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Review: World War 2 Era Palmolive Lather Shaving Cream

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.

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The stuff presents like a bubbling, drippy, green ooze. Not very attractive.

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The ooze in the scuttle.

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It took a lot of work, but the stuff eventually started to lather a bit.

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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.

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Not great, but acceptable, and certainly usable, if you plug your nose with toilet paper.

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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...
 
Soaps last, but I don't believe creams do. That's what keeps me from buying NOS barbasol on the bay.
 
I can verify that your tube has packaging from the 40's or early 50's at the latest. Back then we did not have computers to make nice fancy logos for everything so either a company could hire an artist to draw their logo by hand (General Electric still uses a logo from the 20's that was created in this manner, so does Hoover Vacuums) or pick a font and use that to identify their product.
 
You may have better luck squeezing it all out into a tub and mixing it up, it may still be usable if you can get it reconstituted. Creams of that era are soft soaps, not the cosmeticized versions we have today.
 
Here's mine. I found it at an antique store not far from where I live. Mine was latherless and apparently withstood decades of storage better than yours. It was a creamy white paste with a thick aroma of vintage barbershop. I used it as suggested, lathered over a layer of facial soap. It took months, but I used every bit of it. It was so concentrated and so effective as a shaving cream that you only needed a tiny bit. I was sorry to see the last of it being used up. My wife, on the other hand thought I was a complete nut case for using something so old. $Palmolive Brushless Cream 001.jpg
 
You're really brave to use something that old. I would never try rancid cream

+Infinity!!

This stuff is obviously spoiled/ rancid, and the tube may have been lead based too. I am not putting a product that looks that nasty, and has had decades to allow lead to leach into it anywhere near my face!!

I also wouldn't call the lather produced "acceptable". That's horrific, and shaving with it would be undesirable at best.
 
+Infinity!!

This stuff is obviously spoiled/ rancid, and the tube may have been lead based too. I am not putting a product that looks that nasty, and has had decades to allow lead to leach into it anywhere near my face!!

I also wouldn't call the lather produced "acceptable". That's horrific, and shaving with it would be undesirable at best.

John, I think this may be one instance in which modern williams would be preferable
 
This stuff is obviously spoiled/ rancid, and the tube may have been lead based too. I am not putting a product that looks that nasty, and has had decades to allow lead to leach into it anywhere near my face!!

That is my biggest worry; the 'cream' has been absorbing lead for 60-70 years. This can't be healthy at all.

Dump it sir, that can only go in the bin!
 
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