Charismata Tallow

[SmoovD]

The gents at Charismata sent one of their new tallow pucks to me last week. I have mounted a few attempts to build decent lather but have had very little success. The type of brush doesn't appear to make a difference. Under direction from the soaper, I tried very little water but I am still searching for the sweet spot. The lather I get is a bit thicker than the lather from the initial puck but it is still unstable and rather foamy.

So I am calling on the fine members of B&B to come to my aid. Has anyone else been able to build a usable lather with the Charismata soaps? If so, please share your technique. If not, is your experience similar to mine?

 

[charismata]

You are probably just about a day too early. The initial shipments will probably be received tomorrow or the next day. I suppose it's possible that some of them could arrive today.

edit: I just checked the tracking numbers. It looks like at least a few of them are being delivered today.

I'll butt out now and let the discussion continue.

 

[SmoovD]

Additionally, I was hoping that some other B&Bers were also provided the replacement pucks.

 

[arghblech]

The lather from the tallow puck is better than the non-tallow version. That said, it is still more of a foam than a lather and after repeated attempts to build something I can shave with, I'm getting discouraged.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I've only hit the puck twice so far. Best advice I can give is to treat it like Williams. I used a boar, Shook it until nothing came out, and loaded. First the puck suds up. Don't worry, since the brush isn't very wet, it'll soak that up. Really load the thing until you start seeing creamy product on the brush.

Now stretch your arm. This stuff seems to work like Williams (not blue willy), so you're going to be working the lather awhile. Work it dry a good bit, then add a few drops and work it some more. Keep doing this until you start to get a reasonable amount of volume. The problem you'll encounter is that the brush steals all the lather, so you'll need to either work it against your face a little to get it out, or just give the bristles a soft squeeze then sweep it back onto the brush and apply.

I got some pretty good lather off it doing this, then promptly added too much water and it got a bit too sudsy for my taste, was still usable, but not great. I should have stopped one wetting prior to where I did.

I'm still working with this soap, ask me about it in another 3-5 uses. It's a tricky one to get down, but I think (like Williams), I'll be able to get good lather off it once I find the right method.


If I had one bit of advice for Charismata, I'd say he may want to drop coconut by about half and increase castor and Tallow (1:4 castor:tallow) to replace it. And maybe drop some of the Soybean and replace that portion with tallow.

 

[SmoovD]

I don't have any problems with Williams. WMF is a little fussy but generally falls in line. This soap is giving me fits. It is very slick but is so unstable that I would not be able to finish a pass.

I have given it a go about every way I can imagine: I have tried an Omega Pro boar, E&J Super and the B&BE. I have tried face, hand and bowl lathering. I have started with just a damp brush and slowly added water until what lather I could create broke back down. All efforts in vain.

Is your water soft? I can't help but think that my hard water is playing a role in this.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Nah, my water is pretty hard. I'd recommend soaking your face well (shave after shower), and letting it air dry and then applying the lather when it's still a bit dry. The soap doesn't get the kind of stable lather you can get from Tabac, MWF, or well-worked Williams. It's pretty similar to what I got from Arko the time I tried it. I haven't figured a way to stabilize it yet. Maybe try the Aqua velva/glycerin trick? I'll give it a go next time I use the stuff.

 

[SmoovD]

99% of the time I do shave after a shower; however, I am not even close to shave worthy lather. Not even trying to shave. I have been attempting to build a lather for recreational purpose only. I sit my merry butt down and try to build lather....with no reward thus far. I have face lathered to a point where I thought I had it but it disappeared quickly after I stopped building. Took maybe about a minute before it started to fade.

 

[Confilo]

99% of the time I do shave after a shower; however, I am not even close to shave worthy lather. Not even trying to shave. I have been attempting to build a lather for recreational purpose only. I sit my merry butt down and try to build lather....with no reward thus far. I have face lathered to a point where I thought I had it but it disappeared quickly after I stopped building. Took maybe about a minute before it started to fade.

I tried the Charismata tallow puck (Barbershop) and before I write my impressions I would like to clarify that I'm not a soapmaker nor have any experience making soap; however I started shaving when I was 16 and I'm currently in my 60's. I always have shaved with a brush, shaving soap and a DE.
I learned a lot of things in this forum besides acquiring a bad case of AD, but the one thing I did not needed to learn was how to get lather out of a shaving soap.
This is the thing with this particular soap, I made a good lather in the brush and in a bowl, nice thick and creamy, but in a few moments after being in my face it thinned out and tended to fade.
My chin was slick and I was able to shave, but I expect a thick, cushiony lather from a tallow soap. This one reminded me of an olive oil based soap or a bath soap but not a shaving soap. Why this happens? I know is not my lather making ability and I think this soap's formulation still needs some work. I'm sure the Charismata folks have the best intentions in producing a good tallow shaving puck at a reasonable price, but they still have a way to go.

 

[SmoovD]

Tried the soap again last night. After loading the soap into the brush I built the lather in a bowl. When I got the lather to a state that I would normally be satisfied I stopped and set the brush on the counter. It wasn't long until the lather began to break down.

I am afraid that I am going to relegate this soap to body soap duty.

 

[jrhudgins]

My experience with the tallow formulation has been the same as the descriptions given above, namely poor. I do, however, enjoy the fragrances and so hope that Charismata reformulates their tallow soap to provide a good shaving experience.
I am going to use the vegetable-based tobacco/cognac bar as a bath soap, and will report if it has any irritating effects. My one shower experience with it was good.

JR

 

[arghblech]

My experience with the tallow formulation has been the same as the descriptions given above, namely poor. I do, however, enjoy the fragrances and so hope that Charismata reformulates their tallow soap to provide a good shaving experience.
I am going to use the vegetable-based tobacco/cognac bar as a bath soap, and will report if it has any irritating effects. My one shower experience with it was good.

JR

Both the veggie and the tallow work fine as bath soaps.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I finished off the Veggie soap a week or two ago as a bath soap. Worked well. Would have lasted longer if I hadn't left it in the shower 24/7, but I'm lazy.