Am I the only one bothered by getting less than advertised?

[GoodOutcome]

Maybe a bit of a rant, but please bear with me.
I never really thought about checking whether the product I buy actually contain the amount specified.
3017 made me more aware of the weight of the soap as a lot of people make calculations and track usage by grams.
So I opened a brand new puck of Speick Active in order to 3017 it. It should be 150g as advertised on the tub.
The puck was loose and looked quite small, so I decided to weight it and it came as 101g. Quite a big difference. 1/3 of it went poof.
I emailed Speick asking them what's up with that, they only replied 17 days after I sent a follow up email.
A little bit of back and forth asking me some questions, they claim it has a big water content therefore it must have dried up. But it was brand new and just opened..
Then they ask for my batch number which I provide. After that they just tell me to contact the vendor I purchased it from even though they know I bought it years ago.
It's a shame really because Speick make some excellent products, but this left a sour taste in my mouth.
I just don't understand why would they brush me off like that.
What do you guys think? Am I overreacting? I really dislike false advertising.

 

[rockviper]

That really does look like water evaporation to me, given how it looks sunken. Triple milled is (to me) THE way to buy soap and not water. Perhaps that might be why I prefer soaps over creams as well. Hmmm, things to ponder.

 

[ScottChapin]

Well, the puck is 5 years old this June. I don’t know whether it can be expected to maintain its water content that long. Buy a brand new puck and compare.


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[branford]

I don't think it's false advertising, and I agree with rockviper's observations.

Unless the soap is otherwise defective in some way, losing volume due due to things like evaporation is just a pitfall of buying shaving soap, particularly of the non-triple milled variety.

 

[GoodOutcome]

That really does look like water evaporation to me, given how it looks sunken. Triple milled is (to me) THE way to buy soap and not water. Perhaps that might be why I prefer soaps over creams as well. Hmmm, things to ponder.

I agree about the triple milled notion, although it limits the options. This soap is actually a very good performer.
So basically water can evaporate over time, even though it was not opened and stored in a closet?

 

[rockviper]

Yes, water can/will evaporate through plastic containers. I have an unused 8 oz Soapy Bathman that has lost about 2oz so far. I am fully confident that it will suck up moisture and rehydrate once I start using it.

 

[ScottChapin]

I agree about the triple milled notion, although it limits the options. This soap is actually a very good performer.
So basically water can evaporate over time, even though it was not opened and stored in a closet?

Particularly so, if it had been opened to inspect and then re-closed. The plastic container can expand and contract with temperature changes and permit gassing off.


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[shavefan]

If it truly is water evaporation, have you really lost anything? The "soap" is still there and should give you just as much use as a new puck. You'll just have to add more water. Presumably.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

If it truly is water evaporation, have you really lost anything? The "soap" is still there and should give you just as much use as a new puck. You'll just have to add more water. Presumably.

Very good point I think.

 

[HereticHermit]

I think buying triple milled soaps is the only way if you want to store pucks and use them after many years. That said options are rather sparse in triple or quad milled soaps.
Having understood the water evaporation point it is artisan soaps that sometime give me pause when they are not filled upto advertised capacity. As it is artisan soaps are nowhere near value for money pitted against a soap like, say Tabac.

 

[branford]

Is MdC triple-milled, or just aged and dried for a long time?

 

[rockviper]

Is MdC triple-milled, or just aged and dried for a long time?

I don't think that it is triple-milled, but still has great longevity.

 

[@ngel]

I understand this hobby can lead us to new levels, but no offense, something I just cant grasp is measuring an quantifing how long something will last me, I mean, there is times I have to reload and make more lather to finish my shave, and other times I end up with so much leftover I can shave my dog with it! Besides I measure and quantify all day at work to calculate budgets, the last thing I want to do is come home and keep working!
Now that the sentiment is out of my chest.....yeap, is just evaporation, your soap is fine.

 

[johnwick]

Most of the non-triple milled artisans we buy from these days have a lot of water content. I’ve lost 30-40g from CRSW Glide pucks in the first couple of weeks after leaving the lid off. These don’t come fully cured in my opinion, but that’s for another discussion.

It’s an interesting thought... Assuming the puck was a full 150g when you bought it, you should still hypothetically have the same amount of product left (soap, ingredients etc.) so therefore you should get the same longevity once you reincorporate water into it to lather. Only assuming, I don’t know much.

 

[shavefan]

Is MdC triple-milled, or just aged and dried for a long time?

MdC is not a "milled" soap. But it is aged for months, to reduce the moisture content. It is a fairly hard and very dense soap, which is why it lasts so long.

 

[naughtilus]

Huh? I thought Speick Active was a very soft croap.

 

[shavefan]

The first ingredient for their Active soap is water

 

[Boar Fighter]

The product has 18M sign on it. This means, the manufacturer guarantees it will stay as it was intended for 30 months after production + 18 months after opening. This means, if the puck is like 5 years old, Speick has no responsibility.

 

[GoodOutcome]

I understand this hobby can lead us to new levels, but no offense, something I just cant grasp is measuring an quantifing how long something will last me, I mean, there is times I have to reload and make more lather to finish my shave, and other times I end up with so much leftover I can shave my dog with it! Besides I measure and quantify all day at work to calculate budgets, the last thing I want to do is come home and keep working!
Now that the sentiment is out of my chest.....yeap, is just evaporation, your soap is fine.

I get you, but that's part of the fun for me. I'm not taking it to the extreme, just checking when I can the amount at the start so I know which soap is more cost effective.
Also, I'm very consistent with the amount I load. I always load enough for 3 passes.

 

[naughtilus]

It has the consistency of Cella in the tub. It's technically a hard cream.