SV Felce Aromatica gone bad?

[skibik]

Has anyone had problems with this soap going bad?

I ask because I bought this soap last year in refill puck form and after a couple uses I grated it into an Old Spice mug and have been using it that way ever since. It hadn't been used in about a month and upon opening the bag today it had a slight rancid smell to it and the scent has diminished in it.

Lately I have acquired a lot of soaps and creams that I have been trying so some of my soaps have been on the back burner for a while including this one, one of my favorites. Once used I let it dry out for at least 12 hours and seal it up in a quart sized freezer bag since I have no lid for the mug. I shave about 3 times per week(weekend, Tuesday and Thursday) and since I hadn't used it in a while I was going to get it back into my weekend shaves like in the past. This has really got me disappointed as it was my favorite soap/scent. With the amount of soaps I have this has me concerned about how many others are going to go bad before I use them up including 2 other SV soaps.

I did scrape a layer off the soap and I kind of got back to a layer of better scent in it but it is pretty week and I loved the strong scent while lathered and during the shave.

 

[nwohio]

I've had mine for a couple of years stored only in the box it came in. I don't put it away wet, let it dry till next morning then put back in the box. No issues although the scent has faded somewhat.

 

[Ad Astra]

Mine's kept in an uncovered ramekin, and has dried out some on the edges. Too many soaps in rotation, perhaps.

Only soap I've seen rancid was some Cella; sweating beads of oil. Tossed.

AA

 

[skibik]

Last winter my Cella did the same thing. Funny this kind of smells the same way that did but not sure why since SV is vegan and no tallow in it. I guess I made a mistake when I grated it up into the mug is what I am thinking. Funny it went this long though. Now I am really concerned over all the soaps I have and them going bad as well.

At least the creams I don't think I should have a problem with since I take some out and bowl lather and not put a wet brush to them. I might have to do the same with the croaps and just take some out and bowl lather instead of loading on the soap that way they don't get wet and I can cover them up right away. The hard soaps are my concern.

 

[Bebe]

Stirling and Cella went bad on me... i have a couple of SV for 2-3 years, they seems to be ok.

 

[entropy1049]

Stirling is the only soap I've ever had go bad. In fairness, it was several years old.

 

[CBLindsay]

In its original form I wouldn't expect SV soap to go rancid or loose much scent. They use Essential Oils for the fragrance so I assume it is possible they turn rancid under the right conditions. Perhaps being grated into the mug created the right conditions, allowing moisture and air to get into the soap and do its thing.

 

[skibik]

I think that is pretty much my conclusion that grating it into the mug may have been what caused it. Hopefully after scraping some out I am down to some good stuff and will get it into my weekend shave regularly and see if I can't get it used up. It has been drying since yesterday morning and seems okay again but it did lose a little scent though.

I don't think I will replace it anytime soon since I have the LE version in the green tin, also have the 70th anniversary soap to use up along with a bunch of others to go through and hoping they all don't go bad before thoroughly enjoying them.

Oh well, live and learn I guess.

 

[BigJ]

I would give it a try! Nothing to lose and my bet is that it will be OK. Please keep us posted.

 

[skibik]

Used it this morning and even though it lost some of its scent I got the usual excellent lather. I am a little ticked off since this was one of my favorite soaps and scents. I will definitely get back to weekend shaves with it and will get used more than my other soaps and as long as it holds out I should get it used up.

Only disturbing thing is in the back of my mind I am thinking what if this happens to my Limited Edition tin of SV Felce Aromatica.

 

[nav]

I haven't had a single hard soap go off in 10 years. In fact, my CADE puck is from 2009 and it's still fresh as day 1.

I dry load my brush and also wipe off any proto lather so the puck gets put away totally dry. A wet puck is all that i can think of to cause a milled soap to go off.

 

[SGWB]

Do you think the soap is rancid or rotten?

Rancid is when unsturated fats absorb airborn scent molecules. Satuated fats, like stearic acid, don't go rancid. The best way to avoid this is keeping air and moisture away from the oil (i.e. soap), but it's probably not entirely avoidable. Still, a rancid soap is safe and just as usable. Google "dreaded orange spots".

As for rot, bacteria can grow in soap because it is not naturally antibacterial. Soap that is not kept dry will grow more bacteria. This is obviously more of a problem in humid climates. NPR has a good article about it Your Soap Has Bacteria In It, But It Still Gets You Clean

 

[skibik]

Do you think the soap is rancid or rotten?

Rancid is when unsturated fats absorb airborn scent molecules. Satuated fats, like stearic acid, don't go rancid. The best way to avoid this is keeping air and moisture away from the oil (i.e. soap), but it's probably not entirely avoidable. Still, a rancid soap is safe and just as usable. Google "dreaded orange spots".

As for rot, bacteria can grow in soap because it is not naturally antibacterial. Soap that is not kept dry will grow more bacteria. This is obviously more of a problem in humid climates. NPR has a good article about it Your Soap Has Bacteria In It, But It Still Gets You Clean

It took on a rancid smell similar to my tub of Cella that I tossed. Not sure how since it is a vegan soap but it just smelled like that Cella did. This soap turned yellowish around the edge and smelled a little funky. I used it anyway(right before I posted this) and the soap seemed to perform okay but the scent was too far off and no fern smell. After that use I sat down and scraped off not quite a quarter inch and tossed that and got down to a fern scent again but it is just not like what it used to smell like. I did use it the other day and it still performs great but the fern scent is faint now. When done this time I rinsed it off good but instead of just letting it air dry for 12 hours give or take I took a dry washcloth and patted the top it and took out all the moisture I could and then let it dry until the next day. I know I have too many soaps now and they don't get through rotation as fast. Not sure what else I can do as far as storage because I can't see leaving it in the open air for a week or more at a time between uses.

I'm pretty sure my mistake was grating the while puck and pressing it into the mug when I should have just whittled it down some until it fit the mug. I am guessing that inducing air through the whole thing since it was grated completely is the cause. All I know is the scent is not pleasing and not the Felce I absolutely love. Hopefully it stays in its current state even though it is a little weak.

 

[skibik]

Another update. Used it again yesterday. Pretty sure the cause is from grating the whole thing and inducing air into the soap. There also may be the possibility that I didn't get it completely dried out after the last use but I usually touch it and check it. Since I got to the better layer I got a little scent back but don't think it is as strong as before. Still lathers up great and will get it in the rotation more often.

When using it in the past after loading the brush I was would take my finger and wipe out what lather I could and either add it to the brush or to the face, then letting the soap dry for 12 to 24 hours and put it in a baggy since it is in an Old Spice mug with no lid and then put it up on the shelf. Well since I started this I still wipe out the lather but now I take the cup and run it under cold water and use my brush and make a couple quick swirls under the running water, let drain as much as possible and once done cleaning up I take a dry wash cloth and pat the soap dry. I still let it dry for close to 24 hours the last couple uses and it seems to dry harder now then when there was a film of lather on it.

 

[Pat Puma]

I have never let my soaps or creams dry for more than a few minutes after my shave, and I have never washed off the proto lather before closing them up, but I also don't bloom them so they don't get all that wet. I just put a little warm water on the surface and load the brush. I really shake out the brush first, too, so it is just warm and damp when it hits the soap. I guess I've been lucky. I've never had any issues.