gamey smell in soap?

[FireDragon76]

It sounds like @FireDragon76 got a bad batch. I’ve gone through 8 different tubs of Stirling and have never had a bad one yet. There was a scent I didn’t like once, but it was not from tallow.

I would suggest contacting Rod at Stirling.

Is the soap supposed to be brown? Even the lather is beige tinged.

 

[xiletero]

Well I say if you really do not like the smell, maybe try adding something like : Pinaud or Aquavelva and let it soak?

 

[FireDragon76]

Well I say if you really do not like the smell, maybe try adding something like : Pinaud or Aquavelva and let it soak?

I've ordered some unscented soap samples and I'm thinking about using an EdT like Canoe. It will also give me an opportunity to smell the base on its own. If it smells funky I simply won't use it, probably relegate it to kitchen sink duty or something like that.

 

[bluesman 7]

My take is that soap scents were originally popular to cover the natural smell of the soap, so unscented may not be very desirable.

 

[HereticHermit]

Most artisan soaps do have a slightly animistic funky smell of tallow hanging about them. But i think it is also about artisan soap makers not being professional chemists. In like to like comparison most of mass produced tallow based soaps do not smell as funky as artisan soaps.
On another note at a certain price point of ROI the difference between USA soaps and UK/Europe is even more pronounced and I am inclined to think that most hobbyist USA soap makers tend to scent their soaps a lot louder than european soaps in order to hide the tallow funk. Whereas most of old school UK/Europe soap makers are in the business for dog years and they have taken the refinement to another level without being loud on scents.

 

[FireDragon76]

My take is that soap scents were originally popular to cover the natural smell of the soap, so unscented may not be very desirable.

Faint animal smells aren't necessarily unpleasant, though. The concentration influences perception. In low amounts an indolic musk could smell like jasmine, in high amounts it could smell like a rotting corpse. I have some Udderly Smooth hand cream, for instance, that is fragrance free but contains lanolin, and it does have a faintly sheepish smell, but it just adds a warmth to the overall unscented lotion. Like the smell of a clean wool sweater. It doesn't smell like a barnyard.

One reason fragrances were used in the past was to differentiate one product from another in a crowded marketplace selling similar mass-produced products. Fragrances have emotional connections that are more immediate than other sense perceptions.

 

[bluesman 7]

Good points @FireDragon76

 

[Steve56]

All soaps are superfatted, it’s necessary to exhaust the lye. So whatever the fat is, tallow, palm, coconut, there’s going to be some that’s unsaponified left over. That’s just the nature of soap making.

Many artisans are adding a lot of fats to their soaps, double butter, triple oils, quad fats, etc and many oils and fats can go rancid over time. Cella has always been bad about that for me, it will turn brown and have a stale note like old peanut butter. Additionally, many artisan products contain a lot of water, they’re not cured like MdC for instance, and extra water won’t help. Not to mention paying soap prices for water.

The only artisan product that I buy anymore is MdC, I stick with that and the Italian creams. I got tired of overscented (and poorly scented), over fatted, watery (not well cured) soaps that really didn’t perform better or even as well as the mainstream products.

 

[muzichead]

The sample of Tsuka I got smells like it's more up to my speed. It's not the same soap base, though.

Actually, both Tsuka and Barbershop, do in fact have the same Beef tallow / Stearic Acid base so I don't think its the tallow that you are picking up off the puck of Barbershop. There have been quite a few different descriptions when comparing it to the likes of other barbershop soaps that are available and most that don't like Stirling I've read is the Amber / Vanilla / Musk mix that comes off the puck and can be just a little overwhelming to some. Not sure where you are getting the other scents you have described and a few of them have been quite creative to say the least!! Barbershop may not be the scent for you, at least in the Stirling line, but don't give up as there are quite a few other Artisan's that make a barbershop scent and I'm sure there is one out there to your liking. Life is too short to dwell on something negative so go find something positive to dwell on....

 

[Atlantic59]

...Not sure where you are getting the other scents you have described and a few of them have been quite creative to say the least!! ... Life is too short to dwell on something negative so go find something positive to dwell on....

I think FireDragon is being pretty entertaining, like the Edgar Allan Poe of shaving soap. I'm tempted to send him some soap samples from my small hoard so I can read his descriptions.

 

[Chandu]

All soaps are superfatted, it’s necessary to exhaust the lye. So whatever the fat is, tallow, palm, coconut, there’s going to be some that’s unsaponified left over. That’s just the nature of soap making.

To an extent yes. There are calculations to be done with various fats that will tell you how much you need, but all will typically add a bit extra just to be sure they don't end up with a hot one.

Now when I say super fatted I don't mean the tiny bit extra fat that is left over after saponification. I'm talking the heaping helpings that many artisans add WAY above what any calculation plus a little buffer would indicate.

 

[FireDragon76]

Actually, both Tsuka and Barbershop, do in fact have the same Beef tallow / Stearic Acid base so I don't think its the tallow that you are picking up off the puck of Barbershop.

It is a different soap base because it was a bar of soap for cleansing rather than shaving.

 

[xiletero]

Stirling Barbershop: I do not smell "gamey"; it's brownish, lather is beige and I find the smell weak , sweet, and I particularly don't like it....it shaves good and I am glad the smell doesn't stick around

 

[FireDragon76]

Stirling Barbershop: I do not smell "gamey"; it's brownish, lather is beige and I find the smell weak , sweet, and I particularly don't like it....it shaves good and I am glad the smell doesn't stick around

Does it smell like rum to you?

I don't find my batch to be weak in scent. It's fairly clingy, too. But there's no real freshness or brightness in it.

 

[Steve56]

...

Now when I say super fatted I don't mean the tiny bit extra fat that is left over after saponification. I'm talking the heaping helpings that many artisans add WAY above what any calculation plus a little buffer would indicate.

Yes, very much agree.

 

[johnwick]

It is a different soap base because it was a bar of soap for cleansing rather than shaving.

This makes sense. The bar soaps are all MUCH more lightly scented than the shave soaps. I’ve literally used dozens of bar soaps from Stirling, but ironically not Barbershop. The one and only gamey smelling bar soap from them I’ve received was Scott’s Pine Sheep. Which is made with mutton tallow and not beef. So apples to oranges. I have, however, used the barbershop shave soap and did not find it’s smell to include a tallow smell. A bit too sweet for my liking though.

 

[FireDragon76]

To an extent yes. There are calculations to be done with various fats that will tell you how much you need, but all will typically add a bit extra just to be sure they don't end up with a hot one.

Now when I say super fatted I don't mean the tiny bit extra fat that is left over after saponification. I'm talking the heaping helpings that many artisans add WAY above what any calculation plus a little buffer would indicate.

Isn't this analogous to what Van Der Hagen has been doing for some time? I suppose one difference of course is that VDH's soaps contain preservatives (like phenoxyethanol) and don't use animal fats.

Also, I think Proraso has one soap that has extra vegetable fat added (the red sandalwood scent).

 

[Chandu]

Isn't this analogous to what Van Der Hagen has been doing for some time? I suppose one difference of course is that VDH's soaps contain preservatives (like phenoxyethanol) and don't use animal fats.

VHD to my knowledge just has loads of glycerine, not 10 distinct oils as in this real world example

Aloe Vera Juice, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Mango Butter, Camelina Oil, Fragrance, Marshmallow Extract, Glycerine, Cera Alba, Sunflower Lecithin, Jojoba Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Larch Arabinogalactan, Tara Gum, Erythritol, Glucomannan (Konjac root), Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Silk Peptides, Propanediol, Beta Sitosterol, Hydrolyzed Whey Protein, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Citrate, Sodium hydroxide, Olive Oil Unsaponifiables, Betaine, Sasha Inchi Oil, Meadofoam Oil, Allantoin, Argan Oil, Shea Olein, Oleic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Fragrance, Colloidal Oatmeal, Sucrose Cocoate, Sodium Gluconate, Calendula Extract, Ceramide 3, Liquorice Root Extract, Beta Glucan, Broccoli Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Hyaluronic Acid, Grape Seed Extract, Chamomile Extract, Sea Kelp Extract, Green Tea Extract, Alpha Bisabolol, Inositol, Histidine, Lysine, Arginine, Sodium PCA, Sodium Alginate, Aspen Bark Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf extract, Phospholipids, Resveratrol, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E).

 

[FireDragon76]

VHD to my knowledge just has loads of glycerine, not 10 distinct oils as in this real world example

Aloe Vera Juice, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Mango Butter, Camelina Oil, Fragrance, Marshmallow Extract, Glycerine, Cera Alba, Sunflower Lecithin, Jojoba Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Larch Arabinogalactan, Tara Gum, Erythritol, Glucomannan (Konjac root), Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Silk Peptides, Propanediol, Beta Sitosterol, Hydrolyzed Whey Protein, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Citrate, Sodium hydroxide, Olive Oil Unsaponifiables, Betaine, Sasha Inchi Oil, Meadofoam Oil, Allantoin, Argan Oil, Shea Olein, Oleic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Fragrance, Colloidal Oatmeal, Sucrose Cocoate, Sodium Gluconate, Calendula Extract, Ceramide 3, Liquorice Root Extract, Beta Glucan, Broccoli Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Hyaluronic Acid, Grape Seed Extract, Chamomile Extract, Sea Kelp Extract, Green Tea Extract, Alpha Bisabolol, Inositol, Histidine, Lysine, Arginine, Sodium PCA, Sodium Alginate, Aspen Bark Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf extract, Phospholipids, Resveratrol, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E).

Too bad most of those wonderful ingredients in the soap are going straight down the drain.

VDH Deulxe and Luxury have shea and cocoa butter.

 

[RayClem]

When Grooming Department first came out with their Icarus formula soaps, there were numerous complaints about a gamey funky scent. That formula is based on bison tallow (which is typically obtained from kidney fat), lamb tallow, and goat milk. I found it necessary to air out the early versions of Icarus for about a week before the gamey scent diminished to the point I could use the soap. Fortunatley, the new Milksteak formula used by GD is not quite as gamey.