EJ Aloe Vera Soap. It's just not the same as Tabac and MWF

[mistercitizen]

I'm new to using soaps, but I've gotten to the point where I can get a good lather with a soap either by face lathering or using my scuttle. I've been using Tabac and MWF mostly.... both in their respective classic dish containers with lids. I have an Edwin Jagger Apothecary Mug and about 3 pucks of EJ shave soap that I got as freebies in orders from Men's Direct website. I have Aloe Vera, Sandalwood, and Sea Buckhorn (all of their scents I believe). I was using my EJ mug primarily to build lather with creams, but after I got my G20 scuttle, the mug was being mostly used as a razor holder. So, I decided to put a puck of the EJ Aloe Vera soap in there. I figured it would be an inexpensive way to practice learning how to build lather with a soap since I got the puck for free. I used the EJ soap today after having used MWF two days ago and Tabac yesterday. I get a decent lather with the EJ soap.... but just nowhere near as thick and creamy as the "Fat" or Tabac. I know that MWF and Tabac are considered in most guy's "top soaps" list.... but how many of you out there get good lather from EJ soaps and how many of you think EJ soaps are not worth messing with. Also, are EJ soaps the same as Muhle? I've never tried Muhle, but I seem to recall identical scent offerings.

Incidently, I love the scent and performance of Tabac soap so much... and with the cooler weather coming on.... I went ahead today and bought 2 bottles of Tabac AS splash (10.1 oz), 1 bottle of Tabac cologne splash (10.1 oz) and 2 tubes of Tabac shave cream.... got it all for about $58 shipped from a website that sells mostly fragrances. I thought that was a pretty good deal..... and I'm all set with Tabac for the fall and winter.

Ben

 

[Gingerbread]

EJ soaps have been hailed as complete wastes of time and money. They smell phenomenal, though.

 

[mistercitizen]

EJ soaps have been hailed as complete wastes of time and money.

I kind of had a feeling that might be the case. I've never seen anyone rave about it here.

Ben

 

[Agravic]

I believe EJ and Muhle soaps are one and the same in terms of their source of manufacture. They are not bad soaps in my opinion, but my experience has also been that other soaps including Tabac and MWF produce a richer, thicker lather easier.

 

[merkur59]

The EJ can be good after a period of use when h20 has soften it up a bit.
I know cos I have 6 pucks of the sea buckthorn

 

[Lando]

I got my pucks of aloe and seabuckthorne as freebies as well, and use them only to defunkify new brushes. IME performance is subpar, similar to yours.

 

[celestino]

i have never tried it, but i have also never heard good reviews of it!

 

[eth]

I'm with you that they are few, but I have seen very positive posts on the EJ soaps. Mostly about the Sea Buckthorn, but not just for its scent, there have been elaborate positives on its performance too.

Maybe I should pull out mine for tomorrow and give it a go.

 

[edgerunner]

I guess I'm the only one that likes the lather dense and thin (opposite of thick and creamy). I prefer less cushion for better feedback. Thus EJ is one of my favourite soaps. I love its post shave feel, similar to PdP and PSGT.

 

[BlackBard]

I have only tried the EJ Aloe Vera soap. It is one of the soaps I have in my rotation, which currently includes AoS Sandalwood, GFT Rose and Provence Sante. For me it is a fine performer. I plan to buy more when supplies get low.

 

[mistercitizen]

I guess I'm the only one that likes the lather dense and thin (opposite of thick and creamy). I prefer less cushion for better feedback. Thus EJ is one of my favourite soaps. I love its post shave feel, similar to PdP and PSGT.

I used Pre de Provence for the first time this evening. It was a similar experience to the EJ Aloe Vera soap. I guess I didn't think about the advantages of a thinner lather. I'm defintely new to using soaps, but it's not like I'm getting bad shaves using any of these..... I'm just noticing that there are definite differences between them. PdP soap gave me a thinner lather and did not seem to load very easily. I absolutely love the light, sage scent of PdP and the moisturizing properties because of the shea butter.

I had my SSAD a couple months ago and bought a ton of pucks and sticks.... and now I'm loving every minute of trying them out. Maybe I'll try a stick tomorrow for the first time. Let's see.... should it be La Toja, Irisch Moos, Speick, LEA, Valobra????

Ben

 

[eth]

I guess I'm the only one that likes the lather dense and thin (opposite of thick and creamy). I prefer less cushion for better feedback. Thus EJ is one of my favourite soaps. I love its post shave feel, similar to PdP and PSGT.

I absolutely agree, and this is probably the explanation for why I don't find the performance of neither MWF nor Cella to be extraordinary. As stated I used my EJ Sea Buckthorn today, and the shave was really great.

By the way, try using the puck as a shave stick. Soak it to soften it up, rub it on your face instead of loading the brush. Both puck size and the hardness of it make it difficult to load well. This is what I did today.

 

[Mandina]

EJ and Muhle soaps are indeed the same; Muhle prooducts often cost more than EJ products in the U.S. due to Muhle's less favorable distribution arrangement. Both brands of soap are made by Trumper and perhaps by another UK soapmaker as well. I enjoy Cella, MWF, Tabac, Mike's, etc., but I've found EJ Aloe Vera to be a very good soap, too, at least once the puck softens up. As a freebie I'd consider it a great deal. PdP is one of my favorites: yes, a different type of lather compared with, say, MWF and Tabac, but its squeezed-from-the-brush last-pass lather and post-shave feel are among the best for me. For many of us, variety is one of the great joys of wet shaving.

 

[Omak]

I took my buckthorn and grated it into some VDH deluxe, it works better and smells great.

 

[5savages]

EJ Sea Buckthorn was my first soap. I had a hell of time getting good lather at first and would have gotten rid of it had it not been for the fact that my wife gave it to me for Christmas. I put it up for a few months, then got it out again and spent some time with it and now get great lather from it. After soaking my brush I wring out all the water from from it and load like crazy. Load, load, and load some more. After that I face lather and get a great, dense lather.

One thing I do with all triple milled soaps is if I haven't used it in a while, or if it's new, I'll put about a half teaspoon of water on to the top and let it sit overnight. It helps it load faster the next day.

 

[VerbaVolant]

EJ Aloe Vera Soap. It's just not the same as Tabac and MWF

No, it isn't. EJ Aloe Vera is a very different soap and so are many others. This statement means that EJ Aloe Vera soap is different than Tabac and MWF, that's all. It does not means is of lesser quality or anything else.

...I used the EJ soap today after having used MWF two days ago and Tabac yesterday. .
Ben

Just use this soap for a week or two and see how it goes after that.

I like Tabac soap too, very much actually, but you have to keep an open mind when trying something new.

 

[mistercitizen]

Thanks for all of your responses guys. I actually wasn't expecting to hear much support for EJ soaps. It's good to hear all of the little tricks to make the soap work well.... and also to appreciate the different characteristics of a particular soap.

Ben

 

[nemo]

After reading this thread I broke out my container and shaved with EJ Aloe Vera this morning. Just as I had remembered I had very little trouble loading soap on my badger brush and the lather seemed fine ... and that scent is incredible! But my puck is softened somewhat from previous use so the suggestion to hydrate it a little sounds valid. Make sure you load enough and then a little more.

But yes, it is different from Tabac and MWF ... and Cella, and Cade, etc. All soaps are different, thank goodness.