Six to ten weeks at daily use for most people, which works out to somewhere around 25 to 35 cents a day. A short beard or occasional hand use can stretch a tin to three months. If you are emptying one in under three weeks, you are using several times what you need.
By what you are using it for
| Use | Per application | A 2oz tin lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Stubble to 1in beard | Pea sized | 10 to 14 weeks |
| Beard, 1 to 3in | Fingertip | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Beard, 6in and up | Thumbnail | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Hands, nightly | Fingertip | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Face, nightly | Pea sized | 10 to 14 weeks |
| Heels or elbows, nightly | Generous | 4 to 6 weeks |
Why it goes further than it looks
There is no water in it, so every scoop is concentrated fat rather than mostly water with a little oil. A cream that feels like it spreads further is often just thinner. The other half of it is warming: cold balm out of the tin drags and you take too much, but warmed between your palms until it goes clear it spreads perhaps three times as far. That step is most of the difference between a tin lasting six weeks and three.
More on that: how much to use.
Comparing honestly
It is not the cheapest thing on the shelf per ounce. A jar of drugstore cream or a big tin of petrolatum ointment costs less, and a lot of that gap is that this is poured by hand in small batches rather than made by the pallet. What you get for it is a short ingredient list, no water, no preservatives, and a maker you can ask a question of.
Whether that is worth the difference is a fair thing to weigh, and it depends on whether ordinary cream has actually been working for you.
Shelf life, so none goes to waste
Twelve to eighteen months unopened, about a year once opened. A 2oz tin at daily use is finished well inside that, which is exactly why I make that size rather than a bigger jar that goes stale in a cupboard. Storage details here.
Made by hand in small batches in Wakarusa, Indiana. Seven ingredients, and 5% of every sale goes to FreedomSystem, which connects veterans through authentic camaraderie and meaningful programs.
