D.R. Harris Arlington soap review

[poikkeus]

I'm a big fan of the Arlington lemon-like aroma.

Here's a hint, guys: splash some water on the soap and let soak overnight. Next morning, swirl with a badger brush for around twenty times.

 

[carne]

I have enjoyed my puck of Arlington. I have gotten 1 year out of mine. Load brush 5-10 seconds, then bowl lather. Approx 3 passes. Probably 9 1/2 - 10 mo if I count the times I didn't shave (or was out to sea using different product)

Great value though. Well pleased!

 

[preidy]

I'm a Stirling and R-66 guy but I still have half of puck of Arlington left that I'm using it in my rotation. I find the soap just a tad behind Stirling in performance - mainly slickness. But that being said, I really like the scent and I really don't have any problem making thick slick lather either. I think your problem (as noted above) is not loading your brush enough. Also, I find that Arlington is not ask thirsty as the Stirling and easy to dilute by adding too much water. I say give it a few more times as there is a learning curve with different soaps. Bottom line for me is that down the road I most likely will reorder the Arlington. I think it's a very good soap.

 

[Jerome10]

I wanted to add my little bit to this as I've been using my Arlington Puck recently.

I'm gonna have to agree with the OP. It's an above average soap, and smells great, but better out there for the money.

Been doing DE for 3 years. 90pct of time is a Mühle R41 and Maggard brush. The Arlington tends to be thin, but even when I do get a nice lather, I don't feel it softens the beard particularly well, and I don't feel the glide is very good. 1 pass, soap off, and then my R41 likes to "stick". All other soaps I have I can buff or come over the same spot multiple times no issue.

With that said, I rarely end up with nicks with Arlington. So maybe it has something there.

But I could probably name 10-12 soaps/creams I easily put ahead of the Harris.

 

[beginish]

I cannot upload any pics. My phone today just doesn't want to cooperate whenever I send them to my email to be uploaded.

I opened up the box today, there was a citrusy/lemony smell coming from the soap and box, nothing too overwhelming or bad in anyway. Just kind of takes away from it's character if it has too much of a one dimensional scent. Anyways, after some time trying to find a bowl to keep it in, I eventually found one and pressed it in.

Cleaned my sink with some bathroom cleaner first and then I filled up the sink with hot water (always do this when shaving). Submerged my brush in the water for a few minutes, swirling it back and fourth a few times and pulled out and allowed it to drip upside down. I swirled the puck 4-5 times and it lathered alright. It was enough from 2 passes, it did require more lathering for more than 2. This soap was very runny. I couldn't get it to stay thick on the neck. But, it went through a 3-4 days worth of growth pretty well.

It was just slick and smooth, with no drying effect whatsoever. Just smooth skin when rinsed with water. Although, I did have some trouble when I shaved across my neck under my jaw line. To be fair though, I've always had an issue with that part. This soap does NOT work with blade buffing for whatever reason. I couldn't get it to perform blade buffing with my Merkur HD razor. I didn't have to spend as much time trying to shave all the bits and pieces of stubble left over.

Is it worth the $? No, it's definitely not... There are better soaps out there for the same price. This is just my opinion, since this is my first soap in a LONG time and haven't used any other soaps such as Mitchell's Woolfat or Tabac or Trumpers. I remembered why I hate soaps. I hate having to clean up the residue on from the soap. It's wasteful...

Has your opinion changed since you first reviewed this 6 years ago?

 

[Steve_in_CT]

As it turns out I remembered that I had an almost empty tub of Arlington cream in my cabinet and pulled it out today. It's been sitting so long that it is now more a firm croap than a cream. This turns out to be an excellent consistency for D.R. Harris creams. Unlike the soap, you can very quickly create a lather with only a dozen or so passes. And unlike a cream you can lather on top of the "puck" which is my preferred method with soaps. I had a great shave and it reminded me of how much I like the Arlington scent. I'm not sure now if I'll replace it with the soap or the cream once it's finished.

 

[TBoner]

I liked Harris soaps a few years back when I got into this, but I hadn't used any in six years until very recently. I ordered a puck of Almond and was impressed with the lather. I checked the ingredients. It has been reformulated from the previous version, and in my estimation for the better.

Here's the old: Potassium Palmate, Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua,Potassium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Parfum, Prunus Dulcis, Sodium Chloride, Petrolatum, Palm Kernel Acid, Limonene, Amyl Cinnamal, Orthotolyl Biguanide, Geraniol, Linalool, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium EDCT, CL 77891

Here's the new: Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Potassium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Cocoate, Parfum (Fragrance), Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Coconut Acid, Petrolatum, Linalool, Sodium Palmate, Potassium Palmate, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium Editronate, Pentesodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium EDTA, O-Tolyl Biguanide, CI 77891

For me the big difference is now moving tallowate up in the list, but the fact that palmate has been preplaced by stearate. In theory - and, it turns out, in practice - this makes for a bit denser lather. The new stuff is easier to lather and more stable. It still doesn't get going as quickly as Valobra or Tabac, which I think is due to less palm kernel/coconut oil in the formulation, but it is great soap.

I've since ordered some Arlington, Sandalwood, and Marlborough in what I assume will also be this newer formula. It's very, very good soap.

 

[sarimento1]

what's to dislike with DRH Arlington's tallowy shave soap (or cream)??