good point, jacquin.

these bath salts are called 'urea' in big bold letters. we sure dont see that kind of product marketing here.

as for where the pee comes from, and purity standards, it isnt like there is a pee bank like the red cross blood bank.

even if the FDA has approved urine in pharmaceuticals, and therefore we might be able to assume the pee is 'pure', the fact some people have receive tainted blood in the past can certainly let us conclude all the pee aint pure either.

if hardly anyone knows it's there, how might we also know what negative effects might come from it? maybe they are minimal. but who knows?????

So I guess all in all our quest to know what is going in and on and around our bodies continues! As we continue to go more global we will also need to figure out what other countries are doing with their products as well. Interesting world we live in!

A little Googling brought this up on a tie dying site. Seems the stuff is used in dye also. Check your hair dye ladies. :-)

Where does urea come from?

Urea is the same chemical as is found in the urine of mammals, but the urea we buy is not obtained from urine. It is synthesized from natural gas.

Is urea hazardous?

No, urea is reasonably safe, compared to many other chemicals. It's a major ingredient in many skin moisturizers, due to its humectant properties. Although you should avoid skin exposure to dyes or soda ash, skin exposure to urea is not a major safety issue. It may be irritating to the skin. Airborne urea, like most powders, is hazardous when inhaled.

Does urea ever go bad?

Yes, urea will, given enough time, break down to form ammonia. Your dyeing urea should have no particular odor. If it has a strong, unpleasant smell, discard it (you can use it as fertilizer), because you do not want to be using ammonia. Ammonia will increase the pH of solutions to which it is added, and is irritating to the user.

Where to buy urea

Any dye supplier should be able to sell you nice clean urea.

For buying in bulk, try a local feed store. Ask for "pure shotted urea" if available, or 46-0-0 fertilizer. Some grades of urea are nice and clean, while others are dirty, contaminated with bits of darker material. Look before buying, to see if the urea is clean enough to suit you.

thanks, bubba. that answers a lot of questions.

so i guess i better ditch my plan to get rich, rich, rich by selling my pee.......

....but, wait a minute. natural gas?????