Thread: Mama Bear, some really amazing stuff!

I got my Mama Bear soaps in today, and I had to try them. I didn't exactly need a shave , but I decided to have one anyway.

I got the Sandalwood, Vanilla Cream, and British Leather. I opened them all up and boy do they smell good. The British Leather was definitely my favorite however, so that's the one I opted to try first.

Sense going through this tutorial: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=439
I have really seen a major major improvement in my lathering. Again, thanks for that link Justin. Anyway my Lather now looks just as good as in all the videos and pictures I have seen, and it is much longer lasting now. The new EJ Super Badger I got from C&E probably helps as well, as it holds a ton more water than my Burma ever could.

Ok, so I really wanted to test this soap for all the thing that I have heard you guys complain about, namely how long it lasts in the mug, and how well it takes the heat.
So what I did was I got my lather going really well, just like in that tutorial. The soap lathered up quickly and easily. I got my brush and mug full of the lather and then I set it in the sink with really hot water, almost scalding. Then I stropped my razor and hit the shower. I stayed in the shower for about fifteen minutes. I also tried out the soap sample that Sue sent me. I got the Cranberry Rose and the Mango Banana. I wasn't expecting these and they were a real treat. I used the mango in the shower and really liked it.

Finishing my shower I got out and prepped my face with the Proraso pre-cream. Love this stuff. I then got a towel nice and hot with water and sat back for a bit with it on my face. Sat for about 3-4 minutes as I really enjoy a good hot towel with the Proraso.

Finishing with the hot towel I now checked back to my lather still sitting in the sink. It has been sitting there for 15-20 minutes now. It was still nice and full. I passed over my forearm a few times and it was still very thick and glossy. I drained the sink and filled it up again with super hot water, as it had cooled a little. I really wanted to see how the heat affected the soap, so I tried to keep the water hot. I put my mug back in the hot water and applied lather to my face.

The lather did not itch my face at all. Most soaps do irritate my face even just a little. Even the C&E Sandalwood soap irritated my face a little, though not much at all. Not this stuff. It was very smooth and nice feeling. And I just cannot get enough of that smell.

The shave was great. The Soap did a great job of lubricating my face and the razor effortlessly glided over it. I reapplied some lather for a XTG pass. The soap was still thick, though I did give it a few swirls. The XTG went smoothly as well. Now for a third full ATG pass. Normally I wouldn't bother with this as the XTG gets mostly everything everything BBS. I will usually just touch up certain places on my neck and jaw line after the XTG. But seeing as I really wanted to get the full scope of this soap, I decided to do a full ATG. The soap has now been sitting in the sink for 40-45 minutes (Kind of lost track of time as I was enjoying it so much). Anyway it was still nice and thick, though again I did swirl it once or twice just to make sure. I never applied more soap or water though. The ATG went great and the soap still lubricated excellently. There was no drying out or loss of smoothness.

Once the shave was completed, I washed up and proceeded to feel it. It was not dry feeling. Most soaps, whether normal washing soaps or shaving, leave my face feeling at least a little dry, but not this stuff. I didn't even feel like I needed aftershave or anything.

I cleaned up the bathroom, but I left the mug and brush for last. I wanted to see how the lather looked after that. It was still nice and smooth, but had started to get a little on the thin side, though still no where close to the way Williams felt after one shave pass. Ok, I will stop busting the William's.

Anyway, I like this soap a lot and would highly recommend it. I am sure her other soaps are just as good, so I wont write about those (don't worry)
I really like the smell of the Brittish Leather, and I am going to contact Mama Bear about making an aftershave with the same scent if possible. It will definitely be in my regular soap rotation.

I am still waiting for my samples from Colleen, but if they are this good, and I am sure they are, then I will be buying from her regularly as well.

Sue, you have a dedicated customer here, will be ordering from you again and again I am sure. As I really liked the British Leather, if there are any other scents that you can recommend based on that, then I would really love to hear them.

Matt

Sounds great Matt --looks like things are coming along. A good soap makes a big difference. I'm always impressed how a quality soap leaves your face feeling great. The sink heating methods works well --it might take a little trial and error to get the right temperature of the water so that you have a warm lather without it drying out.
Anyway as the Aussies say --Good onya , Mate. later,


Justin