Buying Used Creams/Soaps

[j_fro]

I am obviously a newb to B+B and DE shaving, but I have used a brush (el cheapo) and soap/cream for a while. After discovering the forum and more retailers than I knew existed I have developed a severe case of acquisition disorder.

The B S T section is full of partially used soaps and creams that I would generally like to try. I almost pulled the trigger but I started to think about it. The used soaps and creams started to creep me out a bit, as the brush has been on a face, then presumably back in the tub...

Am I the only one who feels this way? Am I being silly?

 

[PugslyCat]

Yea, there can be an ick factor, but you get over it. Assuming the seller/donor has no undisclosed contagious skin conditions it shouldn't be a problem.

On a soap you can wash away the previously exposed surface to get into virgin territory with little fear of contamination.

I would be a little more cautious about buying a used cream as it is easier to get something embedded below the surface, but to date I'm an all soap guy. I did get an unused tub of Omega in a PIF, but like I said, it's unused.

 

[OkieStubble]

Yea, there can be an ick factor, but you get over it.

previously exposed surface to get into virgin territory

virgin territory? Ewww... Ick!

 

[daccpa]

Kind of like the Seinfeld episode "Double Dipping" the Tortilla chip in the dip bowl.

 

[TheVez2]

The surface layers of soaps are easily washed away. I don't worry about much else beyond that. It's soap... it's self cleaning.

Soft creams are usually scooped out of the tub and placed into a lathering mug. Ideally there would be no brush contamination there. You can scrape off the top layer with a spoon if you're worried about it. Hard creams and croaps are sturdy enough to lather directly on the surface, so the same washing as mentioned above for soaps works fine for those too.

 

[roklein]

Never.

 

[j_fro]

KJ thank you! I was secretly hoping someone would say, "man up and buy more"!

 

[j_fro]

I apologize that this is so repetitive as well. Someone sent me a PM with the idea of just google searching a question with badgerandblade as an added term.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Don't apologize, it's a very fair question.

 

[AverageJoe]

I don't buy used Kleenexes or toilet paper, and there's no way I'd buy used soaps or creams either-------just too unsanitary unless I knew the person very well personally! Really, how much are you gonna save anyway?? Not enough to make up for the peace of mind I get from starting new. I'd ask your dermatologist what he thinks if you still are on the fence! Do you really trust a total stranger that much, even if he is on this forum? I'd say a real health risk exists since small cuts are a real possibility while shaving and could give perfect entrance for whatever other germs you purchased 'used'. Just my 2 cents, but to each his own.

 

[DMT]

To me it's no different from staying at someone's house and washing yourself with the bar of soap they had in the soap dish, or letting the barber dip his hands into the communal pot of hair gel/cream and rub it into your hair.

 

[Joey Anton]

I came upon the same internal debate the other day. I think I could do it with used aftershaves. But personally, I would rather fork over the extra couple of bucks and get a new tub. If I don't like it, I will post it up for sale, trade, or PIF on B&B to someone that doesn't mind used soaps/creams

 

[Go West Young Man]

Most germs die within minutes of being exposed to light and air.... add in the disinfectant properties of soap and hot water, and your odds of catching something are pretty slim.

 

[jtb]

I will by a used puck of soap and do a quick wash. I don't use creams much but the ones I have purchased off BST were in tubes not tubs.

 

[cpeter47]

Scrape off the top layer of whatever it is. Done.

 

[JetsMets#1fan]

It's a very good question with no right answer. Buying toiletries does have an ick factor but comparing it to buying used toilet paper or kleenex is a little unfair. I guess if a new tub of something would cost a lousy few bucks more than used, then why bother, but if the saving are substantial, hey, these things can get expensive. I'd like to point out that I rarely eat outside of my house but when I do eat out, either by myself or with my family, I ALWAYS wonder crazy stuff about my food and the ppl handling it in the kitchen or whatever, Im sure you heard stories... I guess it's a similar risk.

 

[Mick]

You have to weigh the risk / reward factor.

It's the same with anything.

You would run a greater risk of contacting something by eating out.

How many people contract terminal illnesses in a hospital which is supposed to be a sterile environment

 

[Smott]

Most germs die within minutes of being exposed to light and air.... add in the disinfectant properties of soap and hot water, and your odds of catching something are pretty slim.

Where did you read that? It depends on what you've got on there. Some varieties can live for quite some time in a tub of cream. A college microbiology course will haunt a wet-shaver for live.

 

[mftoms59]

I think it's fair to say if someone had gotten infected from a used Soap or Cream purchased on the B/S/T we may have heard about it by now.

 

[Borked]

Most germs die within minutes of being exposed to light and air.... add in the disinfectant properties of soap and hot water, and your odds of catching something are pretty slim.

THIS !

By memory (so not citable) the HIV/Aids virus died when exposed to ultraviolet/sunlight in 5-10 minutes.
We have not been able to manage to find a cure, yet nature keeps it in check beyond internalised hosts.

The fear, then there's paranoia.

With no offence intended to the O/P, research the matter a bit more independently to the point you are satisfied with the answers you've come across, yet exposure to minor/controlled levels of bacteria actually develops immunity.