Is it best to rotate soaps or use one till it's gone?

So excited I have 4 new TSD refill soaps on the way!! However I have a soap mug that I use and normally only use one soap till it's gone. But I'm going to want to try all of these new soaps right away. Is it best to just use one soap until it runs out or to rotate the soaps?

 

That is mostly personal preference. If you keep them in sealed containers they shouldn't dry out or such. Some soaps will dry out... others will not or take much longer to do so.

My plan is to keep 3... or so in rotation. I sometimes open something try and put it back in a container to keep it dry and sealed. It is up to you, i like some variety so a couple soaps/creams are what i enjoy.

 

I don't know what is best but, it's more fun to have a rotation.

 

Just do what makes you happy. It's your shave. Enjoy it your way.

:transport003
There will be no soap police stopping by to make sure your first puck is totally finished before moving on to the next. Honest!

I have over 30 soaps. They are all lined up in their own container. Most are in small, clear glass bowls that I picked up 3-for-a-buck at the dollar store. Some are in Old Spice mugs I've collected for the past few years. A few are in the large TSD containers JoAnna used to send her soaps in before offering refill pucks. They all get put into their own ziplock sandwich baggie, as well.

I start at the front of the line and grab a soap. Once I use it for that day's shave, it goes to the back of the line and won't get used again until I've been through the line. Doesn't matter what comes up next, I use it. If I get a new soap (today I just received TSD SOTQ B3 :happy108) I'll use it for my next shave, then to the end of the line it goes.

Some folks divide their soaps into "seasonal" scents - some scents for summer, some for the fall, etc., and will only use them "in season."

Some of my soaps are near three years old. I have not noticed a drop in performance or scent in any of them.

 

As noted, don't worry about it. Do what works for you. I try to use soaps up before opening a new puck. But it never works out that way. I think I have 7 mugs and soap jars in use at the moment.

 

Rotation is fine, however, be aware that many soap might be a bit "dried out" for lack of a better word, when you get them, and it might take 5 or 6 shaves in a row to get down to the "good scent/performance" are of the soap.

I picked up some L'Occitane Cade soap some time ago (my first Cade soap puck) and the scent was wonderful when I opened the wrapper, and the first shave the lather was "good" but not great. I used a different soap the next day (as it typical for me) and then went back to the Cade the next day for the scent, and it was almost scentless.

I used the product for a solid week and after about day 5, the scent was back, and the lather was much better than it was for the first few shaves, definitely a top performer at that point.

I happened to pick this soap up from a non L'Occitane store, and apparently not only did I get some pretty old stock, but I paid $16 for the puck, and not the now current $10 price that I could have picked it up for at a L'Occitane boutique. (I'd never paid any attention to the brand L'Occitane before I bought that puck of soap, and didn't realize I could have driven about 3 miles and gone to a L'Occitane store and purchased a fresh puck in the area I was at.)

I'm guessing that you won't run into some several year old stock with TSD soaps, plus glycerin soaps tend to attract water and get mushy, rather than dry out and get hard, so it's probably not a factor for you to worry about, but might be something to keep in mind when to start using some of the harder triple milled soaps out there... It would benefit you to use those soaps for a week to make sure you have gotten down to prime product before making a judgement. (YMMV, as always)

 

Interesting. I've never noticed any difference. I do have a vintage puck of Old Spice. Smelled great and lathered up just fine right out of the chute. I've never noticed any of my glycerin soaps "attracting" water and getting mushy. Then again, as I said, I keep all my soaps in a zip lock baggie when they're not being used. They're also in a linen closet outside of the bathroom - a dry place not exposed to the humidity of the bathroom.

 

I have used old soaps that were literally decades old before. Yes, they have shrunk from drying out. However, when in use, they still work and after several uses they smooth out and expand some.

 

I keep 4 open mugs of soaps running. Any more and I feel overwhelmed by soap fairies making it too hard to choose at 5AM. For me, more than 4 is "less" and less than 4 is too few. Sometimes I rotate each day, sometimes I stick to one for a while (keeps moist and lathers a little easier). Whatever rules I set, I enjoy breaking them. If I had a soap psychiatrist, they would probably be concerned. Choose your own madness, and enjoy it.

 

Rotate if you want. I TRY to, but I always seem to back to my favorite.

 

I'm rotating over twenty varieties right now. I expect to have this down to between three and five eventually, but that will take years. However many I have, I will probably continue to rotate, except when I travel and only take one with me.

 

I have 7 or 8 soaps I keep in rotation. No special order, just what I happen to be in the mood for that morning. For after shaves, I usually pick one and run with it for a week, then go to another one for a week. Keeps it interesting without going crazy!

 

I prefer finishing one soap, but I shave about 12 times per month, and I would die from being so impatient.So rotate them.What you do not like much, use it daily for a month to see if it grows on you, if not, trade or PIF it, this is what I do.If you keep soaps open or sniff them too often, even if they are sealed, this will greatly reduce their scent.Creams last longer in scent.

 

Since I only use MWF I tend to use one till it's gone.

 

If all other soaps on the planet disappeared, except Martin de Candre, I could get along just fine, but why limit myself?

 

If you want to avoid having a large stock it's better to use something up before buying something new.

 

I like this quote! Most of my soaps are melted or grated into my OS mugs, and I am glad to put them to good use.

 

I rotate. But I also suffer from acquisition derangement, so I have a variety of soaps and creams on the vanity, with more on the way. I like the idea of having something different for each day or for any specific event:

Col. Conk's Bay Rum Soap
Mama Bear's Ye Olde Barbershoppe Soap
CE Bigelow's cream
Old Spice (India) Lime Cream
Old Spice (India) Musk Cream

and in the pipeline:

Gentleman's Tweed Old Fashioned from Man Cave Soap Works (I'll review this one when it arrives).

Life is boring without some variety.

 

Well, I have no idea what's best, but I have a rotaion because I don't like to stick with any one soap every day. The majority of the time I use a vintage Williams but I work in all of them plus the five or so creams I have. Here's my current arsenal, I prefer to grate or melt them into the Zipoc containers because they stack perfectly under the sink, they are breakproof and seal well, plus, they are the perfect depth and width to work a brush around in.

 

Tom, I like those containers! I have mine in AnchorHocking glass and I dislike having glass in the bathroom. I'll need to check our supermarket for them.

To the OP... I get bored real easy, so I have a mess of soaps in mugs and sticks, and creams too. I use them as the fancy strikes me. Some choose what to use based on the days brush. I don't; I use all of my brushes for any of my soaps and creams.

At this moment I have 10 soaps/creams open and in use.