Phoenix&Beau: My vegan & tallow shaving soaps [testers required]

Hi Kerry, like everyone else after checking the scent samples I find they have leached into each other. The only one that may have escaped is the Lavandula in this sample I can smell a very herbal lavender not the flowery scent, with a hint of cloves and other herbs (sage maybe?). But of course this maybe also slightly cross contaminated by the other samples. I sniffed coffee beans between samples to try to clear my nose. I will try the soap either later today or tomorrow morning. I should add I like the Lavandula, but will be interested to smell the separate scents.
 
Schick Type E 2 Injector...;)
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Three Pass Shaving Routine...:cool:

Hot Water prep & massage with Coconut Oil
Schick Type E 2 Injector
Feather Pro Injector Blade ( Modified ) New
Semogue Boar Brush
Test shaving soap
Organic Aloe Vera Gel
Logona Mann After Shave Balm (From Germany)

I had a shave today with the Test Soap Sample...I was using an aggressive injector with a sharp Feather Pro Blade...Quite an awesome combo to say the least...I bowl lathered the soap and I must say it lathered extremely well...I was impressed...The soap for me had a lovely lemon scent...I only had to scrape a small amount from the container that I pressed it into...I found the lather was quite even and it had a good duration on the face although a tad thin...My first WTG pass went fine but I was aware of little protection against the blade and sometimes felt as I had no cushion at all...On my second pass I decided that soap was not offering any protection from the blade and I abandoned it....:eek:

I lathered up my Wars Classic Shaving Cream and finished my shave with no issues and ended up with a darn close shave...I didn't find that the Test Soap was offering me much cushion & or protection at all...The lather was quite thin and I normally have no problem with that but If I was feeling vulnerable on my second ATG pass that I went hey this is not working for me...I have experience with other Vegie soaps and I have no issues with them....Alphy & Becs is one on my rotation at the moment...:rolleyes:

The scents are amazing I must say and as some of the lads have said they got crossed contaminated in the parcel... The Lavandula I particularly like...Lovely...In terms of the soap it lathered well but it just wasn't doing the job for me...I am used to using aggressive razors and crazy sharp blades and the Test Soap was making me feel that I was sparsely protected...If I had continued I would have been in trouble ....Just to add...The soap lathered well and I have no problem lathering...Never have...To be Frank & Honest it just didn't do the job for me...:(

That said...I have enough for another shave and will give it another go....:D

Billy
 
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I used a good amount of soap and my Omega boar brush. Steve Woodhead scuttle and a lot of water. I usually use around 10ml of water minus what the brush already holds with this soap I used double. Soap lathered up well, lather itself is very slick but could do with a little more cushion.

Soap smelt like lemon balm, possibly lemon oil? Also a peppery tint?

A very good effort, just a little more cushion perhaps?

Here's some pics :)



 
Just used mine. The sample had taken on the scent of the samples a bit so had a lemon and eucalyptus type scent which wasn't too bad.

Loaded up a shaken out badger brush and got a foamy proto lather straight away. Strange as it was really just a damp brush not wet.

I face lathered and went back to the soap a bit to try to bring a bit more creaminess back to the lather which worked and began the shave.

For me my preference is a yoghurty lather but this soap seemed to produce a more fluffy lather if you get what I mean. I agree it needs a bit more cushion but the lather appeared to look more protective than it was.

I felt it had ok glide but not the residual slickness I like in a soap. You couldn't go back over an area without relathering.

3 passes and no major problems but in its current form it wouldn't be a soap I'd buy.

I did try a test lather after the shave with a wrung out brush and built the lather more slowly. It did seem to perform a bit better this way but found it didn't need much water before it went beyond what I like in a lather. I don't think this is a thirsty soap in that regard.

Hopefully this honest feedback is useful to work on the next formula. I didn't find the post shave feel drying which I often do with vegan soaps so that is one plus point.
 
Evening chaps,

Well, thanks so much for sharing such great data with me; it has been really insightful to read. I'm really grateful for each of you taking the time to test my soap:). I thought I'd put together a quick summary of your thoughts so that we can chart and compare your feedback. I think for now we should discount assessments of each fragrance as clearly there has been cross contamination for most parts. I've fixed that and will dispatch the scent range to each of you before the week is out.

In the interim why not enjoy them as new air-fresheners.. :eek::D

It seems then that better cushion and post shave are the areas you'd like improving. I've got avocado oil, unrefined shea butter and unrefined cocoa butter, standing by ready to dive in to Vegan v.8. I'll get that on the move whilst we wait to see the feedback from our remaining testers.

Once everyone has fed back I'll let you know the composition of the soap and where its inspiration came from :cool:
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With kind regards,

Kerry :rolleyes:
 
I followed up today using the same kit as before, the only difference being human factors such as the amount of water used whilst lathering.

This time the lather appeared to be less dense and consequentially cushioning felt less adequate.
 
Perhaps on v8 you could state your preferred set up for us to test the soap Kerry? For example; sample size, brush type and a measured amount of water to use? Just to try and keep it controlled? As I found it very slick but added around 20ml of water.
 
Nishy said:
Perhaps on v8 you could state your preferred set up for us to test the soap Kerry? For example; sample size, brush type and a measured amount of water to use? Just to try and keep it controlled? As I found it very slick but added around 20ml of water.
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In theory a good idea, but in reality the end consumer will pretty much do as they please and IMHO it's better to reflect that
 
Thanks chaps, very fleetingly passing through due to work. @Nishy like Sean says, it's a good suggestion but folk / potential customers will have their own equipment and method; just like all of you do.

I think for V8 I'll ask that reviews are fed back to my inbox. I'll collate all info and share once all of the testers have run the soap through at least two shaves. That way we're testing with our objectivity "setting" at 100% :)

Thoughts?

Looking forward to the last few tests coming in before I finalize Version 8. :D

Speak soon,

Kerry :cool:
 
phoenixandbeau said:
Thanks chaps, very fleetingly passing through due to work. @Nishy like Sean says, it's a good suggestion but folk / potential customers will have their own equipment and method; just like all of you do.

I think for V8 I'll ask that reviews are fed back to my inbox. I'll collate all info and share once all of the testers have run the soap through at least two shaves. That way we're testing with our objectivity "setting" at 100% :)

Thoughts?

Looking forward to the last few tests coming in before I finalize Version 8. :D

Speak soon,

Kerry :cool:
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To be honest Kerry I'm confused. I agree with Sean, but disagree on two points.
Firstly objectivity setting was at 100% testing a soap is testing a soap, having wet shaved for over 3 years (others probably more) its obvious we know what were talking about/looking for. Apologies if this comes across harsh, the comment seemed degrading, may have interpreted it wrong.

Secondly why PM? Would it not be better to have a transparent process as opposed to one which could be hidden and modified to suit?

Without some control standards you will probably end up with a table that provides little to no concrete answers as previous.
 
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Hey @Nishy, it was just an idea mate and definitely not meant as degrading. Sorry if it came across that way :) I put it forward on the basis that it might negate testers reading other reviews before they tried the soap.

Just an idea, that's all. Do we have any other thoughts on the best way to test Version 8, please? I will be guided by you good folk.

Thanks as always (I'll pop back later).

Kerry.
 
phoenixandbeau said:
Hey @Nishy, it was just an idea mate and definitely not meant as degrading. Sorry if it came across that way :) I put it forward on the basis that it might negate testers reading other reviews before they tried the soap.

Just an idea, that's all. Do we have any other thoughts on the best way to test Version 8, please? I will be guided by you good folk.

Thanks as always (I'll pop back later).

Kerry.
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Fair play, I think having a testing process readily available to view would help any consumer appreciate the changes you make, similar to OSP
 
@Nishy that's an excellent point, my friend. Perhaps the scientist in me got in the way of having a products journey / provenance available to all. Not that I would have held on to anything (data); reviews of V8 would have been shared once all were in.

I think you're right; we all like to see the creation and journey of a product. :D:D

@fly3k you're right in thinking that I'm not a vegan. I'm trying to nail a luxurious vegan formula out of a challenge to myself. When I sit down and factor in tallow the numbers generally come back better and so a challenge was born.

Version 8 is returning numbers that "should":p give almost 4x the moisturizing power of Version 7. It's this tinkering that I really enjoy and I'm after a way of giving that brilliant cushion without using tallow.

That's not to say that I won't venture in to tallow based soaps, only that vegan is my starting point. I'd love to have a first class formula for both, something available for all tastes :):D

Really loving the process, discussion and brain-storming. Please keep it coming, Gents.

Kerry.
 
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