Favorite tallow-based soap

[beginish]

My favorites: Yardley, AoS, Valobra hard stick, Pen's, Harris and several other shave sticks.

 

[Mainecanefan]

Cella and D.R. Harris

 

[Gogo]

For me MWF is the best tallow soap by a wide margin. For me, though, the learning curve was extremely steep. It took me a super long time to figure it out. Once I did, HOLY COW! Unbelievably wet, dense and cushioning lather.

I enjoy Irish Moos as well. I do not, however, like Tabac. I got rid of it. I think the perfumes didn't agree with my skin.

Arko is a fun soap to use as well. I always get a very slick lather, but maybe not as protective as MWF.

I was also fortunate to be a part of Krissy's tallow test group. Like most people I got the best results from #17. I haven't tried the full production version yet.

I still have Speick and Cella to try. I've never tried English Fern and I doubt I will for availability and cost reasons. If anyone wants to pass on theirs, let me know!

 

[Cities]

I received my order of Krissy's Prairie Creations shaving soap in the post today (it took 2 days from North Dakota to Southern California). I didn't need to shave tonight, but of course I had to try it out.

What's great about Prairie Creations is that Krissy takes custom orders. I personally don't like a strong scented soap, so I asked Krissy if she could make a puck with only about 75% of the EO normally put into her soaps. I'm happy to say that the scent is just how I wanted it. In addition, it lathered up great.

Great scent + great lather = a damn fine shave for me tonight!

I know I'm only one shave in, but I'm thinking this soap (especially when considering price) can rank up there with Pen's EF as my favorite tallow-based soap.

 

[cr8n]

M. W. F.

 

[kevtex]

Irish Moos and Tabac.

 

[professorchaos]

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

It should be possible, but to the best of my knowledge, no one has pulled it off yet. Until then, tallow is king (sorry Art).

 

[featherman]

Arko, Tabac and "De vergulde hand" are my favourites, they perform equally as a shaving soap but its the smell that makes the difference.

It would be interesting to hear if anyone has experience from one of these three and some other tallow based soaps because I would like to find an even better soap regarding how good shave it provides, forget about the fragrance for a while.

/Alex

 

[talibeard]

Arko, Tabac and "De vergulde hand" are my favourites, they perform equally as a shaving soap but its the smell that makes the difference.

It would be interesting to hear if anyone has experience from one of these three and some other tallow based soaps because I would like to find an even better soap regarding how good shave it provides, forget about the fragrance for a while.

/Alex

There is no tallow in "de vergulde hand" however it lathers up easily enough.

With you on Tabac (try Irisch Moos too!) and Arko and also good IMO are P.160, Palmolive and Speick.

 

[AJ72]

My Favorite tallow-based soaps regarding performance are Tabac, AOS, Penhaligon's English Fern, Old Spice and Floris No. 89 (All old formulas of course). My favorite tallow-based soaps regarding scent are DR Harris Almond and Arlington as well as Penhaligon's English Fern. So many to try but it's fun trying them all.

Tony

 

[WhosYerBob]

For the benefit of the newcomer to soaps and tallow vs. glycerin soaps in particular -- please tell us why you prefer one soap over another, and what makes you think tallow is better, more effective, or easier to use than other soaps.

I prefer tallow-based lathers because they feel more comfortable than other soaps to me during each pass I take - which is usually three with touch ups.

I find a lot of the non-tallow products begin to feel dry to me midway through my second pass and my skin begins burning well before I reach the end of my third. I don't know if it's a specific chemical I'm reacting to, but my face will look all blotchy for days on end after using non-tallow lather.

With tallow soaps, I haven't had that reaction. The lather feels just as good on my second and third pass as it does on the first. Also, the missus goes nuts over the soft and supple feel that the tallow soap imparts to my skin. Both of us feel the difference between tallow and non-tallow soaps is dramatic to my face.

Of the tallow soaps I have on hand, I'm leaning towards MWF and Tabac as my top choices. I haven't narrowed it down any further yet because I'm still cycling through all the soaps I picked up in recent weeks.

 

[The National Razor]

Is GFT now glycerin based? I was looking into their rose soap. Still worth it?

Absolutely. I never had the tallow version, but the reformulation is still an incredible soap

 

[The National Razor]

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

Do yourself a favor and buy one! They are great. I have Cedar Wood, which isn't what I expected, but I like it. Next I will get either EO Lavender, or the Tranquil Oasis.

 

[strat1117]

It's a close race but, if forced to choose, this is how I would put them in order:

1. AOS unscented
2. MWF
3. Penhaligon's EF
4. Arlington
5. Tabac
6. Polo Safari

 

[The National Razor]

I'd go

1. Cella
2. Tabac
3. Prairie Creations
4. MWF/Kent

 

[drumana]

I'm gonna go with Tabac because it has been consistently the best performer for me over the past few years. It never fails. Very easy for me to whip up what I consider to be an ideal lather. Provides plenty of slickness and protection, not too much cushion, and it's as moisturizing as a shave soap gets. And I like the scent. Coming in close behind Tabac is Cella, Valobra and Art of Shaving - in that order.

I prefer tallow because my skin feels better after a shave than when I use a non tallow based soap. Not drastically, but enough that I only use tallow based soaps these days.

 

[TaJ]

J&E Atkinsons - I Coloniali shaving cream with Mango Oil, the soap which, for whatever reason, calls itself 'shaving cream'.

Why this one? Because i've never tried a different one during the short time i'm shaving with DEs.

So, i am by no means qualified to judge upon other creams/soaps. But then, i don't even feel the need to try other ones. This one is slightly cooling, does not run off, does not dry out, is slick and slippery and feels like a luxurious 'cream' to the face in a way that i think i'll try without aftershave lotion the next time. Did i mention the smell?

I think it's tallow based, it does not say so on the package, but some ingredients point in this direction, right? (Saturated fatty acids: Palmitic acid, Stearic acid, Myristic acid) Maybe i'm wrong and it's not tallow based, please correct me in that case.

What i wonder is that i don't read too much about this soap here, anyone knows why it's not known, maybe other products are even better??

Cheers, Tom.

 

[norman931]

I like Tabac, but I see nothing magical about tallow. In fact, I get great shaves with VDH Deluxe, which has none.

 

[heirkb]

MWF first. Pen's EF second. Erasmic stick/Pen's BB (tallow fifth)/Cella are all next in terms of performance for me. Can't wait for my Prairie Creations Lavender EO tallow SS!

 

[Empty Words]

Mitchell's Wool Fat is my favorite soap. I have no difficulty getting a very slick and cushioning lather from it and my face feels great after a shave. It has a nice scent, though I wish it were stronger. When purchasing from England, it's about $11 a puck. The dish is also very nice.