Thread: Went on an artisan soap binge

Bought a total of 23 samples from four vendors with a fifth sending me a handful more to try.

So far I've tested Al's Shaving Cream, Queen Charlotte Soap, Mystic Waters Soap, and Madam Scodioli.

Al's was too easy to use, but the other three just did not get a good lather the first attempt. So I tried it again when I wasn't preparing for a shave and managed these results...


This is the Queen Charlotte Soap (with Queen Charlotte scent). I followed the instructions found online and used VERY little water, maybe a few drops. It produced the nice thick lather all other users had raved about so I felt confident I had done it right this time. However, as the lather sat in the brush as I built the other two lathers it dried out, never to return to it's former glory. I splashed my face with water and applied what was in the brush but it came out too thin. Perhaps I should have added more water in the beginning and it would have had more lasting power. Brush is a well broken in cream boar.

Second was the Mystic Waters (in Lilly of the Valley scent). It also produced a nice thick lather, although it took a little more water to do so, with about 12-15 drops. I was afraid the soft silvertip brush wouldn't load as well as the boar or pure badger I was using on the other soaps but it actually produced the best lather out of the three. Even after sitting while I built the lather on the last brush and took pictures, a splash of water on my face brought the lather back to life as I applied it.

Last in line was the Madam Scodioli (Sentinel scent). Even though it produced a foamy lather from the get, it did not disappear like Jack Black or Casswell Massey hard soaps magically do. Letting the brush sit for a few minutes and then breaking down the bubbles a little before painting it on helped thicken it up a TINY bit. Unfortunately, the reviews I read about the burning sensation of the EOs/FOs, has not been corrected in the Dust Shaker or Sentinel scents. My face was on fire like an everlasting AS and I had shaved 7 hours ago! To make matters worse, after a very cold rinse I attempted to sooth my reddening face with some AoS balm. Bad idea. Perhaps the lavender oils reinvigorated the sentinel's oils because it caused the burning all over again. I was surely being punished for something I had done in a past life. Brush is a pure badger.

After I run through about 5 more of the scents and choose my favorites for full size amounts, I plan on PIFing the samples so that others may give them a try. I will list what I have left to give when that time comes.

Cheers.

All those samples should keep you busy for awhile

As well, it's not uncommon for a soap to "underperform" on the first try, which is why I always recommend using a new product for a week solid to work out the kinks and find the sweet spot. As I'm sure you know first impressions can be deceiving, which is why it's important to give a product a chance before coming to any conclusions. So have fun and let us know how the other samples are performing.

I agree with Ryan. There are any number of variables that may impact the lathering ability of a shaving soap or cream.

Try each of your new soaps for a week and get back to us with the results.

You may even want to consider creating an SRP blog that discusses the outcome of your test.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

All those samples should keep you busy for awhile
As well, it's not uncommon for a soap to "underperform" on the first try, which is why I always recommend using a new product for a week solid to work out the kinks and find the sweet spot. As I'm sure you know first impressions can be deceiving, which is why it's important to give a product a chance before coming to any conclusions. So have fun and let us know how the other samples are performing.

Originally Posted by jhenry

I agree with Ryan. There are any number of variables that may impact the lathering ability of a shaving soap or cream.
Try each of your new soaps for a week and get back to us with the results.
You may even want to consider creating an SRP blog that discusses the outcome of your test.

I know that the Queen Charlotte will make great lather because I almost got it there and have read too many positive reviews on it's performance to believe it won't get better.

Do you guys think the EO/FO of different scents affects lathering ability? My first thought is no, and that they only change the aroma.

My process was to first rank the scents in order of preference. Then I make lather with the top two or three scents from each vendor to see how well they worked and whether the smell changed when being used. I have the Al's and Mystic Water down as far as getting them to perform wonderfully, so those two will definitely be purchased. The Queen Charlotte just needs a little more tweaking (and I have plenty of samples for that) and I am positive I'll buy more of that too. The results have been exactly the same both times with the Madame Scodioli and I don't care to burn myself again so I think I will probably pass on it.

Okay I worked some more with the Queen Charlotte Soap and got it to work magnificently. I did learn a valuable lesson though: When experimenting with a new soap and face lathering, don't use a pure badger brush. Badger Burn is not a myth and the scratchy bristles of a pure grade will make it happen.

This time I took the wedge of soap after softening and applied it directly to my face a la shave stick style. Then shook out my brush and started working it up. Dipped the brush, worked the lather, dipped, worked, and so on until I had a very thick (almost too much) lather for the first pass. The second pass was far superior in consistency, as the water that remained after I rinsed my face helped the lather in the brush become softer/thinner.

So in retrospect, when I heard that QCS soap required very little water I took it to the extreme and didn't add enough to get the soap to it's full potential on my first try. I can honestly say I can't imagine the lather getting any better than my second pass, and thus my judgement of it's performance should be valid. This soap will leave your face feeling very soft (as long as you shave the whiskers away properly). If I hadn't irritated my face with the brush I probably wouldn't have needed AS. But I did notice that the lather doesn't give quite as much glide/slip/slickness as some of my other favorite soaps. It is just enough to allow the razor not to skip over your skin, but it definitely isn't a oily glide that remains when you rinse after a pass. The Green Irish Tweed is a great scent too. I love the smell of Tabac and prefer the woody/outdoors/old school barbershop scents (cedarwood, sandalwood, spice, moss, etc), so if you enjoy the same types then it might be one worth trying.

Right now I would rank the four vendors: Al's, Mystic Water, Queen Charlotte, and Mdm Scodioli. We will see if MW and QCS trade spots after I try out the MW in the same method I just used on the QCS. Al's is just too easy to work up to a great lather so I think it will probably remain in the top spot.

Originally Posted by TwistedOak

Do you guys think the EO/FO of different scents affects lathering ability? My first thought is no, and that they only change the aroma.

I'm not a chemist by any means, but I do think it's possible. Too much of any ingredient can upset the delicate balance of a formula, therefore affecting lather making abilities. Some of the worst artisan products I've tried have been heavily perfumed but the lather barely lasts 30 seconds. Coincidence???

Well this past weekend I was in Tennessee to be a groomsman for a good friend. We all partied very enthusiastically the night before so I needed some help waking up and feeling refreshed before the ceremony. For this I chose Mystic Water's Prospect Creek. To be honest I wasn't a huge fan of the scent, it was almost too medicinal and the similarity to tiger balm/bengay brought back memories of mile repeats in high school cross country. However, when I lathered it up the scent mellowed while still giving me the cool feeling from the menthol. I applied soap directly to my face and used a silvertip brush this time to develop a very thick lather. Even though I was in a rush to get ready for the pre-wedding pictures and whatnot, the excellent performance of the lather kept my irritation to almost nil. I say this because I didn't bring AS with me on the flight for the fear of it getting broken open onto my clothes and yet my face felt very smooth and not the least bit dried out.

Mystic Water may now take the second position in my list of soaps, simply because it creates as good a lather as QCS, but costs much less.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

All those samples should keep you busy for awhile

As well, it's not uncommon for a soap to "underperform" on the first try, which is why I always recommend using a new product for a week solid to work out the kinks and find the sweet spot. As I'm sure you know first impressions can be deceiving, which is why it's important to give a product a chance before coming to any conclusions. So have fun and let us know how the other samples are performing.

I quite agree with my friend Ryan. Give each soap about a week or so to get to know its characteristics. This whole week, for instance, I have shaved with one of the Mike's artisan soaps. Now I have gotten to know it, and it's a good soap.
On your other question, I can't offer much on whether scent affects lather.

LOL, Obie, did Bills' use of Mikes soaps in SOTD influence your decision to buy some. I'll bet the Big Spendur would be laughing at someone getting your soap AD's revved up! I still remember his glowing review of MdC.

Originally Posted by JoeSomebody

LOL, Obie, did Bills' use of Mikes soaps in SOTD influence your decision to buy some. I'll bet the Big Spendur would be laughing at someone getting your soap AD's revved up! I still remember his glowing review of MdC.

Hello Joe,
No, actually I had eyed Mike's soap for several months, but delayed buying it until after trying out several other new soaps in my stash. I have run out of room in my shaving closet, where piles of soaps and creams double as fragrant pyramids.

"What are you going to do with all those soaps and creams?" says the dearly beloved.
"Well," I say, "I'm a sucker for good stuff."
"Aren't we all," she says, and flips a brow.
"Besides," I remind her, "what's left over will eventually go to my two grandsons."
"One of whom, for your information, is due to be born the first week of August."
"I'm starting him early," I say.