Hydrolast Gone "Bad"?

[ping-anser]

Has anyone ever heard of an aftershave balm going bad? I have a jar of Hydrolast Aftershave Conditioner that I hadn't used since this spring. It was good stuff, but just too oily to use during the summer. I recently opened the jar and was surprised to find that the original peppermint scent was completely gone and what was left was very "medicinal". I wrote to Enchante and received the following response:


"If you did not use my aftershave conditioner since the spring then it has probably gone bad. My products are not machine made; nor do they contain parabans, hydroxys or preservatives of any kind. My wet shaving products are typically produced at the time they are actually purchased or ordered. Being water, and not oil based, they need to be used relatively fresh. This does not mean that they necessarily have a "short" shelf life; however, they do need to be used in a reasonable amount of time. Even commercial shaving products can go bad after six months or more. People generally purchase my shaving products because they do not have preservatives and, hence, do not sting when applied. My question is why did you purchase the product in the first place if you did not intend to use it for six months? It seems that you could have saved yourself $35 and ordered the product when you actually needed it.

Best regards, Charles Roberts"



My question is, what is up with this? I have never had, nor have I ever heard of a commercial product going bad in 6 months. If it is normal, there probably should be a warning on the website that the product has a shelf life of xxxxx. I like to use a variety of different shaving products and I probably use up very few in 6 months and I have never had a problem till now.

Am I expecting too much? Even though I thought the Hydrolast product worked well, I doubt I would ever order it again because of the price and the fact that I don't think I could use it up in 6 months even if I used it every day.

Thoughts?

 

[Easttexasman]

I am surprised he actually sent you the aftershave when you ordered it.I ordered two of them and never got my order.Sent him an e-mail and he cancelled my order.
I will never deal with this guy again.

Paul

 

[BCatl]

If you take the alcohol and the "bad" chemicals out then what is to preserve it a room temperature?

So-called natural products cannot defy the laws of nature, obviously! Things evaporate, little critters get in them etc.

In the future, if you buy such a product without alcohol or some of the standard preservatives, then you might want to cap it tightly and refrigerate during the period you are not using it regularly.

 

[gobeavs]

I can't believe the tone of that email. Surprising, considering he's supposed to be great w/ customer service.

My question is this:

Even if I use my Hydrolast conditioner every day, there is no way in hell I could use the whole tub in six months. Do I pay the $35 bucks, use half of it, then toss the other half when it curdles? Do I goop it on way thicker?

If it's only going to last six months he should chop the price and quantity in half.

Sorry about your luck.

 

[commanderkeen]

i can't believe the tone of that email. Surprising, considering he's supposed to be great w/ customer service.

My question is this:

Even if i use my hydrolast conditioner every day, there is no way in hell i could use the whole tub in six months. Do i pay the $35 bucks, use half of it, then toss the other half when it curdles? Do i goop it on way thicker?

If it's only going to last six months he should chop the price and quantity in half.

Sorry about your luck.

+1

 

[justinp]

Man... this definitely does knock the famous customer service of Enchante down a peg in my book. Now, I'm not being a Roberts fanboy here-- never used any of his products, talked to him in person once and found him sort of... monomaniacal-- but was your email aggressive/accusatory? I ask only because it would be really odd for any relatively well-regarded vendor to throw a "screw you" type finish on an email that under normal circumstances should involve some groveling. In any case, I'm sorry you got treated so shabbily!

 

[petr]

he answered your question with a question.

 

[ping-anser]

Man... this definitely does knock the famous customer service of Enchante down a peg in my book. Now, I'm not being a Roberts fanboy here-- never used any of his products, talked to him in person once and found him sort of... monomaniacal-- but was your email aggressive/accusatory? I ask only because it would be really odd for any relatively well-regarded vendor to throw a "screw you" type finish on an email that under normal circumstances should involve some groveling. In any case, I'm sorry you got treated so shabbily!

Here is the email I sent:

"I recently opened a jar of your peppermint aftershave conditioner that I had not used since this spring and discovered that not only had the peppermint fragrance disappeared, but it also smelled "medicinal". I can't really describe the fragrance but it certainly isn't peppermint. Can you explain how this occurred? Do your products have a short shelf life? For the $35 that this cost, I would think it would last awhile.

Please advise. Thank you."

I didn't think this was an aggressive email but maybe that was how it was taken. ???

 

[justinp]

Eh, I've sent way snippier emails to vendors and never had a response like that. File under unjustified.

 

[Tha Baron]

I have had a jar of the same ASB for about 1.5 years now. I have noticed the same change in both scent and color of the Peppermint ASB.

I wouldn't call it medicinal, but its definitely not as "pepperminty" and much lighter in color (used to be a faint yellow, now and off-white). I still use it and find it effective, but not as good when new.

For him to respond like that is Bulls_it... He could have just politely replied that they do have a shorter shelf life.

Everything I have seen or heard about that guy tells me he is a complete clown. I remember reading an interview someone put together from a discussion with him and his answers were pages long and was VERY professorial. He speaks the way that reminds me of Tom Cruise blathering on about Scientology.

Shame he makes such wonderful ASB.

 

[ramon]

Sometime the shaving cream come a litter odorless and the mix are separated like a litter more liquid in this cases vendors like Classic Shaving recommend stir the shaving cream and put on the fridge if you keep it and no used for long period of time. Is normal that occurs , you stir the cream and the aroma come back .
good luck

 

[Cliff Porter]

I think sellers, required or not, should disclose product limitations and the like.

As a constant "user" of natural products and alternatives I find the statement utterly false.

Essential oils can last FOREVER in a hermetically sealed container and asking for a year out of a container with a years worth of cream is reasonable.

If a product is truly preservative free and has elements that will break down, then refrigerate it. But many natural preservatives and emulsifiers are out there and often used in all natural products. Vitamin E, for instance, is extremely common.

 

[goby]

His email sucks. I won't be using his products. He ain't no Trumper.

 

[Yiap]

Merry Christmas to all!

Yesterday i found a brand new bottle of Hydrolast Peppermint that never had used,was still wrapped,i had ordered from Enchante before 1 1/2 year .
When tried i noticed that the smell wasnt peppermint but something very medicinal..
I applied it and works very well to my skin but is there any danger?

 

[Jethro1984]

I hadn't really considered using his stuff although I had looked at his website a time or two. After reading that email reply, I DEFINATELY will not be ordering any of his stuff anytime soon.

 

[mretzloff]

Wow, classy response

 

[TonyH]

So, has there been any further back and forth about exchanges, refunds, etc? Before this thread turns into the usual Charles bashing, I'm curious to see what outcome is in the works.

For the record, I would not be pleased with his response either.

 

[goby]

So, has there been any further back and forth about exchanges, refunds, etc? Before this thread turns into the usual Charles bashing, I'm curious to see what outcome is in the works.

For the record, I would not be pleased with his response either.

I didn't know there was "usual" Charles bashing. It seems to me that people who use his products really LOVE his products.

People complain about parabens, then they complain when there are no parabens and product spoils.

OTOH, those in the wet shaving industry should know that 90% of us hoard and/or have AD's. I don't see anything on his website that says the product should be used ASAP. 6 months really isn't that long to not use a product. I would guess that virtually NO ONE on B&B uses just one AS.

 

[sanuginz]

Well Charles is a bit off the edge, or out there and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm sure he was well intended although it did come across harsh. I had the Peppermint for a year and the last 3 months did seem to be scentless. It did still perform OK, but not as well as the fresh stuff. Hope that helps some.

 

[Peterfazekas]

He sounds a bit offended. I guess he took offense to your questioning of the product's shelf life (and mentioning the price to top it all off), which i understand but his response comes off as odd and unprofessional.