Lather Optimization Updates

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

UPDATE! Saponificio Varesino (SV) comes in at 7th place out of 15.

Saponificio Varesino (SV) comes in at 7th place out of 15

SV was the last sample from @Cal. Thanks, buddy! My next optimization will be with Floris No. 89 shaving cream.

 

[BigJ]

UPDATE! Saponificio Varesino (SV) comes in at 7th place out of 15.

Saponificio Varesino (SV) comes in at 7th place out of 15

SV was the last sample from @Cal. Thanks, buddy! My next optimization will be with Floris No. 89 shaving cream.

WOW!! Great review!! (Thought SV would come in higher.)

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

WOW!! Great review!! (Thought SV would come in higher.)

Thanks, @BigJ. SV is surely higher in others' lists, but it just didn't turn out that way for me. Oh well. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

UPDATE! Floris shaving cream comes in at 13th place out of 16.

Floris shaving cream comes in at 13th place out of 16

Floris is expensive and doesn't perform well, in my opinion. Oh, well. It was worth a shot.

Currently, I'm optimizing Arko.

 

[BigJ]

Interesting!! Sometimes price and performance are different animals!

Thanks for the update.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Interesting!! Sometimes price and performance are different animals!

Thanks for the update.

You said it, @BigJ. Price and performance sometimes don't match.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

UPDATE! Arko is optimized...

Arko is okay. Its optimum lather comes in at 12th place out of 17.

Arko is okay. Frankly, I'm tired of optimizing soaps and creams that cause me irritation. I just started optimizing another soap and the burning feeling that I felt during the shave really caught me by surprise, and not in a good way, of course. I'll get to that when optimization is done and that soap's review is posted.

 

[Blood donor]

Is Haslinger on your to-do list? I'm actually preferring the slightly less popular scented Haslingers to the sheepsmilk plain soap but they are all top notch in my view. Good to see Proraso Single edge up near the top of your ranking. Love them and proraso white cream too

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Is Haslinger on your to-do list? I'm actually preferring the slightly less popular scented Haslingers to the sheepsmilk plain soap but they are all top notch in my view. Good to see Proraso Single edge up near the top of your ranking. Love them and proraso white cream too

Haslinger is not in line yet. I'm willing to try it. After the soap that I'm working on right now, I've got a cream and then a soap in line, but that's it. Wheneven I get a donation, it gets in line.

Yeah, Proraso Single Blade is good. I didn't care as much for Proraso Red, but I'd be up for evaluating Proraso White. Maybe the white version wouldn't cause me the irritation that the red did.

 

[shavefan]

Always look forward to your updates/results.

I noticed that in several of your test that you mention irritation. Is this from the soap base or lack of lubricity/protection? If from the soap base, I would consider only testing the unscented version of a soap base when available. For example, Mike's Natural Barbershop caused some irritation that his Orange, Cedar Black Pepper doesn't. Same with several other manufacturers. Not all manufacturers offer an unscented version though.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Always look forward to your updates/results.

I noticed that in several of your test that you mention irritation. Is this from the soap base or lack of lubricity/protection? If from the soap base, I would consider only testing the unscented version of a soap base when available. For example, Mike's Natural Barbershop caused some irritation that his Orange, Cedar Black Pepper doesn't. Same with several other manufacturers. Not all manufacturers offer an unscented version though.

Thanks, @shavefan, for the trade and for the good advice. I prefer to evaluate unscented soaps and creams, but like you said, some (most?) manufacturers don't offer them. Also, when I'm offered samples to evaluate for free, I gratefully take what I can get and the vast majority of guys have scented products. So, I haven't evaluated an unscented product in a long time. The problem with getting irritation is precisely what you said. You usually can't say for certain whether it is from the base or not unless you've evaluated the unscented base or another version or know that certain fragrance/essential oils don't bother your skin. I've been frustrated by this issue.

 

[shavefan]

Thanks, @shavefan, for the trade and for the good advice. I prefer to evaluate unscented soaps and creams, but like you said, some (most?) manufacturers don't offer them. Also, when I'm offered samples to evaluate for free, I gratefully take what I can get and the vast majority of guys have scented products. So, I haven't evaluated an unscented product in a long time. The problem with getting irritation is precisely what you said. You usually can't say for certain whether it is from the base or not unless you've evaluated the unscented base or another version or know that certain fragrance/essential oils don't bother your skin. I've been frustrated by this issue.

And thank you for the trade.

I know from experience how frustrating it can be. It took me a long while and some good money trying to figure out how to get a good comfortable shave from the Italian classic croaps like Cella, Boellis, Vitos, etc. Only to conclude that the almond "scent" benzaldehyde, common in many of these soaps, really irritates my skin. Live, learn...

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

And thank you for the trade.

I know from experience how frustrating it can be. It took me a long while and some good money trying to figure out how to get a good comfortable shave from the Italian classic croaps like Cella, Boellis, Vitos, etc. Only to conclude that the almond "scent" benzaldehyde, common in many of these soaps, really irritates my skin. Live, learn...

Good investigative work, there. I'm hoping to figure things like that out in time.

 

[Blood donor]

Haslinger is not in line yet. I'm willing to try it. After the soap that I'm working on right now, I've got a cream and then a soap in line, but that's it. Wheneven I get a donation, it gets in line.

Yeah, Proraso Single Blade is good. I didn't care as much for Proraso Red, but I'd be up for evaluating Proraso White. Maybe the white version wouldn't cause me the irritation that the red did.

Afraid I can't be donating from deepest Poland. The postal system is...unique. Proraso white is for sensitive skin, so that may help. Plus I find their creams better than their soaps and I see you tried the Red soap.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Afraid I can't be donating from deepest Poland. The postal system is...unique. Proraso white is for sensitive skin, so that may help. Plus I find their creams better than their soaps and I see you tried the Red soap.

No problem, @Blood donor. Thanks for the tip about Proraso white. Based on what Proraso says about their "soap in a jar" versus their "soap in a tube", it looks like it is the same thing, except that the soap in a jar has been matured for 10 days for more water evaporation, while the soap in a tube has been matured for 3 days. Theoretically, I'd be able to produce the same lather with different water-to-soap ratios.

 

[rockviper]

SWMBO is still waiting for me to mature.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

SWMBO is still waiting for me to mature.

 

[johnwick]

Haslinger is not in line yet. I'm willing to try it. After the soap that I'm working on right now, I've got a cream and then a soap in line, but that's it. Wheneven I get a donation, it gets in line.

Yeah, Proraso Single Blade is good. I didn't care as much for Proraso Red, but I'd be up for evaluating Proraso White. Maybe the white version wouldn't cause me the irritation that the red did.

PM me your address and I’ll get some Haslinger your way. Anything else you might like to lather up? I might have it.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

PM me your address and I’ll get some Haslinger your way. Anything else you might like to lather up? I might have it.

Awesome! Thanks, @johnwick!

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

UPDATE! Oleo is optimized...

Oleo is good. Its optimum lather comes in at 5th place out of 18.

Oleo is good, currently ranked in 5th place out of 18. I like it almost as much as Barrister and Mann's classic formula, so I think that Oleo, at least the duck fat base, is an upper-level soap.

Optimization work has moved on to Rockwell shaving cream.