Palmolive soap stick

I received three of these stick from a generous B&B member is Bahrain.

Retail cost is about USD 2.50 to USD 3 for a 50g stick. I expect that one 50g stick will last me about 100 three-pass SR shaves.


Ingredients in order of % by volume:

Potassium stearate
Sodium stearate
Potassium tallowate
Potassium cocoate
Aqua
Sodium tallowate
Sodium cocate
Glycerine
Parfum
Olea European oil
Elaeis guineensis oil
Potassium hydroxide
BHT
Tetrasodium EDTA
Tetrasodium etidronate
Sodium hydroxide
Butylphenyl methylpropional
Citronellol
Eugenol
Hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde
Lemonene
Linalcol
CI 11680
CI 74260
CI 12490
CI 77891

I face lather and found this stick to be not as "creamy" as ARKO or tallow Tabac. I found this of benefit to me in my SR shaving. There is also a tad less slickness than what I have experienced with most of my other SR shaving soaps. For some unknown reason, I found that I actually preferred this slightly less slickness.

The only downside for me was the wrapping of the stick. I would have preferred it if there was an additional wrap of water-resistant paper on the outside.

There's good reason for the enduring popularity of the Palmolive Classic shaving stick. It is a fantastic value in the UK where it can routinely be found for well under £1. In the USA where it can be ordered online for roughly $3.50, the Palmolive stick still provides a respectable value for the 60+ shaves you can easily get out of a single stick.

I bring this stick along when I stay at parents' house during the summer where they have extremely hard Michigan well water (compared to my normal city water, which is very soft). I have no issues getting a great face lather even using my cheap, no-name travel boar brush. The lather is perfectly slick to shave with a DE and I get nice irritation-free shaves with this soap.

The scent of this shaving stick is similar to the green Palmolive bar soaps you can find as a 3-pack for $1 in dollar stores across the USA. You're not going to find a luxury fragrance here, but the Palmolive stick has a fairly unique, slightly vegetal "soapy" scent with a hint of spiciness to the aroma. Some fragrance ingredients tend to irritate my skin and I don't have that issue at all with Palmolive.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that every wet shaver try the Palmolive Classic shaving stick at least once. You really can't go wrong for the price. You might just find a new favorite that costs just pennies per shave!

Not a great stick, I had a lot more success with Tabac and Wilkinson sticks. It's pretty decent lathering, but definitely a bit thinner than the aforementioned products. I do like the scent and it's pretty cheap (although I got mine in a PIF). I would recommend it as a good traveling soap or a thick beard soap.