So two weeks ago I bought 3 jars of TOBS from Amazon. Got the Grapefruit, Sandalwood and Cedarwood shipped and sold by TOBS. When they arrived, two soaps were all on one side of the jar just as I saw on Amazon review pictures. If I set the jars on it's side and leave it for an hour, the cream will flow with gravity to that side. Every Youtube video I've seen shows the soap being pretty hard with guys scooping it with spoons or loading the brush right in the tub. If I set my brush in the cream, it will sink to the bottom. I also need 3x time the amount of TOBS vs Stirling, Shannon's or Eleven soaps to get the same amount of lather. Feels like this batch is just full of water. Cedarwood is much harder and more solid. No returns allowed on these items so I'm stuck with it. Will never buy again.
TOBS Grapefruit, Sandalwood very runny
- Thread starter Christian L
- Start date
I don't have grapefruit or cedarwood but I have Sandalwood and I have Eton College. Both are firm and I can set them on their side and they will not shift at all. It is just soft enough that I can press a finger into it - about like Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese if you're familiar with that. I load my brush from the jar but I don't swirl the brush, I just dab the tips of the bristles as you can see the pock marked surface from the brush in this photo - plus two finger marks where I tested how firm it was prior to taking the picture.
I don't have to use very much to get a lot of lather
I don't have to use very much to get a lot of lather
I wonder if it got very hot in transit and melted a bit, maybe try putting it in a dark, cool place overnight and see if that changes anything?
I just got a tub of TOBS Almond that is runnier than sour cream.
Recently, a tub of St. James was on the creamier side and a tub of Cedarwood was pretty normal.
In that same round of ordering, I received tubs of Mr. Taylor, Eton College, and Jermyn Street that were all on the drier side. When repotted, the Mr. Taylor was a creamier consistency than the top seemed to reveal at first.
It seems like variance is pretty high with these things, but I do not entirely know why. I’d assumed it was due to different formulas and storage conditions/durations. It will be interesting to hear what the herd’s experience and wisdom can tell us here.
Recently, a tub of St. James was on the creamier side and a tub of Cedarwood was pretty normal.
In that same round of ordering, I received tubs of Mr. Taylor, Eton College, and Jermyn Street that were all on the drier side. When repotted, the Mr. Taylor was a creamier consistency than the top seemed to reveal at first.
It seems like variance is pretty high with these things, but I do not entirely know why. I’d assumed it was due to different formulas and storage conditions/durations. It will be interesting to hear what the herd’s experience and wisdom can tell us here.
I had an issue with TOBS about 10y ago. Same thing, one scent was fine and one was runny.
There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. My guess the fruit ones, lemon, lime, grapefruit, have something to do with the scent extracts they use.
You can leave the lid off and dry it out. What I did, was pour it onto a baking sheet lined with Parchment paper, let it dry and put it back in the tub.
There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. My guess the fruit ones, lemon, lime, grapefruit, have something to do with the scent extracts they use.
You can leave the lid off and dry it out. What I did, was pour it onto a baking sheet lined with Parchment paper, let it dry and put it back in the tub.
- Thread starter
- #6
I used it couple days later sitting in 68F bathroom. Maybe the dry up with time and get harder. Still it took huge amount to shave my face and head. The normal amount I use (almond size) just disappeared in the brush.
- Thread starter
- #7
I'll try the idea with baking sheet and setting it in the garage otherwise my whole house will smell. I like the scent just not all the time for days.
Did you load directly in the tub? I had problems loading it where my brush would soak up a ton of TOBS, so I always scoop it now. If you did load directly from the tub, it's possible it's super hydrated now. I would leave it out overnight uncovered, and scoop it going forward
lasta
Blade Biter
Runny=fresh, be happy
They are a cream, after all, and creams will dry out if you let the air get at it. I've had various consistencies with TOBS over the years, but all eventually settled and have never had issues with performance.
Creams are more fragile, especially in the heat - so I'll bet it got melted in transit. In my opinion, Amazon is no longer a trustworthy vendor, even if the official seller is the maker of the product. The third-party vendor (Amazon) controls the storage and shipping conditions, etc., and I have read many stories about compromised products. I recommend buying from one of the small businesses that advertise here, or others with which many of us are familiar, who supervise their packing process much more carefully and attentively.
Your soap should be like a very dense whipping cream, or like cake frosting. Maybe you could stir it around very gently to get the oils blended back into it, and then store it in the fridge for a couple of hours? I haven't had to do that but can't see how it would hurt anything.
Your soap should be like a very dense whipping cream, or like cake frosting. Maybe you could stir it around very gently to get the oils blended back into it, and then store it in the fridge for a couple of hours? I haven't had to do that but can't see how it would hurt anything.
Oh, PS - even when I've had a TOBS cream for a very long time and it got dry with age, it still functioned just fine, even if more like a croap or soap than a cream.
My experience with TOBS:
Pepermint 10ml Sample purchased from MaggardRazors - very hard, dry, almost soap consistency cream.
Lime Zest, Sandalwood, Eton College samples 5ml purchased from G&C - runny consistency, like an aftershave balm. Detail for the sandalwood that made an insane foam out of the ordinary, with little amount it exploded in foam.
Royal Forest 150ml bought in G&C - soft croap consistency, if you put your finger it sinks.
production standard is not TOBS quality.
As I tested the liquid, the medium and the hard, the question that remained was: which is the right one?
Pepermint 10ml Sample purchased from MaggardRazors - very hard, dry, almost soap consistency cream.
Lime Zest, Sandalwood, Eton College samples 5ml purchased from G&C - runny consistency, like an aftershave balm. Detail for the sandalwood that made an insane foam out of the ordinary, with little amount it exploded in foam.
Royal Forest 150ml bought in G&C - soft croap consistency, if you put your finger it sinks.
production standard is not TOBS quality.
As I tested the liquid, the medium and the hard, the question that remained was: which is the right one?
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
I may be thinking too simplistically but I assume that the correct consistency of a cream in a jar would be such that it could be easily squeezed from a tube were it contained in one. I suppose a bit like toothpaste might be a good way to describe it. Too runny and the cream would simply pour out of the tube, too firm and it would not be able to be squeezed out. I have had creams in tubes which had dried out to the point that I had to cut the tube open to remove the solid cream, they were 40+ years old Yardley and Shulton Old Spice. They then performed wonderfully as croaps which is what made me intentionally dry creams in their tubs as I preferred them that way. I rarely use creams now preferring hard soaps.
I have both TOBS Lavender and Grapefruit. Both are on the creamy side, but I can lather both in the containers they came in, but I generally load from the container then lather in a lather bowl. Both are very slick and provide excellent shaves. The lavender is one of the nicest scented lavenders I have used. Grapefruit may seem a little unusual, but it is a very clean scent. Please note that both are labeled as creams on the container, although to me they seem a bit firmer than most creams.
I have 3 jars of this cream, use less water with more soap. learning curve, you will get it! It's not bad once you get it.
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