I thought long and hard about whether to put this review together or not since there is already so much information on MWF available. In the end, since I was writing this up for my personal shaving journal anyway; I thought maybe it could be helpful or informational to some of the new members out there. As always, skip down to the final comments once you get tired of reading my ramblings.
Soap: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
Cost: <$15
Ingredients: Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Potassium Cocoate, Glycerin, Parfum, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Lanolin, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Silicate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Magnesium Sulphate, Tetrasodium Etidronate.
Appearance and packaging: I bought just the refill package so the soap came in a brown box, labelled with the MWF logo. The packaging seem well built and sturdy, no real chance of the puck being damaged without a real effort. The soap itself came wrapped in paper and has an off-white color. The puck is triple milled and feels like a very hard, dense soap.
Scent: This was the first time I had used MWF and I wasn’t sure what the soap would smell like. I’ve had read that some people didn’t like the smell and other that claim “it’s just ok”, then again, this soap has its throngs of devotees that will claim it’s the best smelling soap they’ve ever sniffed. To me the soap reminded me of my Grandmother’s house. The smell is similar to a perfumed body powder. Not unpleasant, a little sweet, and honestly a little dated. The scent evocated images of the late 70’s and big grandma hugs. Anyway, based on the ingredient list, the scent is comprised of chamomile, lavender, and citrus scents.
Workability and Lather: Here’s the kicker with this soap…you need to really have a game plan to lather this soap correctly. Do not expect to get great lather right off the bat as this soap seems to be very, very picky. My first lathering attempt was miserable. I had read a number of how-to’s and even watch a few videos on lathering MWF, but I still got it all wrong. I soaked the puck and brush in luke-warm water, loaded heavily, whipped the snot out of the soap, and still got light, airy lather. The glide seemed good, but there was no cushion and the lather started to dry out very quickly. So this is how I finally got decent lather and a good shave out of MWF.
Soak the puck and brush for at least a couple minutes in warm (not hot) water. Shake out the brush and actually give it a really good squeeze (you want the brush really dry, but pliable) and pour off the water from the puck. Turn the container that the puck is sitting in on its side and load your brush in this sideways orientation. You will get a mountain of “Lather” right away, but this stuff is really thin and airy, and you do not want this stuff in your lather mix, so let it all drip out of the bowl into the sink. Load the brush until you think you have enough soap, then double that time. Seriously, if you normally load for 30 seconds, then load MWF for a minute at least. I palm lather, so I went to work on my damp, not soaked, hand. This should work for face lathering as well. Slowly, I mean slowly, start working the soap into lather and only add water as needed. MWF seems to have a pretty tight sweet spot and you need to work up to it. If you go past this sweet spot, I don’t think you can recover the lather that easily, so be deliberate and cautious with your water additions.
Eventually I was rewarded with a thick, slick, well-hydrated lather. The consistency still seemed a little foamier that other well-regarded soaps, but I just think that’s how MWF is. MWF refuses to collapse on itself, if you whip a lot of air into your lather by being too aggressive with it, that air will be there until the bitter end. This soap likes to be caressed and nurtured into a nice lather, rather than being beaten into submission.
Slickness, Glide, Cushion, and Retention: The slickness and glide of MWF are awesome, the cushion is surprising good, and the lather retention seems fantastic. I can see why so many people love this soap.
Face Feel and Moisturizing: This soap feel a little heavier on your face than some other soaps, which is counterintuitive, since the lather seems, visually, to be lighter in nature as compared to other soaps. The moisturizing is top notch, and really sets this soap apart. I was well moisturized into the evening.
Final Comments: Mitchell’s is a fantastic shaving soap, really one of the best based on its shaving and face moisturizing properties. The price point is very good and everyone that wet shaves should at least try their hand at this soap. That being said, this soap is very picky, you need to really learn how to lather this soap and it could be a frustrating process. Coming from soaps like Synergy, MdC, or PannaCrema, where a good hard stare will result in a mountain of luxurious lather, MWF doesn’t seem worth the effort. Of course, once you get the lathering down, MWF will shave as good, if not better than most other soaps on the market. The scent may also be a polarizing aspect of the soap, I found the scent, OK and kind of nostalgic, but I won’t go out of my way to use this soap because of the scent. Lastly, some have reported that MWF irritates their skin and looking at the ingredient list, there are a couple of mildly irritating components to the soap. Lanolin may also be mildly irritating to some people. If you have sensitive skin, be weary upon first use.
I don’t think MWF will jump to the top of my list, but it does have its place. It is a very good shaving soap, but there are others that, I feel, are just as good and are much easier to work with. If you can get MWF to bend to your will, you will be rewarded, if you’re new to wet shaving or easily frustrated, I would recommend looking somewhere else first.
Notes: I have softened water and this probably impacts how I lather soaps.
Equipment Used:
Weber PH Bulldog w/ Gillette Silver Blue (2)
Semogue SOC
Proraso White Pre-save
Floid Blue
Soap: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
Cost: <$15
Ingredients: Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Potassium Cocoate, Glycerin, Parfum, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Lanolin, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Silicate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Magnesium Sulphate, Tetrasodium Etidronate.
Appearance and packaging: I bought just the refill package so the soap came in a brown box, labelled with the MWF logo. The packaging seem well built and sturdy, no real chance of the puck being damaged without a real effort. The soap itself came wrapped in paper and has an off-white color. The puck is triple milled and feels like a very hard, dense soap.
Scent: This was the first time I had used MWF and I wasn’t sure what the soap would smell like. I’ve had read that some people didn’t like the smell and other that claim “it’s just ok”, then again, this soap has its throngs of devotees that will claim it’s the best smelling soap they’ve ever sniffed. To me the soap reminded me of my Grandmother’s house. The smell is similar to a perfumed body powder. Not unpleasant, a little sweet, and honestly a little dated. The scent evocated images of the late 70’s and big grandma hugs. Anyway, based on the ingredient list, the scent is comprised of chamomile, lavender, and citrus scents.
Workability and Lather: Here’s the kicker with this soap…you need to really have a game plan to lather this soap correctly. Do not expect to get great lather right off the bat as this soap seems to be very, very picky. My first lathering attempt was miserable. I had read a number of how-to’s and even watch a few videos on lathering MWF, but I still got it all wrong. I soaked the puck and brush in luke-warm water, loaded heavily, whipped the snot out of the soap, and still got light, airy lather. The glide seemed good, but there was no cushion and the lather started to dry out very quickly. So this is how I finally got decent lather and a good shave out of MWF.
Soak the puck and brush for at least a couple minutes in warm (not hot) water. Shake out the brush and actually give it a really good squeeze (you want the brush really dry, but pliable) and pour off the water from the puck. Turn the container that the puck is sitting in on its side and load your brush in this sideways orientation. You will get a mountain of “Lather” right away, but this stuff is really thin and airy, and you do not want this stuff in your lather mix, so let it all drip out of the bowl into the sink. Load the brush until you think you have enough soap, then double that time. Seriously, if you normally load for 30 seconds, then load MWF for a minute at least. I palm lather, so I went to work on my damp, not soaked, hand. This should work for face lathering as well. Slowly, I mean slowly, start working the soap into lather and only add water as needed. MWF seems to have a pretty tight sweet spot and you need to work up to it. If you go past this sweet spot, I don’t think you can recover the lather that easily, so be deliberate and cautious with your water additions.
Eventually I was rewarded with a thick, slick, well-hydrated lather. The consistency still seemed a little foamier that other well-regarded soaps, but I just think that’s how MWF is. MWF refuses to collapse on itself, if you whip a lot of air into your lather by being too aggressive with it, that air will be there until the bitter end. This soap likes to be caressed and nurtured into a nice lather, rather than being beaten into submission.
Slickness, Glide, Cushion, and Retention: The slickness and glide of MWF are awesome, the cushion is surprising good, and the lather retention seems fantastic. I can see why so many people love this soap.
Face Feel and Moisturizing: This soap feel a little heavier on your face than some other soaps, which is counterintuitive, since the lather seems, visually, to be lighter in nature as compared to other soaps. The moisturizing is top notch, and really sets this soap apart. I was well moisturized into the evening.
Final Comments: Mitchell’s is a fantastic shaving soap, really one of the best based on its shaving and face moisturizing properties. The price point is very good and everyone that wet shaves should at least try their hand at this soap. That being said, this soap is very picky, you need to really learn how to lather this soap and it could be a frustrating process. Coming from soaps like Synergy, MdC, or PannaCrema, where a good hard stare will result in a mountain of luxurious lather, MWF doesn’t seem worth the effort. Of course, once you get the lathering down, MWF will shave as good, if not better than most other soaps on the market. The scent may also be a polarizing aspect of the soap, I found the scent, OK and kind of nostalgic, but I won’t go out of my way to use this soap because of the scent. Lastly, some have reported that MWF irritates their skin and looking at the ingredient list, there are a couple of mildly irritating components to the soap. Lanolin may also be mildly irritating to some people. If you have sensitive skin, be weary upon first use.
I don’t think MWF will jump to the top of my list, but it does have its place. It is a very good shaving soap, but there are others that, I feel, are just as good and are much easier to work with. If you can get MWF to bend to your will, you will be rewarded, if you’re new to wet shaving or easily frustrated, I would recommend looking somewhere else first.
Notes: I have softened water and this probably impacts how I lather soaps.
Equipment Used:
Weber PH Bulldog w/ Gillette Silver Blue (2)
Semogue SOC
Proraso White Pre-save
Floid Blue
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I don't find it perfume-y, but the body powder comparison is right on.
