Favorite tallow-based soap

[markb]

Tallow soaps that are always in rotation

• Mitchell's Wool Fat
• Tabac
• Irisch Moos
• Valobra Stick
• Erasmic Stick (pre-reformulation)
• Palmolive Stick
• Arko Stick
• Czech & Speake No. 88
• 'Safari' by Ralph Lauren
• Speick
• Cella
• Williams

IMO you can't go wrong with any of these

 

[Alaskan Eagle]

DR Harris Lavender. I found my puck in the back of my cabinet, after a bit of a hiatus, and have been using it all week. The lather is just fantastic, creamy and easy to come by. Good stuff all around.

 

[Jake]

Any experience with or comments about Prairie Creations tallow-based soaps? And are the Penhaligons still all tallow based?

 

[markb]

Any experience with or comments about Prairie Creations tallow-based soaps? And are the Penhaligons still all tallow based?

I just got some in recently. Great soap! I just wish it had been a little more strongly scented.

 

[tgarza]

I too would like to know about Prairie Creations tallow soaps. I might just buy one to test out.

 

[MrFusion]

I too would like to know about Prairie Creations tallow soaps. I might just buy one to test out.

I sent Krissy a PM inquiring about one of the scents she offers to help determine my purchase but I have not heard back.
I'm looking forward to trying out her soaps!

 

[Bertilak]

There is nothing inherently magic about tallow soaps. It's just the fatty acid composition of tallow fats/oils. It should be perfectly possible to make a shaving soap out of 'purified' fatty acids, with the same resultant composition as a tallow soap. This would give you a similar/identical soap, without the tallow 'label'. Now, what those fatty acids were originally derived from

Henk

"should be" might be the operative words there.

 

[SiBurning]

I don't care much about scents, so I won't talk about them. Here are my favorites, more or less in order. This is my list for a straight razor.

Art of Shaving is my favorite. While I tend to prefer a very wet lather, and have to use the AoS relatively dry, it gives the richest, most luxurious lather of anything I've tried. It also protects as well as anything else (except perhaps MWF), and ranks very high in how it leaves my face feeling afterward.

I prefer a wetter lather and Mitchell's Wool Fat is the best in that department. Between the lanolin and its ability to be used very wet--and therefore thin--it makes for the smoothest, most comfortable shave. It's nearly as protective as AoS, but the slickness more than makes up for this slight miss. I'm mixed on how it makes my face feel afterward. My skin definitely feels softer after the shave than it does with any other soap, as if I used a skin conditioner. While there's nothing to complain about here, a skin conditioner isn't something I particularly need or want in a shaving soap.

I'm very impressed with the Valobra stick. It gives excellent protection, and lathers well. Naturally, a stick is best for someone that face lathers, or doesn't lather much at all. Since I face lather, it fits for me. Someone suggested I use the AoS like a stick, but I'm afraid if I do I won't regard the Valobra as highly anymore.

While there are several other soaps ahead of it, D. R. Harris deserves mention because it's a mixed tallow/palm triple milled soap that can compete with the full tallows. It provides the same kind of protection as tallow, is triple milled, gives a rich lather, and protects well. Still, there are other soaps ahead of it that aren't on this list.

For reference, here are some of the others I've tried:
Czech & Speake
Irisch Moos
Penhaligons
Speick
Tabac
Williams

For a DE, the list would be different. First, MWF would be on top, and some creams would be mixed into the list. With a DE, I prefer slickness over protection because I tend to use it when shaving really fast, and don't need the protection as much, maybe because I'm so used to a DE. With the straight, tallow rules.

 

[Bertilak]

Somehow I missed the questions above about Prairie Creations. I got the almond scent and find the soap to be excellent, on par with the top-of-the-line tallow soaps I am familiar with (Tabac, MWF, Cella, D.R.Harris). I have been using it for a little over a week and am reluctant to go back to my MWF. The two are quite different but both perform equally well.

It is funny that Jake above wishes it had a slightly stronger scent. My reaction was just the opposite -- wishing it had a less obvious scent. For something that I would like to use day in and day out I know I will eventually tire of any pronounced scent. One of the reasons I like MWF, aside from its obvious efficacy, is that the scent is completely unobtrusive.

Strong scents may be fun at first, but it is a little like loud music. After a while you just want to turn it down. Maybe I'm just an old fogie.

 

[mretzloff]

Tabac! Nothing compares in my opinion.

 

[Rughi]

Any experience with or comments about Prairie Creations tallow-based soaps? And are the Penhaligons still all tallow based?

How quickly threads get buried and recreated on B&B!
I did a review of the PC vs AOS just yesterday.

Roger

 

[marvin100]

My first however has to be Mitchell's. It shaves soooo well. I don't know why. Before I face lathered with it, the lather was always ugly, airy, disappearing, etc., but it was the only soap I got BBS shaves with. My skin was soft after and my razor would just glide through my hair as though it were cutting butter. Now that I face lather, it's got the same properties, except it's also thicker and more cushiony looking (even when it looked flat, I never felt any lack of cushion or slickness though)

This.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

I think AoS gets my #1 nod...slightly over my Penhaligon's BB.

AoS soaps (lemon for me) just seem to lather easier with my brush and water than any other soaps I've tried...dont know why, but the lather is always the thickest richest stuff around.

Pen's BB is a really close second and I like the scent better.

Unfortunately, I haven't tried any of Krissy's new formulation yet...but I will.

 

[DSB]

I currently have three favorite tallow based shaving soaps:

Czech & Speake #88

Penhaligon's English Fern

Tabac

All three are amazing performers. I probably get the best overall experience from my C&S. C&S gives me an amazing, creamy lather, and a scent I can only describe as darkly intoxicating. The scent of C&S #88 lingers on my skin for hours, and this is a good thing. English Fern (old formulation) also gives me an amazing, creamy lather. EF also has a great scent, but it doesn't linger very long. Tabac gives me a great lather, but I'm only okay with the scent. The scent of Tabac is fine, but nothing special. I don't think about Tabac as I wonder off to sleep. C&S #88 and Pen's EF invade my dreams.

 

[Cookie_Junkie]

Here would be my ranking:

1) MWF
2) D.R. HARRIS / TABAC (on par)
3) Palmolive stick / P160 tipo duro (on par)

The more I've been going into my wetshaving journey, the more I tend to become a soap guy. Oh, and among these soaps, the more I tend to become a Tallow-only guy.
To me, tallow just brings a better lather, thicker with so more cushion to it. And leaves the skin feeling great, period.

The only "excuses" I can find in the glycerin soaps that I still use are their stronger scents or the massive use of EOs, which I believe also play some kind of a curative role if I dare say so (herbal/aroma therapy?)

Tallow rules, period.
C_J

 

[BROWNS]

Considering I've only tried two, my ranking doesn't say much

1. Tabac
2. MWF

I'm looking forward to trying others. I'd really like to get my hands on some Irisch Moos.

 

[Sabre]

Tabac & Cella.

 

[Jake]

And does anyone know the current formula for Penahligon soaps? Is it still tallow based?

 

[RoyalKooparillo]

Hmmm...

Yardley
MWF
Penhaligonses

...in that order. Penhaligons shave soaps have been reformulated to a veggie base, there's tons of information/lamenting about it if you do a search. I don't find too much of a difference in shave quality between tallow first EF and tallow fifth BB. The EF is maybe slightly better, but I much prefer the scent of BB, so it gets more use.

 

[beginish]

And does anyone know the current formula for Penahligon soaps? Is it still tallow based?

There may still be some pucks of the tallow based English Fern floating around, but virtually every vendor I've seen is waiting for new stock of EF and Blenheim.......all of which will be tallow free.