As I have a strong negative reaction to some (not all) scented soaps, I like to try various brands of the unscented variety. For the past few months, I have been shaving alternately with two: Stirling Naked and Smooth, an unscented beef tallow and lanolin formula, and Canada, a vegan formula. Both come in nice hard plastic, screw-top jars, "approximately" 5.8 ounces for Stirling, 175 grams or 6.17 ounces for Canada. The Stirling is now almost done, and I have Stirling Beeswax on the shelf to take its place. The Canada is by my estimate less than a quarter finished, so there will be plenty left to compare it with the Beeswax.
In their thick and pasty "proto-lather" form, there is an obvious difference in texture and feel between the two that I have found in other comparisons between tallow and non-tallow soaps. The tallow soap has a thicker, more "ductile" consistency. However, once a few drops of water are mixed in each to produce the final lather, the difference is much less apparent. I wouldn't want to try to pick it out in a blind test. There is a slight difference in color that I probably would be able to pick out.
Each has its own distinctive but very slight and acceptable smell, unlike some unscented soaps that have an unpleasantly strong chemical smell. This too I could pick out in a blind test, but again, it is very slight.
Both give me great shaves. The Stirling tends to dry out in the long run, especially if it isn't used daily. But adding a few drops of water easily takes care of that. Canada lathers very fast, amazingly fast, really. Good if you're in a hurry to get out in the morning.
The biggest difference between the two in my opinion is economy. If you pay full price for both, Canada is far more economical to use in terms of cost per shave. I was surprised at the magnitude of the difference. Those who strongly prefer tallow to non-tallow shaving soap will almost surely prefer the Stirling, though I found the difference in actual shaving results to be minimal or non-existent.
In short, both are good options if you want to shave with unscented soap.
In their thick and pasty "proto-lather" form, there is an obvious difference in texture and feel between the two that I have found in other comparisons between tallow and non-tallow soaps. The tallow soap has a thicker, more "ductile" consistency. However, once a few drops of water are mixed in each to produce the final lather, the difference is much less apparent. I wouldn't want to try to pick it out in a blind test. There is a slight difference in color that I probably would be able to pick out.
Each has its own distinctive but very slight and acceptable smell, unlike some unscented soaps that have an unpleasantly strong chemical smell. This too I could pick out in a blind test, but again, it is very slight.
Both give me great shaves. The Stirling tends to dry out in the long run, especially if it isn't used daily. But adding a few drops of water easily takes care of that. Canada lathers very fast, amazingly fast, really. Good if you're in a hurry to get out in the morning.
The biggest difference between the two in my opinion is economy. If you pay full price for both, Canada is far more economical to use in terms of cost per shave. I was surprised at the magnitude of the difference. Those who strongly prefer tallow to non-tallow shaving soap will almost surely prefer the Stirling, though I found the difference in actual shaving results to be minimal or non-existent.
In short, both are good options if you want to shave with unscented soap.
