Thread: Cream and soap use by date

Gentlemen.
At the bottom of all soaps and creams is a use by date, this is usually 12 months after opening. Does anyone take any notice of this or just carry on regardless?
I know cosmetics degrade overtime, they loose their effectiveness and with cream/soap once the preservatives stop doing their job and the bacteria kicks in do I really want to slap it on my mug?

Considering the substantial market in vintage shave soaps on EBay, I would say that you have no problem aging any good quality soap.

That is usually just a safety precaution. If a product doesn't go off you don't need to put that, but some companies do just to be safe, seeing as it doesn't cost anything extra when getting the label printed. I wouldn't take any notice.

With most products depending on what it is there might be laws saying it needs a certain date like drugs for instance or dairy products. With other items the manufacturer is protecting themselves from lawsuits. With soaps and creams if they are still sealed they are probably safe but once opened you are taking a chance. Ocer time especially a long time you would probably lose potency but they are probably still safe. You need to read the ingredients.

I'm a soap maker, so I can speak from experience. If someone is using an ingredient that goes off, their soap won't be all that in the first place. Good ingredients don't tend to go off once saponified.

[/QUOTE] With soaps and creams if they are still sealed they are probably safe. You need to read the ingredients.[/QUOTE]

My thoughts exactly. If I cant read the ingredients im probably good once opened, although more and more I find myself leaning towards natural soaps/creams without all the preservatives. This means one of two things: throw away after expiration time or buy less soap/cream. Either way I loose!