Evening gentlemen,
Just fancy giving some tubs of cream a try, just wondering though what sort of shelf life I could expect as I would only use them on a rotation with soaps.
Thanks for looking.
V.
The period after opening (PAO) label is the tub open icon with the number inside. That's, as Sezer rightly said, the time in which it should be used after opening (self-explanatory). A slight word of warning, the PAO test is done under controlled conditions so is the 'most likely' outcome when stored in specific conditions (cool, dark, dry as stipulated on the label). It is a test of a range of parameters, including microbial activity, odour and look of the item.
What you might need to watch out for is microbial activity as a result of storage. Usually, this will only affect the upper-most layer of the item in question, so might result in something like a brown patch as above, a smell, or mould. It might
not present as anything, despite there being microbial activity.
I don't want to scare you, though, as it is a shaving cream and hence you're not likely to ingest it, so it
should be fine to use after prolonged storage. Be sure to have a quick whiff, maybe feel some in your fingers for grittiness, take a close look etc. If you're unsure at any point, it's usually better to bin it, or if you're
really keen to keep hold of the cream, remove a layer and check the resulting underneath. Shaving creams are usually pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things anyway!
P.s. same does apply to soaps, though they usually last better because of a reduced water content, though not always!