Why do you have too many soaps?

[English Shaver]

Why do you have so many soaps?

Do you feel like you're missing out if you don't try everything? Do you constantly search sales for a bargain? Is there a particular soap you just can't do without? Do you have to keep some of every soap you've ever had? Is there some other reason?

Personally I keep trying to find the one, having recently received an SV Opuntia I may have found it, but now I have to get through the rest of my stash

I took up wet shaving last year - not quite sure how i stumbled into it but I know that having the time to wet shave (due to working from home) was a key factor.

I bought many soaps - basically because i didn't know what i was really doing and they are so cheap and easy to buy. When I happened on some that smelled great I just bulk ordered. So I'm left with a collection of over 30 when I only want to use around half of them but i feel it would be wasteful to throw them out. I'm still tempted by some of the hard soaps I have not yet purchased but I expect in reality i wont be buying any for at least two or three years.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I took up wet shaving last year - not quite sure how i stumbled into it but I know that having the time to wet shave (due to working from home) was a key factor.

I bought many soaps - basically because i didn't know what i was really doing and they are so cheap and easy to buy. When I happened on some that smelled great I just bulk ordered. So I'm left with a collection of over 30 when I only want to use around half of them but i feel it would be wasteful to throw them out. I'm still tempted by some of the hard soaps I have not yet purchased but I expect in reality i wont be buying any for at least two or three years.

You could always PIF the ones you aren’t going to use.

 

[RayClem]

I took up wet shaving last year - not quite sure how i stumbled into it but I know that having the time to wet shave (due to working from home) was a key factor.

I bought many soaps - basically because i didn't know what i was really doing and they are so cheap and easy to buy. When I happened on some that smelled great I just bulk ordered. So I'm left with a collection of over 30 when I only want to use around half of them but i feel it would be wasteful to throw them out. I'm still tempted by some of the hard soaps I have not yet purchased but I expect in reality i wont be buying any for at least two or three years.

If you do not like the performance or the scent of some of the soaps you have in your collection, then you can try to sell them or give them away. If you keep them in a cool, dark place, they should last quite a while. I have had some soaps in my collection for over five years and they are still usable. Some have gotten firmer and some have lost some of their aroma, but all can still be used. Hard pucks often can last for decades.

 

[5Cantonas]

On year 5 of restraint, and still have enough lather for 5 more...
Before that acquired 30-35 or so in a couple of years. All purchased after being influenced either on here, or YouTube. I was a new shaver who needed to try what everyone says is “the best” this or that. For me, I wound up wasting time and money on shaving crap: Since then I have realized that it’s all just lather, and it’s just shaving. I get no discernible difference in results whether I use a $3 stick, or $40 puck. I still enjoy the experience all the same. I don’t care about scents or if it’s artisan, or if there’s tallow etc... If it works good, I’m happy. I’m very glad that I no longer “fall for it”.

Take only what you need, folks.

 

[Roy]

Curiosity . Then you discover, the soap is no better than the last one you used.

 

[luvmysuper]

In all of the products I have bought and used over the years, there are only three that I didn't like and wouldn't buy again. Everything else rates from good to superb, so I have a lot of items in the rotation.
Although rotation implies a set pattern, which is not the case.

 

[RenoRichard]

Many soaps- yes indeed; too many- no not really. In the last year and change of the pandemic enjoying variations in my daily shaving routine became an important daily diversion for me while sheltering in place. This provided me some welcome relief from the worries about our remaining parents, children, and grandchildren. I purchased more soaps, brushes, and other shaving gear in the last 16 months, than I bought overall from 2012 through 2019. It has been great seeing the remarkable progress the artisan soap makers have made in the last several years. In 2012 I had decided to start using up my shave software and actually was making some good progress before the pandemic hit. Now, I may use most of the soaps up, then again I may not. However, it doesn't really matter because for me the value lay in the diversion itself, and that has been, and continues to be, realized.

 

[AlphaFrank75]

So what number constitutes the "Too Many" number? Four, 10, 30 or maybe 50? A case of Arko, now that's too many. A single puck of Tabac, that's also way too many and I've got two in quarantine back in the drawer somewhere. There should have been another choice for Too Much. I bought a kg of Cella and that's definitely too much.

 

[luvmysuper]

So what number constitutes the "Too Many" number? Four, 10, 30 or maybe 50? A case of Arko, now that's too many. A single puck of Tabac, that's also way too many and I've got two in quarantine back in the drawer somewhere. There should have been another choice for Too Much. I bought a kg of Cella and that's definitely too much.

It's kind of like the old joke about anyone who drives slower than you is an idiot, and anyone who drives faster is a maniac.
If someone has less soaps than you, they are cheapskates or unadventurous, if they have more than you, they are hoarders or obsessed!

 

[lancre]

In all of the products I have bought and used over the years, there are only three that I didn't like and wouldn't buy again. Everything else rates from good to superb, so I have a lot of items in the rotation.
Although rotation implies a set pattern, which is not the case.

You almost described my feelings. The only difference is that there are a lot of soaps I've liked, but would probably not be purchased again because I got seduced by something new, and have a limited amount of money.

 

[Whilliam]

Too many? I don't have enough.