Mitchell's Wool Fat Shaving Soap Review www.mitchellswoolfatsoap.co.uk I have read numerous posts wherein people showered Mitchell Wool Fat's with praise, with many esteeming it the ne plus ultra of shaving soaps. I tried this soap when I first started traditional wetshaving, and the results were rather poor. The lather was watery and with big bubbles, or sometimes dry and sparse. No matter what I tried, the soap just did not perform. Fast forward to today, when I have horsehair and boar brushes with a lot more backbone than the floppy badger brush I used when starting out. I also have a lot more experience wetshaving, and presumably - hopefully - am better at whipping up a lather. And the results this time were... Wow! It is now readily apparent why Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap Ltd. has been in business such a long time. The puck is about three inches in diameter, and so too large for my 2.5 inch inside diameter mug. I simply trimmed away the edges off the puck, put the trimmings in the mug, and then smooshed the trimmed puck down on top of the trimmings. Used every day, the soap lasted a little over five months. Ingredients Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Potassium Cocoate, Glycerin, Pafum, Alph-Isomethyl Ionone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Lanolin, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Silicate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Magnesium Sulphate, Tetrasodium Etidronate. This was taken from the label on the soap. Lather The soap lathers readily with my Vie Long horse hair brush, although it does take a little extra effort to get a useable amount of lather. The Vie Long could lather a granite countertop, though. Mitchell’s Wool Fat lathers just as well with my Omega boar brush. With the Vie Long especially, a lot of water in the brush was needed to get the best lather. This is a thirsty soap! The lather goes on my face in a rather thin layer, not terribly fluffy and foamy. It is very effective nonetheless. Once applied, the lather starts to disappear a little in about 45 seconds if I just stand there and do nothing. After one minute, the lather subsidence is a little more noticeable. Even after waiting 45 sec first, the soap gives a fine shave. Unless one reads a novel before starting to shave, lather longevity should not be an issue. - Ease of lathering: (7/10) - Life span of lather: (7/10) Brushes used Left: Vie Long Epsilon Model GC13900/3 horse hair brush Right: Omega 50014 boar travel brush Performance Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap gives truly outstanding performance. It is ultra-slick and makes Teflon look like sandpaper in comparison. The razor glides very easily across my face with all the blades I tried. There is absolutely no tugging or pulling, no nicks or cuts unless I get careless and shave way too fast. Getting super smooth shaves was a very comfortable and pleasant affair with this soap. The skincare with Mitchell's is amazing, and the very best I have ever encountered with a shaving soap or cream. I used aftershave balm twice while using this soap, but found it offered no skincare improvement over the soap itself. The rest of the time, I just let the soap provide the skincare. My face felt great even several hours after shaving. The claims I read were right. This really is the ne plus ultra of shaving soaps. - Lubrication: (10/10) - How protective: (10/10) - General skincare: (10/10) Scent I find the scent to be "soapy", if that makes any sense. I do detect a very faint bit of spice. The scent is quite mild and pleasant and not at all overpowering like some other shaving soaps. To my nose, this scent is just right. - Scent: (8/10) Value for the money A 4.4 oz./ 125 gram puck cost me $18. Given the quality of the soap, that is a good deal. Good, not outstanding. Other outlets offer it for much less. Connaught Shaving sells it for $7 excluding VAT. At that price, it is an absolute steal. Price ratings are for $18, which is what I paid for the soap. At the $7 price point, both ratings would easily be 10/10. - Price: (7/10) - Would you buy again: (8/10) Conclusion Oh, this one is a keeper if ever there was one. Fantastic performance and available at a very reasonable price makes this conclusion a quick and easy one. - Overall: (8.3/10) Would be 9/10 if purchased at a low-cost outlet My water hardness 42 mg/l as CaCO3 (soft) The water hardness was taken from my utility's latest water quality update. The scale below was used to correlate water mg/l to the soft/hard rating, and is from the US Geological Survey website. Water hardness scale (as CaCO3): 0-60 mg/l: Soft 61-120 mg/l: Moderately hard 121-180 mg/l: Hard Over 180 mg/l: Very hard mg/l is milligrams per liter Some utilities give water hardness in parts per million (ppm) 1 mg/l = 1 ppm (not exactly, but very, very close) Disclaimer: I purchased the soap reviewed here from a retail outlet. The review was done entirely of my own volition, and I was not compensated in any way for reviewing this (or any other) soap, and was not asked to review this product. No samples were provided by the manufacturer, and they were not contacted - and did not contact me - in any way.
Personally I Reckon its One of the Poorest Performing European Tallow Soaps on the Market..It also Burned my Face off..Real Sore.. Billy..
Good review. I have to agree with I think it's kind of over priced and over rated. But "what you like I might dislike" that's why there are choices. Again good written review.
Excellent review, nice that you revisited it and had a different opinion, I like it great soap, as always YMMV. Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Revisiting a product after some experience has always been an educational experience for me. I find that not only do I ofttimes change my opinion about what I percieved as poor performers, I also will lower my opinion of those products I liked. While I've held MWF in high regard, I too have moved over into the "not worth the hype" camp. It's good, I use it occasionally, but it ain't all that. I agree with the review; at a <$10 price point, it'd be a different story.
About six months ago I dropped the ceramic bowl it came in and I shattered it. I took the soap and grated it into another bowl. I don't think that was a good idea, as it never seemed to perform as well. I think it changed the chemistry somehow. Anyway as a solid puck it was a good soap for me. The protection was excellent.
@Spud, maybe there was a tiny mirror implanted in the bowl, and you will now have 7 years bad soap luck...
Based on the above comments, I would say Haslinger. I read a lot of good things about it previously, so it seems worth investigating. Or maybe Soap Wreck Stubble Trouble? And I will have to review an Art of Shaving soap someday, if only to watch people bounce off the wall and spontaneously combust. Neal's Yard Remedies Close Shave cream is another one I have been meaning to try.
I Don't Say this Lightly but Haslinger is 10 Times the Soap Compared to MWF..These 60 g Pucks last for Forever an All..Its a Hard Soap but it Loads & Lathers like a Soft Soap..The Cushion is like No other Soap I have & just Adding Water gets it Slick.. It has to be the Best Kept Secret in the Shaving Soap World.. Billy..
Whether or not one is a fan of this particular soap, this is a well-done product review. Granted, we all have our preferences and opinions on what makes a 'great soap' (performance, skin care, cost) and although our own experiences may not match those of the reviewer, I think its important to have these well thought-out reviews. For newcomers to wet-shaving, these type of reviews can be very helpful. For those not familiar, it may persuade one into trying it out. I happen to enjoy MWF and it is part of my regular rotation. Is it the BEST soap out there? No— but it provides great glide and protection, and I happen to like the clean, fresh scent. It can be challenging to lather until one finds the right water/soap balance —and to many, that's a deal-breaker right there. I do prefer MdC, Route66, L'Occitane 'Cade, Valobra—but MWF is in my top 5.
I would be very intetested in haslingers and/or mickey lee soapworks. I hear great things about both, but I have never tried either.
