Building a collection, but is shelf-life a concern?

I love getting new shave goodies-soaps, creams, and aftershave. My collection is modest compared to many others. How much of a concern is shelf life when building up a shave den with more product than any one person could use within a year or 2? I noticed my Proraso stuff has a shelf life of 12 months according to the label.

I just emailed a soap maker this week with that exact same question and one year was also the answer I received. This recommendation was for a soft tallow based soap with shea and lanolin and some other butters. Hard triple milled pucks can last a long time though.

I would assume that the more wet (water containing/holding) a product is in its natural state would yield a lesser shave life.
Maybe a wise person can chime in with some knowledge!

I have a nearly empty tub with a dry hard ring of what used to be a cream on the bottom, Crabtree & Evelyn's "Sienna". It is no longer in production. I don't believe it is tallow-based.
I got it at least 15-20 years ago, lost track of it, and then recently rediscovered it in a drawer. I use it like a hard soap now, and usually bowl-lather it with my Wee Scot brush to conserve it.
It is still one of the better performing soaps I have, even if the scent is not as strong as it used to be.

I also rediscovered some Body Shop Maca Root shave cream that is a couple of (at least 5?) years old, and it looks like it might be separating a bit or something. Nothing that a bit of stirring won't fix. Even so, it still works as well as it ever did, as far as I can tell.

As long as you keep a lid on it, I imagine most soaps and creams are fairly long-lived. At the very least, it's not like you'd have to flush it down the toilet like leftover spaghetti sauce from the back of the fridge.

YMMV

Soaps and creams will keep almost indefinitely with proper storage. Tight lids, put 'em in a Ziploc bog, and keep in cool, dark place like your closet.

Scent may diminish, but the product will remain very serviceable.

Enjoy.

I have some Yardley shaving soap which must be 45 years old or more (the price is in old money) and it still works better than all but a very few modern production soaps. I also have Old Spice AS and soap from the 1970s and 80s which also work as they were intended to.

I've had soaps in their original containers for 6 years or so with no ill effects. The only soap I had "go bad" was Cella, But that issue seems unique to Cella. Also as others have said, vintage soaps (60s, 70's) still perform today!

Hi,

I have a stock of Oster soap pucks for the model 222 LatherService machine. It has to be pushing 70 years old. It is really hard and a bit crusty, but putting into an Old Spice mug and adding just enough water to cover a puck returns it to decent shape in two days.

In practice, I use it mixed 50/50 with a locally made glycerine soap. The Oster is tallow. My reason is that tallow soap retains its moisture on the face better than glycerine does, but glycerine is more slippery than tallow. A mix gives me the benefits of both. I face lather it rather than use the Oster machine. Those made sense in a barbershop where it would see use all day, but not in a bathroom for one person.

Anyway, the soap survives over a long period of time. I would think that a cream might separate into components and not remix. My other thought is some creams might simply dry up. And, if they did I think one could cut the dry stuff out of the container, put it in a mug and still make use of it. A wet brush would pick some up. I know that because back in the early 90s, after Old Spice was all used up, I deliberately emptied Palmolive tubes into a mug and let it dry up before using it.

Stan

Edit: if anyone is curious about this Oster machine and soap, it is all documented here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/362429-Oster-model-222-Latherservice-machine

As OP state, with proper storage this should be no problem.

I've had some of my soaps and creams for years and never had any problems with them. Just be sure to let them air dry for at least 24 hours before closing the lid.

I have an inadvertent collection. Some years ago I bought a bottle of Aqua Velva before getting back into SE and DE shaving. I can't remember when, but it's in a glass bottle. Scent still is good.

That said, I had an off-brand aftershave in a plastic bottle that went absolutely horrible in a relatively short time. One whiff on my hands was enough for me to pour it out, and then I had to deal with a stench that washing wouldn't remove. So far the Clubman and Brut, both in plastic bottles, are still good after a year (the Brut had dust on it when I bought it), and the Skin Bracer and Brisk, both in plastic bottles, is still holding up.

Thanks for all the responses and advice

My oldest soap is a modest 6 or 7 years at most, same for cream. Nothing has gone bad/rancid. All work like the day I got them. I doubt most soaps/creams will go bad in 5 or 10 years. I think it's against the nature of the product to go bad.

No problems with anything but Cella. I even cut off a bit of the brick and put it in a pyrex bowl, did not use it and stuck it in a dark closet and it turned brown and stale fairly quickly. The brick I keep in the fridge in its plastic wrapper and it's fine after a couple of years.

I also just bought some pre-reformulation Acca Kappa and a tube of I Coloniali Rhubarb cream with the old graphics and they're both fine, these are about 4 years old I believe.

Cheers, Steve

I read the subject as "shelf space concern". I was all prepared to announce - get more shelf space!

Anyhoo... I think the shelf life from the vendors is a little on the low side but would recommend to try to keep your collection 10 to 15 max. I've got over 40 and although Im a 3017 convert I have amassed so much product I am going to have a tough time using it all before something either loses it scent or goes down in quality. I'm not worried about the hard soaps, they will last a loooong time, most everything else 2-3 years shouldn't be an issue as long as you take reasonable care in storage.

My jack black supreme cream has expired and doesn't smell the same. I hope I can make it through all my samples and pucks before they spoil. Glad I sample instead of buying full products lol!

Thanks for the inputset everyone. Looks as though we have nothing to worry about!

My products expire when I finish them! Even if they were to have expiration dates on them, I doubt if I would pay any attention to them---I have several vintage soaps and creams I still use frequently with excellent results. Some may considers a dissipating scent as a degradation, but scent alone is not my primary quality for obtain a great shave.

bigpatvoodoodad said:

I noticed my Proraso stuff has a shelf life of 12 months according to the label.

Click to expand...

I assume that anything with a fat in it could go rancid over time. Expiration dates like that do seem overly cautious on the part of manufacturers though. Frankly, I don't even worry about it. Maybe if I ever have a soap or cream go bad I'll start, but I haven't seen it yet, and I've got some really old stuff.

Several years of wetshaving of 37+ soaps rotation never had one soap spoiled.
What's in the label the expiry date is mandatory for the law but a well preserved soap can last many many years.