Signature soaps...not to my liking!

N

nav1

Active Member from afar
2018 Sabbatical Fail
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Aug 23, 2012
I got a couple of small tubs of this soap and despite it containing some butter and conditioning oils, the lather is too fluffy and light and a bit drying for my skin.
It's light on skin protection too as I can feel the blade a lot more from the blackbird.

The two major ingredients of the base are stearic acid and coconut oil, neither of which contain any oleic acid. Therefore, no conditioning properties.

The scents are pleasant but the soap base gets a thumbs down from me.
 
This has always been my interpretation of what "soap cushion" means, without it you get that extra blade feel which can result in a harsh shave.
I know you have some experience @nav1 (from my recollections) with making soap and good idea on how it is made but would you say it is perhaps because there is a lack of tallow in the signature soap where as your Mitchells wool fat does.
I personally find that its easier for soap makers to produce a good soap with tallow than it is without. Signature soaps may not have the best base for your needs and may need to optimise their ingredients list.

Soap cushion or lack thereof is something that is much more noticeable using sharper blades such the ones you prefer (BiC Chrome Platinum)

Mitchells Wool Fat was quite good when it was tallow based.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
This has always been my interpretation of what "soap cushion" means, without it you get that extra blade feel which can result in a harsh shave.
I know you have some experience @nav1 (from my recollections) with making soap and good idea on how it is made but would you say it is perhaps because there is a lack of tallow in the signature soap where as your Mitchells wool fat does.
I personally find that its easier for soap makers to produce a good soap with tallow than it is without. Signature soaps may not have the best base for your needs and may need to optimise their ingredients list.

Soap cushion or lack thereof is something that is much more noticeable using sharper blades such the ones you prefer (BiC Chrome Platinum)

Mitchells Wool Fat was quite good when it was tallow based.
Click to expand...

The soap I make for myself are veggie with a high amount of butters which provide the oleic acid.

Tallow is basically stearic, palmitic and oleic acids, making it fairly similar to some of the seed butters such as cocoa, kokum etc.

I really don't miss tallow when I use my soap but I would add that it's the large scale milled soaps that go down the drain once they remove tallow because they don't use ingredients to add back the oleic acid, which then creates a soap that isn't very conditioning or protective.

In relation to signature soaps specifically, I feel it to be lacking in all areas, and it's also not a thirsty soap so doesn't take water very well.
I also find the veggie Speick stick to be kind of similar whereas the tallow Speick is one of the greatest soaps ever made!
 
Yes, there are a few that are pretty good without tallow. Most are creams, though, such as GFT cream and the now defunct La Toja creams. However, there is a good luxurious feel to good tallow soaps (Arko being excluded), especially if they have lanolin or beeswax. I have used and tested a boat load of soaps and creams and have my preferences.

I've not tried duck fat, but I hear that is good.
 
nav1 said:
The soap I make for myself are veggie with a high amount of butters which provide the oleic acid.

Tallow is basically stearic, palmitic and oleic acids, making it fairly similar to some of the seed butters such as cocoa, kokum etc.

I really don't miss tallow when I use my soap but I would add that it's the large scale milled soaps that go down the drain once they remove tallow because they don't use ingredients to add back the oleic acid, which then creates a soap that isn't very conditioning or protective.

In relation to signature soaps specifically, I feel it to be lacking in all areas, and it's also not a thirsty soap so doesn't take water very well.
I also find the veggie Speick stick to be kind of similar whereas the tallow Speick is one of the greatest soaps ever made!
Click to expand...
I agree. The new Speick isn't very good. I tossed it rather than pass it on. When these makers remove the tallow they don't have the same performance. The only exception I can think of is La Toja stick. The tallow was removed and not many noticed.
 
Gargravarr said:
Lots, if not most of the best soaps are tallow-based, but there are excellent exceptions, eg Castle Forbes, MdC, Pre de Provence which are all vegan. D.R. Harris does a fine job of combining tallow and palm fat.
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Its not that I think all vegan soaps are bad it's just that it seems like it is harder for some vegan soap makers to get the right balance to make up for the lack of tallow. To replace an ingredient like tallow they have to break down what is tallow exactly I feel like some soap makers are just like oh well I will just make up for the lack of tallow with this butter/oil/fat without really understanding the essence of beef tallow.
Another good non tallow soap is PAA CK6 base imho.
 
nav1 said:
The soap I make for myself are veggie with a high amount of butters which provide the oleic acid.

Tallow is basically stearic, palmitic and oleic acids, making it fairly similar to some of the seed butters such as cocoa, kokum etc.

I really don't miss tallow when I use my soap but I would add that it's the large scale milled soaps that go down the drain once they remove tallow because they don't use ingredients to add back the oleic acid, which then creates a soap that isn't very conditioning or protective.

In relation to signature soaps specifically, I feel it to be lacking in all areas, and it's also not a thirsty soap so doesn't take water very well.
I also find the veggie Speick stick to be kind of similar whereas the tallow Speick is one of the greatest soaps ever made!
Click to expand...
Well said.
Exactly this!
 
Doc Dan said:
I agree. The new Speick isn't very good. I tossed it rather than pass it on. When these makers remove the tallow they don't have the same performance. The only exception I can think of is La Toja stick. The tallow was removed and not many noticed.
Click to expand...

The loss of tallow Speick was devastating for me.
I know "it's just shaving" but after 2 covids, my skin can't handle 99% of scented soaps.
MWF and Speick are two soaps that I can still use and funny thing is both are very long time favorites.
Now BOTH have been reformulated to formulas that my skin doesn't get on with (too drying!).

I'll cherish my tallow MWF pucks and few tallow Speick sticks.
 
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