This one is the first Soap puck to Shave Stick transformation in order to review it in the Shave Stick Review Project. I don't think it's a very popular product. I don't think it's the best product but it will get you there. How to make the shave stick is something that I've been looking at more seriously lately ( http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/350846-Creating-a-shave-stick-container, http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Creating_A_Shave_Stick, http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/167310-made-a-proraso-shave-stick, http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/351023-Which-Tools-Do-I-Need-to-Make-Shave-Stick-Holders, http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/359104-Let-me-present-the-shave-stick-maker!)
The Barbus soap is more of a croap than anything else. The texture is simliar to Cella but the scent is far, very far from Cella. It has a very heavy laundry detergent scent. If you like that, you should like this soap a lot. The lather is easy to make and rich at first but somehow, drying as you use it. I did notice an interesting fact after a few shaves (where it gets past the 1 week of using this every day). The second and third pass are drier than the first. It seems like this one is not mixing as easily as my other soaps (Wilkinson Sword Shave Stick as an example).
I tried a few different methods to fix this but the most efficient one was to press the brush on the sides of the shave cup when I put it in the water. That way, any air trapped in the middle of the brush would come out and the bristles in the middle would be completely soaked. It's something that I never had to do with any of my soaps before. Since I started doing that, no more drying lather on pass 2 and dry lather on pass 3. The lather is now perfect from pass 1 to 3. The bristles are able to absorb more water while I'm in the shower.
In order to get a good idea, I decided to do the same test with the wilkinson sword stick (my new control group stick) and push the air out when I used it. The result was great and the lather was even easier to make. Not that Wilkinson Sword had any issues to start with but I think that my brush is so dense in the middle that 5 minutes might not be enough to soak all the required water. Since Wilkinson Sword does not require as much water, it works great regardless.
It's interesting as I did not have that issue when using the De Vergulde Hand Shave Stick (which was thirstier)
I also did the usual tests doing Uberlather and Superlather. Both done with the air pushed out of the brush. The Superlather was very impressive, like a yogurt consistency. I used my left over sample of Edwin Jagger Menthol shave cream. The Uberlather added a bit of slickness but not much more than what I already had.
In the end, I think the performances of this soap are fine but more of it comes back to the scent. If you like the laundry soap scent, this one is for you. If you just find it okay, try something different.
The Barbus soap is more of a croap than anything else. The texture is simliar to Cella but the scent is far, very far from Cella. It has a very heavy laundry detergent scent. If you like that, you should like this soap a lot. The lather is easy to make and rich at first but somehow, drying as you use it. I did notice an interesting fact after a few shaves (where it gets past the 1 week of using this every day). The second and third pass are drier than the first. It seems like this one is not mixing as easily as my other soaps (Wilkinson Sword Shave Stick as an example).
I tried a few different methods to fix this but the most efficient one was to press the brush on the sides of the shave cup when I put it in the water. That way, any air trapped in the middle of the brush would come out and the bristles in the middle would be completely soaked. It's something that I never had to do with any of my soaps before. Since I started doing that, no more drying lather on pass 2 and dry lather on pass 3. The lather is now perfect from pass 1 to 3. The bristles are able to absorb more water while I'm in the shower.
In order to get a good idea, I decided to do the same test with the wilkinson sword stick (my new control group stick) and push the air out when I used it. The result was great and the lather was even easier to make. Not that Wilkinson Sword had any issues to start with but I think that my brush is so dense in the middle that 5 minutes might not be enough to soak all the required water. Since Wilkinson Sword does not require as much water, it works great regardless.
It's interesting as I did not have that issue when using the De Vergulde Hand Shave Stick (which was thirstier)
I also did the usual tests doing Uberlather and Superlather. Both done with the air pushed out of the brush. The Superlather was very impressive, like a yogurt consistency. I used my left over sample of Edwin Jagger Menthol shave cream. The Uberlather added a bit of slickness but not much more than what I already had.
In the end, I think the performances of this soap are fine but more of it comes back to the scent. If you like the laundry soap scent, this one is for you. If you just find it okay, try something different.