Shaving cream getting hard over time

Several of my shaving creams have been sitting (and used from) in my bathroom for about 1 ½ year.
They have gone really hard, kind of like chewing gum does if you let it sit on a table after you chewed it (ok, not that hard but still).
The texture has gone from cream like to rubber like.
It does not stick to my fingers, and it is really hard to make lather from it, since it does not desolve in the water, but just sticks to the sides of my mug or inside the brissels of my brush.

Is this a common thing?
What can I do to save these creams, and make them useable again?

I'd try putting a teaspoonful of warm water on top, leaving it, then trying to stir it in - repeat as necessary. It has been known to work, but yours sounds like a bad case I have to admit. Is this just a surface crust, or has all the cream turned to putty?

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Originally Posted by Arrowhead

I'd try putting a teaspoonful of warm water on top, leaving it, then trying to stir it in - repeat as necessary. It has been known to work, but yours sounds like a bad case I have to admit. Is this just a surface crust, or has all the cream turned to putty?

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You may have to slightly melt it before you manage to mix the water with the rubbery cream. Did you keep the tub covered all the time? I never had this problem with Colleen's cream in a tub. I always moistened my brush before applying some cream on it. I am sure I did add a little water to the cream that way.

I do have problems with Musgo Real cream in a tube though. I becomes more and more crumbly and you seem to need more and more all the while.

Pastor,

That has happened to me on occasion as well with shaving creams that I haven't used for quite a while.

+ 1 on the previous post...Try 1-2 teaspoonfuls of warm water. Let it sit for a while. Then swirl your shaving brush around in the cream's container to cover the tips of the bristles with cream.

You might also try adding some glycerin (3-4 drops) to the bottom of your shaving mug or bowl while you are crafting your lather too.

You can purchase a small bottle of glycerin from any local drugstore.

Thx for the advice. It was what I was already trying out anyway.

The lid has been on all the time.

My Geo F. trumper did not do this, but all of my TAOS did this.

I keep trying with water, I just put the water in today, I will see how it works out.

I decided to microwave the cream for about 30 sec, with a little water in it. Then I stirred it with a fork.

I took some trial and error, especially the amount of water to put in, and I wasted some cream, but the end result was very good.

Now I can use my creams again. :)

Your lucky, my TOBS turned into watery soup, Looks like chowder. It's only 6 months old, if that....No hope for me, I'll have to buy a new one....

Rich

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Originally Posted by The_Pastor

I decided to microwave the cream for about 30 sec, with a little water in it. Then I stirred it with a fork.

I took some trial and error, especially the amount of water to put in, and I wasted some cream, but the end result was very good.

Now I can use my creams again. :)

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It will turn hard again unless you make it a mission to use up that cream until it's all gone. Most creams are good for 1 year. Many ingredients will also lose their potency and or benefits. Not all brands put an expiration or date of production on their products either so sometimes it's hard to guess cause you might think because you just bought a new tub of cream it's all fresh but it might have been sitting on the shelf for 6 months. Hence always buy from a reputable store as they tend to sell their products pretty fast. It's mostly the air and temp, change that dries out your cream after a prolonged period of time. Dry climate also helps dry out your products much faster.

I've resorted to only buying tube versions of my creams as with the huge line up of shaving products I have I always ended up tossing half my cream tubs.

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Originally Posted by Maximilian

It will turn hard again unless you make it a mission to use up that cream until it's all gone. Most creams are good for 1 year. Many ingredients will also lose their potency and or benefits. Not all brands put an expiration or date of production on their products either so sometimes it's hard to guess cause you might think because you just bought a new tub of cream it's all fresh but it might have been sitting on the shelf for 6 months. Hence always buy from a reputable store as they tend to sell their products pretty fast. It's mostly the air and temp, change that dries out your cream after a prolonged period of time. Dry climate also helps dry out your products much faster.

I've resorted to only buying tube versions of my creams as with the huge line up of shaving products I have I always ended up tossing half my cream tubs.

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Good idea Max, because I may end up tossing quite a few of mine. I wanted to try many of these Creams, and make no mistake, even though not printed, there is a shelf life. Soaps are much more fogiving. As I said in a different post, my TOBS Avacado went to a soup like consistency, watery....I live in Florida, My home is climate controlled year round, so it's not an issue, it's like Max said, the stuff just breaks down after a while. My Tobs was only 6 months old, too young to die, and one of my favs, I love that Avacado. It smells great....I think many of us, buy more than we can handle.....

I have a couple of old creams that have dehydrated over time. I just use them like I do a soap now. I soak my brush and shave out most of the water. I then take the brush directely to the hardened cream. It loads just as easily as a hard soap and when my brush is loaded, I go from there, creating the lather on my face.

Now the creams have been sitting for 24 hours and it looks like the microwave + water + stirring with fork, did a real good job.