First Tabac experience-- really mediocre.

Just had my first shave with Tabac. It was, as the title suggests, pretty blah. Had a hard time lathering it compared to the QED soap that I have, and the lather, while very good looking (shiny and creamy) was lackluster in terms of glide and protection. It often felt like I was shaving over a spot that I had already shaved, even though there was a thick layer of lather. About average level of post-shave irritation.

Maybe I need to use more... but I thought I used quite a bit. Hmm...

Tabac is not glycerin-based soap like QED. Take a gently shaken brush (so that it isn't completely shaken dry by forceful flicks of the wrist), but retains some free moisture) to the puck, and load for at least half a minute—a minute is better as you're then sure you've loaded enough. You can always cut down once you get used to the product, of course. Then build and dilute according to preference. Pictures are here.

Of course, it is also possible that your face is incompatible with Tabac; it happens. But you can only be sure after trying a few different ratios of soap and water.

I'll give that a try, thanks!

I really want to like this stuff...

justinp said:

I really want to like this stuff...

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Nonono: you really want to give this stuff a fair and honest try before passing judgment.

sometimes the top little layer is a bit rubbish because it has dried out or something. Give it a go a couple more time and find its sweet spot!

I had similar feelings about Tabac when I first tried it, but once i learned that you had to lather longer than softer soaps, the results have been excellent. Now it is pretty hard to get a bad shave with Tabac.

You should get on better with it over a few more uses...but a mediocre soap with an atrocious stench is what it is.

When I first opened this up, I thought it was going to be another Tabac-scent thread...as its about the lather then +1 to all the comments...you shouldn't have any problems there!

Best of luck!

I agree with others that you should be patient with Tabac until you get the right technique for the hardness of your water. In fact that is true for most soaps. I have learned over the years that each soap brand and for that matter, different scents within the same brand, often have different lathering properties. be patient and you will be richly rewarded. Tabac is a favorite of mine and I always look forward to it's turn in my rotation.

Happy shaving,

Doug

As others have said... Give it a chance!

Did not work for me either,lots of better choices out there.

Paul

I can only imagine what you'll say when you try MWF.

Talk about a soap that needs work.

I noticed, when I first tried TABAC, that, I could build slick and creamy lather that provided wonderful shaves but, it wasn't as voluminous as I would have liked.

I discovered that this was happening because I was not getting enough actual soap in/on the brush while loading. So what I did was drain more water from the brush after I had soaked it, to the point of mild dampness; This way the brush could pick up more soap from the puck instead of just moving it around after initial contact.

After the brush was loaded I just added some hot water directly into the breech and got going building lather on my face. Voila! Lathers like a champ now.

Ru4scuba? said:

When I first opened this up, I thought it was going to be another Tabac-scent thread...as its about the lather then +1 to all the comments...you shouldn't have any problems there!

Best of luck!

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But seriously, what's up with that scent? I'm pretty much completely neutral on it, but it most definitely is olldddddddd school.

Also it is dredging up all sorts of weird almost-memories; I think someone I knew as a child wore Tabac EdC or something because that scent is hammering on all sorts of "I almost recall" bits of my brain.

justinp said:

But seriously, what's up with that scent? I'm pretty much completely neutral on it, but it most definitely is olldddddddd school.

Also it is dredging up all sorts of weird almost-memories; I think someone I knew as a child wore Tabac EdC or something because that scent is hammering on all sorts of "I almost recall" bits of my brain.

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I love the scent. The Tabac EDC is a must.

ouch said:

I can only imagine what you'll say when you try MWF.

Talk about a soap that needs work.

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Thinking the same

ouch said:

I can only imagine what you'll say when you try MWF.

Talk about a soap that needs work.

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but once you unlock its secret it is amazing.

MWF doesn't need work. It's just the shaver who needs to get used to the idea that not all soaps behave equally, despite there being a rather general common ground. That said, I don't use MWF because it simply didn't work out with me. (No, it wasn't a lanolin issue.)

cymric said:

MWF doesn't need work. It's just the shaver that needs to get used to the idea that not all soaps behave equally, despite there being a rather general common ground. That said, I don't use MWF because it simply didn't work out with me. (No, it wasn't a lanolin issue.)

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I tend to agree. If brush is loaded properly, I have never had problems generating great lather with MWF, even early on, despite having extremely hard water. So much so that I now believe this is a myth perpetuated to keep others from discovering its wholesome goodness.

kwsher said:

I tend to agree. If brush is loaded properly, I have never had problems generating great lather with MWF, even early on, despite having extremely hard water. So much so that I now believe this is a myth perpetuated to keep others from discovering its wholesome goodness.

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Loading the brush is key, I tried every brush I own to tackle MWF and couldn't get anywhere even close to a decent lather. The problem I had with MWF is that I couldn't for the life of me get any of my brushes to load up on the soap. I tried cold water, hot water, distilled water, room temperature water, soaking wet brush, completely dry brush, damp brush, soaking the puck, not soaking the puck, etc, etc, etc. This is the one and only soap I have tried and given up on and it killed me to give it up because I loved the scent

Tabac on the other hand is a walk in the park.