Yep, I was in on it. It could be because Henk #4 has got a little water-logged but it's actually resembling a cream at the moment. I'm quite happy with this situation and plan to shave with it tomorrow by scooping some out and squishing it in to my brush before face lathering. It should be good...
Dr Henk's Formula #4
- Thread starter Boab
- Start Date
- Joined
- Wednesday September 23, 2009
- Location
- Almere, Netherlands
Pig Cat said:
My experience too. Load your brush twice and the surface of the soap almost turns into a cream. If you have a loose chunk of it (like I sent out), you may want to start treating it as a cream. In a tub or container, you can still use it as a regular soft soap. I actually find that that soft consistency makes it easy to get enough soap loaded into your brush.
Henk
As above, this morning I shaved with Henk's soap, but instead of swirling the brush round it I scooped a bit out and gently nestled it in the cosy recesses of my 1305. Using it like a cream was ace. I whopped it on my face and swirled around to produce a lather to be proud of. With my Semogue I have to remember to shake out quite a bit of water otherwise the lather is too wet. The whole process worked really well. I think I will try the same with my P160. :shave
- Joined
- Friday July 10, 2009
Used it this morning for the first time. Thoroughly enjoyable experience and fine shave. But different ...
Smells OK. Would not prevent me buying it, but would not tempt me either. It does have a slightly clinical smell about it.
Texture, I like. I have lots of good experience with other soft soaps (and bad experiences with other very hard artisanal soaps).
Latherability - lathers very well, almost immediately. I face lather with a large knot Rooney. I squeezed out my soaked brush, swirled in the soap and started to build the lather on my face. I had read here that you did not need a lot of water, so I persevered in building the lather where with my other soaps I would have dipped my brush in the water 3-4 times during the initial lather building stage. I actually only dipped once with this soap. The resulting lather was actually quite thin and not that slick. A bit disappointing really. Shaved and then tried to lather for second pass. There was nothing left in the brush! So back to the soap and then the face (without adding any water). I persevered building the lather. With what was really a very dry brush, the lather built very well and shaved with the best lubrication of any soap I have ever used.
Third and final lather and pass was good too.
So my initial impression is that this is a very good soap indeed. But very different. It seems to work best with as little water as possible. I am left wondering why that is? I suppose the only downside is that I could end up using a lot of product quickly.
PS I have hard water so normally need to use a lot of soap and then a lot of water.
PPS Thanks v much Henk for giving me the opportunity to try it. Will report back at the end of the week with more observations
Smells OK. Would not prevent me buying it, but would not tempt me either. It does have a slightly clinical smell about it.
Texture, I like. I have lots of good experience with other soft soaps (and bad experiences with other very hard artisanal soaps).
Latherability - lathers very well, almost immediately. I face lather with a large knot Rooney. I squeezed out my soaked brush, swirled in the soap and started to build the lather on my face. I had read here that you did not need a lot of water, so I persevered in building the lather where with my other soaps I would have dipped my brush in the water 3-4 times during the initial lather building stage. I actually only dipped once with this soap. The resulting lather was actually quite thin and not that slick. A bit disappointing really. Shaved and then tried to lather for second pass. There was nothing left in the brush! So back to the soap and then the face (without adding any water). I persevered building the lather. With what was really a very dry brush, the lather built very well and shaved with the best lubrication of any soap I have ever used.
Third and final lather and pass was good too.
So my initial impression is that this is a very good soap indeed. But very different. It seems to work best with as little water as possible. I am left wondering why that is? I suppose the only downside is that I could end up using a lot of product quickly.
PS I have hard water so normally need to use a lot of soap and then a lot of water.
PPS Thanks v much Henk for giving me the opportunity to try it. Will report back at the end of the week with more observations
- Joined
- Wednesday September 23, 2009
- Location
- Almere, Netherlands
chicken neck said:
Yes, it doesn't need a lot of water, just enough to get the soap soft enough to transfer from the cake to the brush. Here's what I do (I have been shaving exclusively with this #4 (and #5) formula soap over the last 3 weeks or so). I thoroughly soak my brush (a homemade brush with a 20 mm silvertip knot from The Golden Nib), then hold it upside down until it no longer drips water, then move it briskly downward once (note: don't shake it, just move it vertically). This leaves enough water in the brush to pick up enough soap and build a lather. I then start swirling the brush over the cake of soap (10-20 times). This will wet the soap; work the water into the soap until it gets creamy. I guess you'll end up with an amount of soap in your brush equivalent to the size of half an almond. Then transfer the brush to a bowl (I use that infamous double-walled IKEA bowl...) and start swirling. Note that there is still some water in the brush that hasn't reached the soap (at least in my brush there is). Squeeze that into the building lather by pressing the brush down into the bowl once or twice while swirling. This is enough water to create a bowl full of lather -- which takes about a minute.
This procedure gives me enough lather to complete 5 passes, and still have enough soap left in the brush to wash my hands with after applying Nivea After Shave balm ;-)
And my experience is also that the first pass lather is the thinnest. Whether that is because I apply the first pass lather on a wet skin, or because the lather actually improves in the bowl over time I don't know, but that's what I consistently find...
Henk
- Joined
- Friday July 10, 2009
I face lather onto a well-wetted beard, going back and forth (i.e. both with and against the grain, until there's a good visible deposit) then brush up with a well-soaked brush from which most of the water has been "dumped" (as Henk puts it).
So almost all the water I use is "residual" - ie already on the face under the soap or within the wet brush. I might need a little more but not much (nowhere near as much as Tabac).
This gives me a great lather and the lubrication is very very good.
Henk: what's different about no. 5? I can't imagine any improvement on no. 4 except for the smell.
Does anybody here remember that someone (Bodyshop?) used to do a similar plasticine-style soap for kids, sold as bath-time play soap?
So almost all the water I use is "residual" - ie already on the face under the soap or within the wet brush. I might need a little more but not much (nowhere near as much as Tabac).
This gives me a great lather and the lubrication is very very good.
Henk: what's different about no. 5? I can't imagine any improvement on no. 4 except for the smell.
Does anybody here remember that someone (Bodyshop?) used to do a similar plasticine-style soap for kids, sold as bath-time play soap?
- Joined
- Wednesday September 23, 2009
- Location
- Almere, Netherlands
Rev-O said:
Smell is the same ;-) I will start experimenting with that when I have sufficient feedback on the quality of the actual soap. Diffs in #5 are very minor. It has about a 0.5% of lactic acid (partly to improve the appearance of the soap due to formation of some free fatty acids, and partly to be able to claim additional 'moisturization' ingredients (humectants)), and about a percent of a synthetic foam stabilizer. I'm not sure that it makes much of a difference. I can detect no differences in the amount or stability of the lather. I may have to experiment further, since such a stabilizer could be used to formulate a harder soap that will still produce a good lather, but so far, the consensus appears to be in favour of the soft, putty-like soap, so I'm not convinced that I should pursue a harder soap right now.
Cheers
Henk
- Joined
- Wednesday August 26, 2009
- Location
- New Forest, England.
I popped my sample into a small ramekin dish. It works perfectly as a soap bowl.
My experience was the same as others here. A pleasant, comfortable shave.
Scent is all important. Cream or soap needs either to be unscented or have a positively pleasant aroma. To have a scent which is unpleasant or unexciting to some will always restrict demand.
My sample looks good for quite a few shaves and I will include it in my rotation 'till it's gone.
Thanks Henk and good luck.
My experience was the same as others here. A pleasant, comfortable shave.
Scent is all important. Cream or soap needs either to be unscented or have a positively pleasant aroma. To have a scent which is unpleasant or unexciting to some will always restrict demand.
My sample looks good for quite a few shaves and I will include it in my rotation 'till it's gone.
Thanks Henk and good luck.
Nice one Fido, I've been wondering about containers and realise I have a nice supply of ramekins sitting in the kitchen cupboard! :idea:
The only problem comes if we have a dinner party requiring the little critters. Not sure if our friends would appreciate a souffle made of Henk's #4 sample!! :hungrig
The only problem comes if we have a dinner party requiring the little critters. Not sure if our friends would appreciate a souffle made of Henk's #4 sample!! :hungrig
OP
- Joined
- Friday July 10, 2009
- Thread Starter
- #42
I picked up 4 stainless steel indian dip bowls for a quid in poundland, perfect for moulding formula 4 into.I also stuck some Honeybee in one and DRH almond in another (thanks Fido for the almond)
Leaves plenty of space above to lather.
Leaves plenty of space above to lather.
- Joined
- Wednesday August 5, 2009
- Location
- West Yorkshire
Glass ramekin type dishes seem to be very common in charity shops. One of these takes two grated Palmolive sticks just nicely as it happens ... just don't use the same grater for your cheese soufflé.
- Joined
- Friday July 10, 2009
- Location
- Little Feckwittering-on-the-Moor
Pig Cat said:
Shaving soufflé!
Thanks Henk for my freebie, I am agree with the previous comments and I do not mind the putty texture. as others I have placed it in a ramekin (Bonne Maman Crème Brûlée). I am not overly fond of the scent - clinical, toilet cleaner as above maybe, but it hasn't put me off, but would prefer another scent.
It lathers well and is better than Olivia's in the clay test. I just wonder if this may be drying if left on compared to a Provence Santé, I assume it is the clay content.
It is now looking kind of Cella - ish ......
Good luck with the experiments!
It lathers well and is better than Olivia's in the clay test. I just wonder if this may be drying if left on compared to a Provence Santé, I assume it is the clay content.
It is now looking kind of Cella - ish ......
Good luck with the experiments!
Well Sorry for a late reply.
Henk thank you so much for sending me the sample.
but i have now used the soap a few times and actually really like it, I have now passed it to my father as he is a soap man whereas im a cream man so he can give me a better idea of it.
I love the smell, perhaps a little weak but lovely all the same, a lady friend stuck her nose in the bag and said it smells manly and nice.. so for her thats a thumbs up.
I found it quite difficult to lather at first, but I have been using creams for about 3 months and my last soap was a wilkinson sword blue bowl. Once I re-learnt the art of using soap it was wonderful nicely cushioned and allowed the razor to glide well, I dont expect soaps or creams to be moisturizing in any way as thats what post-shave is for. But this certainly did not dry my face out.
My conclusion is I would use it again I found it an enjoyable soap to use that smelt nice and did a respectable job.
Henk thank you so much for sending me the sample.
but i have now used the soap a few times and actually really like it, I have now passed it to my father as he is a soap man whereas im a cream man so he can give me a better idea of it.
I love the smell, perhaps a little weak but lovely all the same, a lady friend stuck her nose in the bag and said it smells manly and nice.. so for her thats a thumbs up.
I found it quite difficult to lather at first, but I have been using creams for about 3 months and my last soap was a wilkinson sword blue bowl. Once I re-learnt the art of using soap it was wonderful nicely cushioned and allowed the razor to glide well, I dont expect soaps or creams to be moisturizing in any way as thats what post-shave is for. But this certainly did not dry my face out.
My conclusion is I would use it again I found it an enjoyable soap to use that smelt nice and did a respectable job.
- Joined
- Friday July 10, 2009
Not sure if it's due to me getting over depression or the medication I take for it, but I have had some mad dreams lately.
Not bad, but weird. And not nasty but often quite funny.
Last night I dreamed that Henk's soap was available in ice cream cornets, and I was using that like a soap stick to face lather with: holding the cone as one normally would but rubbing the soft soap all over my chops.
I woke up thinking that cornets made of (e.g.) ceramic would be a great container for this ice-creamy soap, esp. if the soap was vanilla scented.
A quick Google threw up these:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/192-6024987-7569709?asin=B000BQ2I7G&AFID=Nextag_df&LNM=%7CB000BQ2I7G&CPNG=kitchen&ref=tgt_adv_XSN10001" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/19 ... v_XSN10001</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sundae-School-Bowl-Set-4/dp/B001H8X0Y2/ref=pd_sim_dbs_k_4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.amazon.com/Sundae-School-Bow ... im_dbs_k_4</a><!-- m -->
Imagine Henk's wonderful soap housed in one of those . . . .
Well, that was the dream.
Now for the nightmare.
This morning, only hours after my lovely dream, my eldest daughter took my fat squidgy dollop of Henk's no. 4 with her INTO THE SHOWER!!!
And it mostly melted away down the drain.
Help! The best artisan soap I have ever tried has gone like the snow in the Springtime, like the rose in the Autumn, like the [yeah yeah we get the picture - ed]
Henk . . . ik heb noodig van jouw!
Not bad, but weird. And not nasty but often quite funny.
Last night I dreamed that Henk's soap was available in ice cream cornets, and I was using that like a soap stick to face lather with: holding the cone as one normally would but rubbing the soft soap all over my chops.
I woke up thinking that cornets made of (e.g.) ceramic would be a great container for this ice-creamy soap, esp. if the soap was vanilla scented.
A quick Google threw up these:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/192-6024987-7569709?asin=B000BQ2I7G&AFID=Nextag_df&LNM=%7CB000BQ2I7G&CPNG=kitchen&ref=tgt_adv_XSN10001" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/19 ... v_XSN10001</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sundae-School-Bowl-Set-4/dp/B001H8X0Y2/ref=pd_sim_dbs_k_4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.amazon.com/Sundae-School-Bow ... im_dbs_k_4</a><!-- m -->
Imagine Henk's wonderful soap housed in one of those . . . .
Well, that was the dream.
Now for the nightmare.
This morning, only hours after my lovely dream, my eldest daughter took my fat squidgy dollop of Henk's no. 4 with her INTO THE SHOWER!!!
And it mostly melted away down the drain.
Help! The best artisan soap I have ever tried has gone like the snow in the Springtime, like the rose in the Autumn, like the [yeah yeah we get the picture - ed]
Henk . . . ik heb noodig van jouw!