.

Ivory bar soap, purchased a few months ago, seems to be pretty much the same as I remember from years ago.

Or, at least, it works pretty much exactly as I remember when used to make the water in an enema bag soapy.

To me, it is less harsh than Castile soap, either bar or the Dr. Bonner's liquid, and the response is somewhat slower hence the Ivory enema is easier to administer the full quantity. Also, IMO, it works better, prompting one very complete poo without urgent return potty trips a couple of hours later.

For me, it is the go-to soap to add to warm water in my enema bag.

BTW......the new ivory soap bars does not have that OLD TIME smell......;(

BTW......the new ivory soap bars does not have that OLD TIME smell......;(

I "original" Ivory bars I get smell like the ones I've been using all my life.... The Ivory with aloe that's also sold doesn't and does not product the cramping I like..

99 and 99/100 pure according to the label. And like alot of others here said, that's what my Mom used

99 and 99/100 pure according to the label. And like alot of others here said, that's what my Mom used

Yes, mine too, in the form of Ivory Flakes. (I just learned the other day, that there was Ivory Snow and Ivory Flakes; the flakes were just that, Ivory bar soap shavings). My mom mixed it in a pot of water warmed up on the stove that was to dissolve them. No idea how much she used, but the mixture was like a liquid suppository, it was so strong! Waiting around for the mixture to cold wearing just a tee shirt, and seeing it being tested for when ready to administer was an experience.

Yes, I believe Ivory Snow was just the bar soap processed into shavings. It was originally intended for laundry use, but a teaspoon or two in a bag full of warm water was very commonly used for enemas. That amount is enough to make the enema solution somewhat milky and powerful enough to completely clean someone out with one bagful, even if they have not had a poo for a 7 or 8 days. I know. I've been there.

The idea of making it into a thick soupy solution seems unnecessary. First off, it's probably a lot harder to get a full bag into someone because the strong solution will promptly start cramping. Also, after the enema works, there will likely be residual soap inside, requiring a plain water rinse or two to stop the continued laxative effect and repeated urgent poos.

A little goes a long way when it comes to Ivory in enemas.

The idea of making it into a thick soupy solution seems unnecessary. First off, it's probably a lot harder to get a full bag into someone because the strong solution will promptly start cramping. Also, after the enema works, there will likely be residual soap inside, requiring a plain water rinse or two to stop the continued laxative effect and repeated urgent poos.

A little goes a long way when it comes to Ivory in enemas.

Someone should have told my mom... haha... The super strong Ivory Flakes enema I was given was from an 8oz bulb so there no flow problems there, just required some strong squeezing. And yes, it produced cramping you would not believe! And yes the residual soap would produce a clear mucus farting discharge many hours later since a rinse was never given. Oh, those were the good times enema-wise... haha.

Plus it just feels so right having Marilyn Chambers in your ass.

I remember getting an enema over my mother's lap with the bulb syringe when she said that when she was done giving me that enema I would be 99.44% clean inside. She sure squeezed many bulbs into me during one of her sessions.

I remember getting an enema over my mother's lap with the bulb syringe when she said that when she was done giving me that enema I would be 99.44% clean inside. She sure squeezed many bulbs into me during one of her sessions.

That's funny about getting your 99.44% clean - just like Ivory being 99.44% pure. Sounds like with all those bulb fills your getting it was time for her to graduate to using and enema bag...

I am not an Ivory girl. Although I saw Ivory soap in several of my friend's and cousin's bathrooms my mom usually had something else for our bath and hand washing, although I don't remember what. Maybe that is why the enemas she gave me were plain warm water. Anyway, I was not aware that Ivory was so popular as an enema soap until many years later when I got access to the internet. By then I had already read almost every home health book and nursing manual available in the local library. I came to the conclusion that castile soap was the preferred enema soap. A local pharmacy had the little castile soap packets and I started using them. After reading on the internet that many others grew up with Ivory and still used it, I bought some to try. I must admit I was disappointed. Since major cramping and discomfort are not my main goals for a good enema, I found the Ivory to be a lot more harsh than the castile soap. It has been several years since my last Ivory enema. I much prefer castile soap or J&J baby wash when I decide to use soap because I want a thorough cleanout.

Cheryl77177 Thanks very much for that post, most interesting and potentially useful. 😃

I think that the answer lies in the fact that ' Ivory ' was the ' go to ' soap of choice for baths and showers in the referenced ' enema golden age ' decade and was so readily available in the day . I know that ' Ivory Soap ' did have an aggressive marketing strategy in that day and it worked !! I always saw ' Ivory soap ' in the sink / bathtub soap holders in the many homes I visited . My mother did add a ' new wrinkle ' as to the old standby ' Ivory ' soap for the initial ' soapsuds ' enema . She went ' light ' on the soap and added a ' dollop ' of ' Johnson's Baby Oil ' and when I inquired why she indicated that the ' J.B.O. ' made the solution more ' slippery ' and added to the ' laxative effect ' of said enema . I recall her testing the ' mix ' by rubbing her fingers together to test for proper temperature and also as she said for ' slipperiness ' . I know that ' oil and water ' do not ' mix ' but we did always get the desired ' good results ' from this ' mix ' which was the ultimate ' goal ' and , as I recall , the ' cramping ' was minimal or non-existent . Later she explained that she used the same ' enema recipe ' for her personal enemas . Worked for us ………………………..

I know that ' oil and water ' do not ' mix ' but we did always get the desired ' good results ' from this ' mix ' which was the ultimate ' goal ' and , as I recall , the ' cramping ' was minimal or non-existent .

Soap is the emulsifier to make them mix.

Growing up it was always a big bar of ivory soap. Mom would rub it across her hands and then dip them into the warm water in the bathroom sink. When the water was very milky with some suds on top it was ready. I still remember the soap making a clicking sound on her rings as she rubbed the soap. I was standing naked next to her knowing soon I would be very full of soap suds.

I think that the answer lies in the fact that ' Ivory ' was the ' go to ' soap ....

Had to laugh when I read that as it sure was the go to soap ... Oh the scent of Ivory and that of red rubber, now nothings says ENEMA quite like that!

I think the main reason it was used back in the day is that it was considered mild with not a lot of the additives that the others had. My mom rarely used it, she was a nurse and when she did use it she carved strips out of the bar and dropped them in the bag and then shook it. I don't remember her taking them out either although she might have. Ivory does float so it wouldn't stop up the tube until the end. I don't remember ever getting Ivory but I had a sickly brother that would get one several times a year.

Some go by the opacity (milkiness) of the enema solution as the basis for soap strength. But one of the advantages of the shaved Ivory soap is the ability to measure the mass being put into the liquid volume of the enema solution. Ivory contains a fair amount of of free water in bar form but it eventually will dry out if left to sit long enough. Shaved, it will lose moisture faster. I haven't run an experiment to determine how much free moisture is involved, but the shavings do dry out with time.

That being said, I like to keep my maximum concentration of Ivory soap to something less than 10 grams/liter. I also like to keep the volume down on these soapy enemas to around 3.0 liters or less. For a 3-liter (just slightly more than 3 US quarts) enema, that would be 1/3rd of the 90 g /3 oz. bar dissolved in warm water. I used grated soap to dissolve into solution. You can get more to dissolve into the solution but it's not really necessary. Scales are cheap and it's easy to use. I grate one or two bars into plastic food containers and then measure out what I need when I am preparing a nice soapy enema.

When using glycerin in addition to soap, I may cut back the soap concentration. Optimally, I've found an 8-10 gram/liter soap with a maximum of 10% glycerin enema solution to be a good combination for me.

BTW, glycerin is a natural byproduct of the saponification reaction with oils/fats and all soaps will contain some level of glycerin depending upon what steps are taken after the saponification reaction. Natural glycerin soaps make sure that the alkali is completely reacted with few steps to remove the glycerin. Because Bronner's uses potassium hydroxide to saponify oils, rather than sodium hydroxide, and the potassium based soaps generally remain liquid, it may be harder to separate out as much glycerin from the liquid based soaps than solid based soaps.

Ivory contains a fair amount of of free water in bar form but it eventually will dry out if left to sit long enough. Shaved, it will lose moisture faster. I haven't run an experiment to determine how much free moisture is involved, but the shavings do dry out with time.

My parents solved that problem - they would place a white metal pot of water on the stove and boil enough Ivory Flakes in it to make a syrup consistency liquid that was squeezed into me from 8 oz bulb fills. My father would give it to me - his large hands could squeeze that bulb with force that would shoot deep into my colon. It was like a super large suppository that produced incredible cramps.

I really can't think of anything better than good old ivory. The smell, the results, and the suds that it makes!

Pop a bar of Ivory into the microwave fro a minute or two and you end up with a big cloud that crumbles into flakes that are convenient to store and use.

Ivory flakes enemas and Marilyn Chambers seem to be a perfect fit.