Tallow makes shaves worse?

[Steve56]

Don’t overthink this.

Good soap makers make good soap. Inferior soap makers make inferior soaps, sometimes driven by price (both ways, BTW).

Better soaps have better ingredients. Better ingredients cost more.

Different people/beards/wallets/noses like different soaps for different reasons.

 

[Chandu]

@SydneyShaver : I love Arko, but I will be the first to admit it can be drying. I don't THINK it's the tallow, at least not by itself.

I'd be more inclined to think it's the citronella smelling stuff in it. LOTS of folks on here have trouble with Arko drying out their face. I DEFINITELY get better results using Arko in the more humid months.

Arko to me wasn't harsh, but it is better in the summer. Derby on the other hand tended to suck the moisture out more. My favorite Turkish stick is no longer made, GZD Berber.

 

[Chandu]

To the original question, I don't think the simple addition of tallow or the lack of it makes a shave good or bad. No more than the inclusion of guitar in a song makes it good or bad.

 

[Steve56]

Almost all the soaps that I like these days are not tallow soaps/creams.

Tallow soaps that I reach for are Valobra/AoS/C&S (RIP) - Boellis, and that’s the short list.

 

[SydneyShaver]

Like I told everyone when I first wrote the thread. I don't have anything to compare it to. I've used a sample of A&E Kaizen Undersea which irritated my skin, though it could have been anything in it so who knows. My favourite products continue to be non-tallow though. I really liked Col. Conk, TOBS, DRH, Speick, GFT etc. When I finish what I've got I'll probably pick up MWF and Tabac just to be able to say I've used them though the scents of them sound horrific. I understand everyone has preferences and all I wanted to know was whether or not tallow made a difference to people. Some say it makes soap better, others say they avoid it like the plague. ATM I am avoiding it and my skin is monumentally better than when I used Arko everyday. As others have said, Arko is an inexpensive soap. Arguably Arko and Derby are the greatest value product money can buy and I stand by that but it does have some questionable ingredients that could also be the cause of irritation and general poorer skin health. I thought it was the tallow (Which it still might be) hence why I asked the question.

 

[Benzadmiral]

My tallow soaps like Stirling's Texas on Fire and Tabac stick are some of the slickest soaps I have, and I've never noticed a tendency in them to dry my skin out. Same for Arko. I've been lucky in that none of the creams or soaps I've tried have irritated my skin, either. If tallow did that, I'm sure I'd have noticed it by now. Sydney Shaver, if the stuff is bothering you, then you have a right to step aside and try something else!

 

[MilkCrate]

I don’t have any known allergies or sensitive skin. My soap stash is also fairly evenly divided between tallow and non-tallow soaps. And I have not had any issues with either type of soap.

 

[dabrock]

@SydneyShaver DRH has tallow, are you getting any reaction with it? Also, I don't think you'll have an issue with the scent of MWF, it's a very mild, powdery scent, which is pretty neutral, but Tabac is hit or miss with people.

 

[Steve56]

I left Stirling off my list, I do use it fairly often. No issues except with scents that are a wee bit strong for me.

 

[SydneyShaver]

@SydneyShaver DRH has tallow, are you getting any reaction with it? Also, I don't think you'll have an issue with the scent of MWF, it's a very mild, powdery scent, which is pretty neutral, but Tabac is hit or miss with people.

I should clarify that everything in that list other than Col. Conk are creams. They are all non-tallow.

 

[dabrock]

I should clarify that everything in that list other than Col. Conk are creams. They are all non-tallow.

That makes sense now, there are very few creams with tallow. Did you try the DRH soap by any chance?

 

[SydneyShaver]

That makes sense now, there are very few creams with tallow. Did you try the DRH soap by any chance?

I haven’t used them myself though a lot of people I know have spoken quite highly of them.

 

[dabrock]

I haven’t used them myself though a lot of people I know have spoken quite highly of them.

Might be an idea to see if tallow is the issue. If you aren't having issues with the cream you know that it's not the perfumes.

 

[SydneyShaver]

Might be an idea to see if tallow is the issue. If you aren't having issues with the cream you know that it's not the perfumes.

Good suggestion, but I don't want to pick up a soap which has an identical scent to a cream I've already used. If they sold a sample, I'd try it but I don't want to invest in something that I've already used atm. I'll get to it eventually though haha.

 

[RayClem]

Good suggestion, but I don't want to pick up a soap which has an identical scent to a cream I've already used. If they sold a sample, I'd try it but I don't want to invest in something that I've already used atm. I'll get to it eventually though haha.

No two soaps/creams have identical scents. There are many soaps with similar scents, but they are not identical. I have several soaps that are all based on the Creed Aventus cologne. However, each of those soaps has a different interpretation of that scent. Some fragrance experts even say that different batches of the original cologne are not exactly the same. Fragheads tend to prefer specific vintages.

Even if you purchase a soap and cream from the same manufacturer with the same scent name, there are likely to be subtitle differences in the scent due to differences in the chemical composition of the bases. Even those who purchase matching soap and aftershave combinations often report that there are differences in the scents.

 

[SydneyShaver]

No two soaps/creams have identical scents. There are many soaps with similar scents, but they are not identical. I have several soaps that are all based on the Creed Aventus cologne. However, each of those soaps has a different interpretation of that scent. Some fragrance experts even say that different batches of the original cologne are not exactly the same. Fragheads tend to prefer specific vintages.

Even if you purchase a soap and cream from the same manufacturer with the same scent name, there are likely to be subtitle differences in the scent due to differences in the chemical composition of the bases. Even those who purchase matching soap and aftershave combinations often report that there are differences in the scents.

I mean sure, you aren't wrong per se but if I buy two products that are supposed to be the same scent....they'll be very close to identical. This isn't a different interpretation, it's the same brand, same scent just one is a tallow soap and the other a non-tallow cream.