D.R.Harris: Almond vs. Arlington

[talibeard]

Hi gents,

I wonder if any of you are having the same experience with these two as I have. I am not talking about the scents here, they are most certainly very different, but about performance.

First the Arlington; it lathers fine and performs as a decent quality product and if I didn't know the Almond I would be a fan like many more. Scent is great, performance is great and I really like it a lot.

But here it is. For whatever reason the Almond performs better in every way; creamier lather, better protection and even a better glide. Every single shave, no matter what I try to enhance the performance of Arlington. The difference isn't huge but certainly noticable and always there.

Note that this is not a complaint about Arlington; if I didn't use them both I would be more than happy with it but I am wondering why and most curious if other members have had a similar experience with these two soaps.

Thanks in advance!

 

[john parker]

I AM WRONG! SEE BELOW!

Only had a bit of Almond, and that over a year ago. Got D.R Harris Lavender (because of the incredible scent), and think I agree that the Almond performed a tiny bit better than the Lavender does. Do know that Almond is called that because it has almond oil in it; don't know if they other varieties do or not.

 

[7 O Menthol]

Interesting question here. I enjoy the sticks in both scents without any discernable difference in performance between them... although with the sticks it may be that I'm getting much more product involved in my lather.

 

[talibeard]

Do know that Almond is called that because it has almond oil in it; don't know if they other varieties do or not.

I was wondering about that but their web-site only states almond-essence (whatever that might be) but not almond-oil. The scent is most definitely different from my other almond-soaps like P.160 and Cella.

 

[john parker]

I AM WRONG! SEE BELOW!


Somewhere on the forum, a long time ago, there was a great discussion of the reason why D.R. Harris opted to call this soap almond. Somewhere in the middle of that discussion I emailed them to ask, and, to the best of my very bad memory, they said it had almond oil in it. If this thread progresses, maybe someone should ask them again - I have a pretty terrible memory!! Edit: in fact, this all happened before the forum format changed, so it may not even be available through search history or checking for my old posts.

I was wondering about that but their web-site only states almond-essence (whatever that might be) but not almond-oil. The scent is most definitely different from my other almond-soaps like P.160 and Cella.

 

[talibeard]

Interesting question here. I enjoy the sticks in both scents without any discernable difference in performance between them... although with the sticks it may be that I'm getting much more product involved in my lather.

Possibly but I think I am already using more product with the Arlington; the soaps are equally hard and I load my brush substantially longer than with the almond version. I don't think it has anything to do with the quantity I use but it is not a day and night difference; the Arlington is great but the Almond is superb.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I haven't looked at the products side by side but a quick glance at ingredients list of all the Dr H pucks, the only difference are scenting agents (almond oil being a scenting agent in the almond). Assuming I didn't make a mistake in that, it's gonna come down to coincidence, placebo, or some variable not reflected in ingredients list (for instance scenting agents displacing 3% lathering product in the almond while displacing 6% in lavender -Hypothetical).

 

[talibeard]

I haven't looked at the products side by side but a quick glance at ingredients list of all the Dr H pucks, the only difference are scenting agents (almond oil being a scenting agent in the almond). Assuming I didn't make a mistake in that, it's gonna come down to coincidence, placebo, or some variable not reflected in ingredients list (for instance scenting agents displacing 3% lathering product in the almond while displacing 6% in lavender -Hypothetical).

I am sure it isn't placebo (I prefered Arlington for scent at first and the difference is not that small) but I think it can be anything; a different batch of soap, age of the soap or whatever. That is why I put the question first on B&B before I contact D.R.Harris about it. If it is just me so it is and I will live happily ever after with some extra Almond refills but curiousity got the better of me here...

 

[john parker]

I sincerely apologize for my memory! (But I did warn you!) D.R. Harris in the 2009 time-frame said that D.R. Harris Almond Soap did NOT have almond oil as an ingredient, but almond "essence" for scent.

 

[njpaddy]

For me Lavender performs the best followed by Arlington. Almond is actually my least favorite. I bought the almond as a stick and didn't like it as a stick, so I transferred it to an empty tin. I like it better loading like a regular soap, but I still prefer the other two. One of my big complaints with almond is its lack of scent. My Simpsons unscented cream has a much stronger scent than the Harris almond.

 

[edgerunner]

I haven't noticed any difference in the performance between the three I use - Arlington, Almond, and Marlborough.

 

[norton]

Weird. I have noticed this as well. I have 4 of the 5 Harris soaps. Best performer is Almond by just a bit, but to be honest, I really enjoy all of them.
My least favorite was the Arlington, but I've now grown to enjoy that one as well.

Maybe the almond essence adds a little something something?

Almond essence is described below as a mix of almond oil and alcohol.
http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Almond_extract

 

[SliceOfLife]

Almond oil is an emollient and lubricant, but we're talking about amounts here that are highly unlikely to impact the shave at all.

Also it's sweet almond oil they use, not bitter.

 

[mhdena]

Almond smells like Vanilla Shake to me

 

[talibeard]

Almond oil is an emollient and lubricant, but we're talking about amounts here that are highly unlikely to impact the shave at all.

Also it's sweet almond oil they use, not bitter.

Apparently there isn't even almond oil used in the almond-version. But I agree that the ingredient list looks identical (though percentages are not given; there could be some variation here) for the most part. Frankly that is the main reason for posting my question if anybody else noticed something similar, since I find it unlikely too.

Yet there is a difference in how my two pucks lather and there has to be a reason for it, one way or another.

 

[SliceOfLife]

http://www.nashvilleknifeshop.com/drharalshavs.html

Prunus Dulcus (after Parfum) is sweet almond.

 

[talibeard]

http://www.nashvilleknifeshop.com/drharalshavs.html

Prunus Dulcus (after Parfum) is sweet almond.

Yes, no doubt. Thanks for the link.