What do you do with all the soaps?

[tipster_621]

I have about 7 full size soaps and a handful of samples. I would love to have more soaps, but I can't justify to myself spending the money on them when I already have enough to last me at least a couple more years. I am going to pick up a puck of Williams if I come across one in a grocery or drug store. There are a bunch more artisan soaps and aftershaves I want to try, but I'm only going to buy more as I use something else up.

Instead of SAD, I do suffer a little from RAD. I fell in love with the thought of collecting as many different vintage Gillettes that I can find in the wild, to use. Right now, I'm up to a dozen. I often pass up on some in antique stores, because "I already have one of those", or something is priced higher than I'm willing to spend. The most I've spent on a razor was $45 for a Toggle in very nice condition. I also have started to collect the Old Spice milk glass shaving mugs (one of each), and have also passed up on a couple that I already have.

Because I have self imposed limits, my wife doesn't give me a hard time when I do find a razor I want to buy. Also, it's that much more quality time that she and I get to spend together, taking road trips to different antique shops.

Next on my list are a vintage ceramic or glass Old Spice aftershave bottle, and an old Clubman aftershave bottle, to decant what I have out of the plastic bottles.

Just like many others, a horrible, once a week chore for me, has turned into a daily, zen time pleasure, and a fun hobby!

 

[SHAVEWIZARD420]

I am not trying to brag but I have a very large soap collection, to the point it can be inbarassing at times. I like to share the wealth whenever possible by doing PIF's and participating in pass around boxes so others can try a nice variety of soaps. Shaving soap is the main reason I got into this hobby that has turned into a large part of my life. I enjoy talking about the different products and comparing performance. Variety is the Spice of life and half the fun is deciding which scent to choose for that particular day. This is just my personal experience, but i like to share as much as possible. Although shipping can be a PITA, there have been many people that have loved and some even use everyday products that were not getting much love in the den. I am a strong believer in karma and it's always a good feeling to put a smile on someone's face, even if it's a total stranger.

 

[BSAGuy]

I bought several soaps and reams early on. Soon realized that I needed to use them up. Have about a 3-4 year stash that I am 3017'ing.

 

[Rusty Blade]

I am one of those 25+ soap guys. I keep a regular rotation of about 14 and I have a couple of shoe boxes in the closet with many more soaps...and two more just arrived in the mail today. The ones in the closet get rediscovered every once in a while. I PIF some to my family. None go to waste. I dream of somehow getting down to a select 5 or 10, but I know that is not likely to happen in my lifetime. I do like the variety.

 

[cvargo]

I have 148 soaps/creams in my den have used over 200 different soaps/creams. 28 of the soaps currently in my den have not been used once yet. I have 3 soaps on the way also.

For me this is a hobby. I'm still fairly young only 28 I shave every day and I don't regret any of my purchases.

 

[davent]

I've a limited space for storage, self imposed, and therefore a limited supply of soaps and creams. I just keep using up what i have on hand, whether i think it's great or not (excepting Arko) until i run out of enough product that i can reach the free shipping threshold at Italian Barber, then i'll place an order, that's not even once a year. One razor i use and three brushes i work through.

dave

 

[Badgerstate36]

Ive got somewhat of a soap addiction. I find myself wanting to try so much different stuff and theres so much out there that next thing you know, youve got 20 pucks in your shave den.
Right now, Ive got probably 20 pucks. Its probably enough soap to last me at least 3 years. The way I look at it, so what? Its not as if its going to go bad and now Im set on soap for a while.
While we're at it, you want to talk about the 500 blades that I have in my nightstand? LOL
Im getting better. Ive knocked my collection of razors down from 10 to 3. I used to have 4 Fatboys, 3 Super Speeds, a Black Beauty, an EJ DE 89 and a Van Der Hagen TTO. Now all I have is the Black Beauty (my birth year razor), the DE 89 and the Van Der Hagen (my travel razor). I realized that I was never going to use up my collection of vintage razors because 1 razor should last a lifetime, so I needed to send those razors to a home where someone was actually going to use them. Razors were meant to be used, not to sit in a nightstand drawer collecting dust.

 

[atoms8791]

The acquisition disorders hit me hard last year. I started doing this about 5 years ago. I had one razor, bought about 150 blades, and had maybe 2-3 soaps that I was using up at a very slow pace (I was only shaving 2-3 times a week). This past year, however, I got into daily shaving because I decided I shouldn't look like a crazy person at work anymore, and I started watching more YouTube shaving channels. The artisan soap makers they were talking about didn't even exist when I started, so my curiosity got the better of me, and now I have 6 razors, but I'm not planning on buying any more. I have my daily driver that I love (Maggard Slant) and I just got a birth year Gillette Superspeed, so my collection of razors includes pretty much everything I'd want or need.

My soap collection exploded and I must have about 40 tubs of soap in my cabinet. A good number of that is Stirling Soap, which I found to be my absolute favorite in terms of performance and scents. I have a fair share of B&M, CRSW, and Soap Commander rounding out the rest. I'm on a self-restraint right now, and I'm limiting myself to seasonal offerings that are actually compelling to me. To help make room for that, I started on a 3017 journey back at the end of December. I already blew through a puck of Haslinger Schafmilch, and I'm currently going through a tub of RazoRock XX. I'm going to whittle down my collection some and then hopefully I'll be under better control of what I want. I'm also getting into some of that Excalibur stuff when it comes to blade life so I can stretch the blades I have even longer.

I'm finding that putting my energies into other shaving-related things than surfing the soap makers websites and thinking of buying things is much more productive and better on the wallet. It is satisfying to use up things too. I know when I ran out the Haslinger, I felt very accomplished; I felt the same way last month when I used my Voskhod blade for 28 shaves.

 

[Brutus]

1. No.

2. If I should find that I haven't used a product for a while, it obviously does not meet my needs and I dispose of it. I would consider PIF to help others form an educated opinion about the product, but am based in a country where there are few classic wet shavers and the cost of shipping out of the country makes this option inadvisable.

3. Question of maturity of the person and society.
When I started to take a deeper interst in shaving, I tried many products, then settled on the ones that I truly liked, and nowadays take a "sit on the fence" approach before I try a new one.
The assumption that the latest is always better is not limited to western society and such consumer behaviour particularly seems to spread in those societies that only recently "came into money".


B.

Discloure:
I drive a 20-year old German car and the last "new" soap I tried a few months back tried was Haslingers.
Hence feel free to classify me as as an "old fart".

 

[BigJ]

In answer to your questions:

1. I try to remain in the 'collector' camp. I use what ever brands I have in my collection. With soaps I enjoy variety.

2. If I don't use a soap for shaving, then it gets used in the bath of PIF.

3. I tend to prefer more classic 'barbershop' type products, generally things that have been around or that are modeled after classics. In soaps, this means that I tend to Haslinger's (which has been around since the 1800s) rather than the newest artisan (where the artisan may move, the company may close or the formula may change).

Obviously, others can have equally valid approaches!

 

[vtmax]

A tighter den has actually led to more enjoyment in wet shaving. I once had around 50 soaps, so have tried most and am now down to 6 containers at the moment. Mike's Natural, CRSW Premium and always have a Haslinger on hand for travel. I thought Jabonman's Premium Tallow might be the 4th but I rank Mike's & CRSW Premium higher. Three soap brands. Variety did not help my shaves. There was no consistency.

I shave with the RR Baby Smooth and the three Webers (DLC, ARC, PH.) Have backups to the razors. Still own the Wolfman SB but find the shaves just average.

I will admit to trying new soaps and razors to keep shaving fun. I don't consider it a hobby. Recently tried L&L soaps and a Parker Variant but if they don't best the razors/soaps mentioned above out they go...and quickly. Might try a Timeless & dip my interest into a Mergress again. Who knows!

A much tighter shave den has let me relax and get the best shaves of my life. 50 soaps and 20 razors became nonsensical (to me) and never helped the actual shave.

 

[mistercindy]

First, as to your questions:

1. I don't have an acquiring addiction.
2. I'll eventually use most of my soaps and creams.
3. No clue.

I have around 20 soaps and three creams, the majority of which I bought when I was new to traditional wet shaving and I was trying new things to see what I liked. After a while I figured out what I like and I generally stick with them. I have a rotation of five or six favorites (generally B&M, CRSW, and DR Harris) and I pull out one of the others every now and then. That, and I have a DR Harris stick in my travel kit. A few I don't care for and one day I'll probably throw them out.

BTW, I own two razors: a Timeless for daily use, and my old Merkur 34c in my travel kit. Kai blades are my favorite so I bought a 100 pack and they're the only blade I use. I have three brushes: a Simpson Commodore X3 best badger for creams, a Semogue OC boar for soaps, and Semogue 830 boar in my travel kit.

 

[G-Dogg]

In answer to your questions:

1. I'm sure there are, but I'm not one of them.
2. There has only been one soap that I really disliked, so I used it in the bath instead.
3. I think the best can be the enemy of the good here. I deliberately keep my soap rotation to three, although I have a fourth, bought as a Christmas present, that will remain unopened until something else is finished up. All of the soaps I have are very good, but there are a couple of others I want to try at some stage. I don't hanker after them - it's only soap. I want some variety, but not a bewildering array of choice, so I'll just keep plodding along and try something else on my short list when there's a vacancy in my rotation.

 

[tromboneliness]

I shave with them.

1. There may be, but so what?
2. Never bought a soap I hated that much. I shave with them.
3. Don't think much of society, do you? I get a kick out of this mindset, yet I don't know anyone for whom it is true.

Collecting and addiction are different. I have 20-30 soaps, but also have 20-30 different kinds of tea; not addicted to soap or tea- I just like variety, and so, enjoy collecting and using them.

Variety is the spice of life.

AA

+1. It's fun. In a day and age when we are said to be addicted to sugar, food, smart phones, even sex, it seems to me we ought to tighten up our terminology a bit.

 

[Floyd Eye]

At this point I have over 20 soaps and aftershaves. As I acquire more soaps I usually give away some of the ones I like less. I have given away virtually all of my RR soaps ( except The Dead Sea and Tuscan Oud) and several RR aftershaves. My stash of Catie's Bubbles, Stirling and B&M keeps growing.

 

[MarsEnglish]

I too have a larger than necessary collection of all things shaving. However, I don't view it as much of a problem. From my perspective, most men, especially as we get older, don't really spend much money at all. Shopping is typically reserved for the kids & wives.
One of the things that attracts me most to this hobby is the opportunity to have some ME time & occasionally chat about it with others experiencing the same things. And right along with that comes the opportunity to splurge on me for a change through the purchase of hardware & software.
Keep in mind, that it helps to have the resources to do so without having to sacrifice somewhere else in life. For many years I worked hard, made sure everyone had what they needed - now it's my time and frankly, I don't care how much is spent as long as I'm having fun, enjoying my shaving stuff, getting great shaves & the camaraderie of the forums is a special bonus!!!

Just my take on the subject - I think it boils down to - if you can, why not? Someone earlier said it best, "life's too short to have a bad shave & you might as well smell great while you're at it!"

 

[NOLA]

When I started a couple of years ago, I had the "kid in a candy store" mentality and purchased quite a few. Now I like to keep it to between 2 - 3 different types for variety. When I have too many things that don't get used, I get anxious...

That being said, I did just buy a Mike's Natural Vetiver and it is absolutely incredible.

 

[DrLeeDetroit]

1. Yes, I would imagine there probably are.
2. I don't use soaps a couple of times and then put them back. Ever since I stumbled onto the 3017 thread, I never have more than two soaps going at a time; the one I'm using, and the one I let the boy experiment with (he's five).
3. Questions like this are above my pay grade.

I used to collect acoustic guitars. I don't any more. Then I started collecting mechanical watches. I don't any more. *Those* are some expensive hobbies, and at a certain point they begin to feel sort of strange. How many guitars can one person play? How many watches can one guy wear? So the guitars are all gone (but one). The watches are down to a manageable number (about 8 I think, which includes three very cheap 1970s Timexes that have sentimental value). Soaps seem in a different category, insofar as I *will* at some point get through them all. Around January 2019 by my rough reckoning.

--Lee

 

[Terp61]

I acquired shaving stuff when I first began wet shaving in 2012, but I stopped buying a couple years ago. I'm finally down to about 2 years until I need to reorder anything. I just realized I'd rather save my money since I had more than enough of everything.

 

[vespergo]

1. Are there guys out there that would publicly admit that they've developed an acquiring addiction?
Yes, I have. When I first started I was interested in what was available. Then I stopped buying for several years because I had plenty. I came back to the forums after a five year hiatus and realized there were SOO many more new brands out there from when I first started on this forum. I had to try them out.

2. What do you do with all these soaps that you'll probably only use a couple of times and then place back in your den? Do you do samples out of it (to hand them over to forum members), do you sell it, do you give it away to a family member, to friends?

I like to trade them around once I realize that I won't be using them anymore. I use them as currency I suppose to support my continual addiction.

3. Would you say that this is a general, broader trend in current western societies that one always thinks the newest is the best and due to the many opportunities / the huge variety one may think that one is missing/leaving something out that would be greater than the already great product/s that is/are working fine?

Not sure about this one. Probably some truth to it. Lets be honest, people in this hobby generally have a bit of disposable income so it makes it that much easier to buy these things. As far as hobbies go, it's cheap compared to others.