I ordered a few TSD soap samples for the wife and me. The scents... OMG to die for, they lather like a charm. I will NEVER buy $30 English soaps again. But here is my question. The lather is wonderful, but I think it might not be as "lubricating" as the Trumpers I am use too. By this I mean my blade feels like it's slightly dragging across my skin. This is my second day shaving with TSD soap so I thought it might have been a dull blade but even with a fresh blade it did this. Mind you, it's not like it's a bad thing and will not make me stop using them I don't think but I fear it might cause irritation. Has anyone else ever thought this? I know almost everyone here has tried TSD products. Any comments?
I find JoAnna's soaps quite lubricating. It isn't as lubricating as say Tabac but I think a some of the difference is in the tallow vs. glycerin. Towards the end of my shave week I will use Tabac. Only because it protects to the max. The rest of the week I use TSD and creams. TSD soaps, IMO, are the best smaller vendor made soaps available. Just ordered some more today, thanks JoAnna
Is Trumpers a glycerin soap? It's possible it's all in my head for some reason. My wife said she didn't notice it at all.
I think Trumper is tallow based, but I am not positive. I find soaps with glycerin, like TSD, need a little more whipping than say Tabac (tallow). Once you get that water ratio just right the TSD soaps are awesome. Play around with the water ratios a little on some practice rounds. Make sure after each little bit of water and whipping you put a little between your thumb and index finger and see if it is really slick. I have noticed with JoAnna's soaps that once they start to 'shine' they are the perfect consistency.
I found the TSD to lather up 10x easier than Trumpers. It was the easiest thing to lather in the world, I found it just as quick if not quicker and easier and easy to whip up then my cream. But maybe I don't have the ratio right. Heck I have only been whipping up anything for about a month now. :ashamed001 I'll play around with it and maybe I can find where my problem lies....
I wouldn't say the TSD soap takes a ton of water, but a little more than my Tabac. Just make sure you add it slow and I have found that between lathers I need to add a few drops and remix with the TSD. You are right about them being easy to whip up though. Not finicky at all and I like that.
Maybe try adjusting your water ratios, I have found that when I am getting drag from soaps that everybody raves about I need to add a bit more water or use a bit less water. Generally though it is that I have not used enough water, hope this helps.
I whip up my soaps from TSD so they look like whipped egg whites - it appears a bit glossy. It does require a bit more work & water than just a straight ahead glycerin soap like Conk.
I'll second S~S' emotion.........................TSD soaps take a little extra care when building the lather. Kinda picky, like my beloved MWF........but when you get it right. WOW ! Great stuff.
+1 to every word. MWF and TSD soaps are the best I've tried. Granted, I've only tried 8 soaps, but among them these are the two stand-outs.
This is a brand new never used tub of the Coconut Lime Verbena. I used a silvertip brush which I normally dont use with soaps. This was quite effortless and very easy to lather up. Took a nice bit of water but also exploded into mountains of lather. At least 5 passes worth. The scent btw is out of this world! On a scale of 1-10. This soap lathers like a 8 but not many get 9's or 10's Needless to say. This stuff rocks!
I shaved w/ TSD Pachouli this a.m. I think I actually used too much water. It's counter intuitive, but I think too much water can degrade slickness as well. Still got a pretty good shave, but it felt dry and had a bit of tugging. Too much H2O prob. dilutes the soaps' shaving properties. Just a guess.
I have sensitive skin. Even the Williams that I used this morning caused a burn and eventual rash on my face. (I guess that might be why I stopped using Williams). I have had reactions with Bay Rum Soaps, Sandalwood Soaps, Dr. Harris Marlborough, and now Williams. There aren't that many common ingredients other than ambiguous fragrance. Favorite soaps that don't have problems: Tabac, Speik, MB: Awakenings, GFT: Rose So... any suggestions? Where to begin with TSD purchasing? I was thinking SubZero - but is that too close to Awakenings?
TSD soap is definitely on my short list of future purchases. After the tax man coughs up my refund, I'll be making a healthy order from TSD store.
I am moving the wife to TSD creams. I think she will be happier with the easiness of cream lathering being more of an impatient shaver than I.