Came across this stuff at a local swap, with the tube still almost full, so I had to give it a try. The packaging still shows the "Peet" name, which means it was manufactured prior to 1953; I'm guessing 1940's. I should admit right up front that I didn't follow the directions, as they wanted you to wash your face, rinse, reapply soap and then leave it on, applying the shaving cream over the face soap. I really wanted to see what this stuff did on its own, so I just used it solo, in a scuttle.
The stuff presents like a bubbling, drippy, green ooze. Not very attractive.
The ooze in the scuttle.
It took a lot of work, but the stuff eventually started to lather a bit.
Eventually it did work into an acceptable lather, with the only problem being the odor. Once lathered up, this stuff smells like a cross between an old canvas duffel bag that's been sitting in the rain, and rancid foot odor, with a very slight medicinal overtone coming in a strong third to the rotten canvas and stinking feet. After experiencing the smell, I was reluctant to paint my face with it, but my scientific curiosity got the best of me; I had to see how well it worked with the razor.
Not great, but acceptable, and certainly usable, if you plug your nose with toilet paper.
I can't believe they would have sold any of this stuff with this odor and the runny ooze consistency, so I have to assume that the stuff broke down sometime in the past sixty years. Still, an interesting experience...
The stuff presents like a bubbling, drippy, green ooze. Not very attractive.
The ooze in the scuttle.
It took a lot of work, but the stuff eventually started to lather a bit.
Eventually it did work into an acceptable lather, with the only problem being the odor. Once lathered up, this stuff smells like a cross between an old canvas duffel bag that's been sitting in the rain, and rancid foot odor, with a very slight medicinal overtone coming in a strong third to the rotten canvas and stinking feet. After experiencing the smell, I was reluctant to paint my face with it, but my scientific curiosity got the best of me; I had to see how well it worked with the razor.
Not great, but acceptable, and certainly usable, if you plug your nose with toilet paper.
I can't believe they would have sold any of this stuff with this odor and the runny ooze consistency, so I have to assume that the stuff broke down sometime in the past sixty years. Still, an interesting experience...