My everyday soap and I could be content with Sue's offerings until they close the lid on the pine box. Unfortunately, I just don't get through it quick enough. Phoenix Rising today but I have a sample of Dublin Tweed in the on-deck circle.
Mama Bear
- Thread starter Test4echo
- Start date
Do I have enough shaving soap? Oh yes, more than I need. But you can always use more MB...
OK, I'll admit it, I can't get it to lather for the life of me. *sigh* I've given up trying.
JCinPA
The Lather Maestro
This is me, too, although I started with MB. I may have to get a Sandalwood Vanilla again, though. Frankly, after 3 years of this and all the product I've tried, that is still, hands down, my favorite soap scent, and there is no close second. Scent-wise, that is.
Used Mama Bear America for the first time in a long time. I forgot what a great soap it is... smells great and has just the right amount of slickness and lather. I think I also have an old puck of Barbershop somewhere... I will need to fit that one in my rotation as well.
+1000. I used to be of the opinion that non-tallow soaps could never compare to tallow based, and I have been proven wrong. Several times. There are plenty of non-tallow soaps that perform fantastic, and a bunch of tallow soaps that aren't that good IMHO. RazoRock, Barbiere di Figaro, Tcheon Fung Sing, HTGAM/Synergy, Petal Pusher Fancies, Pre de Provence, and Dapper Dragon are a few that come to mind that are veggie based soaps that have provided really nice lather - especially the BDF Mistero. I don't think that one should completely write off soaps that aren't tallow based simply because they're not tallow based. Again, there are so many great soaps out there that aren't tallow based, its almost like cheating yourself to not give them a try based on some preconceived notion.
JCinPA
The Lather Maestro
^^^^^
What he said
What he said
I've gotten to where I discount even trying glycerine melt and pour soaps. They just have me and won't lather no matter what I've tried. lol
I'll never understand the problems folks have with lathering MB. I always found it to be one of the easiest to lather soaps out there. If you want, I'll post my method for MB
I've tried, trust me. Even Shave_Rat's buddy who lives close to him has no problem lathering Mama Bear's, so it's not the water. I just think there's something wrong inside his brain. Heck, he doesn't even like Arko!
... but we still love him anyways!I appreciate that, but no need. I've gone through all the tips, tricks, wiki's, and videos I could find already, and tried every method I had... on several brands of glycerin type melt and pour soaps. Never got one to work to build anything more than sudsy water that dried out fast.. those were the good results. lol I don't even have any examples left to try again with, already either gave them away or tossed them out.
I no longer use glycerin soaps. I use pretty much all tallow soaps and then creams.
I liked her scents but for me they were over-fragranced which made my skin burn.
I liked her scents but for me they were over-fragranced which made my skin burn.
Hmm. well I may have to try a few samples. How big are they?
I probably need to revisit the stuff. My progression of soaps went Col Conk, Mama Bear's, Cella, Arko, and then completely hog wild. I probably haven't used it in a couple years at this point. Personally, I thought it was a decent soap, but there are many that perform better. What I particularly like about MB is the scent. Sue has more scents than about anybody, and the soap base seems very neutral, so they are a "clean" version of whatever she scents them with (there are certain other brands that always seem to be muddied by something in the base).
As for lack of discussion now, there has been an artisan explosion in the short time that I've been wet shaving (3-4 years). When I started, MB, SCS, and maybe Queen Charlotte were about the only game in town for artisan soaps. Now there are a ton, many are excellent, and it seems like there are 5 new ones every month. I got a preview of upcoming passarounds on a facebook group I'm a member of, and of 5, 2 I had never heard of, and 2 I had first heard of within the last week. It's just insane. It seems like many past widely discussed soaps follow the same trajectory: they are the hot new thing, you get 10 threads a day on them, then something comes along, and they don't get much discussion anymore.
As for lack of discussion now, there has been an artisan explosion in the short time that I've been wet shaving (3-4 years). When I started, MB, SCS, and maybe Queen Charlotte were about the only game in town for artisan soaps. Now there are a ton, many are excellent, and it seems like there are 5 new ones every month. I got a preview of upcoming passarounds on a facebook group I'm a member of, and of 5, 2 I had never heard of, and 2 I had first heard of within the last week. It's just insane. It seems like many past widely discussed soaps follow the same trajectory: they are the hot new thing, you get 10 threads a day on them, then something comes along, and they don't get much discussion anymore.
In part is due to the explosion of other great artisan soaps coming to the market. Mama Bear was the pioneer so to speak. There are so many choices today then a few years ago.
It's still in my rotation, and always will be. I find it one of the easiest soaps to lather and I always get a slick, fantastic lather. A lot of people complain about the fragrance being too strong, but personally, I like a soap that you can smell though out the entire shave. All of the fragrances I've tried are fantastic! It is kind of odd, when I first joined B&B, Mama Bears was "IT".
5 oz. In a 3" diameter plastic tub, under $5.00 each for most of them, I think
I feel the same way. I was pretty excited about ordering her samples, but also found them way over scented and they burned the heck out of my face. I tried several of the scents hoping one would work out for me, but none did, so out they went.
Just ordered a puck and some samples myself. Looking forward to giving it a try. I have tended toward almost exclusively using artisan soaps, with the exception of an AoS puck (love the sandalwood) and Proraso. I like stronger scents, and I expect Mama Bear's to impress. I remember reading about it when I first started with wet shaving, but just now getting around to trying it. (I don't really need any more soaps to add to the rotation, but that hasn't stopped me yet.)
Add Crabtree & Evelyn West Indian Lime to the list. Excellent scent, lather, and performance. It's the only C&E soap I've tried, but based on this one I'd surely likely to try others in the line.
