Thread: Soap Testing Tests?

I know I have been posting a ton, but I generally talk a lot, and this appears to be no different.

As some of you may have figured out , I really enjoy testing soaps and creams. I haven't gotten to try many yet, but within my first week of shaving I have already tried four and I still have seven more to go on my current collection, most of them either Colleens (when I get them) or Sue's, which I love so far.

Anyway, lately I have been trying to think up a set of standard tests for soaps and creams. (I am still debating whether they should be in different categories or not).

Obviously everybody is going to have their preferences. And just like with a razors sharpness the ultimate test is how well the soap does with shaving FOR YOU.

But still it seems like there could be tests for a soap.

So far I have come up with three, one being a little out there.'

The first test would obviously be how well and easily the soap lathers. This seems simple enough, but the tricky part is the control. What do we use as a standard? Do we use Colleen's or Sue's Soap or many of the other quality handmade soaps? Do we use a more widely available product? Do we use the worst soap we can possibly find
and then stack it up against that. I favor a ranking method for this test. You find the worst and best soaps there are. The worst soap being say 1, and the best soap say being 10. If you find a soap that works better than the best worse than the worst, then it takes that place. Another thing to consider with this test is what brush your using. I propose using a range of brushes from you everyday Burma all the way up to the finest silver tip. I don't think we need to go into a ton of different brushes, and you wouldn't even need to test them all. For instance, if a soap lathered up well with a Burma, then you wouldn't need to move up to a nicer brush as the soap will probably work well with most brushes. Now this is not conclusive, as I have read that some people find it easier to lather with a stiffer, boar hair brush than with a badger hair brush. I am still debating the use of different brushes and would appreciate the input.

The second test would be how long the lather lasts, particularly with heat. I figure that sense most people like to somehow keep their lather warm, whether with home made apparatuses or with a scuttle, that it would be safe to test lather life with heat, and not just in a mug on the counter. I would use a scuttle, as this seems to be the best way to expose a lather to heat. My approach would be to lather the soap (if possible), and then to place the lather into the scuttle with the brush. I would check the lather every five minutes until it was no longer suitable to shave with, then record the time. No swirling or adding of water to the lather. The idea is to see how long it will last once it is established. Once the lather is done, it's done. This test seems pretty straight forward. Again, I propose a ranking system for this test, just like with the previous test.

The last test would be how well the soap lubricates. This is the weird one. The only way I can see to do this it to find a surface similar to facial skin and then to use it as a standard in all soap testing. I had thought of maybe using a softer, highly conditioned leather, but I really don't know. If you guys have any ideas, I would appreciate them. basically the lather would be applied to the surface (once a suitable once is found) and then one would either run their finger over it, or a razor, to see how easy it was. The problem with this is that there isn't any hair to cut through, and this is conditional in many ways. There needs to be more control. Another idea would be to find said surface, and then find a weighted object that wont slide down it when held at an angle, I figure 45 degrees would work well. The soap would be applied to the test surface and then the object placed at the top. The result would be graded by how well the object slid down the surface unaided. This is also tricky and would take a great deal of developing. I am still not sure of either and if anybody has a better idea for testing how well the soap does at lubricating, then please give your input.

Another test I had though about would be how it does on sensitive skin. This is hard to get a controlled environment for though. I know my skin is fairly sensitive, but mainly to drying and slight irritation, like an itchy tingly feel but not quite a burning sensation. It is usually not very bad, and I can still enjoy a soap even if it slight irritates me, though the William's was really rough. I have never suffered an allergic reaction per say, and I have never experienced real burning or a rash from a soap (yet). I thought maybe my face would be a good place to start, as I am willing to face irritation for the sake of the review. Anwyay, still not sure about this one.

I would love your guys' input, especially from Colleen and Sue, sense you obviously no more about soaps then I do. Let me know what you think.

Matt

Good idea Matt --but I think Badger and Blade has this pretty well covered already --but that don't mean it can't be done.


Justin

There are an awful lot of variables here. The hardness of the water, how many swirls you use, how hard you swirl. Of course all the different types of brushes and sizes. Just to name a few. You know there are guys on the B&B Forum who if you said the wrong thing about their favorite brush they'll kill you. You sure look for trouble.

I'll also say that you notice that on SRP even though we have a brush forum we usually limit our posts about brushes to the real basics. On the other forums out there the guys take their brushes real seriously and they have real rows debating all the minutae about these things. Not to say we don't care about brushes here, we do but I think we tend to focus more on straights which is a more technical issue. When most of the members use DE's, well you can't get too detailed about DE shaving so you need something else to argue about. Of course I'd never post this on B&B!

Hmmm, yeah maybe I will just forget about standardized soap tests then. I can see it getting too complicated way too fast. Plus, I would hate to have a bunch of big badger and blade bullies boasting about beating me to bits. Try saying that five times fast.

Matt