So I tried a new soap today. St Charles “Old Spice Type”. Decent smell, definitely similar to old spice, so there’s the scent, take it or leave it.
However, I could not get a satisfactory lather from this soap.
Now, I am not saying this is a bad product. Please don’t read that into my experience. It could be my water, or the chemistry of my face, or the fact that I was also using a new (brand new) brush (well, a vintage handle with a new knot In it), or my general inexperience with lots of soaps, or maybe I’ve been spoiled with super easy to lather soaps... The point is, it may not be a defect of the product per se, but I could not get a workable lather that stuck around for a full minute.
Now, at first I was pretty impressed with the packaging - lots of experienced latherheads say they get better performance from a full puck, and this sample is like a 1 mm wafer of a full puck - a really nice way to package a sample that gave me a puck loading experience.
I started loading in my usual way that works for Arko and Tabac, and worked well for TOBS. Made a pretty thick proto lather, and began developing the lather on my wet face, adding a little water at a time by dipping the brush tips.
I could get what looked like a nice wet lather, but that was more sticky than slick, and which thinned out quickly. I tried a bit more water, and was able to get it slicker (though not as good as any of my other soaps), but that slicker lather evaporated in less than half a pass. Tried re loading and sticking with a thicker lather. Both sticky and disappearing. I went back and forth from soap to water, adding water, adding product, etc for the whole shave.
Bound and determined to finish at least one shave with this soap, I got to the point where I would lather an area about 4 brush knots in diameter, shave that area, the lather the next area...
So the whole point to this thread is not to whine about this soap, which, as I said could be a fine product, just not for me. Instead, i was wondering what soaps have you fine gentlemen tried that just didn’t ring your bell? Specifically, performance wise, something you couldn’t get a good lather out of, or wasn’t slick enough, etc.
However, I could not get a satisfactory lather from this soap.
Now, I am not saying this is a bad product. Please don’t read that into my experience. It could be my water, or the chemistry of my face, or the fact that I was also using a new (brand new) brush (well, a vintage handle with a new knot In it), or my general inexperience with lots of soaps, or maybe I’ve been spoiled with super easy to lather soaps... The point is, it may not be a defect of the product per se, but I could not get a workable lather that stuck around for a full minute.
Now, at first I was pretty impressed with the packaging - lots of experienced latherheads say they get better performance from a full puck, and this sample is like a 1 mm wafer of a full puck - a really nice way to package a sample that gave me a puck loading experience.
I started loading in my usual way that works for Arko and Tabac, and worked well for TOBS. Made a pretty thick proto lather, and began developing the lather on my wet face, adding a little water at a time by dipping the brush tips.
I could get what looked like a nice wet lather, but that was more sticky than slick, and which thinned out quickly. I tried a bit more water, and was able to get it slicker (though not as good as any of my other soaps), but that slicker lather evaporated in less than half a pass. Tried re loading and sticking with a thicker lather. Both sticky and disappearing. I went back and forth from soap to water, adding water, adding product, etc for the whole shave.
Bound and determined to finish at least one shave with this soap, I got to the point where I would lather an area about 4 brush knots in diameter, shave that area, the lather the next area...
So the whole point to this thread is not to whine about this soap, which, as I said could be a fine product, just not for me. Instead, i was wondering what soaps have you fine gentlemen tried that just didn’t ring your bell? Specifically, performance wise, something you couldn’t get a good lather out of, or wasn’t slick enough, etc.
