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

[PLANofMAN]

MWF…complete dud. Replaced the puck…never fails. I use MWF regularly, really like it, but that first puck was a failure.

A few bad batches of that seem to have gone out during the covid pandemic. I don't know if it was supply chain issues or a worker shortage that caused it. We'll probably never know.

The real tinfoil conspiracy theory is that they were testing new formulas...

 

[IMightBeWrong]

When ToBS first swapped from tallow I had a puck of Jermyn St that dried out and turned to flakes within about a minute. It was amazing for the first few strokes of the razor but couldn’t last a pass.

 

[cryhavoc]

I learned through experience that ‘artisan’ in combination with shaving soaps too often means ‘underperforming, made by amateurs’. I have become suspicious of all shaving products labelled ‘artisan’.

But my award for the singularly most unsuitable shaving soap goes to Lightfoot’s Pure Pine Shave Cream Soap.

I tried this shaving soap a few years back because of its unusual but very attractive scent and found it near impossible to shave with.
Out of necessity, I even have used bar soap on occasion for a shave, but it’s Lightfoot’s Pure Pine Shave Cream Soap that stands out in my memory as the most unsuitable.



B.

I agree, Lightfoot's was the worst shave soap I've ever tried.

 

[Ravenonrock]

A few bad batches of that seem to have gone out during the covid pandemic. I don't know if it was supply chain issues or a worker shortage that caused it. We'll probably never know.

The real tinfoil conspiracy theory is that they were testing new formulas...

If they were testing formulas for bin worthy soaps, they nailed it.

 

[PLANofMAN]

If they were testing formulas for bin worthy soaps, they nailed it.

At least the new formula seems to be an alright soap, if not as great as the tallow. No one so far seems to have much issue lathering it, at least. In five years, it will probably have a better reputation than the tallow formula, honestly.

...and I haven't even tried it yet. At least I've got a good stockpile of tallow MWF, from good batches.

 

[musicman1951]

Never had a soap that didn't work very well. But I've been a member here for a while and I'm not much of a gambler. I don't buy a soap until I read a bunch of glowing reviews on the forum. I am exceedingly appreciative of the brave people who jump into the deep end of the pool with no data and high expectations, but I'm not that brave.

 

[nemo]

Hello Trumper. Thought I could lather anything, but I guess I'm not the master of that soap.
I tried every trick I know. I still drag it out once in a while -- without any luck.
Thin, disappearing lather.
Great scent, though.

 

[Gentleman in Japan]

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

I agree! if it just aint playing ball and it was a cheapo I would just chalk it up as a bad formulation and bin it. Sad but shaving (although a search for the holy grail much like espresso) should be fun and zen-like enlightening.

 

[Gentleman in Japan]

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.

Totally agree here too.
A few years back I ordered some trumpers products. The sandalwood skinfood was awesome but the shave soap.....you all know the issue right. I even emailed trumpers to tell them and ask what am I missing. Their reply was that their soaps work just fine and they told me how to build a lather with it. Unfortunately but thanks to you good folks here I was already doing what they suggested. They sent me another puck as a goodwill gesture (fairplay), but result was the same. When I compared the ingredients with other much better soaps they seemed to be missing some key ingredients.
I then ordered a DR Harris and didnt look back.

 

[TexNat]

I have evaluated over 200 shaving soaps. They range from abysmal to sublime.

Ok, that is impressive experience.

What are your top recommendations for a straight razor?

 

[Juanmosey]

I find the key to a great shaving soap to be stearic acid. You also indicate that palmitic acid is suitable, but it needs to be balanced with stearic acid. Stearic acid has the chemical formula C18H36O2. Palmitic acid has the formula C16H32O2. The stearic acid chain is longer by two hydroxyl (CH2) groups. That seems to make a difference in performance. Palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil are all rather low in stearic acid. Thus, I avoid purchasing soaps based on these oils. Animal tallow does have a significant quantity of palmitic acid, but it is balanced by stearic acid. Shea butter, Kokum butter, Mango butter, and cacao butter are excellent sources of stearic acid, so I look for soaps containing these ingredients.

Ray, the local Whole Foods here is selling these small half-moon shaped bar soaps for $15. One of these is being sold as a shave soap. All the ingredients are listed on the label. Could these hard bars provide a good shave with the right ingredients like Shea butter, etc? I haven't compared the two different soaps that is body and shave..