Traditional Soap vs Cleansing Bars

ezlovan · Feb 1, 2013

Cuttingboard said:
I'm thinking about ordering some soaps from Stirling too once my Nancy Boy supply runs out. Have to support a fellow Central Texan. Where are you guys located?

Good Question!

We are located in Killeen, about an hour north of Austin.

As for TOBS, they are a triple milled soap, while mine is standard cold process. I've used TOBS before, and it's not bad, but for the price I find it to be highly overrated. They are a veggie soap, while I've got both tallow and Vegan soaps available (as well as mutton tallow and lard). Also, while they are fairly "natural" for a commercial soap company, they do contain some extra ingredients, most notably titanium dioxide, which is classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It's what gives a bar of soap that shiny, white, marble-like finish and really adds nothing to the quality of the soap.

And for price comparison, our bar soaps are 3.00 each, and our shave soaps are 5.00 each, while TOBS is, well, it's been a while since I've bought soap, but I recall them being much higher. Frankly, they were one of the reasons I started making soap. I love good natural soap but I'm just a normal guy and can't justify plopping down 8-10 bucks for a bar of soap. Just not in the cards.

Hope this helps with your questions. Just let me know if you have any more.

Rod

mistercitizen · Feb 1, 2013

ezlovan said:
We are located in Killeen, about an hour north of Austin.

As for TOBS, they are a triple milled soap, while mine is standard cold process. I've used TOBS before, and it's not bad, but for the price I find it to be highly overrated. They are a veggie soap, while I've got both tallow and Vegan soaps available (as well as mutton tallow and lard). Also, while they are fairly "natural" for a commercial soap company, they do contain some extra ingredients, most notably titanium dioxide, which is classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It's what gives a bar of soap that shiny, white, marble-like finish and really adds nothing to the quality of the soap.

And for price comparison, our bar soaps are 3.00 each, and our shave soaps are 5.00 each, while TOBS is, well, it's been a while since I've bought soap, but I recall them being much higher. Frankly, they were one of the reasons I started making soap. I love good natural soap but I'm just a normal guy and can't justify plopping down 8-10 bucks for a bar of soap. Just not in the cards.

Hope this helps with your questions. Just let me know if you have any more.

Rod

Rod, I read a blog last night (couldn't find it again if my life depended on it) but basically the person who was blogging said to stay away from the tallow (animal fat) soaps and stick with vegetable soaps. What are the advantages/disadvantages of the one over the other? Are tallow soaps for moisturizing but harsher in other ways on your skin? Maybe this has been discussed already, but I'll ask anyway. BTW, got 5 of your bar soaps and a puck of your shave soap coming..... I couldn't resist.... especially when you lower the price of the bar soap to $2 a bar. :thumbup:

Ben

ezlovan · Feb 1, 2013

Ben,

Thanks for the order! I really hope you enjoy them, and you just got in before the sale ended!

As for tallow soaps vs veggie/Vegan, it's all what you prefer and what works best for your skin. Veggie soaps are generally milder than tallow based soaps, but if you have an experienced soap maker, that's negligible. I can get my tallow soaps to the same pH as my Vegan. Vegan soaps will also have a different fatty acid profile than tallow soaps. This, again, will have a different effect on different folks. Tallow soaps are higher, for one, in stearic acid, which is why tallow is KING for shave soaps. Tallow soaps are usually harder, depending on the formulation, and will last slightly longer. One issue that most blogging "experts" will decry about tallow soap is that it is supposedly comedogenic (clogs your pores). For some this may be true, as I have some customers who have skin that definitely responds better to Vegan soap. However, most folks will find that a properly made tallow soap is not comedogenic. Much of the issue is with large, consumer brand tallow soaps. They add detergent to the bars to make them harder and cheaper to manufacture, and they use low-grade (for lack of a better term) tallow. A good artisan soap maker will pay a bit more for a high quality fat, because the quality of the tallow does make a real difference in the resulting fatty acid profile and the overall quality of the soap. Finally, I think some bloggers just take umbrage to the fact that animal products are in soap. I offer lines of both and respect differing opinions on the subject.

For me, I use tallow (or lard or mutton tallow) on the body and my Vegan acne soap on my face (I'm 34 but I still get the occasional breakout from stress). I have used my tallow soaps on my face and they've never caused any trouble.

Hope this helps, sorry it got long winded. I can probably go into further detail to explain over PM if needed.

mistercitizen · Feb 1, 2013

ezlovan said:
Ben,

Thanks for the order! I really hope you enjoy them, and you just got in before the sale ended!

As for tallow soaps vs veggie/Vegan, it's all what you prefer and what works best for your skin. Veggie soaps are generally milder than tallow based soaps, but if you have an experienced soap maker, that's negligible. I can get my tallow soaps to the same pH as my Vegan. Vegan soaps will also have a different fatty acid profile than tallow soaps. This, again, will have a different effect on different folks. Tallow soaps are higher, for one, in stearic acid, which is why tallow is KING for shave soaps. Tallow soaps are usually harder, depending on the formulation, and will last slightly longer. One issue that most blogging "experts" will decry about tallow soap is that it is supposedly comedogenic (clogs your pores). For some this may be true, as I have some customers who have skin that definitely responds better to Vegan soap. However, most folks will find that a properly made tallow soap is not comedogenic. Much of the issue is with large, consumer brand tallow soaps. They add detergent to the bars to make them harder and cheaper to manufacture, and they use low-grade (for lack of a better term) tallow. A good artisan soap maker will pay a bit more for a high quality fat, because the quality of the tallow does make a real difference in the resulting fatty acid profile and the overall quality of the soap. Finally, I think some bloggers just take umbrage to the fact that animal products are in soap. I offer lines of both and respect differing opinions on the subject.

For me, I use tallow (or lard or mutton tallow) on the body and my Vegan acne soap on my face (I'm 34 but I still get the occasional breakout from stress). I have used my tallow soaps on my face and they've never caused any trouble.

Hope this helps, sorry it got long winded. I can probably go into further detail to explain over PM if needed.

Rod,

Thank you so much for the detailed and thoughtful explanation. It was very helpful, especially since I'm just getting into paying attention to the type of bath/body soap I use. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I pretty much just took whatever big brand soap was on sale at the local supermarket or drugstore. I really don't have much prior knowledge on the subject of soaps so your response was very helpful and definitely not long winded.

I guess I'll just have to try the two different types out (tallow vs. vegan) and see what happens. Hopefully, like you say, I will be like many and have no issues with either. It's great that you offer both types for your customers to choose from for whatever their reason. You obviously are very knowledgable on the subject and for me as a consumer, it definitely builds my confidence when it comes to using your product. Right now, the only issue I have with what I am currently using is that I have always had slightly dry skin and have just basically lived with a somewhat dry, itchy feeling overall, and I'm hoping that by switching to a true "soap" rather than a detergent bar, that that will improve things for me. A little change like that is unnoticeable in my grooming routine, but could make a huge difference in how I feel for the rest of the day. I don't like the idea of havin got slather lotion all over me to get rid of a little itch.... so I'm hoping this does the trick.

Well, I'm glad I got my order in while the sale was still going on. I'm sure the shipment will be here any day now. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

Ben

Memphis · Feb 1, 2013

ezlovan said:
We are located in Killeen, about an hour north of Austin.

As for TOBS, they are a triple milled soap, while mine is standard cold process. I've used TOBS before, and it's not bad, but for the price I find it to be highly overrated. They are a veggie soap, while I've got both tallow and Vegan soaps available (as well as mutton tallow and lard). Also, while they are fairly "natural" for a commercial soap company, they do contain some extra ingredients, most notably titanium dioxide, which is classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It's what gives a bar of soap that shiny, white, marble-like finish and really adds nothing to the quality of the soap.

And for price comparison, our bar soaps are 3.00 each, and our shave soaps are 5.00 each, while TOBS is, well, it's been a while since I've bought soap, but I recall them being much higher. Frankly, they were one of the reasons I started making soap. I love good natural soap but I'm just a normal guy and can't justify plopping down 8-10 bucks for a bar of soap. Just not in the cards.

Hope this helps with your questions. Just let me know if you have any more.

Rod

Thank you. That helps. I'm going to place an order today for 3 bars. Lavender, coastal and rose garden.

For 15 dollars I get 3 bars of soap and shipping. For a TOBS it would have been 12 something for a bar of soap plus shipping

ezlovan · Feb 1, 2013

Memphis said:
Thank you. That helps. I'm going to place an order today for 3 bars. Lavender, coastal and rose garden.

For 15 dollars I get 3 bars of soap and shipping. For a TOBS it would have been 12 something for a bar of soap plus shipping

I'm sorry the shipping is so high, but as my mark-up on my soaps is almost nil, I have to charge USPS rates or I'd be losing money. However, shipping is much more economical on larger orders!

Memphis · Feb 1, 2013

ezlovan said:
I'm sorry the shipping is so high, but as my mark-up on my soaps is almost nil, I have to charge USPS rates or I'd be losing money. However, shipping is much more economical on larger orders!

Shipping is only 6 dollars. That's great, ezlovan. No complaints on this end.

Cuttingboard · Feb 1, 2013

ezlovan said:
We are located in Killeen, about an hour north of Austin.

Rod

Yes, I know Killeen well...I'm from a small town near Temple.

Memphis · Feb 1, 2013

Just placed an order with Stirling Soap Company for Lavendar, Rose Garden and Coastal.

Looking forward to them

How do people use soap these days. Just use the bar all over, or do you use a loofah/puff and load it and then lather all over the body

or Ezlovan. What is the best way to use your soap?

ezlovan · Feb 1, 2013

Memphis said:
Just placed an order with Stirling Soap Company for Lavendar, Rose Garden and Coastal.

Looking forward to them

How do people use soap these days. Just use the bar all over, or do you use a loofah/puff and load it and then lather all over the body

or Ezlovan. What is the best way to use your soap?

Bar to skin is the way to go! However, I have had customers who use washcloths and loofahs (and one who uses some sponge type thing) and they've all had an easy time with it. However, bar to skin feels the best IMHO, and is the least wasteful as you aren't leaving any soap behind in a cloth or loofah.

Rod

Memphis · Feb 1, 2013

ezlovan said:
Bar to skin is the way to go! However, I have had customers who use washcloths and loofahs (and one who uses some sponge type thing) and they've all had an easy time with it. However, bar to skin feels the best IMHO, and is the least wasteful as you aren't leaving any soap behind in a cloth or loofah.

Rod

Thanks Rod

I look forward to receiving my shipment

Of the 3 I ordered, do you have favourite?

stryker4526 · Feb 1, 2013

ezlovan said:
Bar to skin is the way to go! However, I have had customers who use washcloths and loofahs (and one who uses some sponge type thing) and they've all had an easy time with it. However, bar to skin feels the best IMHO, and is the least wasteful as you aren't leaving any soap behind in a cloth or loofah.

Rod

+1. I do bar to skin and then work it into a lather from there. Works great!

Memphis · Feb 1, 2013

yeah, i'm just going to use it the classic way, bar to skin. I do love my poof though, I find a I get a gentle exfoliation

ezlovan,

Have you ever considered putting soap on rope?

my bathroom has no soap holder, and a rope would be handy to hang

ezlovan · Feb 1, 2013

Memphis said:
Thanks Rod

I look forward to receiving my shipment

Of the 3 I ordered, do you have favourite?

Lavender!

Memphis · Feb 1, 2013

ezlovan said:
Lavender!

awesome

I look forward to them all

been using body wash for years now. Be nice to use some real soap again

in your experience how long does shipping to canada take?

Thank
Craig

cichlid7777 · Feb 2, 2013

very nice

mistercitizen · Feb 4, 2013

Just received my order from Stirling Soaps. Rod threw in a sample puck of the Ozark Mountain shave soap in addition to the puck of shave soap and 5 bar soaps that I ordered. Very much appreciated. Everything is in order, can't wait to try them out soon. Thanks Rod!

Ben

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