Tabac Review No. eleventy billion

Just shaved with Tabac and wanted to give my $0.02

Scent: Old lady

Water: Moderately hard

Lather: Easy to generate. Creamy, but not thick. Very quick to dry. I'm decently fast with a DE and the lather was already dissipating.

Performance: Protection was decent for the equipment I was using. Cushion was average (a thicker lather would have been nicer). Slickness was average.

Post shave feel: It took forever to wash it all off. Didn't feel overly dry, nor did my face feel all that moisturized either. About average.

Equipment used: Gillette SuperSpeed w/Feather blade (second shave in)

Conclusion: I don't like the scent at all, and the lather was not thick enough nor conditioning enough to last through one shave. There was plenty of lather left in the brush, but my face was already getting dry. It was enough to give a decent shave with a feather, but I've had better soaps. Compared to artisan soaps, I don't like how there are a lot of ingredients in the soap that have no business doing on my face. Just my personal preference.

tar and feather this man

It's quite popular, perhaps PIF the puck if you're that unhappy with it.

petr said:

tar and feather this man

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hear hear!

Sounds like you didn't add enough water.

+1 on more water. It's super thirsty. I had a thick, creamy, moisturizing shave with Tabac this morning.

One of the best soaps in my den, might I suggest your lather making skills might be lacking. When I first started I was unimpressed with C&F Lavender so I traded it away, later I regretted it, now have the lime and now think C&F creams are great, JMO

I agree it needs more water.

I also agree that it smells awful and there are other soaps that work a little better and smell a lot less bad.

My very first impression/use of Tabac (as posted on one of the many Tabac threads):

Today I decided to give it a try...procedure:

1. put about a tbsp of hot water on top of puck while I wash face and prepare (soak best badger brush, etc.)
2. shake out just about all water from brush...not dripping.
3. load brush from puck...loads easily
4. transfer to face for lathering...seems a little stiff
5. add a bit more water to brush and continue to face lather
6. add a bit more water to brush and continue to face lather
7. feels/looks good
8. shave (Schick G1)

well...I was amazed!

Outstanding lather: long-lasting, slick, cushiony
Fragrance: pretty definitive, but I don't find it offensive
Post-shave face feel: soft and smoooth...very nice

Notice items 4, 5, and 6: first time feel with this soap...meh. But as IO worked more water into it, it was awesome...hands down my best soap...has become my every-day soap.

My $0.02...

MrBaz said:

Just shaved with Tabac ...

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Do that ten more times and then come talk to us...
Some products just don't do well for the first time users. My 2cents.

I always get a really thick lather with Tabac. Perhaps you need a little more water. However, if the scent isn't for you, there's not much you can do to change that.

It had plenty of water. I have no problems lathering even MWF. I can get plenty of lather, but it isn't very dense (as dense as I like it), and it isn't as stable as other soaps I've had. The stability of the lather has less to do with water content as it does other ingredients to the soap that can stabilize lather.

I can understand that if you've never had anything better, sure Tabac is wonderful. If you've had something better, then, well...you've had better. Tabac is better than the el-cheapo soaps for sure. Better than any 'glycerin' soap I've had as well.


I'm going to PIF to some guys at work and let them try it.

I've found that Tabac works best for me with a sloppy-wet lather, so I add plenty of water. Also, I SuperLather it with Tabac cream. Never any problem with it drying out or not providing enough cushion and glide.

As for the scent, well, that's a personal thing. I like it. When I use Tabac soap, I like to go all the way and use all the other Tabac products ... the bath soap, ASL, EdC/EdT, deodorant, etc.

When it comes to scent, I can't stand Tabac's cousin, Irisch Moos. Even though both are made by the same company and have basically the same ingredients (except for aroma,) I love the former, hate the latter. Go figure.

Tabac is cold-weather software. I use it when the outside temp drops below freezing. Never when its above 40deg.

MrBaz said:

I'm going to PIF to some guys at work and let them try it.

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Good idea.

nemo said:

It's quite popular, perhaps PIF the puck if you're that unhappy with it.

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+1

I get a creamy thick lather from it, but to each his own.

If there are soaps that work better for you, PIF or sell the puck.

shevek said:

Sounds like you didn't add enough water.

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Exactly. With enough water, Tabac produces a moist, stable lather.

The Seeker said:

Exactly. With enough water, Tabac produces a moist, stable lather.

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Looks like the OP already decided Tabac isn't for him. No need to convince him to keep it instead

I am new to Tabac soap too and so far, I find the slickness lacking. But based on some of the other comments, I'll try adding more water.

The Seeker said:

Exactly. With enough water, Tabac produces a moist, stable lather.

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No offence to the OP, your experience is valid for you, YMMV and all that . . .

But. I see this a lot here. Gents who try a widely-acclaimed great-lathering soap or cream and report dry lather, dry face afterwards, "not slick," etc. This almost always happens with a product that produces impressive lather in seconds, like Tabac or TOBS.

I think the complaint really boils down to "I didn't get great lather as fast as I'd like."

I would humbly posit that some gents merely need to take a little more time making lather. The extra time comes from adding more water--perhaps more than you might think is necessary, especially if you have mounds of fluffy lather in seconds--and incorporating it with more swirls.

Like others in this thread, I find that no soap or cream has reached its best performance until it has reached that goopy, gloppy, yogurty stage. That's when most lathers are the slickest, and are very much non-drying.

My own experience tells me that this is true for almost any soap or cream. I've tried a bazillion soaps and creams, and if I am patient enough to make this sort of lather, I get great shaves from all of them.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

I will freely admit I'm impatient and as a consequence, I've had several mediocre lathers/shaves as a result.