Is tallow soap too oily for some?

[jhe888]

I have some tallow soap from Mike's Natural Soap- it feels great when I shave, very slick, rich, and it lathers great. My skin is pretty oily, though, and some days, it seems like the soap exacerbates that. Is that tallow soaps in general, or certain formulas of soap? I noticed the same thing with Queen Charlotte Soap, too.

I do seem to notice this less with a clear glycerin soap like Momma Bear's (which doesn't lather as richly, although it is still quite nice). I also notice it less with a soap like VanDerHagen's Luxury soap. which also has no tallow.

I don't think I'm willing to give up the shaving goodness of a tallow soap over this, but I wondered if anyone else noticed this and if it was the tallow soap itself, or something else in them.

 

[Jefebadskin]

I have oily skin and love Mike's. It's not the tallow to my face, it's the moisturizing elements as most of my other non-artisan tallow soaps don't give that same feel. If you just don't like the feeling, try some dr Harris. on the other end, I think proraso is tallow free but also gives the moisturized feel I enjoy. What I can't use are aftershave balms.

 

[nav]

Generally, all shaving soaps are made with fatty acids, whether derived from tallow or veg based oils. If it's the tallow that is too "oily" then you will most likely have that problem with any shaving soap made with oils. Maybe it's a different ingredient that is leaving a film on your face?

I have naturally oily skin (I don't get acne, thank god!) and I don't find tallow soaps (which is all that I use) make my skin any more or less oily.

 

[Fortitudo Dei]

It's the amount of fat left over after saponification which will more likely be the issue rather than the type of fat. This is called the "superfat" ratio and is generally <5% but the amount will vary depending on the manufacturer. It is this which provides the moisturizing property of the soap and stops it being very harsh on the skin (laundry soaps for example tend to have very little excess fat so they are harsh on the skin but great for washing clothes). Clear glycerine-style shaving soaps tend to have a very low superfat ratio (thus better suited for oily skin) as excess fats make the soap cloudy and this detracts from their appearance.

 

[fchan]

I have naturally oily skin and use MWF soap. I find it leaves my skin very soft but not oilier.

Out of curiosity, I'm currently using MWF so if anyone has opinions comparing the 2 i'd be interested to hear it.


OP- sorry to threadjack.

 

[fchan]

Just found my answer here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/307593-Mike-s-Natural-Soap-or-Mitchells-Wool-Fat They seem to be pretty much equal but I'll try out the Mikes once I finish this puck.

 

[Graybeard57]

I do seem to notice this less with a clear glycerin soap like Momma Bear's (which doesn't lather as richly, although it is still quite nice). I also notice it less with a soap like VanDerHagen's Luxury soap. which also has no tallow.

I don't think I'm willing to give up the shaving goodness of a tallow soap over this, but I wondered if anyone else noticed this and if it was the tallow soap itself, or something else in them.

I think it's the tallow, and I've noticed this too. I like both types, but use the tallow less than half the time, because of my oily skin.