Review Of Van Der Hagen Luxury Soap

Start with the Silver Fox (basically a generic Tallow Coconut Oil Soap) then move to Tallow 1.1 superfatted tallow with no coconut oil) then tallow 1.3 ( coconut milk added) and finally the veggies. There is a significant difference in the Silver Fox with coconut oil and the tallow without and your face will like one over the other. That is a good place to start.

If your face happens to like the veggie soap better ( they both contain 25% coconut oil) let us know that as well and we can steer you in that direction. Since you work out you may actually prefer the veggie as it dries your face and all the oil on it will be stripped away. Veggie 2.1 has palm oil and less Butters, that may end up being your favorite, that's what's great about shave soap, you never know till you try.

Most importantly have fun!

 

Knowing your soap is a key factor in a good shave, like knowing your razor and blade. That said all I've used for years is Arko.

 

Class act by Rockclimber, as usual. And I totally agree with him; VDH Luxury is not a very good soap. Technically, it's not really a soap at all, as the major ingredient is propylene glycol and one of the main reasons it lathers is that it contains sodium lauryl sulfate, which is a foaming agent, not a soap.

You'll love at least one, but probably more than one, of the soaps Rockclimber is generously sending you. Keep us updated on your progress with those soaps.

 

You have a package waiting for you at the front desk according to the tracking number!

 

Which one is white, and the other is pinkish?

 

The Luxury is white (as is the Select). The Deluxe is definitely pink, like a melted Barbie doll.

 

I haven't shaved with the Luxury in a long long while. I guess its time to dig it out of the shave cabinet and give it a review here.

 

I forgot how much I do like the scent of VDH Luxury. Not a good bowl lathering soap, but using a fat boar brush it face lathers well. Acceptable slickness to my unsophisticated tastes. Not following Scientific Procedure because I introduce too many variables, never the less I did get great results from this soap and a new-to-me Gillette Red Tip with a fresh Voskhod blade. . Very smooth, no blood, and not feeling any irritation. Alum was cool & only slightly tingly. Aqua Velva too.

 

I was generously given a sample of Silver Fox Sandalwood soap by Rockclimber. Big shout out to him for the favor !!!

Lather: For my first shave I placed a small piece of soap about the size of a nickel into one of my ceramic bowls and began building my lather. I attempted to add a little water, but for some reason I turned the faucet handle too far turning my lather into a soupy mess. I dumped some down the drain and got the lather as thick as I could. I wasn't going to let this go to waste. I corrected my lather building mistake for my second shave today. I added only a few drops of water at a time until a nice fluffy lather.

Razor/Blade: Merkur Classic 33c and an Astra SP (3rd and 4th shave)

Brush: VDH Boar

Scent: Awesome! This was the first soap I have used that doesn't smell like soap. Very pleasant !!!

Shave: Despite my lather being a little too soupy on my first shave, the shave was very very good. The second shave was even better! The soap is very slick and the razor glided across my face nicely. I received a 2 pass DFS both times !!!

Overall: I like this soap. The scent is great, the slickness is there and the shave was easy. Highly recommended !!!

 

Thanks for the review. What your shaving with is what I would call a standard tallow shave soap, I.E. you could go out and buy any highly rated tallow shave soap and it should shave somewhat similar to The Silver Fox. (Tallow + Stearic Acid+ Coconut Oil + Glycerin)
The Scent is a Sandalwood Base with hints of cologne thrown in. I have adjusted the scent a bit since this version but I still really like the sweet sandalwood scent... not too dark like some sandalwood and not too sweet. A distinct lack of incense like some sandalwood has, I essentially replaced the incense with an aquatic, a very rare combination but it seems to work ok. The sandalwood and aquatic are literally on opposite sides of the scent wheel and would tend to clash according to conventional wisdom but as an experiment I went ahead and tried it and it was a good start. Some improvement can be made obviously but it was a great start. My recent scent has moved right on the scent wheel and I am using more citrus with the sandalwood instead of aquatic and I think it works better.
Thanks for the review again, I hope you learn something from this experiment, I know I have learned a lot about what I prefer by doing this and it has made me a much more picky wet shaver in the process.

 

In regard to your neck area issues, it's always a problem area for me no matter what soap, razor, or brush that I use. Some days I skip the pre-shave balm out of laziness but I find that when I use it, it helps reduce irritation tremendously. Actually when I apply the balm these days, I usually just stick mostly to the neck area. It makes the difference between a painful neck with weepers and a clean, close-shaven neck.

 

SILVER FOX SANDALWOOD EXPERIENCE

Today's shave (3rd) was the best one yet. I did change something up. Rather than put a small piece of soap into a bowl and build my lather, I pressed the entire sample of soap into a larger bowl and built my lather that way, adding water as needed. The result was a beautiful, fluffy and slick lather !!! I also used a brand new Astra SS blade. The best blade in the world for my money !!!

 

So I am developing some redness on my face since my 3rd shave with Sandalwood, kind of like irritation. During the shave it felt great, its after the shave when I moisturize that I get a burning sensation. Any idea as to what this could be?

 

I've read that some folks are sensitive to some products with Sandalwood.
It's one of my favorite scents but I do notice that some of my Sandalwood soaps leave my face too dry but I rarely use the same soap/cream/aftershave two days in a row so it's never been much of an issue.
Just buy more stuff.

 

So you think it's the Sandalwood that might be causing the irritation?

 

I don't know if that's the cause.
I just know that I've read that some folks are sensitive to it and it tends to dry my skin a bit.

 

But it's not the tallow right? This is my my fist ever tallow based soap.

 

I'm no expert but probably not. Generally, as Rockclimber mentioned in an early post, tallow tends to cure irritation issues rather than cause them (unless you're allergic to it).
Work through your samples, keep notes, and have fun experimenting.

 

I've read the same about some being sensitive to sandalwood.

 

Agreed, I typically place the blame on the scent first and then look at ingredients after that. If you have an allergic reaction to lanolin that's something you want to know pretty quickly into your soap Adventure.
The Silver Fox has 5% lanolin added so that could be the culprit as well