Thread: Vintage Yardley Shave Soap

I got this vintage Yardley shave soap a few years ago nos wrapped in cellophane. Got it out for next weeks shave but gave it a go for a 3 pass touch up shave in anticipation of an early Easter family dinner. I forgot just how good this stuff really is. I do believe I prefer it to DR Harris and MWF. It lathers easier and makes as good or better lather than the other two. I'd grab another puck of vintage Yardley any day if I came across it at a not ridiculous price some seem to ask for it. Sometimes the good old days were that good old days.

Bob

It is a shame that Yardley no longer makes shaving soaps. They still make some great soaps. Just to see what would happen, I picked up a bar of Yardley Cocoa Butter bath soap. The ingredient listing was fairly similar to some shaving soaps:
Sodium Tallowate, Water (Aqua), Sodium Cocoate, Glycerin, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Fragrance (Parfum), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Tocopheryl (Vitamin E), Sodium Chloride, Titanium Dioxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Iron Oxides, Yellow 5, Red 33.

When I tried shaving with it, it worked reasonably well. I doubt it as good as their vintage shaving soaps were, but it worked well enough for me to keep it in my shave den rather than showering with it.

Bob, check this out. Not too long ago a friend of mine moved into a new house. He found this shaving kit tucked away in a closet when they moved in. He gave it to me, because his wife was going to to throw it in the trash.



I was thinking of shaving down the soap, packing it into a new bowl, and giving it a whirl, but to be honest, it grosses me out a bit.

That would work.

Bob

Great score Bob!
Andrew, consider shaving the soap remnants down with a cheese grater into a chocolate melting dish, or some such double boiler, add some isopropyl from the drug store to the mix till quite runny. Let the IPA flash off and pour back into one of the bowls. Sanitized vintage soap safe to be reused. And another cool one to take a puck of penhaligons, or maybe Crabtree Evelyn might fit the profile as well.
I love my old Yardley bowl.
Was empty when received it sadly, but it was from Gramps collection so I cherish it none the less.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Great score Bob!
Andrew, consider shaving the soap remnants down with a cheese grater into a chocolate melting dish, or some such double boiler, add some isopropyl from the drug store to the mix till quite runny. Let the IPA flash off and pour back into one of the bowls. Sanitized vintage soap safe to be reused. And another cool one to take a puck of penhaligons, or maybe Crabtree Evelyn might fit the profile as well.
I love my old Yardley bowl.
Was empty when received it sadly, but it was from Gramps collection so I cherish it none the less.

Cool Mike. I may just do that!

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Originally Posted by MikeB52

Great score Bob!
Andrew, consider shaving the soap remnants down with a cheese grater into a chocolate melting dish, or some such double boiler, add some isopropyl from the drug store to the mix till quite runny. Let the IPA flash off and pour back into one of the bowls. Sanitized vintage soap safe to be reused. And another cool one to take a puck of penhaligons, or maybe Crabtree Evelyn might fit the profile as well.
I love my old Yardley bowl.
Was empty when received it sadly, but it was from Gramps collection so I cherish it none the less.

Flashing off alcohol on the stove....

It would have to be some pretty desired soap to try that!

I'm not suggesting a still, lol.
The chocolate chafing dish, or double boiler tend to mitigate any explosion risk when the p.p.m. is so slight (indirect heat). I'm only suggesting like 20 ml of IPA to the mix of maybe 100 grams of soap to my eye. Zero risk if done with control and purpose. Andrew plays with way scary substances. I have faith..
Heating pure IPA on the stove directly, yea, no I'm not suggesting that.

Andrew plays with way scary substances.

Heck ya I do!!! Pffff, crazy scary stuff. You ever hear of Baby balm?? Ya....

Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY

Bob, check this out. Not too long ago a friend of mine moved into a new house. He found this shaving kit tucked away in a closet when they moved in. He gave it to me, because his wife was going to to throw it in the trash.


I was thinking of shaving down the soap, packing it into a new bowl, and giving it a whirl, but to be honest, it grosses me out a bit.

Andrew,, before you go through with this experiment,, make me one last brush please.