Hi from Brogo

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Thanks Nick

i am enjoying the forum and look forward to contributing to some of the other threads, just waiting for enough privileges. When that happens I will tell you all about a coffee maker that is way better than any of the stove top ones being discussed in the Cafe forum :)

I have a few things to post about soapmaking and plan to do so soon.

Olive oil soaps are the only ones we make so my goal is to make and hopefully market an olive oil soap that gives consistent results. To achieve it may require stipulating a method and or use of a lather dish.

I would be glad to send you a couple of samples to test out for yourself.

I can't say I have tried a commercial shaving soap for almost 20 years which is as long as I have been making soap. I do plan on testing a few out in the near future, my interest in shaving has only recently been revived.

Nick the Knife said:
I followed the advice of @razorguy and now finish all my shaves with an application of it on my skin instead of a mineral oil derived moisturiser.
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Even better is Macadamia oil. We use it for our after shave moisturiser, its a much finer oil, a few drops will spread do you whole face, smells better to, especially with a little essential oil.
 
There's a few here that swear by argan oil for a/s so you could get some interest in the macadamia oil based one.
 
roger said:
Thanks Nick

i am enjoying the forum and look forward to contributing to some of the other threads, just waiting for enough privileges. When that happens I will tell you all about a coffee maker that is way better than any of the stove top ones being discussed in the Cafe forum :)

I have a few things to post about soapmaking and plan to do so soon.

Olive oil soaps are the only ones we make so my goal is to make and hopefully market an olive oil soap that gives consistent results. To achieve it may require stipulating a method and or use of a lather dish.

I would be glad to send you a couple of samples to test out for yourself.

I can't say I have tried a commercial shaving soap for almost 20 years which is as long as I have been making soap. I do plan on testing a few out in the near future, my interest in shaving has only recently been revived.

Even better is Macadamia oil. We use it for our after shave moisturiser, its a much finer oil, a few drops will spread do you whole face, smells better to, especially with a little essential oil.
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@roger, much thanks for your reply - well I certainly look forward to hearing about this coffee maker along with your soap making prowess. Coffee makers along with most things in life tend to involve a lot of trade offs e.g more hassle = better results, so it's an interesting area depending on what you're after either best possible brew at given price/investment point or bang for back (best brew for certain amount of hassle) but thats for another thread. :)

Definitely interested to hear your thoughts and posts on soap making. There are a few things on your website that were a little contrarian to the information I've seen but in itself nothing wrong with that. :)

Your website is an interesting thing - a lot of stuff in there if you dig away and look for it. My compliments on your packaging/logo design & colours, it's excellent.

Thats a very kind offer on the sample front and I'd be happy to take you up on it but I'd have to flag up front that I'd be brutally honest for better or worse. I'm not sure where you're at with your testing/product development - though I'd assume a fair way along as it's sold as a finished product on your site - so up to you as I won't pull any punches and will call a spade a spade. :)

RE: Commercial soap - well I'd strongly urge you to try something ASAP as I think that gives you a massive amount of assistance in determining where your own product is at. Simple is good and makes sense to use a very top shelf product - so why not see if you can get a tub of B&M Latha from @Monsta_AU ? ~$20 delivered and is from all reports as good a shaving soap as is available anywhere. Paying more for a given product will really only get more expensive scents.

But seriously....I think if you're serious about your own soap and you've not used a real alternative one since Keating was PM you can play with your own formulation etc etc for eons but it will all be for naught as it's a commercial product and so you need to know how it compares on all the variables that make a top tier & discerning buyers shaving soap. And you can claim this as a tax deduction for R&D purposes....haha so no excuses.

Thank you for the tip on Macadamia Oil, I'll have a look into it. Much thanks, Nick

PS. My sincere compliments on your amazing house (it's one thing to make CP soap but another to make your own home!) - and also on the lifestyle approach you've adopted at Redgum Soaps, very, very impressive! :)
 
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roger said:
I am enjoying the forum and look forward to contributing to some of the other threads, just waiting for enough privileges. When that happens I will tell you all about a coffee maker that is way better than any of the stove top ones being discussed in the Cafe forum :)
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You need to look at your trophies for the hint how to unlock your account.

Nick the Knife said:
RE: Commercial soap - well I'd strongly urge you to try something ASAP as I think that gives you a massive amount of assistance in determining where your own product is at. Simple is good and makes sense to use a very top shelf product - so why not see if you can get a tub of B&M Latha from @Monsta_AU ? ~$20 delivered and is from all reports as good a shaving soap as is available anywhere. Paying more for a given product will really only get more expensive scents.
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They are all gone now, but agree with the sentiments - the extra money only buys a very incremental improvement on soap and it is mostly fragrances.
 
I also agree you should try something commercial just as a benchmark ...

I would suggest a tub of Proraso - not because it is one of my favourites, but because it is easily (razor shop) and cheaply (~10AU$) available, very easy to lather (it is a soft soap), has good glide and a nice cushion. I don't like the ingredients list and the post shave feel, but if your lather doesn't compare to it, you won't have many customers for your soap...

I use olive oil, argan oil and shea butter as post shaves and love them - with olive oil being the overall winner for me. So any soap based on one more of those ingredients will have my full attention :D
 
alfredus said:
I would suggest a tub of Proraso - not because it is one of my favourites, but because it is easily (razor shop) and cheaply (~10AU$) available, very easy to lather (it is a soft soap), has good glide and a nice cushion. I don't like the ingredients list and the post shave feel, but if your lather doesn't compare to it, you won't have many customers for your soap...
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@roger 's shaving soap is currently retailing at $35 a pop. Which is in the upper tier for shaving soaps. So with all due respect I'm unsure how meaningful any comparison with whats a universally regarded very ordinary soap is going to provide. IMHO it'd be an apple being compared with an orange. Proraso is mass-produced and as you say yourself somewhat nasty. To me it's like aspiring to design a luxury saloon and comparing your prototype vehicle to a Hyundai i30 - anything learnt isn't really good for much as they're different beasts for different target markets.

Whether it's B&M Latha or something else (Mike's Natural would actually be a good one as it's Cold Processed and is regarded as one of the very best cold processed shaving soaps on the market - there are VERY FEW top end ones these days, all are HP) I'd try to make the comparison as meaningful as possible and get another product that your target market is going to be comparing it against as a prospective purchase. All that said I think ANY comparison to ANY well regarded commercial shaving soap will be very helpful - haha and considering it is a work expense I thikn you'd be justified in 'needing' to buy quite a few to make the exercise as productive as possible.

FWIW on your recommendation @roger I've gotten some cold pressed macadamia oil and will give it a run instead of the EVO I've been using post-shave. First impressions are a tad lighter, definitely comparable in immediate skin feel - we'll see after a few weeks.
 
Oh, I didn't know that...35$ is definitely very much up there. I don't think I have any shaving soaps in that price range...

In that case, there is not need to test against Latha - or for that matter Mike's either. They can be both had cheaper...

Not sure what to test against then - but it surely must be one hell of a soap, for me to pay that kind of cash.
 
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