Does anybody else do this?

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Dermot O'Logical

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349
Not an invitation to certain members to share any of their pecaddilloes (unless you feel an obligation to do so, of course).

My earliest venture into wet shaving, as with many, I suspect, was via the "cartridge-with-canned-gloop" method. I'm a watch collector, and member of one of the many forums which cater to this particular fetish, and a while back we had an epic shaving thread, which led me in the direction of TK Maxx. I bought a Pecksniffs soap, which I continued to use until discovering this place, and having my horizons widened.

I'm now the owner of some Truefitt and Hill creams, which I enjoy using, and are so much better than what I'd become used to. I have been using a cereal bowl to make lather, but found that I was overdoing things a bit, and inevitably some was rinsed down the sink when I'd finished my shave.

Now I don't consider myself to be tight-fisted, but I don't like waste. As there was only a small amount of the Pecksniffs soap left, and I wasn't likely to be using it again, I cleaned out the bowl and used it for lathering the T&H creams. The Pecksniffs bowl is a good size and shape for making lather, and has a screw-on lid.

To the point of this post (at last, I hear you both cry). Left-over cream can be reconstituted with the brush, if necessary just adding a small amount of fresh cream. Does anybody know if the cream degrades or loses any of its' properties by being left (in a sealed container) and rejuvenated in this way? I tried this morning with T&H West Indian Limes and it seems to work quite well. If so, this would make the use of more expensive, exotic creams feasible, i.e. much more economical.

I have a second container of the Pecksniffs soap, unused, which I may sacrifice, and use the bowl for my T&H Ultimate Comfort cream. Unless there's a reason not to?


Regards

Ian
 
What you are saying is possible, I did that once before but not for economy reasons but I don't do it regularly. Usually getting to the bottom of a cream is a celebratory experience for me as I can then crack open another new one.

I had some CF Limes sample left which had went rock hard, I dripped a few drops of water in it closed the lid and left it for a day, then used a little non scented AOS cream when lathering and got a weaker limes but still a great shave. I was deliberating on buying the Limes or Lavender in the full size tub at the time and I could remember the scent but wanted one more reminder.

In the end I bought the Lavender.
 
Dermot O'Logical said:
I have a second container of the Pecksniffs soap, unused, which I may sacrifice, and use the bowl for my T&H Ultimate Comfort cream. Unless there's a reason not to?
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I'll swap you an empty Pecksniffs bowl for a full one! :lol:
 
I thought that I would resurrect this, as I've had two shaves, yesterday and today, without using any fresh cream. To recap, I've got two Pecksniffs tubs, which previously held their Citrus soap. these tubs are a good size for whipping up lather, and have airtight screw tops.

As I resent disposing of left-over lather made from expensive creams down the sink, I experimented with using these tubs and just reconstituting the cream with a damp brush, which seems to work. Today's lather seemed slightly over-hydrated, and not as thick as usual, but that was probably my fault, and I should have shaken or squeezed the brush to get rid of more water.

A question for Sharon and Henk: Does the cream lose any of its' properties if it is left in an airtight container and whipped up again? If not, then it makes the use of more expensive creams more viable, by dramatically reducing the cost per shave.

I'm trying the same thing with my Acca Kappa cream using a small airtight food container (£1.25 from Morrisons - a round container with a seal and clips to clamp the lid in place).

Does anybody else have any thoughts on this?


Regards

Ian
 
Dermot, I think the underwhelming response to your original post should have been a hint.

Creating "waste" lather is all part of the lathering process but if you insist your efforts will be better served by trying to make "just enough" lather and reloading if necessary.
T&H cream's are lovely but you do pay for them, either that or start enjoying soaps again, my experience with Pecksniffs wasn't good, I binned it. Start with Palmolive stick and work up.
 
I cannot be bothered with 'wasting' some lather, but in principle, saving and rejuvenating (with some water) left-over lather should be fine. It is just soap, whipped to a foam with water. In the short term, the only thing that happens when 'storing' lather is dehydration. The soap is still there, still the same, and can be whipped up into a new lather with additional water. In the long run, soaps, being derived from oils, will of course go rancid (=oxidize). Some soaps are more prone to oxidation than others. Stearate, coconut and tallow soaps are pretty much insensitive to oxidation, while hemp oil soap or sunflower oil soap go bad quickly. Good shaving soaps are mostly based on oils and fats that are not particularly sensitive to oxidation, so the risk of your left-over lather going rancid is pretty remote.
 
Thanks, Henk. That was the response I was hoping for.

The point of my experiment and enquiry was to find out if reconstituting creams was worthwhile and viable, with the objective of making the use of expensive creams more economically viable.

Antdad - I started using Pecksniffs soaps (from TK Maxx) as a first step from cartridge + gloop towards DE. Having sampled some decent creams, of course I now realise that Pecksniffs soap isn't a top performer. But the containers are proving very useful! And my name is Ian - my user name is a pun, or play on words.

So thanks to Henk for the response. I shall enjoy using my T&H and Acca Kappa soaps in the knowledge that the true cost will be considerably less than the retail price :D


Regards

Ian
 
Got to be honest, since my shave every morning is one of the great moments of luxury in my life I don't grudge myself unstinted use of as much Mama Bear's as I desire and am completely guilt free about slotting a new blade in if I even imagine I feel the slightest tug with the old one. (& nope, I still wont feel guilty even after this thread as I slosh more unused lather away) ! Cause I'm a wee waster so I am.

JohnnyO. :D
 
I agree absolutely that a good shave in the morning (or evening) is one of life's genuine luxuries, and one should not stint when it comes to the hardware and software required.

Which is why I would prefer to use the more expensive creams, but not flush half of them down the sink if they can be re-used without degredation. If you guys were offered half price Castle Forbes, would you turn it down? I thought not. So why not use the best that you can buy, but not waste them? ;)

Oh - two shaves per blade, max. Unless it's a Feather! ;) Shaving is a sensory pleasure, and that pleasure is significantly diminished by using blades that have passed their best.


Regards

Ian
 
I would think that the scent would fade. And that whipping up a fresh lather from fresh cream is much more pleasurable, and that 'you're worth it'! And isn't pleasurable experience what the aim is?
And more expensive doesn't always mean better; hence Palmolive stick's constant good reviews.
Life's too short to stuff a mushroom. :D
 
soapalchemist said:
I would think that the scent would fade. And that whipping up a fresh lather from fresh cream is much more pleasurable, and that 'you're worth it'! And isn't pleasurable experience what the aim is?
And more expensive doesn't always mean better; hence Palmolive stick's constant good reviews.
Life's too short to stuff a mushroom. :D
Click to expand...


Now with a sales pitch like that you could certainly make it big. :lol:
 
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