Vick's VapoShower Tablets: Worth All The Hot Steam?

You’ve found the most convenient means self-care, in this steamy Vicks tablet #ad.

It plugs right into your daily shower routine.

But at about $1.75 per tablet (when writing this in 2023), that could turn into a $50 per month habit.

Is it worth it?

The quick answer is: Everyone should try Vicks VapoShower Tablets. If you like it, I recommend compromising the budget and benefit by taking a Vicks steamy self-care shower once or twice a week. For people with allergy and respiratory challenges who find Vicks especially therapeutic, daily use could improve your overall quality of life.

Vick's VapoShower Review

Pros

• Vicks shower tablets are the best first-time self-care treat for people who find self-care challenging (e.g. family caregivers are notorious for neglecting their self-care in lieu of others needs.) 
• Vicks is a trusted heritage brand, which means safe steamy fumes you can enjoy with peace of mind.
• People with severe allergies report transformational benefits in terms of clearing sinuses, to breath through the nose and throat.
• Deep breathing is a mindfulness that takes practice to do on your own, but when the refreshing scent of eucalyptus is in the air you naturally breath slowly and deeply sensing the moisture and temperature through your nostrils. Believe it or not that’s the most common form of meditation, and you’ve done it with Vicks!

Cons

• Vicks shower tablets dissolve too quickly. Some disappointed users report just 30 seconds until the entire tablet has washed down the drain and the scent dissipates. Not enough time for soothing self-care.
• You need scissors to open the plastic bag which contains the shower tablet. It sucked the first time I was ready to sniff menthol steam, but I had to rummage naked through the bathroom cabinets and eventually found a used razor to pierce the plastic. I’m 35, and for elderly or disabled Vicks fans, that makes using Vicks VapoShower a sizable hassle when I just want to relax.

My Best Vicks Shower Tricks

How to do VapoShower right the first time

Woe was me the first time I went to try my brand new 12-pack of Vicks.

My hands were already wet from turning the shower to hot and adjusting the shower head away from my temperature-sensitive skin.

Then I saw the scissors icon on the plastic wrapper. The sides have no perforations (like opening a Hostess treat), so you need something sharp.

Lucky for me I had a razor to poke a hole in the wrapper. Otherwise I would have had to exit the steamy Vicks hot box I had prepared.

What caught me off guard!

How to make it last longer 

The main complaint people have about Vick VapoShower is that it doesn’t last long enough.

People have the same thing to say about bath bombs. Me included. So it’s no surprise these Vicks shower bombs are a short lived experience.

To make my Vicks shower tablet last longer, I keep it away from the direct water stream.

The goal is to make the tablet dissolve slower, and water makes the tablet dissolve. By putting the tablet to the side of the water stream (instead of directly splashed by the water), then you can effectively slow down the speed of dissolution.

If you have a soap dish handy, and you don’t mind putting it on the shower floor, then elevating the Vicks tablet ontop of the soap dish will also reduce the rate of dissolution, because of reduced water exposure on the bottom of the tablet.

How to make the aroma more potent

Lots of people buy Vicks shower vapors to open up and clear out their respiratory system. It’s not farfetched to assume the same people who have trouble breathing also have trouble smelling. So it’s understandable Vicks get’s lots of complaints saying “the smell isn’t strong enough”.

My best method to make sure the smell is steamy hot and mentholated is this: enclose the area. Close the door, turn off the vent, hop in the shower, and seal the shower curtain wall-to-wall. 

In combination with the methods to keep the Vicks lasting longer, by hot boxing your shower space, you keep more aroma concentrated around your body, to make that Vicks smell extra jazzed. Gimme that sweet eucalyptus, essential oils, menthol, and camphor.

It’s not medically proven to treat the cold or flu, but damn that’s my favorite time to get vaped with Vicks.

Is Vicks VaoShower safe for children, adults, and the elderly?

Vicks VapoShower is NOT intended for children. Children as young as 6 years old are safe to stick on a Vicks Children's VapoPatch. Babies as young as 2 years old are safe to have Vicks Children's VapoRub applied on their skin while under supervision of their parent.

Remember not to stand up too quickly in the shower. I usually breathe normally in the shower, but with the Vicks smells in the air, I couldn’t get enough deep breathing.

Combined with the hot water, high humidity, high pressure Vicks self-care chamber I setup, I got lightheaded in the shower.

Getting lightheaded in the shower is the brightest red flag. I could seriously hurt myself after losing balance, slipping, and falling.

Summary

Baths, the kind you soak in, offer all kinds of soapy, sudsy, creamy, nourishing self-care bath treatments to choose from, but self-care products are slim pickings for the American daily shower routine. Well known for their VapoRub, the Vicks brand makes the most popular (and most affordable) therapeutic aromatherapy bath treatment available on the market. For the middle class, Vicks VapoShower is absolutely worth a try. And if you like it, it’s worth continuing to use every so often based on your budget. Because it would cost about $50 per month if you used a VapoShower Tablet every day.

If you’re ready to take the plunge into a self-care bath (instead of a shower), my top pick is Aveeno, Dr. Teals is good, and Purple Canyon has a similar experience to Vicks.