Stopped at an antique shop in Amish country today and my wife spotted this wooden Crabtree & Evelyn shaving soap bowl. I figured for $1.50, why not. Kind of hard to read the label as this thing saw heavy use. Looks like it's "Mysore Sandalwood Shaving Soap". There's an elephant on the label as well. Still soap inside but really dried up. In the 1st pic, that faded spot on the lid is not due to lighting.....the finish is worn off from what looks like years of use. My question. Is it OK to use? And if so, any procedures for awakening a sleeping puck of old soap? Thanks,
So long as it doesn't smell rancid (assuming it could be a tallow soap), it should be safe to use. You way want to let some warm water sit on top of the puck for a while to rehydrate the top layer a bit. And even if you end up not liking the soap, you have a cool container.
[QUOTE And even if you end up not liking the soap, you have a cool container.[/QUOTE] My thoughts exactly!
I've encountered two vintage soaps in the wild & purchased both. A shave stick of Williams, and a puck of Colgate-Palmolive. The Williams was open, used, but still wrapped in the foil. I trimmed off the part that had contact with the previous owner. Great soap! The Colgate was unused and ancient for the 15ยข price printed on the box. After putting it in an air tight container and letting it rehydrate, it's good, too. The only issue I can see for your find is that the wooden bowl may not like getting wet after being dry for so long.
I would get the soap out of the bowl and turn on some warm water under the tap.. then I would slowly rub the soap puck in between the hands like a bar of soap. This will allow you to get rid of some dust and and soap scum and see if the soap lathers. Then you can set it to the side and let it dry while you rinse and wash out the bowl
For $1.50 that's a great price. Hell the wooden bowl alone is worth that price. As far as the soap goes it is perfectly fine to use. This is the vintage C&E tallow formula that performs well, nothing like the stuff they make nowadays.
Dribble some vodka in the bowl ... let it sit for a few minutes and dump out. Should kill anything that could cause concern. That just my thoughts.
Or everclear if you have any. Save the vodka for drinking. Actually, any alcohol, including rubbing alcohol would kill any undesirables.
Actually: ... "soap isn't actually very toxic for bacteria..." "Now some soaps will kill bacteria. The majority don't..." https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/would-bacteria-grow-bar-soap I am a bit cautious. Maybe because I used to work in the healthcare industry. Anyway, I got a kick out of the name of this site.
