How old is the oldest cream in your den ?

Since I now just purchased my shave cream number 50 (including backups, yeah I have backups ) I begin to wonder for how long these creams will stay fresh - when does a cream expire ?

I know creams in tubes will stay fresh for a longer time, but for how long can I expect say one of my GFT, TOBS, TF&H & Castle Forbes creams to stay fresh ?

I've heard anything from 3-5 years if you add a drop of water to the cream once in a while......

What's your personal experience regarding this ?

My oldest cream is probably 5-6 years old and still works well. It is a bit firmer but it actually makes it easier to load a brush. I have never had an issue with using older creams. All it takes is a little extra water in the initial build and all is well.

I just finished a tube of Palmolive from the 70's ,the scent was a little "off " ,but the lather was still great..

With 50 shave creams, I hope they last a really long time. Mine have been used up in no longer than 2 years.

malocchio said:

I just finished a tube of Palmolive from the 70's ,the scent was a little "off " ,but the lather was still great..

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That's reassuring, as my collection has grown somewhat like the OP's.

My oldest cream is a tube of Trumpers Sandalwood from around 10 years ago, and it is still the same as the day I bought it.
Regards,
Renato

CHSeifert said:

Since I now just purchased my shave cream number 50 (including backups, yeah I have backups ) I begin to wonder for how long these creams will stay fresh - when does a cream expire ?

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Just curious - assuming you've tried most of them, are there any creams where you have rated them sub-average, not-so-great, or really poor in the performance stakes alone (i.e. ignore scent)?

Or perhaps where you have rated them that way with particular razors, but found them okay with other razors?

Thanks,
Renato

My oldest cream? is about....... four weeks. Just a tube of ingrams X2. Nice and cool.

I think the key to longetivity is keeping them dry and cool,so long term storage in the bathroom is not a good idea...I keep most of mine in the closet,dark and dry...

Renato1 said:

That's reassuring, as my collection has grown somewhat like the OP's.

My oldest cream is a tube of Trumpers Sandalwood from around 10 years ago, and it is still the same as the day I bought it.
Regards,
Renato

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Good to know. I have a few tubs and tubes. But each is less than a year old. Trying to finish them in 2-3 years...

I bought a used tub of EJ Aloe Vera SC and after going without use for a while it dried up a little. I added a little water to it and gently mixed it and it softened back up. Lathered fine as well but I made an effort to quickly use it up after that.

I think I may have had some of the oldest cream the last time this came up. At least 20 years old, still lathers fine.



Peanut oil!

malocchio said:

I just finished a tube of Palmolive from the 70's ,the scent was a little "off " ,but the lather was still great..

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I thought my 2 year old creams were old.

Don't have an "oldest" cream but have a 50 years old Saddle Club shaving soap that doesn't have a scent anymore but because of the tallow whips up a crazy lather as good as it did when it was bought.

i think i may have a record here.
i have a tube of Colgate is use once in a while. when i got it, it still had most of the out "shell" intact, but after handling it it is mostly rubbed off. i do not know when they quit making, or last made this. (maybe they still do, idk) but i think this one is old.
maybe from the 50's or 60's..???
this is a cropped photo from when i was making my barber pole. maybe someone knows something about it?
it lathers well, and has a mentholated scent and feel.

merkur59 said:

Good to know. I have a few tubs and tubes. But each is less than a year old. Trying to finish them in 2-3 years...

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I don't know how long tubs will last, since they are always being opened and closed, on could imagine or suppose that there may be some possibility that they may be affected more by environment than the better enclosed tubes are. Anyhow, as we've seen from the examples above, tubes seem to have a very, very long life.
Regards,
Renato

Shoot I have a 25 year old can of Colgate shave cream.

nemo said:

I think I may have had some of the oldest cream the last time this came up. At least 20 years old, still lathers fine.

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I have one tube like that one. I did have two, but the lead tube split on the other, and it dried out beyond recovery -- one was the same age as yours, it's still going. The other was ten years older, and only this past December or January was brought out of hiding, and rated as unworthy of further storage space use.

A while ago I bought some Cussons Graphite off Ebay but the soap had separated into liquid and lumps and smelt rancid, like "off" perfume. The tubes were dated 2001 (the seller did refund me)

I have some old Coates and my old favorite TOBS rose that's at least seven years old. I wouldn't exactly call them creams now.