I have been using a locally made shaving soap, that I had bought at the farmers market. It was the first soap I used with a brush. I had no other soap to compare it to, until I bought a sample pack of Col. Conk. Had my first shave with the lime scent. It may lather a little better, but by much and the local soap smells better than any of the scents sent with the sample 4 pack. Will see if the performance of the soap is clearly better to see if I get more soap from the farmers market.
Soap comparison
- Thread starter Tillerman
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I have evaluated over 200 soaps, but this is the first time I have ever seen one that contained soy wax. I have no idea what purpose that serves in the formulation, except as a hardener. Soy wax makes great candles, but I am not sure I would want it on my face.
Col Conk is a very popular soap, primarily because it is inexpensive. It is a glycerin based soap. If it works for you, that is fine. e When you decide you are ready to look for something better, there are hundreds of better soaps available.
Col Conk is a very popular soap, primarily because it is inexpensive. It is a glycerin based soap. If it works for you, that is fine. e When you decide you are ready to look for something better, there are hundreds of better soaps available.
Might check out these threads for more info regarding your local soap. Looks interesting I want to know more about comparisons with other soaps. Looks interesting though.
1st soap
First time using soap
First shave with brush and soap
First Brush
This thread: Soap Comparison
1st soap
First time using soap
First shave with brush and soap
First Brush
This thread: Soap Comparison
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You would know much more about shaving soaps than I, but a quick Google search pulled up this thread in a soap making forum that mentions how soy wax is used for soap making and the subsequent soap's attributes:
Soy Wax Use in Soap
While going through files, I found this helpful information about using soy wax in hard bars so I'm posting it here. I believe "Bunny" was an SMF member at one time and a few members may remember her fondly as I do. She was one of my mentors when I first started making soap. I will always be...
www.soapmakingforum.com
While events are nice and all things being equal, I would choose a soap pleasing to my nose vs not, as I go along I find the performance is far more important than the scent.
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I will be trying more soaps. I figured the Colonel soaps should lather well, as a comparison to my local soap. Performance is more important than smell. The performance is not significantly better and the Colonel is 0 for two in the scents that I have tried so far.
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Shave #3 with new Lupo. Went back to farmers market soap. It held up just fine against the Colonel and smelled much better. Will be heading back to the market.
I wouldn't mind using Col Conk's soaps. My inclination is toward the glycerine soaps because of their lubricity. This, along with a nice lather, is what I look for in a shaving soap. If the razor/blade glides over my face it gets a "thumbs up" from me. The scent is a secondary attribute. It is of little importance.
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I was being a little hard on the Colonel. The shaves I have had with them are good.
Soy wax is made with hydrogenated soy oil. It may contain stearic acid and palmitic acid which are saturated fats. It does seem unconventional for soap making, but I can see how it might work.
+1! Tons of great options IMO!!
My experience buying shave soap at farmer's markets has been more misses than hits. Most small soap makers are excellent at making bar soap but are absolute rubbish at making shave soap. They think they can make a few easy tweaks and call it a day. Wrong. Making a great shave soap takes a lot of skill to first choose the best ingredients and then combine them in the proper amounts. I'll stick to buying shave soaps off the Internet from makers such as Lothur Grooming, Ariana & Evans, Barrister & Mann.
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The farmers market soap works just fine. I do three pass shaves + touch ups and don't experience razor burns. It has shae butter and lanolin in the ingredients. I have had no issues with Col. Conk soaps either. So what am I going to get out of the upper tier soaps as far as the shaving experience?
It might actually be cheaper to move up a notch. Some of the cheaper glycerin soaps will wear faster, so they aren't as cheap as they appear at first glance. The Razorock hard pucks and Pre de Provence will cost slightly more, but will definitely last a lot longer. Only you have any idea how long that local soap will last.
A tub of Stirling or Master Soap Creations will easily last me over 150 shaves for less than $14.
A tub of Stirling or Master Soap Creations will easily last me over 150 shaves for less than $14.
Very good point. Stirling does offer excellent value.
I don't buy local soaps anymore because most local shave soaps are really just hand soaps with a couple of ingredients like clay and butters. Most hobby soapers just don't know what a shave soap is, but the ingredient list for that soap looks interesting because of the lard plus the coconut, and castor oils. It might actually produce a decent, stable shaving lather due to the steric acid found in the lard. Could you post a picture of the lathers you are getting?
The top-tier soaps perform much better than Col Conk (although I do like CC), and if you achieve similar performance from Col Conk as you do from this soap then you'll find a huge difference when you try a top-tier soap. You find that both scents and performance (slickness, razor glide, and cushion) are much better on the top-tier soaps.
The top-tier soaps perform much better than Col Conk (although I do like CC), and if you achieve similar performance from Col Conk as you do from this soap then you'll find a huge difference when you try a top-tier soap. You find that both scents and performance (slickness, razor glide, and cushion) are much better on the top-tier soaps.
lasta
Blade Biter
Don't worry too much about it. Soap is just a slow drying lubricant. Enough soap + enough water and they all perform the same. If you like the scent, keep buying it, scent is all that matters.
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It took a minute or less to form this lather.
