Cracked the Palmira code - by accident

[Chandu]

So... I've used Palmira in the past and had nice lather and not so nice lather. Parked in a mug for the last few months I used it for some shaves this week, and the lather was lackluster and disipated quickly. One of the many complaints I've heard about Palmira, but I also know I had some good lather.

I decided to move it to a different container as I had another use for the mug it was in. It's soft enough so spooned it out. I had a little soap left on the spoon and a little bit in the container. I started to rinse the spoon, I was practically scrubbing and the stuff would not come off. Most soaps rinse off easier than this was what kept going through my head. Then the water warmed and it rinsed a little easier and then the water got hot and the soap melted away like it was never there.

Hmmm... Last time I had a good lather from this soap it was winter. In the winter I shave with warm water, in the summer, cool to warm, but never very warm. This week my bad Palmira lathers all happened in cool water.

So, I ran my brush under warm water, flicked it out almost dry, turned the water as hot as I could get it and put a teaspoon or so right on the Palmira and then put brush to lather.

Swirled for a little bit, dumped some of the proto lather and swirled another 20 seconds. The lather I got was different, thicker and slicker than I've every gotten from Palmira. It felt rich and fatty. Granted I just lathered in a bowl and didn't shave tonight as I had already shaved today, so I can't speak to performance, but see zero reason why that lather wouldn't work better than any I've had from Palmira before.

Thinking about this, it does make sense. Take a small bit of Palmira between your thumb and forefinger and rub it around. It feels very greasy, not like a normal croap or harder soap. I don't know if there is a higher amount of unsaponified fat or what, but the hot water absolutely activates the soap unlike any other soap I've used.

Anyway if you've got some Palmira you never got a good lather with, try HOT water.

 

[BigJ]

Great post!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Chandu]

Great post!

Thanks for sharing.

After I experienced this last night, I immediately wondered on the water temp of all those who had issues in prior postings about Palmira here and on other forums. A few got good lather, most didn't when it came to the cube.

This experience is going to make me try hot water on any other soaps I may find tricky to lather. All the variables that make up YMMV. A simple thing like water temp. It makes sense after I realized, but certainly wasn't the first thing I thought of. I blamed it on too much or too little water, lathering time, etc.

 

[malocchio]

I love Palmira soap , and their cream as well.... I will soak the cube in hot water for 10 seconds , then rub the cube all over my whiskers. I then use a wet brush to work up a tremendously rich , thick , luxurious lather...

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Very cool discovery of yours and thanks for sharing the results.

I had a soap that was always lackluster for me as well. Until one day I scooped and pressed it into a copper lather bowl and left floating in a sink of hot water. The soap started to change from white to slightly translucent at which point I went to lathering. None of this was intentional, but the resulting lather was remarkable. Glad to see this may be a valid technique for some soaps.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I remember a member many years ago posting that they had an electric kettle standing by for scuttle/soap prep prior to shaving. Maybe they were a Palmira user?


Heat increases solubility, in general it makes loading more successful, but outside of a certain range it can break down lather. Soaps with high Na vs K ratios benefit more from a hot soak... very soft K-soaps (most artisans) don't care so much.

 

[sarimento1]

never had any issue lathering here in s florida with my re-potted palmira cube.
always great lather, with warm tap water.
thanks to malocchio for introducing.

 

[Chandu]

re-potted palmira cube.

Excellent terminology!

 

[samhain666]

Hey guys where do you get your Palmira soaps? And for what price?

 

[Chandu]

Hey guys where do you get your Palmira soaps? And for what price?

Eb@y. Usually under $10 shipped.

 

[samhain666]

In past that was all I could find, and didn't wan't to order because in Serbia it costs less than a buck, it's like local Arko. But today I ordered 3 for 20$ shipped. Still waaaaaaay toooooo much but still cheaper than going to Serbia

 

[Chandu]

In past that was all I could find, and didn't wan't to order because in Serbia it costs less than a buck, it's like local Arko. But today I ordered 3 for 20$ shipped. Still waaaaaaay toooooo much but still cheaper than going to Serbia

Yes, there is no way to avoid over paying for budget soaps that aren't in your own country. Europeans pay dearly for Williams. It's less than a buck at my grocer.

So then it becomes, what better soap could I buy for X dollars. Well, some of these budget soaps are as good as soaps that cost much more, but don't cost much themselves due to the fact that they are mass produced.

 

[samhain666]

I bit the bullet o Palmira because of curiosity. 20bucks won't kill my budget

And I agree that sometimes is better to overpay cheap soap, than pay regular price for something a bit more premium.

Well about Williams...one day I got lucky and found offer on Ebay and got 3 pucks for less than 5$, SHIPPED to Europe. Seller was from US

 

[samhain666]

Yesterday I had a test run with Palmira and I have a question. How to lather this son of a gun?

I mashed it in mug and bloomed in scalding water for aprox 3min. I could load LOADS of soap, you could see paste forming quickly and brush was heavy. I added a few droplets of water, just enough to make creamy paste on my face. When I added literally 5 DROPLETS in brush and started swirling in my face the cream got bubbly and started dissapating in seconds. So I wen't back to the soap, made creamy dry paste on face and just painted wet brush across lathered face to add slickness.

I was able to shave but it was not really pleasant because I had to be really carefull with my lather. So again...how do I lather this soap? More blooming time? Maybe it's my hard water?

 

[Chandu]

Maybe it's my hard water?

That could be a factor. I have softened water, so try bottled if you can. I don't bloom it, but right before I load I put some hot water on the soap. Hot and it sits for about 10 seconds and then swirl the brush. So I would try some bottled water, better distilled if you can get it as that will have zero mineral content. Most bottled water is low in iron which in my experience is the worst mineral for messing with soap, so even regular bottled may be better than what your tap puts out.

 

[samhain666]

That could be a factor. I have softened water, so try bottled if you can. I don't bloom it, but right before I load I put some hot water on the soap. Hot and it sits for about 10 seconds and then swirl the brush. So I would try some bottled water, better distilled if you can get it as that will have zero mineral content. Most bottled water is low in iron which in my experience is the worst mineral for messing with soap, so even regular bottled may be better than what your tap puts out.

I will try bottled/distilled water just to see if I can get a good lather out of this thing. But if I have to keep a jug of extra water for this soap, then the trash can awaits

 

[linty1]

Thanks for the tip, I have a cube of it that's been sitting in my den for... maybe 3 years now that I think now is the time to break out. It's such an odd shape... I was thinking of grating it into a puck container to lather... but not sure there enough of it. I may put it on a scuttle and try to pour hot water through it and lather on top of the little cube. Very excited. But hot water, got it.