Have you ever had a soap that just won't work?

[Jbird45]

So, I was at a local artisan shop downtown that has local made goods. There was a bar of shaving soap for $5 locally made and I decided to give it a try.

If it isn't the most temperamental, hard to lather, dry soap I have ever used.

I have tried everything I can think of to get this thing to lather. I have tried loading more in the brush, loading less in the brush, using hot water, cold water, ambient temp water, more water, less water, using my silicone bowl with the nibs in the bottom, my copper and ceramic bowls with ridges, I have tried a badger, boar, and synthetic brush.

Nothing works. All I get is a bubbly, airy, foam that dries and dissipates very quickly. There is no slickness, glide, cushion, or anything. It irritates the skin too, probably because there is none of the above. No protection.

I guess I am going to chalk it up to it being a bad soap or doesn't have the proper ingredients or something, cause I am out of ideas, unless you gentlemen can think of anything? Should it get tossed in the can and move on?

 

[Butch Waxx]

So, I was at a local artisan shop downtown that has local made goods. There was a bar of shaving soap for $5 locally made and I decided to give it a try.

If it isn't the most temperamental, hard to lather, dry soap I have ever used.

I have tried everything I can think of to get this thing to lather. I have tried loading more in the brush, loading less in the brush, using hot water, cold water, ambient temp water, more water, less water, using my silicone bowl with the nibs in the bottom, my copper and ceramic bowls with ridges, I have tried a badger, boar, and synthetic brush.

Nothing works. All I get is a bubbly, airy, foam that dries and dissipates very quickly. There is no slickness, glide, cushion, or anything. It irritates the skin too, probably because there is none of the above. No protection.

I guess I am going to chalk it up to it being a bad soap or doesn't have the proper ingredients or something, cause I am out of ideas, unless you gentlemen can think of anything? Should it get tossed in the can and move on?

Soap is inexpensive and there are too many good ones out there for you to use….I would toss it

 

[FarmerTan]

Try face lathering?

 

[ivan_101]

Bin it.

 

[brucered]

Anything my wife picked up from local markets, before I told her not to.

Don't toss it. Use it as a shower bar. That's all they are usually good for.

 

[FarmerTan]

@Jbird45 : possibly the ONLY thing that differentiates this shave soap from hand soap is the mold it was made in, sadly. Most "artisans" probably can't spell artisan any better than I can, and get their "recipes" from the interwebs.

You could always move it into the shower if you like the smell?

But possibly try rubbing it on your incredibly handsome face like it's a shaving stick, and then try lathering it. It might just surprise you!

That about the ONLY way I can really enjoy modern Williams pucks.

 

[Jbird45]

@Jbird45 : possibly the ONLY thing that differentiates this shave soap from hand soap is the mold it was made in, sadly. Most "artisans" probably can't spell artisan any better than I can, and get their "recipes" from the interwebs.

You could always move it into the shower if you like the smell?

But possibly try rubbing it on your incredibly handsome face like it's a shaving stick, and then try lathering it. It might just surprise you!

That about the ONLY way I can really enjoy modern Williams pucks.

Yeah I suppose your right. I forgot to mention I did try face lathering too, didn't work. I'll use it as shower soap and a learning experience

 

[FarmerTan]

Yeah I suppose your right. I forgot to mention I did try face lathering too, didn't work. I'll use it as shower soap and a learning experience

Still sucks that it happened tho.

 

[JimL911]

I had one that was so bad it didn't work in the shower either, so then I tossed it. It happens.

 

[Jbird45]

Still sucks that it happened tho.

At the risk of public humiliation and starting a wildfire of heated, passionate comments, I must admit I wish I would have saved my $5 and bought a couple more pucks of arko instead.

 

[RayClem]

There are many soapmakers who can make hand soap. Some of them have the mistaken idea that if they can make a hand soap, they can also make a shave soap. Wrong! Making a great shaving soap takes years of experience. The right ingredients must be combined in the right amounts and in the right order. Sometimes small changes in the formula can make or break the performance.

I have evaluated over 200 shaving soaps. They range from abysmal to sublime. I purchase a shaving soap one time from a local soapmaker at the county fair. While the soap scent was great, the performance was poor.

Life is too short to use a soap that does not work for you. Either toss it in the trash, use it in the shower or as a hand soap, or give it away to someone who might find it suitable for shaving. There are too many great soaps available to mess with ones that are lacking.

 

[FarmerTan]

At the risk of public humiliation and starting a wildfire of heated, passionate comments, I must admit I wish I would have saved my $5 and bought a couple more pucks of arko instead.

Be careful. Klown Klubs are recruiting!

 

[Chef455]

Seems like there is a common theme developing here. The only soaps I've had that wouldn't lather were also from local artisan soap makers. I just put them in the shower and use them uo as bar soap. Sorry my little independent peeps, I'll not be purchasing "shave" soap from any of you ever again.

 

[Jbird45]

Seems like there is a common theme developing here. The only soaps I've had that wouldn't lather were also from local artisan soap makers. I just put them in the shower and use them uo as bar soap. Sorry my little independent peeps, I'll not be purchasing "shave" soap from any of you ever again.

Sucks too because I like supporting small businesses, but I guess even other boutique makers could be considered small and their products are excellent. Live and learn

 

[Chef455]

Sucks too because I like supporting small businesses, but I guess even other boutique makers could be considered small and their products are excellent. Live and learn

I agree. Their bar soaps work just fine so I'll continue to buy those. But shave soap nope. And there are plenty of small independent businesses that make terrific shave soaps. I just avoid buying it from local shops and farmers markets anymore.

 

[The Blackadder]

Put an Arko label on it, I bet it starts lathering up like nobody’s business. It might change its scent too

 

[roboman]

At the risk of public humiliation and starting a wildfire of heated, passionate comments, I must admit I wish I would have saved my $5 and bought a couple more pucks of arko instead.

I'm with ya JBird. Arko works, it just works. Not only that.... it works pretty darn good. In fact... it works so well that my mind is playing tricks on me. In a subconscious effort to prevent from getting cuts/nicks caused by inferior soaps w/poor glide-factor... my mind is making me think Arko even smells good now.

 

[Possum092]

If it doesn’t lather then it’s not shaving soap. I gave up trying to find quality shaving supplies locally. Everything I buy nowadays is over the internet; no hassles and great prices.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Sucks too because I like supporting small businesses, but I guess even other boutique makers could be considered small and their products are excellent. Live and learn

Unfortunately, a lot of these small local artisans make the same mistake. They find a recipe for "shaving soap" off the internet that is basically the same base as a bath soap, add a few ingredients like shea butter, beeswax, lanolin, etc. and then label it as a shaving soap. You could shave with it, possibly, if you keep applying more, but why bother?

A good shave soap will usually contain a lot of stearic acid. That helps make the soap produce a long-lasting, slick lather. Without much stearic acid, the lather tends to dry up and disappear.

 

[Jbird45]

I'm with ya JBird. Arko works, it just works. Not only that.... it works pretty darn good. In fact... it works so well that my mind is playing tricks on me. In a subconscious effort to prevent from getting cuts/nicks caused by inferior soaps w/poor glide-factor... my mind is making me think Arko even smells good now.

Maybe the arko has killed my sense of smell, but the scent has grown on me. It still smells like citronella, but it's a fresh scent, and it brings visions of fresh laundry on the line and a summer breeze. Or maybe the fumes make me hallucinate