What's the average shelf life of cream?
- Thread starter Angus Young
- Start date
) tube of NIVEA shaving cream that has been sitting in my toiletries travel bag for ages,when I travel (of course I use it brushless),it still works fine.
I had a trumpers coconut cream bought in 2012. I kinda stopped shaving a lot and was just trimming and it remained unused for a while.
Was getting dry but was still getting a nice shave with it. Was a bit of a pain mixing it up though. Fresh cream is the best to make that lather. I bought a new tub and hopefully i can finish it or at least get halfway within the year. Love that coconut scent
Was getting dry but was still getting a nice shave with it. Was a bit of a pain mixing it up though. Fresh cream is the best to make that lather. I bought a new tub and hopefully i can finish it or at least get halfway within the year. Love that coconut scent
I've read several times here and elsewhere that creams have a shelf life of a year or maybe two at most. However,very recently,while going thru my shaving stuff,I found a tub of DR Harris Arlington and a tub of Trumpers Coconut that I haven't used for at least 3 or 4 years. They were significantly dried out and 'solidified'. I merely mixed in a few teaspoons of water into each tub and they both performed just like new. Although your results may vary from mine,it worked great for these two brands of creams It takes awhile to thoroughly blend in the water but its well worth the time.
Craig
Craig
I imagine it's a lot like wine. If the storage conditions are stable, old cream will still be good. It's rapid temperature changes and extremely high or low temperatures that will cause separation. Even then, refrigerating the cream may help it come back together. That works for some emulsions.
I had a tube of vintage Palmolive cream from the 50's or 60's. The cream had separated, but by using a wood skewer to mix it back together in the tube, I was able to make it usable. It lathered and smelled fine, so I shaved with it for a week or so. At that point the plastic cap, weakened with age, split and leaked liquid all over my shaving gear. I pitched the tube. But, the performance was still good after 50 or 60 years old.
I had a tube of vintage Palmolive cream from the 50's or 60's. The cream had separated, but by using a wood skewer to mix it back together in the tube, I was able to make it usable. It lathered and smelled fine, so I shaved with it for a week or so. At that point the plastic cap, weakened with age, split and leaked liquid all over my shaving gear. I pitched the tube. But, the performance was still good after 50 or 60 years old.
I have a tube of Prorasso Red that I have had since summer 2016 and it is performing like brand new.
I have a vintage Palmolive Lather cream from the 50's and it performs like new. I have other creams from 2012-14 which haven't gone bad either.
I have a bunch of Irisch Moss that I bought right when they ended production. The part by the cap is often hard, but can be reconstituted. About 98% of it is perfect. You have to make sure you don't just squeeze hard to get it out, or about 5 shaves worth of cream can come out, which I put in a container.
I have some TOBS Coconut from about 3 years ago. I notice no drop in its performance. Been awhile since I’ve used any of it however.
