L'Occitane Cade Optimization Results

[naughtilus]

Thanks. The results are based only on my opinion. I do my best to find the optimum for each soap and cream, the best combination of soap mass, water mass, lather-building time, etc. Parameters are varied from shave to shave as I record results, make comparisons, and keep going until the optimum is fairly found for me. Conclusions are not averaged, but correspond to the optimum performance for the product. However, I usually provide some detail about how slickness, cushion, etc., varied with the water-to-soap/cream ratio and how I settled on the optimum. Most of the products in that list are from donations by B&B brothers, most here in the United States, but with @Cal being the notable exception. Nanny's Silly Soap is still at the top of my list.

Got it. More or less same as your blade tests. Enjoyed reading those some months ago.

Interesting that NSS got such high scores in your test. Many experienced wet shavers mention it as a seriously good performing soap that gets no love because of understated marketing. Packaging and scents seem to rate very high on peoples criteria for purchasing product. I've read confessions how some soaps got purchased just because of 'cool packaging'.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Interesting that NSS got such high scores in your test. Many experienced wet shavers mention it as a seriously good performing soap that gets no love because of understated marketing. Packaging and scents seem to rate very high on peoples criteria for purchasing product. I've read confessions how some soaps got purchased just because of 'cool packaging'.

Scents and packaging are definitely factors. I focus on performance, so even when it comes to NSS, the jar that I bought doesn't have a scent that I really like, but I got it anyway.

 

[Deacon Frank]

Good question. I scraped soap from the sample provided by @Clay S and squished it into a small jar, as shown in the OP. My process involves measuring the desired mass of soap and pushing it into the bottom of a lathering bowl. I just use a little plastic scraper to get the soap out of the little jar.

Cade is a good soap, and I think the issue you've had with undissolved bits is due to the grating/scraping. If you just lather off a solid puck your results may be a little better. As others have noted, it is a very hard soap (like PdP) and requires a lot of loading time. Cade is not my favorite soap, but it's a solid performer, and I think it would end up mid-pack for me which is similar to your results.

Keep up the good work! I enjoy your reviews and appreciate your consistent methodology.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Cade is a good soap, and I think the issue you've had with undissolved bits is due to the grating/scraping. If you just lather off a solid puck your results may be a little better. As others have noted, it is a very hard soap (like PdP) and requires a lot of loading time. Cade is not my favorite soap, but it's a solid performer, and I think it would end up mid-pack for me which is similar to your results.

Keep up the good work! I enjoy your reviews and appreciate your consistent methodology.

Thanks, @Deacon Frank! I appreciate your kind words and considerate feedback. The undissolved bits were not from a lack of time or agitation. The soap was pressed down into the bowl, soaked overnight, and then pressed and mixed with a finger and swirling with extra time and work to get as much of the soap dissolved as possible. Those little bits could not be dissolved.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

One of my favorites! Truly.

You know, I can use " Acme" soap and get one result with a Muhle STF brush and quite another with an Omega boar. It is as if I am using two different soaps. Likewise, soft water and hard water give different results.

Makes me view all reviews with some skepticism.

Nevertheless, always interesting to read 'em.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

One of my favorites! Truly.

You know, I can use " Acme" soap and get one result with a Muhle STF brush and quite another with an Omega boar. It is as if I am using two different soaps. Likewise, soft water and hard water give different results.

Makes me view all reviews with some skepticism.

Nevertheless, always interesting to read 'em.

Different brushes can affect the water-to-soap ratio and the agitation time, both big factors in lather quality. (I use a synthetic brush that doesn't absorb the water.) Water hardness matters, too. When I evaluate soaps and creams over a range of parameter values, I use water with fairly normal water hardness.