Is it Best to Cover Shaving Soaps or Leave Them Open Between Uses?

[KW Driver]

I keep my hard soaps (my only soaps) hydrated and covered. MWF especially lathers up easier when it’s hydrated. It also keeps dust and trash out of them

I don’t leave water on them, I just don’t dry them out first

 

[Lane101]

Martin de Candre recommends leaving it open. The only problem with that is the scent will dissipate and MdC scents are not strong to begin with. So I usually replace the lid after the soap has dried.

My jar of vintage Tabac in the milk glass tub is still too potent for me to use regularly alter almost 10 years, and I keep it covered or I wouldn’t be able to smell anything but Tabac in the house, lol.

All the soaps/blends used in my open mugs lose most of their scent over a few weeks. Over time this has included Williams, Arko, Van Der Hagen and/or custom blends that include the above plus superlathering additions such as Proraso red croap. Consistent with posts from others that use these soaps. Presumed that was because soaps weren't formulated/sold on basis of their scent. Interesting that even a super premium soap like MdC will lose its scent too fast when left open. Have some Razorock "What the Puck" pucks and even though Italian Barber states that they are meant to be kept open I replace the lid after it drys overnight I only use them occasionally. One of them will go into an open mug for more regular use once I 3017 one of my current mug soaps. Will be interesting to see how long the scent lasts when it's left out.

 

[Lane101]

From the posts above the two most common approaches are to:

• When loading directly from our soaps we let them dry for up to a day and then them cover to prevent over drying, loss of scent and accumulation of dust. The exception, where we leave them open, appears to be when we 3017 a single or small number of soaps via regular use.
• Scoop the needed soap from it's container and later in a separate bowl/container to fully protect the soap quality

Noticed that a number of us apply extra TLC to our soaps by cleaning off excess lather, wiping containers and even drying with a hair dryer.

 

[Lane101]

Huh. I’m new to this thing, but I poor the water off the top into my bowl, load the damp brush from the tub, and lather in the bowl. By the time I’m done shaving the tub is no longer very wet. I put the lid on the tub and clean up my bowl and brush. Done. But I also don’t rotate through 50 soaps just 2.

Hi Ottertail, Welcome to B&B. If you only leave the soap container open while you shave what appears to be the soap drying (visible wetness disappearing) is more likely due to the soap absorbing the moisture versus actual drying. Check out the texture of your soaps, you may find that they are now much softer. Some users find that for a while the soap volume never decreases or actually increases due to retained water (saw a post where the soap increased in weight after the shave). For really hard pucks a little of this may provide the benefit of easier loading but too much could create the issues noted in the above posts. Again YMMV and recommendation is to try allowing your soaps to dry a bit longer and see if you prefer the result.

 

[Boyd]

I face lather most creams, bowl lather most soft soaps, and puck load most hard soaps followed by a face lather. For really wet creams (Executive Shaving Citrus Kiss for example), I lightly dip the ever so slightly moist tips of my brush into the cream; for more solid creams, I use my finger to scoop them out and apply directly to my face or to the brush. I use a tongue depressor to scoop out soft soaps into a lather bowl. For the hard soaps, like most others, I rinse off the excess and air dry until the next morning. My MdC Fougere in the beechwood bowl is stored uncovered in my medicine cabinet. It smells as good today as when I purchased it more than a year ago.

 

[Ottertail]

Hi Ottertail, Welcome to B&B. If you only leave the soap container open while you shave what appears to be the soap drying (visible wetness disappearing) is more likely due to the soap absorbing the moisture versus actual drying. Check out the texture of your soaps, you may find that they are now much softer. Some users find that for a while the soap volume never decreases or actually increases due to retained water (saw a post where the soap increased in weight after the shave). For really hard pucks a little of this may provide the benefit of easier loading but too much could create the issues noted in the above posts. Again YMMV and recommendation is to try allowing your soaps to dry a bit longer and see if you prefer the result.

So far I really only have a sample of one. The TOOBS has lasted me since January, and this new B&M Sandalwood is definitely softer.

 

[Dominic]

Not sure what’s best, but I leave my soaps uncovered to dry and cover them back up a few hours later when I get home.

 

[DEgeezer]

With soft creams I dip out a Dollop, and place it in my bowl. Then there isn't any reason to leave the lid off.
Soaps that are lathered in the tub are left open overnight to dry.

 

[johnnylighton]

Am I ruining my expensive soap??

I bloomed my SV puck a few times with a bit of warm water. Now to use it, all I need to do is circle my damp brush over it for a few seconds. Then I close it up in it's metal container until next time.

I don't want to leave it open because I don't want to lose the great scent to the air (and I don't want to smell it in the bathroom air).

Is this going to ruin my soap by eventually turning it into mush or changing what gets loaded onto my brush so I'm no longer getting all its great slickness?

 

[Roy]

This is where a few soaps are good, so they get a chance to dry. I'm using Mdc which is similar to sv soaps, and find its easy to scrape a little bit off the puck, and lather it in a bowl with good results. No water ever reaches the puck in its containers.

 

[kingfisher]

From the responses so far, it seems like I am in the majority. If I shave in the morning, I leave the soap OUT OF THE BATHROOM with the lid upside down and a third of the way off, so air can circulate; when I get home from work in the evening, I close the lid and store the soap.

If I shave in the evening, I leave the soap outside the bathroom tented until at least the next morning, then close it and put it away; sometimes I forget to close them in the morning, in which case I close it when I get home from work.

So, typically, I am airing out my soap (in a place that is NOT the bathroom, in order to have a lower humidity) for at least 8-9 hours, and usually 12 hours or up to 24 hours, then closing them. I have never had a soap go bad on me using this method since 2010.

 

[Ottertail]

Question for the more experienced- I started this DE journey with the new year. How long should a tub of TOBS last for a 3 times a week shaver? Here’s my first:

 

[rockviper]

@Ottertail , a tub should normally last about 3 months of daily shaves, give or take. If you are saving at half that rate, you should expect approx 6 months from it. From what I see, you're pretty much tracking at the normal consumption rate (as if any of us could ever be called normal).

 

[Dapper Gent]

I dont want dust or hairs in my soaps.
Just my way that works and keeps my OCD in check.

I'm with this
Don't know if it makes a difference, but it hasn't hurt. All of my soaps came with covers, so I use them.

 

[RayClem]

I have over 200 soaps in my collection, some of which are several years old. I have never had a soap go bad on me, also they do tend to get harder over the years as moisture evaporates. The scents also tend to get weaker.

I have about 75 soaps in rotation. After shaving, I leave the top off the soap for at least 12 hours to allow excess moisture to evaporate. Then I replace the top and put them away until they next time they are used.

Even if you have only a few soaps in rotation, I suggest you follow a procedure similar to mine. If you are using only a single soap, it is likely to last no more than 3-4 months, so it probably does not make any difference.

The exception to this "rule" is when using triple-milled tallow soaps. In that case, you might want to cover them immediately after use to keep them from drying out. They are much easier to load and lather if they stay moist.

 

[Tallships]

I've always left my soap uncovered, most of my ceramic bowls don't have covers. have only 4 soaps till I'm down to 3

 

[couch_potato]

What I ALWAYS do with all my soaps (no matter if hard or soft) is to leave them air dry after use and, once there's no more moisture on them, put the lid on. No problems whatsoever in the last 30 years...

Can you please mention some soap representatives, please?
I have Cella Red in tub and although impressed, still reluctant to go with 1kg. I shave daily and still see no dent in the tub.
My second in rotation is Stirling almond creme, still - quite economical.
For both I rinse the lather, flip the tub over to drain excess water, after couple hrs - screw the lid again. Now I'm getting bit greedy and interested in Tabac, Speick, Le Pere Lucien, Martin de Candre... but with this pace - Cella and Stirling will push for a year in my assumption and I'd feel sorry to ruin much expensive soaps.
Any advice? Stay patient?

 

[HazMat Shaver]

Can you please mention some soap representatives, please?
I have Cella Red in tub and although impressed, still reluctant to go with 1kg. I shave daily and still see no dent in the tub.
My second in rotation is Stirling almond creme, still - quite economical.
For both I rinse the lather, flip the tub over to drain excess water, after couple hrs - screw the lid again. Now I'm getting bit greedy and interested in Tabac, Speick, Le Pere Lucien, Martin de Candre... but with this pace - Cella and Stirling will push for a year in my assumption and I'd feel sorry to ruin much expensive soaps.
Any advice? Stay patient?

I recommend buying a dozen or so soaps. Spend about 300 bucks. Then after you have played with them all and it's 2 years later you can buy more because you will have learned a lot about soaps by then. Just be sure to have a big enough space for storage. If you start with MDC and SV then you will skip a lot of trying and learn about soap faster. JMO.

 

[Marco]

Can you please mention some soap representatives, please?
I have Cella Red in tub and although impressed, still reluctant to go with 1kg. I shave daily and still see no dent in the tub.
My second in rotation is Stirling almond creme, still - quite economical.
For both I rinse the lather, flip the tub over to drain excess water, after couple hrs - screw the lid again. Now I'm getting bit greedy and interested in Tabac, Speick, Le Pere Lucien, Martin de Candre... but with this pace - Cella and Stirling will push for a year in my assumption and I'd feel sorry to ruin much expensive soaps.
Any advice? Stay patient?

I have taken the tallow-free route, Sir. Here below the brands currenty in my rotation:

Saponificio Varesino
Cella (only the Extra Extra Bio)
Haslinger
RazoRock Super Formula
La Toja

 

[couch_potato]

I have taken the tallow-free route, Sir. Here below the brands currenty in my rotation:

Saponificio Varesino
Cella (only the Extra Extra Bio)
Haslinger
RazoRock Super Formula
La Toja

Many thanks for feedback, it sure throws some light in this topic, at least for someone like me who's more inclined towards tallow soaps.