Keeping open tubs longer than 12 months

How many here use tubs for longer than 12 months instead of using them up within 12 months? The tubs say 12 months after opened on them, so I was wondering.

I tend to like having a variety, which doesn't allow using one exclusively.

IMHO, creams keep well beyond the 12 month "deadline" so long as you keep them from extreme heat and from freezing. But, I'm a soap guy these days, so what do I know?

I have several open tubs that are going on over two years and have never had a problem with them.

The expiration dates are nothing more than a marketing scheme. They are trying to get you to throw away your products and purchase more. If the shaving cream/soap was made properly, it should last for quite some time.

mretzloff said:

The expiration dates are nothing more than a marketing scheme. They are trying to get you to throw away your products and purchase more. If the shaving cream/soap was made properly, it should last for quite some time.

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I disagree. They last that long due to the parabens contained in the product. Conceivably, an excellent product could have a shelf-life of only half a year.

jakespoppy said:

I have several open tubs that are going on over two years and have never had a problem with them.

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Same here!

mretzloff said:

The expiration dates are nothing more than a marketing scheme. They are trying to get you to throw away your products and purchase more. If the shaving cream/soap was made properly, it should last for quite some time.

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I think this is far too onesided. What matters is the way in which oxygen and bacteria can reach the interior of the product and cause product degradation. With hard soaps this is very unlikely because the product isn't fluid; and even with cracks contamination is limited to the interior surface of the cracks. With creams matters are obviously different, especially with tubs which have a good and quite mobile surface area. (Especially if the user uses his moist brush to scoop out product instead of using a metal spatula.) This makes it much easier for bacteria and air to reach to bulk of the product.

Don't assume that because it is a soap or cream, it will stay clean. There's always some critter which feels right at home in there (remember, there's bacteria which thrive in sulphuric acid lakes, or scalding water, or a combination of both), and proper manufacture of the shaving product won't change that one iota. The moral: you won't die from using a product older than the indicated date, but keeping old products cool, cleaning them before first use, not stirring them profusely, and using them up with a bit more speed than usual probably isn't silly advice.

Elecid said:

I disagree. They last that long due to the parabens contained in the product. Conceivably, an excellent product could have a shelf-life of only half a year.

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cymric said:

I think this is far too onesided. What matters is the way in which oxygen and bacteria can reach the interior of the product and cause product degradation. With hard soaps this is very unlikely because the product isn't fluid; and even with cracks contamination is limited to the interior surface of the cracks. With creams matters are obviously different, especially with tubs which have a good and quite mobile surface area. (Especially if the user uses his moist brush to scoop out product instead of using a metal spatula.) This makes it much easier for bacteria and air to reach to bulk of the product.

Don't assume that because it is a soap or cream, it will stay clean. There's always some critter which feels right at home in there (remember, there's bacteria which thrive in sulphuric acid lakes, or scalding water, or a combination of both), and proper manufacture of the shaving product won't change that one iota. The moral: you won't die from using a product older than the indicated date, but keeping old products cool, cleaning them before first use, not stirring them profusely, and using them up with a bit more speed than usual probably isn't silly advice.

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How often have you had a puck of soap or a tub/tube of cream go bad, though? Countless of members here use soaps, creams, after shaves, etc. that should have gone bad decades ago. I will admit my reply was a little too one-sided, however Badger & Blade alone shows that their is a lot of wiggle room with these expiration dates. I would say your eyes and nose are better judges than the expiration dates are.

Not sure if the second part was directed at me, but I did not mean to infer that, if I did.

mretzloff said:

How often have you had a puck of soap or a tub/tube of cream go bad, though?

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One tub of Bodyshop cream I have been using off and on for nearly two years called it quits a week or two ago. I wanted to shave with it, but the remaining contents had completely deliquesced. The last time I saw it, a month or two ago, it was still firm cream. Soaps are a lot hardier simply because their structure makes them more resillient against spoiling; and most I use up within a few months. So they don't have time to go bad in my case.

Countless of members here use soaps, creams, after shaves, etc. that should have gone bad decades ago.

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I'm sure they didn't run those soaps past the local laboratory to check out the bacterial state of these products either. I think I spotted a contribution where someone located an old and really disgusting puck of soap the other day; that one was truly over the top.

I will admit my reply was a little too one-sided, however Badger & Blade alone shows that their is a lot of wiggle room with these expiration dates. I would say your eyes and nose are better judges than the expiration dates are.

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There is indeed wiggle room, but it depends on how one used and stored the product.

Not sure if the second part was directed at me, but I did not mean to infer that, if I did.

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No, I was using the general you.

Those 'dates' of 8, 12, 24, etc. . . Months are nothing more than AT BEST loose suggestion. . . Let's be honest here. . . the producer's arent hermetically sealing / sterilizing / displacing oxygen to impede mother nature's toll (much like nitrogen being used with wine). We're lucky if they provide that nice, relatively useless, plopped down -not sealed- plastic layer thats in between SC and the tub lid!


As such, the timeframe / countdown provided on the package seemingly begins the moment the item was produced. . . Using the 'true science,' (my science...feel free to correct as you see fit ) most products are well on their way to the grave by the time of your first shave.

mretzloff said:

How often have you had a puck of soap or a tub/tube of cream go bad, though? Countless of members here use soaps, creams, after shaves, etc. that should have gone bad decades ago. I.

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I think creams are different from hard soaps in terms of how they age, though.

I've had some shave cream in a tub that i've had for a year now and its doing just fine. If I haven't used it for a while it gets a little dried out, but it keeps on trucking. If you keep stuff sealed and in a cool dark environment it will be fine.

I work at a medical center, and to prove a point a guy got some highly purified water and let it sit for a couple months. Bacteria eventually populated the whole thing because they can literally grow in anything (that was the point he was trying to prove)

Since you're not eating it I wouldn't worry about it going bad. If the texture isn't right then try it out, If you can't make a good lather its cooked and toss it. But I certainly wouldn't throw away cream because it was 1 year, 2 years, or 5 years old. All that matters to me is how it performs, as long as it still works I don't care if its 50 years old. While people may say its a marketing ploy, thats true to a certain extent.

But if you had a 3 year old jar of Cella and it wasn't any good, you may conclude oh this is junk. Well, actually it just expired, and thats why they recommend you discarding it. Companies don't want you using old products that are "beyond: their lifetime and then making negative judgements about them

mretzloff said:

How often have you had a puck of soap or a tub/tube of cream go bad, though? Countless of members here use soaps, creams, after shaves, etc. that should have gone bad decades ago. I will admit my reply was a little too one-sided, however Badger & Blade alone shows that their is a lot of wiggle room with these expiration dates. I would say your eyes and nose are better judges than the expiration dates are.

Not sure if the second part was directed at me, but I did not mean to infer that, if I did.

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+1

The only one that saw lately was Cella: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1397971

Luc said:

+1

The only one that saw lately was Cella: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1397971

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And to be fair, Cella does not use any preservatives.

I believe the point of expiration dates them is to inform the consumer that the manufacturer does not expect the product to perform to expectations indefinitely. It's possible to use the product beyond the expiration date to no ill consequence. Many dates are conservative, so you can expect the product to perform well enough if it hasn't been exposed to environmental extremes. Just like drinking milk, in many cases, the day after expiration doesn't guarantee bad milk. However, you really cannot complain if the milk goes bad 4 months after expiration.