Institut Karite shave soap pics

[Phog Allen]

Good afternoon gents. I bought this soap last week and thought I'd share some pics. It's a good performer. It makes the super slick, skin friendly lather that most other French soaps make with their added karite butter. It will not knock Truefitt or Tabacs hard soaps from the top of the heap but it is very good and I feel could be spectacular for you gents who have the Savile Row Silvertip type brushes, ie; dense with a good backbone yet soft-ish tips. This soaps wants water, nearly to the breaking point. Yet it REALLY wants a brush that will keep it in the brisltes til you lather it across your face. My Vulfix 2236s, while doing a good job with this soap, is just a bit too soft in the brislte loft to really hold onto the wet mix til it goes on your gob. This soap was $14 even, at www.aumarche.com I feel it's worth it but of course YMMV. I was struck at just how SNOW white this soap is. The pic does not accurately display it.

Todd ,,,

[Phog Allen]

Hey fellas. Sorry for the bump of my own post but I thought I should update my experience with this soap. Goodness, it's been nearly a year and I've used this soap probably twenty times since. Everything that I posted above stands except I would rank it a bit better now. In fact, it will go toe to toe with a number of the best soaps. You see, I've my B&B finest brush now and I am happy to report that my hunch was correct. This soap is a winner with a brush that is dense and has a bit of backbone. Though I don't own a Savile Row from QED(yet), I strongly suspect with a brush of that sort, this soap would be spectacular. My B&B does an EXCELLENT job with this soap. I can imagine how well an even stiffer brush would do with this lather. I've used my Omega boar with it and it makes a pillow of lather. I feel that the better density of the finest or Savile Row silvertip would be more impressive.

This soap, in one of the premium brushes, gives a lather that is truly luxurious. It wants a good scrubbing on the cake, a goodly amount of working over on the face and in the lather bowl, and then look out! It is to me a sort of cross between the lather of Pre de Provence and Provence Sante. That is not exactly a couple of slouches in the shave soap world.

As to my comments on the Vulfix 2236s, they stand. Do NOT take this as a slight of the Vulfix. I have owned it for nigh on five years now and wouldn't trade it away. However, it does not have anywhere near the density of the B&B finest. Though it is another topic altogether, I have quickly come to the conclusion that soft vs. stiff vs. best vs. silvertip is much ado about nothing. Well maybe not nothing but density is a huge part of the ability of this finest to make a lather with the Institut that was unattainable in the Vulfix super. The finest holds that lather right in the loft whereas the Vulfix allows a lot of leakage(for lack of a better description)of the lather. You can really push the water content with this soap in the finest. Man, the lather it produced this morning was so creamy it was unbelievable. Remember, this is my take only. Yours could be very different. I still maintain that you should give this soap a try if you run across it. It's a bit scarce in most places. I had to have the girls at Au Marche order it but they stock it now. Interestingly they have been sold out a couple of times since they started carrying it. Someone is buying it!

Sorry for the lack of pics. I had deleted them long ago. I think our Lathermeister himself has a few pics of this soap on his SOTD posts.

Regards, Todd

[Jim]

Todd

I could not agree more- this is a wonderful soap! A couple of my English soaps may have a slight edge but not by much. I was able to find this soap on Ebay some time ago so that may also be an option-

The scent is quite soapy and nice, I asked my bride one day "whats this smell like?" she replied "Sheets hung on the line in the yard !"
How can you beat that?

This is the only photo I could find in my gallery~

[Phog Allen]

Glad to see you found this soap Jim. Glad it works for you too. Indeed, my initial and ongoing opinion of the fragrance of this soap is that it couldn't offend a parson, let alone anyone else. I think your air dried laundry description is perfect. As is the overall effect of this soap. No, I am not saying that it is perfect. Only that it's interplay between its scent and the type of lather it makes is really almost perfect. You expect this soap to lather the way it does when you first smell that scent.

BTW, it looks from your pics as if you have an Institut ASB as well. Do you like it? Cost? I could probably get the girls at Au Marche to order it for me with no problem.

Regards, Todd

[Jim]

Glad to see you found this soap Jim. Glad it works for you too. Indeed, my initial and ongoing opinion of the fragrance of this soap is that it couldn't offend a parson, let alone anyone else. I think your air dried laundry description is perfect. As is the overall effect of this soap. No, I am not saying that it is perfect. Only that it's interplay between its scent and the type of lather it makes is really almost perfect. You expect this soap to lather the way it does when you first smell that scent.

BTW, it looks from your pics as if you have an Institut ASB as well. Do you like it? Cost? I could probably get the girls at Au Marche to order it for me with no problem.

Regards, Todd

I have very dry skin and I do like this ASB- its kind of new for me so time will tell me more. Its about 28.00 also on ebay.

[boboakalfb]

It is to me a sort of cross between the lather of Pre de Provence and Provence Sante. That is not exactly a couple of slouches in the shave soap world.

Thats pretty good company I love these 2 soaps.

[Suzuki]

Good soap - my first shea butter soap.

I like it quite a bit, but I find the Honeybee Sue soaps to be better performers and more moisturizing.

It lathers very well and provides a good shave without drying the skin.

A good choice for someone who wants a good performing soap with a very mild, clean scent.

I find I get the best results with my SR3122.

[brucered]

bumping a 5y old thread...any more insight or reviews on this soap.

[gash]

I just finished a shave with it, and I'm loving it more and more. It is currently my favorite soap. I can't believe it's not better known. The lather is some of the most protective I've found.

[brucered]

I just finished a shave with it, and I'm loving it more and more. It is currently my favorite soap. I can't believe it's not better known. The lather is some of the most protective I've found.

thanks Gash....with the reviews on here and on vendor sites, i think i'll give this little known gem of a soap, a try.

sounds like great lather, great cushion and a nice subtle scent...all things i like, and a sub $15 price. at that price, i might even add the A/S balm for a matching set!

[Greg1911]

One of the better veg based soaps. Really good skin care

[franz]

One of the better veg based soaps. Really good skin care

Agreed.

[beginish]

I am currently using this in the 3017 thread, and have been using it daily since January 1. It really is excellent soap, and for me, the best veggie soap in puck form that I have tried (Gold Dachs, Trumpers, Acca Kappa, Cade, C&E, ToBS, Floris, Mama Bear, QED). Yes, it makes a very slick lather like most veggie soaps do, but it also has some body and cushion to it like the tallow soaps have. Today I really hit the sweet spot with water and product, as I got one of those exceptionally close, but very comfortable dream shaves. It's a keeper. That said, the La Toja stick is the best veggie soap that I have tried.

[Phog Allen]

Goodnees sake. Has it been nearly six years since I posted this? My initial observations stand. This is one of the very best veg lathers out there. For that matter one of the best, period. Sadly, the little market I bought it from can no longer get it. Distributor changes I think. At one time theft had Institute Karite, Pre de Provence, and L'occitane Cade on the shelf. Because of BS distributor/importer issues and minimum purchase amounts they can no longer carry any of them. They had Roger et Gallet soaps as well and the loss of the long time importer raised the minimum order to five thousand dollars. Blast.

Again, do yourselves a nicetey and try this. Well worth the fifteen-ish dollars.

Cheers, Todd

[jjfar]

I have just tried this soap for the first time.
With a badger brush , half squeezed,and a star 1912 with a treet single edge carbon blade
on its 5th shave(and i have a thick ,tough beard)
Outstanding , OutF'nStanding.
fantastic soap, get it NOW !!

[brucered]

i've been using it on a rotation basis now since i got mine a while back.

fantastic lather, very similar to MWF for me in terms of latherability, quality etc.

[rbaloha]

My favorite soap.

Shavers with lather problems should try this product.

[brucered]

can't have a soap/pic thread, with no lather shots. so i stole this from a few weeks ago, when i had IK in use. thick and creamy

[oakeshott]

Huh? Really? I had a puck and used it once when I first started and it didn't impress me, but I also didn't have much against which to compare it. Even tried selling it along with some other consumables and no one bit. Going to pull it out the box in which it sits and give it another shot. It's up against some heavyweights now in my regular rotation:

Vintage Yardley
MdC
MWF
Knize 10
Proraso Red
DR Harris Arlington
and a newly acquired L'Occitane puck which I may not keep. Not sure I find it a protective enough lather...or it could be my clumsiness with the new SE.

Funny how my perceptions change and am interested now in revisiting this soap.

[brucered]

it wouldn't have been one i appreciated early, but after a year of Wet Shaving it gave it a try. i love it. post shave feel is amazing and i lather it like MWF, lots of soap, lots of water (for bowl lathering) or lots of prodcut on a moist brush for face lathering.