Sterling Soap Woes (perhaps it's me)—Suggest Alternatives

[merovirginian]

I don't really have a desire (yet) to try all these fancy, modern boutique/craft variants.

3.) Most importantly ... could you recommend an old-school *must try* soap that I could work into my rotation?

Personally, I have no experience with soaps that satisfy your requirements. I do think that Zingari Man Sego is fantastic (I have the Nomad and love it). There are other modern soaps too, but then that gets into the 'fancy' variants you didn't want. Perhaps that is what you what you may want to explore though?

To go a different if expensive way, Martin de Candre is one of my favorite soaps. Vegan and essential oils only. Not fancy or craft. But expensive for a tub, and modestly expensive for a sample. Not expensive, imo, in terms of the longevity of the tub and number of shaves it delivers (as is uniformly acknowledged).

In the end, I hope you can enjoy the shaving adventure you are now on.

 

[ajduplessis]

More likely almond or fragrance oils than lanolin.

 

[Whilliam]

As for an "old-school" soap that garners lots of love and few complaints, you might try Cella. It's an inexpensive classic that certainly treats my face well. It's slick, it's cushiony, and it's extremely lightly scented, should it turn out that you are sensitive to aromatic essential oils.

 

[Brian C.]

The OP doesn’t have issues with Cella so I’m guessing it’s not the almond oil as it contains almond oil. I once bought an entire line from one Artisan, 12 soaps. 2 of them burned my face bowl lathering, the other 10 did not. It was from the fragrance in them. This is most likely the culprit. This is a lot of what has kept me away from Stirling myself although I may end up trying their unscented products just to try them out. I know my wife definitely enjoys their bath soaps.

Also, did you let your face rest before going at it again? When I got the irritation, it did not go away until I went a few days without shaving. The irritation seemed to stay as long as I kept shaving daily.

A lanolin allergy is possible as I have seen others in here with an issue with lanolin but the Haslingers should rule that out.

Keep us informed and good luck.


AoM; B.O.S.S.;Knight of the Veg Table;WISE;CoA;4yr/10yr Sabbatical

 

[branford]

This is a lot of what has kept me away from Stirling myself although I may end up trying their unscented products just to try them out. I know my wife definitely enjoys their bath soaps.

The Stirling Unscented with Beeswax and Sheep are great unscented options (I haven't used the standard Naked & Smooth). The Sheep with Stirling's Mutton Tallow formula is even better than the standard soaps. It's a shame it's only used in a few scents.

 

[johnwick]

[mention]Terp [/mention] I’m sorry you’re having trouble with Stirling. It’s a good soap at a terrific price point.

If you do find out that it’s fragrance oils giving you trouble, you might look into Mike’s Natural Soaps. He’s been around a long time and sells generous sized samples. Importantly, on his website he indicates how each particular scent is complied, whether it be by fragrance oils (FO) or essential oils (EO). Some find EO soaps are better for their skin, some don’t. But Mikes is an excellent, and very often overlooked soap.

Good luck!

 

[branford]

If you're still interesting in Stirling, they, too, have a scent profile list.

Scent Descriptions

Below is a list of all the scents we make or have made in the past along with their scent descriptions **Please Note: Not all scents are available year-round. Seasonal scents are listed under their respective season but these are subject to change based on demand and availability of raw...

www.stirlingsoap.com

You might want to try soaps, Stirling or otherwise, that only use essential oils, rather than fragrance oils, for scent. While some people are sensitive to all scents, some (like me) do much better with natural essential oils.

I like the Stirling Eucalyptus Mint and Bergamot Lavender which have no fragrance oils.

 

[BigJ]

The fragrance oils are more likely the source of irritation than lanolin, although lanolin sensitivity is possible.

For instance, Mitchell's Wool Fat set my face on fire, and since I tried it very early on in my we shaving journey, I though I was allergic to lanolin. I later tried other soaps with lanolin like Stirling Sheep (unscented), and had great shaves. I learned over time that my face is sensitive to many fragrance oils and some essential oils. Unfortunately, it's mostly trial and error to see what works for you.

However, if you feel uncomfortable burning before you even begin to shave, the issue is likely the soap or cream.

You also mentioned that you tried face lathering with a new board when you sampled the Stirling soap. Some people get irritated face lathering, particularly with a new brush and hair they're not familiar with. The irritation can least a few days, and impact further shaves.

Lastly, pro tip for Stirling soap - they're very, very thirsty. Don't hesitate to keep adding water to ensure the lather is slick. Pasty lather will cause irritation.

Good luck!

+1! This is also my guess: the oils are the most likely problem.

Trial and error is your best bet to determine what you can and cannot use. Best of luck!!

 

[Terp]

If you're still interesting in Stirling, they, too, have a scent profile list.

Scent Descriptions

Below is a list of all the scents we make or have made in the past along with their scent descriptions **Please Note: Not all scents are available year-round. Seasonal scents are listed under their respective season but these are subject to change based on demand and availability of raw...

www.stirlingsoap.com

You might want to try soaps, Stirling or otherwise, that only use essential oils, rather than fragrance oils, for scent. While some people are sensitive to all scents, some (like me) do much better with natural essential oils.

I like the Stirling Eucalyptus Mint and Bergamot Lavender which have no fragrance oils.

Very nice! Thanks again.

It appear all the samples I purchased use 'fragrance oils,' save one—the one whose scent was definitely my least favorite—Gin & Tonic.

I will, however, take it for a test drive and try to determine what is causing the reaction each shave. The only reason I didn't just move on is because a few classics on my list contain lanolin, so I hope to rule that out before I purchase more soaps I won't use.

 

[Terp]

The OP doesn’t have issues with Cella so I’m guessing it’s not the almond oil as it contains almond oil. I once bought an entire line from one Artisan, 12 soaps. 2 of them burned my face bowl lathering, the other 10 did not. It was from the fragrance in them. This is most likely the culprit. This is a lot of what has kept me away from Stirling myself although I may end up trying their unscented products just to try them out. I know my wife definitely enjoys their bath soaps.

Yes, sir. No problems with Cella (have the new blue "bio" and the old red one) or the TOBS almond cream. Zero problems until I veered out of my lane and tried Sterling...and not a knock on Sterling. I liked the scent, the performance, everything.

I am bad at describing scents...LOVE my TOBS Mr. Taylor's and Sandalwood...can describe a 'little citrus' in the Cella blue, etc...but this was the first soap where I envisioned them pouring in some cologne/aftershave into the formula. I'm starting to think everyone nailed it with the fragrance being the issue and not the lanolin.

Also, did you let your face rest before going at it again? When I got the irritation, it did not go away until I went a few days without shaving. The irritation seemed to stay as long as I kept shaving daily.

Yes, I waited a few days to shave after my 'brush burn,' then went with my go-to shave for a week to keep everything constant; I then looped back a week or two later to try Sterling again when I knew all irritation had fully subsided for days.

I'll try a different sample from them I received that uses essential oils and see how that does and will also get a cheap puck of Haslingers (been on my list to try anyway) and see if I can narrow this down and isolate the issue.

 

[Starsky]

That's a Bummer. I have used several of their scents and not a problem. They are regular in my rotation. Haslingers is a great soap and hopefully will treat you well.

 

[BigJ]

That's a Bummer. I have used several of their scents and not a problem. They are regular in my rotation. Haslingers is a great soap and hopefully will treat you well.

+1! Haslinger’s makes excellent soaps!! I have their entire line up in the ’old’ tallow plus a few of their vegan options. My favorites are Schafmilch during the winter and Marigold during the summer.
But that can change with the weather!!

 

[JuniorShaving]

Fragrance oils are a funny thing. My SO could use Almond Creme but not Christmas Eve from Stirling. Essential oils can irritate too, as my face would burn really bad when I used Stirling's Bay Rum aftershave but not when I used Krampert's. Also, your face and neck are much more sensitive than the rest of the body, so something that might irritate your face won't irritate elsewhere!

 

[RayClem]

Fragrance oils are a funny thing. My SO could use Almond Creme but not Christmas Eve from Stirling. Essential oils can irritate too, as my face would burn really bad when I used Stirling's Bay Rum aftershave but not when I used Krampert's. Also, your face and neck are much more sensitive than the rest of the body, so something that might irritate your face won't irritate elsewhere!

A lot of bay rum scents incorporate clove which can be an irritant for some people. I had a bad experience with Ogalala. However, Captain's Choice bay rum has little if any clove and I love the scent.

 

[Sir Charles]

Sorry to hear about the Stirling woes. I love the soap and have had no issues with it. Not sure if this was mentioned but you can always test the soap on your inner forearm before applying it to the face to see if you get any sort of reaction or irritation. Mitchell's Wool Fat, and Haslinger are solid alternatives, but contain lanolin. If you want to try a shave stick I recommend Palmolive, and it's lanolin free and performs as well as the Haslinger and MWF imo. I am a tallow kind of guy, but my vegan soap of choice is Wickhams 1912 line. Lightly scented soaps, but perform as good as most tallow soaps on the market. It might be difficult to find an older puck of Haslinger. I haven't tried the new version and can't say much about it. All this being said I hope you get this figured out. There are alot of helpful people on this forum, so don't hesitate to reach out.

 

[Aziraphale]

So here are my two cents about this. If you're having issues with Sterling and you think that lanolin is the issue, you should try something else that has lanolin that is not made by Sterling. Only then will you be able to determine what your allergy really is. If you have no issue with Arko or Cella then look to see what those have for ingredients versus what the Sterling has. There are some really wonderful soaps and creams out there (from the sublime to the ridiculous). Being new, samples and pifs can help you discover what works the best for you. And that's what it's really all about. As the saying goes, "your mileage may vary".

 

[cryhavoc]

[mention]Terp [/mention] I’m sorry you’re having trouble with Stirling. It’s a good soap at a terrific price point.

If you do find out that it’s fragrance oils giving you trouble, you might look into Mike’s Natural Soaps. He’s been around a long time and sells generous sized samples. Importantly, on his website he indicates how each particular scent is complied, whether it be by fragrance oils (FO) or essential oils (EO). Some find EO soaps are better for their skin, some don’t. But Mikes is an excellent, and very often overlooked soap.

Good luck!

+1 and Mike's makes an unscented soap also

 

[steveclarkus]

My skin is sensitive to several soaps anything with menthol as well as Cella, Proraso and Tabac. I have my soaps narrowed down to Haslinger, WMF and oddly Stirling Bay Rum. I also use Palmolive and Kapo creams. I believe the scents in various soaps are the culprit.

 

[guitarslinger]

Fragrance oils are a funny thing. My SO could use Almond Creme but not Christmas Eve from Stirling. Essential oils can irritate too, as my face would burn really bad when I used Stirling's Bay Rum aftershave but not when I used Krampert's. Also, your face and neck are much more sensitive than the rest of the body, so something that might irritate your face won't irritate elsewhere!

I go back and forth being allergic to everything then allergic to hardly anything.

sterling Christmas Eve burned me badly. Most sterlings have not.

 

[Shavely Manden]

3.) Most importantly, aside from Arko (and maybe Talbac, as the smell of Arko has me gun-shy over trying Talbac), could you recommend an old-school *must try* soap that I could work into my rotation?

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but I felt like I ought to mention...

To my nose, at least, the smells of Tabac and Arko are really nothing alike (I love Tabac and detest Arko smell-wise, though I adore both performance-wise). They're both rather love-it-or-hate-it kinda scents, but not liking one doesn't really mean you won't like the other...I wouldn't be too gunshy, since really any smell could end up as something you hate.