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La Savonnerie Bourbonnaise with Donkey Milk - Not Much Lather But Slick!

I'm surprised to see that this may be the first review of this French shaving soap.

About 18 months ago, I was buying some samples of other soaps from The Superior Shave when I saw a sample of a French soap that I'd not heard of before - La Savonnerie Bourbonnaise. It was advertised as having donkey milk so, having not tried this ingredient at the time, I decided to toss it into my basket. A chunk of hard soap wrapped in wax paper arrived a few days later.

The soap came up in my rotation of samples on Wednesday so I opened the package. Looking closely, it seemed like a cube of bar soap. I cut it into slices, pressed them into a bowl and started to lather. It seemed to whip up fairly quickly, so I took the lather from the bowl and applied it to my face.

I started my first pass but by the time I reached the other side of my face, it seemed like I hadn't lathered it. I didn't think about it much but finished the pass. Same thing seemed to happen on the second pass. I had just arrived home from an overnight flight, so I chalked it up to bad prep and figured that the soap was just going to be meh.

Yesterday, I decided to see if blooming would help. It seemed to help some with the lathering issue, but I still wasn't able to get the lather to stick around. As I shaved though, I noticed that my razor seemed to be sliding easily across my face. I finished up, a little perplexed.

Later in the morning, I found that I'd gotten a really good shave. My face was smooth and soft. I figured I should do a little research to find out if there was a way to enhance the poor lather I was getting.

My first stop was here at B&B. After searching for for the soap, I only found a few mentions of the name but nothing more. So I went to the maker's website. Despite being in French, I figured out that I'd probably discovered the culprit. Here are the soap's ingredients:

Olive oil, coconut oil, donkey milk, shea butter, cedar and lemongrass essential oils, and white clay.​

This explained a lot. I've always heard that soaps with olive oil were poor for shaving purposes. As I finished up my looking around, I went back to the Superior Shaving site. I looked again at the description for this soap and found that the owner had described the soap as "the most slippery soap I have ever used in my life."

So I guess all of the pieces fell into place. I'd describe the soap as that has given me the best shave I've gotten with horrible lather.

Having pulled all this info together, I used it again today. And I got another great shave today. I'm not sure if I like the soap enough to get a bar of it. But now that I know what I'm dealing with, I'm looking forward to use the rest of the sample.

savon-bio-lait-anesse-rasage-cedre-argile-blanche.jpg
 
I believe that's their bath soap.
I have their shaving soap and it's very good. They also have 200g that comes in a nice looking pot.
La-Savonniere-du-Moulin-Donkey-Milk-Shaving-Soap-100g-2.jpg
 
Interesting post!!

I agree with your assessment of the ingredients! For me olive oil at top of the list is a deal breaker. Others may disagree but my general rule fits the old adage, ‘Olive oil is a lather killer.’
 
I'm surprised to see that this may be the first review of this French shaving soap.

About 18 months ago, I was buying some samples of other soaps from The Superior Shave when I saw a sample of a French soap that I'd not heard of before - La Savonnerie Bourbonnaise. It was advertised as having donkey milk so, having not tried this ingredient at the time, I decided to toss it into my basket. A chunk of hard soap wrapped in wax paper arrived a few days later.

The soap came up in my rotation of samples on Wednesday so I opened the package. Looking closely, it seemed like a cube of bar soap. I cut it into slices, pressed them into a bowl and started to lather. It seemed to whip up fairly quickly, so I took the lather from the bowl and applied it to my face.

I started my first pass but by the time I reached the other side of my face, it seemed like I hadn't lathered it. I didn't think about it much but finished the pass. Same thing seemed to happen on the second pass. I had just arrived home from an overnight flight, so I chalked it up to bad prep and figured that the soap was just going to be meh.

Yesterday, I decided to see if blooming would help. It seemed to help some with the lathering issue, but I still wasn't able to get the lather to stick around. As I shaved though, I noticed that my razor seemed to be sliding easily across my face. I finished up, a little perplexed.

Later in the morning, I found that I'd gotten a really good shave. My face was smooth and soft. I figured I should do a little research to find out if there was a way to enhance the poor lather I was getting.

My first stop was here at B&B. After searching for for the soap, I only found a few mentions of the name but nothing more. So I went to the maker's website. Despite being in French, I figured out that I'd probably discovered the culprit. Here are the soap's ingredients:

Olive oil, coconut oil, donkey milk, shea butter, cedar and lemongrass essential oils, and white clay.​

This explained a lot. I've always heard that soaps with olive oil were poor for shaving purposes. As I finished up my looking around, I went back to the Superior Shaving site. I looked again at the description for this soap and found that the owner had described the soap as "the most slippery soap I have ever used in my life."

So I guess all of the pieces fell into place. I'd describe the soap as that has given me the best shave I've gotten with horrible lather.

Having pulled all this info together, I used it again today. And I got another great shave today. I'm not sure if I like the soap enough to get a bar of it. But now that I know what I'm dealing with, I'm looking forward to use the rest of the sample.

View attachment 967567

Thanks for the excellent review. Though I will probably abstain from picking up a bar of this soap right now, it might make for a nice change of pace in the future. I'm probably in the minority, but I really don't care about the quality of a soap's lather. But slickness, ease of rinsing off, and how my face feels afterwards are very important to me. That's why I tend to be drawn to the French soaps.
 
If you read his write ups which are unique his preferred soap is the Zartgefuhl Ziegen Bart. He also draws comparisons between the Sampson's All Natural and Martin de Candre as well. Jarrod makes some interesting points about the EU soaps and how many here feel the soap must be stable to have a enjoyable shave. On the flip side other than the stearic acid and the tallow which he finds gives a sour note some of the ingredient lists of these EU soaps are not that much different than what is on offer by artisans here. I like them myself but I certainly wish some of these euros would up there game as far as packaging. Stirling for example here is a pretty simple soap base, good value and excellent packaging. It's an interesting site and I think Jarrod still has a youtube channel as well. They have really good offering of straights and his writeups are interesting and entertaining. I'm glad his site is still around.
 
Fwiw, this thread made me fire up my puck of Cade this morning.

I got a horrible shave. :lol: lather looked awesome. Seemed great. Razor just didn’t seem to cut well. Face was butchered. Now I’m not looking forward to all of the French soap I just bought.
 
This is a soap i really could not get to lather to save my life. Picked up a tin of the Charcoal one (spicy type scent) from a trade and realized afterwards that Olive Oil is the 1st ingredient, but decided to give it a shot. Soap appears to lather well at first but quickly dissapears, if you are just looking for slickness perhaps this (or butter, olive oil, etc.) Would work just fine as it does provide a slick surface similar to a shave gel, but being the obsessive soap whore i am this soap is unfornuately not for me and have been meaning to do a BST and perhaps trade it as it may be someones cup of tea.
 
This is a soap i really could not get to lather to save my life. Picked up a tin of the Charcoal one (spicy type scent) from a trade and realized afterwards that Olive Oil is the 1st ingredient, but decided to give it a shot. Soap appears to lather well at first but quickly dissapears, if you are just looking for slickness perhaps this (or butter, olive oil, etc.) Would work just fine as it does provide a slick surface similar to a shave gel, but being the obsessive soap whore i am this soap is unfornuately not for me and have been meaning to do a BST and perhaps trade it as it may be someones cup of tea.
You've obviously got the sales copy for your BST post.... :001_tt2:
 
You've obviously got the sales copy for your BST post.... :001_tt2:


Hahahaha there is a video where a guy did seem to get a stable lather and he really liked this stuff. it was not for me but someone else may want to experiment, although its not a soap i would feel comfortable PIF'ing as it doesnt lather like most soaps so perhaps i will wait and leave it on the table at the Maggard Meet Up.
 
Each time I use a shave soap from La Savonnerie Bourbonnaise, I swear it will be my last. Of all the dozens and dozens of pucks on my shelf, their Savon de rasage au lait d'ânesse has earned the dubious honor of making the worst lather. Thin, foul tasting, and remarkably unstable (no stearic acid finds its way into the recipe), these suds are the sort I would normally flush after only one try. But I keep coming back to this soap for two reasons. First, it leaves my face feeling terrific. I get a remarkably close shave, and the donkey milk lends a smooth finish. And second, I like the smell. There are only two notes, cedar and lemongrass, but they work together to create a scent that’s fresh and relaxing. Think of a rainy afternoon spent sipping lemon tea in a woodwright’s shop.
 
Each time I use a shave soap from La Savonnerie Bourbonnaise, I swear it will be my last. Of all the dozens and dozens of pucks on my shelf, their Savon de rasage au lait d'ânesse has earned the dubious honor of making the worst lather. Thin, foul tasting, and remarkably unstable (no stearic acid finds its way into the recipe), these suds are the sort I would normally flush after only one try. But I keep coming back to this soap for two reasons. First, it leaves my face feeling terrific. I get a remarkably close shave, and the donkey milk lends a smooth finish. And second, I like the smell. There are only two notes, cedar and lemongrass, but they work together to create a scent that’s fresh and relaxing. Think of a rainy afternoon spent sipping lemon tea in a woodwright’s shop.
@Bouki You have such a wonderful ability to turn a descriptive phrase.
 
I keep not wanting to like this soap due to the extreme instability of the lather, however it gives an amazing shave. You don't need a lot of lather for this soap to work it's magic. It is ridiculously slick and is the epitome of residual slickness. I have yet to use this with a DE, but with a straight and a VERY light touch, you will be rewarded with an excellent shave. I cannot stress having an extremely light touch enough. Also, follow the suggestions listed on The Superior Shave website. If slickness is your thing and you don't mind an unstable lather, you will not be disappointed with this soap!!
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
I keep not wanting to like this soap due to the extreme instability of the lather, however it gives an amazing shave. You don't need a lot of lather for this soap to work it's magic. It is ridiculously slick and is the epitome of residual slickness.

I have this soap too. I have a sample size and think I will order a full size when it's done. The disappearing lather reminds me of how Williams can be sometimes, but you always have the slickness and that is really what I'm wanting rather than the pillows of lather.
 
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