Good evening. With all the talk lately of Wholly Kaw shave soaps, I finally made a purchase. I had emailed the proprietor a few months ago when I first saw the brand. I made a mental note to follow up with the products and the recent thread about the donkey milk version of this soap pushed me over to the buy button.
Now first let me say I made an erroneous assumption. The soaps are available in either veg or tallow versions. I thought the tallow versions were all switching over to formula with added donkey milk. Not so according to what is listed on the web site. This Chypre Rose does NOT contain donk milk but it is the tallow version. It does contain lanolin and shea butter which I find to be worthwhile additions to any shave soap. Here is the ingredients list copied from Wholly Kaw direct;
Tallow Soap:
Vegetable Stearic Acid, Beef Tallow, Distilled Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Kokum Butter, Cocoa Butter, Glycerin, Shea Butter, Lanolin, Essential Oils, Fragrance Oils
It comes in a white plastic tub about four inches in diameter. When I spoke to the maker he told me he was transitioning away from metal tins to plastic jars and I think this was a good move. The large diameter makes loading easy with little to no mess. Nice detail. There is a label on the lid which runs almost side to side. Nice, understated graphics. And the ingredients list is easy to read.
The soap is a pearlescent white colour with a medium sheen to it. Very soft like a croap. I don't know if this is the typical density of WK soaps but this one is soft. This is of no concern to me since I use both harder cakes and softer soaps alike. Nicely packed in the jar and flattened well enough. Good initial presentation.
Lather. You know, sometimes you open up a product and simply have a hunch that things are aright with the shave world. This is how I sensed the first loading of lather. I soaked my brush and gave it a hard shake. I load off the cake for about 30-40 seconds til a good amount of paste like lather is loaded into the tips. Then I opened the breech of the knot and dumped about a teaspoon and a half of hot water in and worked this into the paste in a straight up and down pump handle motion on the top of the soap. Just to mix it in a bit. I let it sit for five or six minutes whilst I treated my beard to several hot towel treatments. I then went to the beard and started to work it up.
This is where tallow soaps show their worth to me. This was neither a super thirsty soap nor a breaker that falls apart with just a bit too much water added. I spent about three to four minutes working the lather into what I thought was an acceptable, creamy lather. This is typical of how I work many soaps. I like to get a full hydration and good working over of the beard as I build it. I had a super stable, creamy dense lather and was ready to go.
Same DE as yesterday with a three shave Plolisilver blade. From the first cut I knew it was going to work well. And indeed it did. This was actually my second shave with the soap and while the first one was good, the second was better. Chalk that up to learning its ways. Glide was very good. Cushion was excellent. As always the test for me and my greying beard is the ATG pass on the upper lip and jaw line. Never to fear. Chypre Rose let me get close and did it comfortably. Some blade buffing here and there but overall not needed.
Aftershave was flawless. In fact, I used nothing whatsoever and did not find myself in wont for lack of it. Terrific skin conditioning.
Scent. The last, and most subjective quality of all. This is a rose scent and no mistake. I know it has other components in it and they make it more than a rose without taking away from it. And this rose reminds me of the more classic old British houses like Harris. It does not explode with scent and stays very close to the skin. Aftershave notes were mild to say the least. This is not a bathroom bomb. And we are better for it. Classic is how I would describe it. I may have to try the toner for comparison.
I know this is an initial review and should be vetted with your own experiences but I feel very comfortable saying Wholly Kaw is a top shelf soap. I will most certainly be exploring this brand further. Jamestown Gentleman anyone?
Now first let me say I made an erroneous assumption. The soaps are available in either veg or tallow versions. I thought the tallow versions were all switching over to formula with added donkey milk. Not so according to what is listed on the web site. This Chypre Rose does NOT contain donk milk but it is the tallow version. It does contain lanolin and shea butter which I find to be worthwhile additions to any shave soap. Here is the ingredients list copied from Wholly Kaw direct;
Tallow Soap:
Vegetable Stearic Acid, Beef Tallow, Distilled Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Kokum Butter, Cocoa Butter, Glycerin, Shea Butter, Lanolin, Essential Oils, Fragrance Oils
It comes in a white plastic tub about four inches in diameter. When I spoke to the maker he told me he was transitioning away from metal tins to plastic jars and I think this was a good move. The large diameter makes loading easy with little to no mess. Nice detail. There is a label on the lid which runs almost side to side. Nice, understated graphics. And the ingredients list is easy to read.
The soap is a pearlescent white colour with a medium sheen to it. Very soft like a croap. I don't know if this is the typical density of WK soaps but this one is soft. This is of no concern to me since I use both harder cakes and softer soaps alike. Nicely packed in the jar and flattened well enough. Good initial presentation.
Lather. You know, sometimes you open up a product and simply have a hunch that things are aright with the shave world. This is how I sensed the first loading of lather. I soaked my brush and gave it a hard shake. I load off the cake for about 30-40 seconds til a good amount of paste like lather is loaded into the tips. Then I opened the breech of the knot and dumped about a teaspoon and a half of hot water in and worked this into the paste in a straight up and down pump handle motion on the top of the soap. Just to mix it in a bit. I let it sit for five or six minutes whilst I treated my beard to several hot towel treatments. I then went to the beard and started to work it up.
This is where tallow soaps show their worth to me. This was neither a super thirsty soap nor a breaker that falls apart with just a bit too much water added. I spent about three to four minutes working the lather into what I thought was an acceptable, creamy lather. This is typical of how I work many soaps. I like to get a full hydration and good working over of the beard as I build it. I had a super stable, creamy dense lather and was ready to go.
Same DE as yesterday with a three shave Plolisilver blade. From the first cut I knew it was going to work well. And indeed it did. This was actually my second shave with the soap and while the first one was good, the second was better. Chalk that up to learning its ways. Glide was very good. Cushion was excellent. As always the test for me and my greying beard is the ATG pass on the upper lip and jaw line. Never to fear. Chypre Rose let me get close and did it comfortably. Some blade buffing here and there but overall not needed.
Aftershave was flawless. In fact, I used nothing whatsoever and did not find myself in wont for lack of it. Terrific skin conditioning.
Scent. The last, and most subjective quality of all. This is a rose scent and no mistake. I know it has other components in it and they make it more than a rose without taking away from it. And this rose reminds me of the more classic old British houses like Harris. It does not explode with scent and stays very close to the skin. Aftershave notes were mild to say the least. This is not a bathroom bomb. And we are better for it. Classic is how I would describe it. I may have to try the toner for comparison.
I know this is an initial review and should be vetted with your own experiences but I feel very comfortable saying Wholly Kaw is a top shelf soap. I will most certainly be exploring this brand further. Jamestown Gentleman anyone?
