Best performing "dollar store" tallow soap?

I am an exclusive tallow soap user and my go to is AOS, however, I wouldn't mind finding a great performer that is cheaper.

Today I used Williams and I had a fantastic shave. This is the only "dollar store" shaving soap I have used. The other two I would like to try are Arko and Palmolive shave stick.

I'll probably buy them to try out, but before I pull the trigger which of these 3 would you say is the best performer?

Also, if anyone has any other suggestions besides these 3 please give them. I would like to keep it to tallow soaps that cost literally around $1 or so.

Williams Mug is deceptively good, if you can get up a good enough lather.

Its biggest drawback is if you dont get the lather right it doesnt offer much protection and it drys out quickly. But if your careful it ends up being better then proraso. Its my go to shave puck.

EDIT: My recommendation is to mill it into a mug with some glycerin and essential oils. You will not find a better shave.

zerocover said:

Williams Mug is deceptively good, if you can get up a good enough lather.

Its biggest drawback is if you dont get the lather right it doesnt offer much protection and it drys out quickly. But if your careful it ends up being better then proraso. Its my go to shave puck.

EDIT: My recommendation is to mill it into a mug with some glycerin and essential oils. You will not find a better shave.

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Yeah, I got plenty of great lather no problem. I just lathered it up like I do all my tallow soaps...soaking wet brush on dry puck whisked briskly on top until lather is filling/flowing out of the top of the apothecary shave mug. I then face lather for a minute and add water prn until my beard is covered with a thick, gooey tallow lather.

Do you know how Williams stacks up against Arko or Palmolive? I am really interested in this comparison.

Augustiner said:

Do you know how Williams stacks up against Arko or Palmolive? I am really interested in this comparison.

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Haven't tried Arko, but Williams (for me) has a lighter scent than Palmolive. I find I get similar lather from both but my skin feels slightly softer after using Palmolive.

Disclaimer: I'm in UK so get the Euro 2.2 Palmolive here. Bowl lather Williams and face lather with the Palmolive so results may vary.

My favorite "cheap" soap is Speik. It's usually less than $6.00 a stick.

Augustiner said:

I would like to keep it to tallow soaps that cost literally around $1 or so.

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Arko, and Palmolive are not available in the US for a dollar a stick. Both are imported products, and not available locally. Arko runs about $2 a stick without shipping costs, and Palmolive around $4 a stick plus shipping costs.

Williams is the only tallow based shaving soap you can find locally throughout the US. The US is a pretty dry region for traditional wet shaving products.

I can't personally get the current formulation of Williams to perform anywhere close to adequately for me, so just about any other shaving soap is superior to it for me.

It sounds like Williams is the winner by default (although it costs closer to $2 per puck around here).

But have you considered cost per shave? Provence Sante Green Tea at $10 might actually last longer than 5-10 pucks of Williams. Charismata might be a good value per shave at $7 per puck, and MWF might be an even better value. I don't know the answer to these questions for certain, but triple-milled soaps last a long, long time.

michiganlover said:

Arko, and Palmolive are not available in the US for a dollar a stick. Both are imported products, and not available locally. Arko runs about $2 a stick without shipping costs, and Palmolive around $4 a stick plus shipping costs.

Williams is the only tallow based shaving soap you can find locally throughout the US. The US is a pretty dry region for traditional wet shaving products.

I can't personally get the current formulation of Williams to perform anywhere close to adequately for me, so just about any other shaving soap is superior to it for me.

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You're right, Arko and Palmolive end up being more than $1 here in the U.S., but I was wondering all this because there is a fantastic deal on Amazon right now for Arko sticks.

http://www.amazon.com/Arko-Shaving-Soap-Stick-free/dp/B002UBOEW2

$20 w/ free shipping for 15 Arko sticks. That's only $1.33 per stick! If it was a great daily shaver I would consider buying this deal because you can't go wrong with that price. I have a strong feeling Arko shaves better than Williams.

Palmolive I've only seen around $4 like you mentioned. Speick is another I have to try.

Arko is worlds better than Williams for most folks. Lathers easily, gives a great shave
and is inexpensivel. I feel it's one of the best deal going in a tallow soap.

But I would recommend you check out Charismata Soaps, a B&B vendor. Tallow based and excellent. Pucks are BIG for $7.00 and should last at least 6 months of daily use making it a bargain.

poppi said:

Arko is worlds better than Williams for most folks. Lathers easily, gives a great shave
and is inexpensivel. I feel it's one of the best deal going in a tallow soap.

But I would recommend you check out Charismata Soaps, a B&B vendor. Tallow based and excellent. Pucks are BIG for $7.00 and should last at least 6 months of daily use making it a bargain.

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poppi, good to hear about Charismata soaps. I've got a sample of their soap coming from a fellow B + B member and I am very excited to try it out. Now with your enthusiastic recommendation I am really looking forward to it.

I have had great success with the Arko shave stick. It is very easy to lather. I find it at least as easy to lather as more expensive soaps like MB, Tabac and Classic Shaving brand. Some people are really turned off by the scent of it but to me it smells like a potent Ivory soap. You won't find it as luxurious as a more expensive soap or SC, but it would be hard to find anything with more bang for the buck. Personally, I keep a stick in my travel bag. I just wipe it across the grain on my face then face lather. And at $1-$2 a stick, I won't feel too bad if I lose it during the trip.

Another inexpensive tallow shave stick is the Wilkinson stick, readily available in the UK for about 65p/$1. There are a couple of e-tailers here that offer them for about $4 plus s/h. I consider the Wilkinson stick to be equal or better of the Arko, Palmolive, Speicks. Easily makes a rich lather, and affords a great shave.

-- John Gehman

BroJohn said:

Another inexpensive tallow shave stick is the Wilkinson stick, readily available in the UK for about 65p/$1. There are a couple of e-tailers here that offer them for about $4 plus s/h. I consider the Wilkinson stick to be equal or better of the Arko, Palmolive, Speicks. Easily makes a rich lather, and affords a great shave.

-- John Gehman

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I love the funky blue color of these sticks too. John is correct, this is one of the best shave sticks available.

superbleu said:

I love the funky blue color of these sticks too. John is correct, this is one of the best shave sticks available.

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Yup - plus it's got lanolin in it too. Kinda makes the MWF $$ moot IMO; I get mine from superlather.com
@ the OP - I think most around here are all in it not just to pinch pennies but to also enjoy the experience. Soaps last for months typically, and within that amount of time, can't the cost be made up in other areas? One or two less trips in the vehicle over the same time period, and there's the soap you really wanted, plus you deserve some SSAD. Waiting a week or two for those steaks, ribs, etc. on sale for a better price and there ya go - same result. All I'm saying is that this thread strikes me as a forest/trees thing.

BroJohn said:

Another inexpensive tallow shave stick is the Wilkinson stick, readily available in the UK for about 65p/$1. There are a couple of e-tailers here that offer them for about $4 plus s/h. I consider the Wilkinson stick to be equal or better of the Arko, Palmolive, Speicks. Easily makes a rich lather, and affords a great shave.

-- John Gehman

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Any idea where in the UK? I've been trying to find it for ages.

I'll say one thing, Palmolive stick definitely beats Arko in the scent dept. I love the performance and scent of Euro Palmolive stick and cream.

Pumpkin said:

Any idea where in the UK? I've been trying to find it for ages.

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A generous B&B'er from Scotland sent me a bunch of these. The price sticker on them is 69p. I don't know which shop he bought them from, but believe that it was a local (to him) chemist he patronizes. Sorry, I can't help further.

-- John Gehman

Personally, I think you're unduly limiting yourself by declaring that you can only use tallow soaps. There are a ton of excellent performers that don't contain tallow. VDH is a locally available and fantastic, cheap soap.

BroJohn said:

A generous B&B'er from Scotland sent me a bunch of these. The price sticker on them is 69p. I don't know which shop he bought them from, but believe that it was a local (to him) chemist he patronizes. Sorry, I can't help further.

-- John Gehman

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Thanks for the info. I'll have to do some more digging!

I use Erasmic, whch I am led to believe is a tallow soap, and I can get that for £1.99 a tub in my local chemist. I gives an excellent creamy lather, now I have learnt to build a lather properly.