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Way too much soap

Recently bought some Bay Rum scented soap. It made great lather, but not very slick. Loving the scent, but disappointed in the shave, I decided to "fix it". After adding castor oil, glycerine and some Lanolin, I killed the lather altogether, but it was slick & shaved batter. Missing the required lather, I added some Cremo to the mix. It now lathers like a demon and is plenty slick. It also now fills a storage bowl and also a Ramekin for use. If this were my only soap, it would still last me several years.
 
I have been at this for years and used hundreds of soaps. I also have a five soap limit...now. Discipline equals freedom.

The above quote from kingfisher is exactly what makes shaving fun again. Hoarding just sucks.
Well, now I have to know what the five soaps are.

Three solutions to too much soap:
1. Trade for hardware.
2. PIF the marginal ones and keep only your favorites.
3. Use huge boar brushes and load like you hate it.

I have too much soap, too. Or rather, the soap has me.

Discipline does indeed equal freedom. I'm working toward it.
 
I have about 1.5/2 years worth of soap and cream. Haven’t bought any for 3.5 years, and I’m glad I put an end to that silliness back then. I mean, I wouldn’t go and aquire 30-40 sticks of deodorant just because they have different scents. Shaving crap is no different. I can get just as nice a shave from a Palmolive stick, or MDC. It’s all just “stuff“... I friggin hate “stuff”!
 
I am still a newbie but i find samples to be a danger.
On one hand it is great to find your favorites, on the other hand the favorites grow.

I am around 30 samples in and already found around six soaps i cannot imagine being without.

Back in the days it would have been easier, you have to choose from 3-4 offerings at the drugstore and settle with 1-2.
 
Yes, why shaving soap?! Ì like to have 2 at the most and use them nearly to the end before ordering more. Doesnt stop me from looking, but i have no urge to look at loads of bath soaps for instance.
When i have had a lot of soap or cream, I have mixed them to get fewer tubs. This does wonders for soap that is a bit poor at giving you the best shave.
 
Yes, why shaving soap?! Ì like to have 2 at the most and use them nearly to the end before ordering more. Doesnt stop me from looking, but i have no urge to look at loads of bath soaps for instance.
When i have had a lot of soap or cream, I have mixed them to get fewer tubs. This does wonders for soap that is a bit poor at giving you the best shave.
I am happy that I do hoard bath soap, my main supplier was closed for 3 months.
 
It was only 24 months ago that I had 50+ soaps/creams on-hand. Not a lot compared to many of the lunatics 'round these parts, LMAO.

After trading/gifting/selling so much soap, I now have "only" 18 on-hand (see, I also continued to buy & try during this stretch, <blush>). My last "new and not a replacement for a mainstay" soap I received was last month (a small 100ml jar of Mondial Citrus croap from Connaught).

My HOPE is that I'll eventually get this whittled down to ~7 or so regular rotation and then call it good. Thing is, it'll still take me a few years at this rate to get down to that assuming I don't offload some of my remaining 18.
 
+1. It took over 8 years to finish every bit of cream and soap in the house. Must be determined to not buy, no matter what you read here.


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Do you know how many soaps you had or about how many per year you used? Trying to figure how long will last my stocks.
 
It was only 24 months ago that I had 50+ soaps/creams on-hand. Not a lot compared to many of the lunatics 'round these parts, LMAO.

After trading/gifting/selling so much soap, I now have "only" 18 on-hand (see, I also continued to buy & try during this stretch, <blush>). My last "new and not a replacement for a mainstay" soap I received was last month (a small 100ml jar of Mondial Citrus croap from Connaught).

My HOPE is that I'll eventually get this whittled down to ~7 or so regular rotation and then call it good. Thing is, it'll still take me a few years at this rate to get down to that assuming I don't offload some of my remaining 18.
Get the Mondial Antica Barberia Original Citrus 1000ml block, you know want to...
 
i went on a slow buying spree over the last 12-18 months and have collected a LOT of soaps/creams. I keep the bulk of them in water tight storage boxes in my closet. I keep my favorites in various bathroom closets and keep the ones that im currently using (seasonal etc) in the master bathroom. By my recent count i have around 100 "new" soaps and probably around 50 vintage soaps (vintage old spice, williams, colgate soaps). I have no ideal how long each lasts but assuming i load like a beast they should still last between 1-2 months each so thats between 12-24 years of soap.

I don't have a large rotation maybe 3-4 soaps on the go each season.

I don't buy soap anymore except to replace my favorite ones as i use them (Stirling and B&M)

When i die my wife will be like the ones on ebay saying "found these in my late husband's closet, no idea what they're worth, just clearing up some boxes"

soaps along with all my dozens of razors and thousands of blades/cartridges.
 
Oh and Covid is making my soaps last even longer. I used to shave 6 days a week pre-covid. Since i am working from home i shave only 3 days a week now.
 
Do you know how many soaps you had or about how many per year you used? Trying to figure how long will last my stocks.
Everyone's rate of consumption is somewhat different. Depending on factors such as:
  • How often you shave
  • Size of brush
  • Synthetic, Boar, Badger, Horse bristles
  • How heavily brush is loaded
  • Number of passes
  • Head shaver or not
So, it's best to track and measure your personal usage if you want a close estimate, but here are some rough estimates for example only:

Type of Soap
Example
Average use per shave range
Very hard
Pre de Provence
0.5 g - 0.6 g
Hard
Tabac
0.7 g - 0.8 g
Firm
Haslinger
1.0 g - 1.2 g
Average croap
Cella
1.2 g - 1.5 g
Superfatted artisan
Grooming Department
1.5 g - 2.0 g

So, a 150g tub of Pre de Provence might last over 200 shaves. A 120g tub of soft artisan soap might last 50 or 60 shaves (or less, if you load heavy).

 
I don’t recall how many soaps and creams exactly but at least 4 triple milled soaps and many sticks. I also had some 11 oz. bottles of KMF. Here’s a completely unscientific WAG you can try for estimating time to completion:
Sticks - 3-4 months
Creams - 3 months
Very large size and less is more creams- 5 months
Triple milled soaps- 5-10 or more (PdP) months

Again, this is a guess and there are way too many variables that contribute to how long a particular soap or cream may last.

Do it. Use up that stash. Think of all the benefits.
- nothing goes bad
- more storage in cabinets
- don’t have to pretend you slept through the lesson on inventory costs 40 yrs ago
- you can just skip hundreds of soap threads...


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AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Currently, I have somewhere in the region of...

650 shaves of Mitchell's Wool Fat (1 and a bit soaps)
1750 shaves of Palmolive shave stick (7 whole sticks, one part stick, and a tub of grated)
300 shaves of Lea shave stick (1.5 sticks)
300 shaves of La Toja shave stick (1.5 sticks)
200 shaves of St James of London cream (1 jar)
200 shaves of assorted soap and cream samples
500 shaves of other assorted soaps

Total: 3900 shaves worth.
 
I'll probably hit 30 soaps by the end of the year, as I currently am in the low 20's somewhere. I want to get some seasonal fall/winter scents, and then stop buying for a while. Is it probably too much? Yeah. Does it take up that much space? Not really. At least not compared to all my shoes, colognes, and all the other stuff I've accumulated over the years.

I try not to sweat it too much. I go through periods of acquisition, then let all my "stuff" stress me out. Hopefully this is a hobby I can at least just simply enjoy without these conflicting emotions!
 
If you buy creams these last less time than soaps. I've a poor sense of smell so am not tempted by the latest scent.
 
I'm always mystified when people state that they can go through a tub of soap within 4-6 months. I only have six soaps in my rotation, the oldest of which is M&M St. James Gate. I've been using it regularly for @ 14 months solid and still have another 6 months to a year before it is all used up. I even load heavy just to try to free up space for a new soap but I barely make a dent.
 
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