Shaving soap OCD

[petefish77]

I have a question to ask regarding soaps...

I have only tried a few shaving soaps/creams so my experience is limited but I have already encountered a problem!

I have tried eurasmic (bowl), and the new ted baker grooming rooms cream (slick and smells very nice). Following recommendations from your forums I decided to try grating (I can't rub it on my face) some Palmolive sticks into a mug and I must say that the shave felt amazing with the lather.

The problem came after 3 days of use I noticed, despite a thorough rinsing it left a horrid residue on my razor, the brush, and mug, resulting in a good towel rubbing to remove. My OCD went off the chart and I've had to put it away.

Reading on here has led me to believe that this is caused by the tallow in the otherwise excellent product, is this common with all or most soaps containing tallow?

Can anyone recommend me a "best of both" product that will provide a similar shave quality without the gunk? Or do I have to make the sacrifice and limit my choices of soap to tallow-less options?

If I was to move away from tallow for this reason I am aware that there are some good MAP soaps out there but I wondered if there are particularly clean recommendations?

Sorry if this seems like madness to some, but one mans "bit of dirt" worth living with, can be another mans hell!

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

Do mean like some white stuff? That can be a buildup of hard water as well. However what you are saying sounds like you aren't rinsing well enough, there shouldn't be any residue in the mug. You could use a toothbrush for your razor, and every so often give your brush the following treatment http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/115800-How-to-Clean-a-Shaving-Brush?highlight=tutorial

I wouldn't do it too often though. Anyways hope this helps you a bit.

 

[petefish77]

Hi thanks for the reply. The residue is as if I'd drawn the razor across a candle and it left a waxy deposit. I rinse thoroughly with hot water but the residue seems to be insoluble. It comes of easily when I buff it gently with a dry towel but was never present when using the previous products, and buffing all my kit to perfection post shave is time consuming. I've switched back to a glycerine product this morning and had no residue.

Would this observation just be a combination of my hard water and the Palmolive tallow or is it fair to assume that it's likely to happen with all of the animal fat soaps?
It seems a shame as I like the shave it gives.

If that is the case can anyone recommend good glycirin type examples to experiment with?

thanks

 

[JazzyJ]

I really have no idea about how soap ingredients effect build up, but as a potential easy solution, you could try dipping your razor in alcohol after each shave. I know some members here do it and claim it greatly helps reduce build up. I'm in the process of finding a glass jar with a stopper to keep the alcohol in. The stopper is important to prevent evaporation. Some people put it in a spray bottle instead, and just give the razor a few quick squirts during cleanup.

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

Hmmm what about getting a jar of Barbicide to put your razor in after usage? That should clean it. Also if you face lather you won't need the mug, unless you mean you dunk the brush into it to wet it again. In which case rinse with hot water afterwards and the soap should go away. Brush wise also rinsing with warm water should get rid of it.

I have had buildup on my brush but I believe that is due to the hard water I have in London. So don't put that down to the soap.

 

[beginish]

I have residue show up on my razors regardless of the soaps. Tallow or veggie does not seem to make a difference.

 

[njpaddy]

I have well water and get that residue on my razor. It's much worse with my tallow soap (DRH) than my glycerin soap (SRD). Rinsing with hot water will not remove it, so most of the time I take out the blade and wipe the razor with a paper towel after shaving. Every month or two, I'll use some Scrubbing Bubbles and a toothbrush to get it out of the nooks and crannies. I also get the residue in my brushes. Again, it's much less with the SRD soap. To quick-clean a brush I lather it up on my Neutrogena (glycerin) face soap and rinse it out. It does a good job on a brush. I do more frequent quick-cleans when using tallow shave soap. 2-3 times a year I clean all my brushes using the Dawn and vinegar rinse method.

OCD story: My step-dad had it. He was constantly wiping down counters, sinks, faucets and everything else in the bathroom and kitchen......except his razor. That was the only thing I never saw him clean. You want residue? This was back in the 50's/60's and he used, the since discontinued, brushless Noxzema shave cream. I still remember how gross that Gillette SuperSpeed always looked. When he died, that was the first thing my mother tossed out.

 

[petefish77]

Thanks again. After today's return to the non-tallow product I have pretty clean equipment again so I think I'm going to stick with trying to get the best shave results from this lather to keep my OCD in check.
Palmolive (tallow) stick provided such a nice shave, that I will probably drift back to trying a tallow product again at some point. When I do would isopropanol be a good alcohol to use to remove the residue? I have this readily available as a brake/clutch cleaner. Would it be too harsh?
Fairy dish soap and a sponge cleaned everything up with ease but obviously an isopropanol dip is a faster solution.
In the mean time I'm going to shop for a couple of non tallow soaps or creams to experiment with so if anyone has any recommendations for some particularly slick and fresh scented examples, I'd be glad to hear them

 

[JazzyJ]

Isopropyl is what I'll be using. I think if you just dip it in, swirl it around a few times; then pull it out to let it dry, it shouldn't cause any problems, but as I haven't done it yet, I can't comment from my own experience. I haven't read about anyone having problems though.

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

In the mean time I'm going to shop for a couple of non tallow soaps or creams to experiment with so if anyone has any recommendations for some particularly slick and fresh scented examples, I'd be glad to hear them

If you have the cash you can't go wrong with Martin de Candre.

 

[kingfisher]

Probably soap scum. Caused by hard water.

You could use a tallow soap but you should find one that has cheating agents in the ingredients list. I think the usual agent is EDTA.

 

[Dave_D]

After months the razor and brush I use can get a minor build up of scum but it is light enough to not matter much to me. One of the things I always do is a hot water rinse after the shave on both the brush and razor.

 

[petefish77]

If you have the cash you can't go wrong with Martin de Candre.

If I can find a UK supplier that sounds like a good buy. Thanks

 

[petefish77]

Probably soap scum. Caused by hard water.

You could use a tallow soap but you should find one that has cheating agents in the ingredients list. I think the usual agent is EDTA.

Ill be looking out for that and see if it makes a difference, unfortunately the deposits are present despite a hot rinse after only one shave with the Palmolive. I expect to some this may only be a minor inconvenience and I'm probably viewed as being a little mad but on top of the beautifully crafted EJ chrome, It just sets me off!

 

[brucered]

I've found veggie soaps, tallow soaps, lanolin soaps, glycerine soaps all leave soap residue on my razor when I'm done shaving and rinsing it off.

When I rotate my razors, I take a tooth brush and soap to it and clean it up.

It's part of the wet shaving experience.

 

[bemiller]

Sounds like mineral deposits to me. If it is the soap I usually rinse my brush and razor under very hot water then dip the head of the razor in rubbing alcohol.

 

[nwjs]

Hi thanks for the reply. The residue is as if I'd drawn the razor across a candle and it left a waxy deposit. I rinse thoroughly with hot water but the residue seems to be insoluble.

This is just normal soap residue. What do you expect? I suggest you rub your razor clean with a paper tissue when you change the blade (once or twice a week or so) and just ignore the fact that it isn't in "pristine condition" on the other days. It's a tool, not a shiny museum piece in a showcase, after all.

 

[joglander]

You can remove soap residue with a quick spray of scrubbing bubbles. Wait about thirty seconds and rinse with water. I imagine you would have to do this every couple of days, but shaving with soap is worth it, imho.

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

You can remove soap residue with a quick spray of scrubbing bubbles. Wait about thirty seconds and rinse with water. I imagine you would have to do this every couple of days, but shaving with soap is worth it, imho.

Scrubbing Bubbles isn't sold in the UK.

 

[takeshi]

The problem came after 3 days of use I noticed, despite a thorough rinsing it left a horrid residue on my razor, the brush, and mug, resulting in a good towel rubbing to remove. My OCD went off the chart and I've had to put it away.

This is not OCD. In any case:

There are several approaches to dealing with soap residue. A couple options are:

• Clean it
• Use softer water