Home Made Soap - cast your vote!

OK Tonight's shave:
Used No.2 and did something different. I used the soap as I would a stick, and rubbed onto my stubble. Took a wet, not dripping synthetic and easily worked a really rich creamy lather onto the fizzog. A 3 pass shave was no problem with enough lather left for for touch ups. Slick and cushioning. A nice whiff of floral scent made the shave very pleasant. Post shave was as good as James's previous soaps.
#1 Next
 
I seem to be a bit behind in this as I only shave every few days. Anyhow onto the shave sample # 2 was my choice and lathered up lovely, initially thought it was gonna be 1 of those fizzy short lasting lathers but kept working it until it came good, scent very mild but a nice background to the shave. Lathered up then decided to change my blade and by the time I'd done faffing it had started to dry a bit, not sure if I left it a bit long on my face (I'm a face latherer ) but thought there was a tiny bit of reddening. Carried on with the shave and all went well, everything calmed down, nice soft skin when I'd done too - Trumpers Eucris soap is the only 1 I've used that leaves a more moistened feeling ( mmmm moistened) but thats a bit hit and miss in the lather stakes. All in all a very nice shave ! would I buy it ? That would depend on cost being a true Yorkshireman ;)
 
I used #2 with the synthetic brush this morning. It lathered quickly this time, but I thought I'd ballsed up the lathering & got it too airy, but went ahead & used it for a pass, which was fine. By the end of that pass, I'd expected what was left to have vanished, but it had turned quite thick. Added more water, then a bit more, then even more. It turned out to be a lovely lather that lasted for another 2.5 passes & I'm sure I could've carried on with.

I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't seem to be as instant as previous samples. That said, it is well worth a tiny bit of extra time. I'm not talking about lots of work, just a bit longer than before.

Tomorrow it'll be #1 with the horse/boar or with badger. I've been using a 1912 for all tests so far, but as it'll be the weekend, I'll be going with a straight.

After 3 days using these sample, my skin feels pretty good. I don't bother with balms or moisturisers, but I'm not feeling any dryness at all.
 
This afternoon I shaved with sample 1.

I loaded my soaking wet Kent Infinity for 10 seconds and this time continued in a lathering bowl. As can be seen from the photograph a huge volume of lather was produced.

I mixed the lather prior to showering to see if there was any reduction or lather collapse. I can report that the lather stayed stable during this time and no noticeable collapse took place.

On application I was somewhat disappointed as the lather felt very wet and not creamy as was expecting it be. My 3 pass shave was most enjoyable, the lather providing a good degree of slickness but did not provide a great deal of cushion. I put this down to the amount of water that I kept in the brush prior to loading the soap. Next time I shall shake out the brush and lather in my normal way adding small amounts of water as I see necessary.

Scent stayed constant during the shave, nice light floral notes with spicy undertone.

Post shave I think I prefer the lanolin addition as my face felt slightly tight some 30 minutes after my shave until I applied some moisturiser.

All in,IMG_1101.JPG a good shave and looking forward to giving sample 2 a run out tomorrow.
 
In a nut shell, one of the worst shaves I've had in a longwhile.

Weepers gallore on the 2nd pass?!

The number 1 sample didnt feel as slick as It did when test lathered it, apart from that the thick lather was there, the volume was there and the skin albeit a little torn up is silky smooth.

That'll teach me to rush it this morning.

IMG_20150919_063732_1.jpg
 
This is strange.

I haven't done anything to the soap regarding milling etc, and I am sorry about your shave whosthedaddy.

Would you all mind sticking with it a little longer and seeing if you can come up with lathers that are a little more to your liking?
 
Finally got to try my samples today. Out of the box, sample no 1 is but the the more pleasant scent, much stronger than 2 which I thought smelt a bit old fashion "soapy" rather than a quality shaving soap.

That said, I decided to try no 2 today, with one of Mervyn's black badger knots, Livi straight, finishing of and tidying up with a Hoffritz slant.

I face lather and initial opinion was good. I never get the big rich lathers you see posted but it lathered pretty fast and gave a full face worth with minimum fuss. I did notice though that I didn't get enough loaded for the second pass and had to go back to the block with more water to replenish.

I haven't used a straight in a few weeks but this is where things weren't so good. I thought technique was fine today but my face, especially my neck, was burning much more than normal and a load of small weepers appearing after a few seconds. I don't think it was a reaction to the soap but I wander whether there was sufficient lubrication for a straight shave - willing to accept my technique may not have helped but the shave was a very smooth first pass but this has only happened once before with Razorrock. I will give it another go with a DE in the week before I move onto sample 1.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: OSP
Today I shaved with sample 2

For a change I used a Mervyn Cadman Synthetic brush and again I got a generous bowl of creamy yoghurt like lather.

In order to try and improve the cushion I reduced the water content in my brush by lightly squeezing and a little shake.

The water reduction improved the cushion effect and my shave felt far more comfortable, still plenty of slickness and glide and overall a better shave than sample 1.

Again the scent stayed constant during the shave, nice light floral notes but without the spicy undertone.

My preference overall between the two samples would be for No 2 in all departments, lather, scent, slickness, glide, cushion and post shave.

Like the shave with sample 1 I still prefer the lanolin addition mainly for the post shave properties.

IMG_1110.JPG
 
Everyone has picked up on the lavender and the woody spicy notes. I am away from my computer though. I will give more info when I get home tonight.

Does everyone feel like lanolin should be included? Even if it disrupts the scent a bit?
 
I used #2 again last night with a badger brush this time. Excellent shave, no issues at all. I don't mind the lanolin, but am happy enough without it, especially if it's that affecting the scent.
 
Just tried 2. When I tried 1 on three separate occasions it felt great on the skin, however 2 felt as if I was getting a mild chemical burn (much like when I soaped my face with Ivory soap many many years ago). Prewash etc. remained the same so find this a little perplexing. The shave was okay but not great and I did get a few weepers but that may have been because I was in a hurry to finish because of the aforementioned 'burn'. Dumped 2 in the bin because do not want to be tempted to try it again but have enough left of 1 to give it another go in a few days time.
 
Thanks for that gents.

I think i will take number 1 further, as many seem to like it. It must be the fragrance oils that are burning, as other than the scent, the soaps are from the same batch!

Therefore, I will seriously be trying to avoid fragrance oils in the future.

Number 1 contained
Lavender, Rosewood, Cedarwood, Bergamot, Clove, Jasmine, Patchoulli and Sandalwood - all essential oils.

Number 2 contained
Lavender EO,Moss & Fern FO, Oak Moss FO, Amber FO, Geranium FO and Pepper EO.

I'm quite surprised that this one turned out the fresher of the two. I meant for this one to be very dark and woodsy. Perhaps it needed some vetiver!

I tried to go along the lines of what would be called a 'Fougere' - what does everyone else think? Does it fit in this category?
 
So I have just been going through all the reviews (thanks by the way) and I have noticed that although a lot of people don't seem to be able to get on with the way I personally use my soaps (lots of water), it seems to be the reviews that use soap number 2 that mention things like stinging, lather not being so good, and other issues. I don't know if anyone will agree, but to me this means I really need to be steering clear of fragrance oils when I make my soap. It is a shame, but I kind of gathered something like this may happen.

What are your thoughts?
 
Would not have thought that FO could make such a big difference but cannot think of any other reason for the mild stinging/burning I got. Think 1 was a winner, scent was quite pleasant and although I'm not a big lanolin fan tomorrow may lather up 1 with a quick swirl in MWF to see what it's like (probably not very scientific but what the heck).
 
  • Like
Reactions: OSP
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom