How can I tell if a soap has gone bad?

**pipskicks** · 05-12-2012, 09:15 PM

I'm curious what do I look for? I specifically have a tallow based soap that seems to smell a little off, yet it seems to work fine... I'm not sure if I should just ignore it, but I'm also wondering how to tell if it's "gone bad"

**GreekGuy** · 05-12-2012, 09:19 PM

Its ok, Tabac is supposed to smell like that

**Price** · 05-12-2012, 09:23 PM

Originally Posted by GreekGuy

Its ok, Tabac is supposed to smell like that

BWAAHAHAHA!!

**pipskicks** · 05-12-2012, 10:04 PM

Haha its not tabac and it has a strong scent, when you smell the tub it's a bit off, while using it, it pretty much has a strong scent. It may be OK, I'm just not sure what signs to look for.

I've never tried tabac, but I am not so picky on scents I like arko :p

**GreekGuy** · 05-12-2012, 10:12 PM

OK...well in all seriousness, what is it supposed to smell like? I don't know if I could smell a puck for the first time and claim that its off. I could smell one of my favorites and know that its off. But if you have no baseline its hard to judge it

**Go West Young Man** · 05-12-2012, 10:16 PM

Soap doesn't really "go bad".

**pipskicks** · 05-12-2012, 10:26 PM

I thought tallow soap can go bad?

**Go West Young Man** · 05-12-2012, 10:30 PM

Nope, the tallow has been saponified, ie turned into soap, so it can sit on a shelf for years. Creams are a different story, but soap just sits there unchanging forever.
I've got a sleeve of vintage Williams that dates back to the 50s, shave with it almost every day to no ill effect.

**pipskicks** · 05-12-2012, 10:33 PM

Can it get moldy? And if so would the lather/soap be fine and would it only just smell bad?

**Go West Young Man** · 05-12-2012, 10:55 PM

Mold could grow on the surface, but it wouldn't affect the soap itself. Just scrape it off and you're back in business ;)

**Ryan83** · 08-15-2012, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by Go West Young Man

Nope, the tallow has been saponified, ie turned into soap, so it can sit on a shelf for years. Creams are a different story, but soap just sits there unchanging forever.
I've got a sleeve of vintage Williams that dates back to the 50s, shave with it almost every day to no ill effect.

Does this also include soft soaps, like Proraso and Cella?

**JoshuaNY** · 08-15-2012, 09:46 AM

Originally Posted by pipskicks

but I'm also wondering how to tell if it's "gone bad"

Usually a bandana over the face while pointing a gun at you is a dead giveaway.

**raccoonandbrush** · 08-15-2012, 10:34 AM

From what I understand, Cella and P.160 can eventually go bad because they don't have preservatives.

**kingfisher** · 08-15-2012, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by JoshuaNY

Usually a bandana over the face while pointing a gun at you is a dead giveaway.

Ha! Good one.

**RichieRich3902** · 08-15-2012, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by JoshuaNY

Usually a bandana over the face while pointing a gun at you is a dead giveaway.

Nice, I was going to say, when you have to bail it out of jail in the middle of the night.

**Sargon** · 08-15-2012, 12:30 PM

While hard soaps don't generally "go bad", the scent does begin to fade after a number of years, and such things to not happen equally. That woudl be my guess, that your soap has a number of different oils scenting it, and some have faded more than others, making the scent "odd."

**luvmysuper** · 08-15-2012, 01:13 PM

How can I tell if a soap has gone bad?

Sometimes, you just know.

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Hard soaps won't "go bad" they just fade away.

Creams aren't really soaps and creams generally have some type of preservative added to extend shelf life.
Unopened of course will last longer than once opened.

I have creams from India that are 2 years past their "sell by" date and they still perform and smell like brand new.
I also have bowls of Yardley shaving soap that are easily as old as some of the people posting on this forum, and while there isn't any scent left - they perform superbly.

**eyebright** · 08-15-2012, 01:18 PM

It's unlikely that a soap would grow mold but the sign of a soap "going bad" is random yellow spots appearing on the surface accompanied by a distinctly rancid smell.

**inspiringK** · 08-15-2012, 01:19 PM

I knew this thread would be well worth a gander.

Originally Posted by Sargon

While hard soaps don't generally "go bad", the scent does begin to fade after a number of years, and such things to not happen equally. That woudl be my guess, that your soap has a number of different oils scenting it, and some have faded more than others, making the scent "odd."

^^^This seems like the best explanation. Short of seeing anything grow on the soap, I would assume it is not bad.

Where did you come across this soap that you don't know what it should smell like, what the name is, or how old it is?

**SliceOfLife** · 08-15-2012, 03:02 PM

I've used soap more than a century old.

Lost it's scent, got brittle and dry, if wet had mold on it

Still works.

Soap CAN go bad if there is enough excess fat in it but most commercial soaps, especially shaving soaps needn't worry about this.

For shaving soap the worst "going bad", I've noticed is losing scent.