Yardley Soaps

A question, Are these a specific shave soap when mentioned, or the general body/face/hand washing variety?

I know that the regular bars are a tallow based soap, but I have yet to use anything other than something specific for shaving.

Yardley is no longer selling or making shaving soap.

waterbear said:

Yardley is no longer selling or making shaving soap.

Click to expand...

True. However, a tub will occasionally appear on eBay. There's one up for auction right now, in fact.

I scored a tub on the bay recently. I'm glad I did; it's one of the best soaps I own.

I grabbed a never used wood bowl of the stuff (green label) at an antique store for under $10. I still can't believe it. Incredible shave. Would have been worth it at a much higher price.

Funny thing, I and a few other posters have tried the regular bar of Yardley's for shaving (the american still-has-tallow style) and it made a dependable little lather and gave a decent shave.

So, in a pinch...

I can just imagine what the actual yardley's shaving soap is like. Must be nice.

Evbo said:

True. However, a tub will occasionally appear on eBay. There's one up for auction right now, in fact.

I scored a tub on the bay recently. I'm glad I did; it's one of the best soaps I own.

Click to expand...

+1, this stuff can knock penhaligon into the dunk tank with every throw!

it's one of the few soaps ive got an extra puck of.

Spatterdash said:

Funny thing, I and a few other posters have tried the regular bar of Yardley's for shaving (the american still-has-tallow style) and it made a dependable little lather and gave a decent shave.

So, in a pinch...

I can just imagine what the actual yardley's shaving soap is like. Must be nice.

Click to expand...

That's all I needed to hear, I know of a place with some super cheap bars, tallow formula even. (like a dollar a bar)

The Yardley's bath soap is tallow based. Ivory soap is also tallow based. A can of lard is tallow based.

Tallow, in and of itself does not make a soap a good shaving soap. I tried the Yardley's bath soap as a shave soap. It works--barely. It lubricates your face, but provides just about ZERO cushion, which for a straight shaver is a much needed factor in a good shave soap.

Tabac is world better, and only costs about $10 a puck. A MUCH better buy for your money.

Yeah, let me clarify here...

Can you use Yardley's regular soap as a shave soap? Yeah, and it worked surprising well for what it is.

Is it a quality shave soap? Not by a long shot.
There is a reason I said "In a pinch..."

It's a zombie apocalypse option, that's all.

Also, I gotta back Seraphim on this, Yardley's has tallow in America. It's Tallow-free in England. I've used both and prefer the tallow.
However, Williams shave soap uses tallow, and frankly, it is a lousy shave soap compared to what is also available.
Tallow means very little. It may be the reason I like American Yardley's for a bath soap more than the English version, but it isn't magic.

Seraphim said:

The Yardley's bath soap is tallow based. Ivory soap is also tallow based. A can of lard is tallow based.

Click to expand...

A can of lard is not tallow based, it's lard based. Tallow is beef fat or mutton fat that has been rendered. Tallow produces a very cushiony, dense lather when used as a soap fat for up to about 80% of the fat. The vast majority of common soaps, Yardley included, are made from 80% tallow and 20% coconut oil and have the glycerin removed in the processing. Lard can be used for soapmaking also but it does not produce quite the same quality soap as tallow. As someone who has made soap as a hobby since the '70s tallow based soaps perform much better than all vegetable soaps, IMHO.

Waterbear,

That may be true in a general sense, but shavers with even a couple months experience can tell you that some vegetable soaps, like the triple-milled French shaving soaps, offer a far superior shave to some tallow shaving soaps like Williams. That's the point Seraphim and I are trying to make.

Soaps like Tabac and D.R. Harris and Penhaligon's are superior soaps because of how they are made, not simply the addition of tallow. If tallow was the only factor in making a quality shaving soap, Williams would still be a top of the line choice.

I think it all boils down to the maker and not the ingredients.

I am not disagreeing with you and have used (and made) some all vegetable soaps that are excellent. BTW, don't be so hard on Williams, I get great shaves with it. The trick is to soften it first with hot water and it produces a very rich and cushioning lather. You have to add water to it very slowly and in small amounts but once you learn it's quirks it really an exccellent soap, especially when you consider the price.
My point is, all things being equal (such as superfatting, additives, etc.) a tallow based soap is going to make a creamier and denser lather that is longer lasting than a vegetable one. It really boils down to the fatty acids that are 'in the mix' so to speak. Tallow is primarily Oleic acid (almost half) and then Palmitic acid (about the next quarter) and then Stearic acid (about 14 &#37 with Myristic and other fatty acids making up the remainder. Lard is close but generally has a sligtly higher level of the first two and less of the rest. The fatty acids in the highest concentrations here are the saturated ones. Vegetable fats are actually much higher in monosaturated fats and much lower in saturated fats (except for coconut and palm kernal oil. However, these produce soaps that are somewhat drying and while they do produce voluminous lather, even in hard or salt water it is a very loose one and generally not long lasting. Olive oil produces a 'slimy' low foaming lather and is generally just about all monosaturated fat.
Bottom line, the proper mix of vegetable oils can produce a good soap but tallow and other animal fats have some properties that can produce a really superior soap. (Just look at Tabac and Spieck shave stick, both tallow based. Even Van der Hagen, an inexpensive tallow soap, is excellent).
I have been making soap off and on as a hobby since the 70's so I have a bit of first hand experience on this subject.

I disagree in regards to the Williams.

It produces a sudsy lather, that does have good glide, but in no way would I describe it as cushiony. I had so many more weepers with Williams than with any other soap (well, when I tried the Yardley bath soap, it was very similar, but didn't lather as well as the Williams). I really wanted to like Williams--cheap, spurned, the underdog of shave soaps....

I also think the kind of tallow matters.

Sodium tallowate (what is in Williams), and potassium tallowate (in Tabac, which also has the sodium tallowate as well) serve different functions.

As said, tallow in and of itself does not make for a great shave soap, but used in combination with the other right ingredients it certainly is found in the best of soaps, in my opinion!

Seraphim said:

I disagree in regards to the Williams.

It produces a sudsy lather, that does have good glide, but in no way would I describe it as cushiony.

Click to expand...

Exactly. The lather is actually a nice one. And for years I used it with cartridge razors with good success. Cushion just strikes me as unnecessary with a cart razor. You mostly just need whisker softening, and Williams does that just fine and at a good price.

When you compare the comfort of a Williams shave using a DE razor against that of, say, MWF or any good soap (or cream) there is a BIG difference. For me anyway. If I had to go back to Williams, I guess I could live with it. But man, I love my good soaps!

MikeLip said:

Exactly. The lather is actually a nice one. And for years I used it with cartridge razors with good success. Cushion just strikes me as unnecessary with a cart razor. You mostly just need whisker softening, and Williams does that just fine and at a good price.

When you compare the comfort of a Williams shave using a DE razor against that of, say, MWF or any good soap (or cream) there is a BIG difference. For me anyway. If I had to go back to Williams, I guess I could live with it. But man, I love my good soaps!

Click to expand...

I use a straight, so some cushion is a pretty critical comfort factor for me.

Yardley VINTAGE SHAVING soap is tallow based and one of my fav soaps. I dont use it in my heavy rotation, but for special days. It is a wonderful soap; the tallow makes a huge difference.

DR Harris, Tabac, Irisch Moos, MWF, Yardley....The top soaps I have....For good reason! The tallow!

Couple of points, Jonny.

I'm under the impression that MWF has lanolin, but not actual tallow. Am I wrong about that?

Also, Provence Sante and Pre de Provence are French vegetable-based soaps, and they are regarded as highly as the soaps you mention. If tallow is the reason your soaps are the top soaps, why are these others so popular?

I stand by my reasoning that tallow is incidental.
It's the maker, not the addition of tallow, that makes a quality soap.

Spatterdash said:

Couple of points, Jonny.

I'm under the impression that MWF has lanolin, but not actual tallow. Am I wrong about that?

Also, Provence Sante and Pre de Provence are French vegetable-based soaps, and they are regarded as highly as the soaps you mention. If tallow is the reason your soaps are the top soaps, why are these others so popular?

I stand by my reasoning that tallow is incidental.
It's the maker, not the addition of tallow, that makes a quality soap.

Click to expand...

Here's the ingredient list for MWF:
Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Potassium Cocoate, Glycerin, Parfum, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Lanolin, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Silicate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Magnesium Sulphate, Tetrasoium Etidronate.


I am in full agreement that tallow alone does not make for a great soap.

But MWF DOES have tallow.

Okay, thanks for the clarification.

I've nothing to add to the tallow debate...I do, however, have some Yardley coming my way after SEVERAL months of searching. Can't wait to give it a go!!!