Shave Soap - How Long Can You Keep?

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone have an idea how long you can keep shave soap without it going bad?  Love to purchase and try them all, but if they won't last for a good many years, makes no sense.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Glenn

I have a soap we made nearly 4 years ago. Turned a little yellow on the edges, but still good. It's our original Unscented. The biggest thing with older soaps is often a loss of scent. I would say softer soaps with higher water content would be the first to go "bad".

All depends about composition and manufacturing.
If not correctly stored and used, soap leaves fragrance.
But mechanical properties stay a long time.

I have some Cella 1000ml brick from the early 2000'.
Just parted in 100ml units, and freezed.
Each time, It comes back to life as new.

Depends. Some of artisan soaps intentionally lack the stabilizing ageants of mass market counterparts. When stored too long or put up improperly, people complain of going bad before their time. Akin to purchasing a Ferrari and complaining of ride quality and petrol consumption or a Lotus and citing poor reliability. One need understand their priorities and purchase accordingly. In my case, with supersensative skin, the absence of preservative chemicals IS amongst the primary reasons for purchasing the particular product.

Depends. Some of artisan soaps intentionally lack the stabilizing ageants of mass market counterparts. When stored too long or put up improperly, people complain of going bad before their time. Akin to purchasing a Ferrari and complaining of ride quality and petrol consumption or a Lotus and citing poor reliability. One need understand their priorities and purchase accordingly. In my case, with supersensative skin, the absence of preservative chemicals IS amongst the primary reasons for purchasing the particular product.

Unless one is using a lot of milks and unsaponified oils/fats, you don’t need preservatives in shaving soap.


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I have some Yardley's from 1914 that I grated and rescented with Mennen Skinbracer. Still lathers wonderfully.

Clayton

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That's amazing.

I have enough soaps in my den to last about 25 years. Some of my soaps will probably outlast me. 
However, I realize that some of my soaps may not make it that long.

Triple milled tallow soaps will last a very long time. I had a couple of hard soaps stored away for decades that were still usable, although the scent may weaken over time.

The softer the soap, the more likely it is to deteriorate.  Creams with a high water content may be the most vulnerable, however, many contain preservatives to minimize that possibility. I still have  several creams (TOBS, T&H, Trumper, etc. ) that are 4-5 years old; they are still good, although they have thickened over time. 
 
Also, the stability of a soap depends upon the types of fatty acids used in the soap. Stearic acid and palmitic acid are saturated fatty acids, so they are resistant to oxidation. If the soap contains poly-unsaturated fatty acids, it will be more likely to go rancid. Mono-saturated fatty acids like oleic acid are more stable than polyunsaturated fatty acids, but less stable than saturated fatty acids.

Thanks everyone for your comments.  Much appreciated.

Glenn

I like using different soaps all the time. I. Have found it by best for me to by samples.

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