
Eleven herbs and spices plus one bathtub makes for an unforgettable beauty ritual.
Earlier this month, KFC and Japanese novelty item chain Village Vanguard teamed up to create KFC bath salts. However, while Village Vanguard has in the past let you just walk right into one of their stores and pick up say, some Attack on Titan or Resident Evil curry, the KFC bath salts were a limited-quantity promotional item, with only 100 packs a day offered as part of a giveaway for KFC Japan’s Twitter followers.
The promotion ended on November 15, and, sadly, we weren’t picked to bath in the rarefied waters. So, left with no other options, we made our own KFC bath.
First, we made a trip to our local branch to pick up 30 pieces of Colonel’s Original.
Back in the office, we assembled the staff for a Kentucky Fried lunch, and collected everyone’s leftover bones. We still had a few untouched pieces, so we sliced the meat off of them using a knife and kitchen shears, put the edible parts in the refrigerator, and then had our supply of 30 pieces’ worth of chicken bones.
We heated a pot of water, tossed in the bones, and let them boil, with the delicious smell of fried chicken filling the room.
After about 15 minutes, we transferred contents of the pot, including the bones, into a tea kettle for easier transportation to the bathroom, where we already had a tub full of hot water waiting. Tipping the spout forward, we poured in the still piping hot chicken stock.
Then, in the interest of not letting anything go to waste, we dumped in the bones too.
At this point, the entire bathroom smelled like a KFC branch. On the one hand, if you’re the kind of person who’s keen to take a KFC bath, odds are you’ll find the smell enticing; we certainly did. However, with your nose telling you you’re in a fast food restaurant, it takes a certain amount of mental energy to will your body to undress. Nevertheless, our brave reporter Ahiru Neko stripped down and hopped in.
After a few moments of quiet, controlled contemplation, he gave us his honest reaction.
“This feels so good!” he gushed. “Like, indescribably good!”
Aside from the pure decadence in bathing in a calorific comfort food, the chicken stock is rich in collagen, which left Ahiru Neko’s skin feeling smooth and looking shiny, which he said was an especially satisfying break from the hard, cracked skin that Japan’s cold, dry weather at this time of year so often causes. Of course, some of that resultant shininess is also probably the work of oil and chicken fat in the broth, but considering that Ahiru Neko doesn’t bathe in KFC every day, he’s OK with that.
▼ A video retrospective of Ahiru Neko’s special bath
So remember, tossing out your KFC bones is a rookie mistake, when you can use them to not only make a great hot pot, but a nice hot bath too.
Photos ©SoraNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]














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