Review Of Van Der Hagen Luxury Soap

I'm going to try Tallow 1.1 tomorrow.

 

Tallow 1.1 has no coconut oil and a tremendous amount of butter so you may be whipping up a lather for a long long time. Don't get discouraged just keep whipping it up in your lather Bowl or in your hand until you get a nice dense lather. Also the normal amount of water you use will not be nearly enough you will probably have to double the amount of water that you use. Good luck and have fun!

 

I suppose Williams could be quite a good bodywash/facial soap. I still have lots of my first Stirling Barbershop Bath soap to work on(for when I use the aftershave later).

 

FIRST SHAVE WITH TALLOW 1.1

Very good first shave with this soap. It has a much different consistency than the other soaps I have tried. It's very buttery as opposed to foamy. I bowl lathered by swirling my VDH Boar brush in both directions for about 90 seconds adding water when needed. I applied the buttery lather to my face and let in sit there for a minute. As soon as my Merkur 33C (loaded with an Astra SS on its 2nd shave) touched my face, I could tell it was going to be nice. The razor glided across my face slicing off 2 days of growth like nothing was there. I reapplied and took my 2nd WTG pass taking off anything that was left. Went back in for a few touch ups under my nose and washed up. There is practically no irritation to speak of. There was a very mild burning sensation after applying aloe vera moisturizer, but i attribute that to the irritation left over from the Silver Fox Sandalwood I used on 2 days ago. I can't wait to shave again with this soap and I highly recommend it !!!

 

Sounds like you fit into the same category as my 3 friends I got into wet shaving. Try Mitchells Wool Fat next time you place an order online. Your skin likes tallow it seems, that's a good thing because most of us here absolutely love it!

 

Yeah, I find that tallow soaps tend to have more slickness than glycerin based soaps.

 

Quick question. Should I build more of a foamy lather with it or should I keep it buttery? Which will provide better protection?

 

Without coconut oil it will be nearly impossible to build a foamy lather

 

What kind of consistency should I be aiming for?

 

I think I would go for a thinner consistency. Typically you hear "go for a yogurt consistency" but without coconut oil in the recipe I like to go a little thinner. It really comes down to personal preference though, some people prefer a thicker lather especially with a more aggressive razor.

 

Pull out veggie 2.0 and shave with it next, you will see what 25% coconut oil looks and feels like. That will tell you everything you need to know about your preference.

 

I am going to try Veggie 2.0 within the next day or 2. I wanted to give my face a few shaves off from the soaps because they started to leave my face very raw from the residual irritation.

 

I went through a puck of VDH Luxury when I first took up "traditional" shaving. I didn't find it bad, but once I tried the Deluxe, I used the rest of my Luxury in the shower." If you want real treat IMO try Arko.

 

A consistency you like. I know some people like a super thick lather, other prefer a thinner lather.

In MOST cases, a thinner lather will be slicker, regardless of the soap.

 

My face tends to like a thick lather with lots of cushion. While slick soaps give my an amazingly close shave, they leave my face raw.

 

So I gave my face a few weeks off from the soaps to let it heal a little bit. I don't know why but for some reason the soaps, although giving me the best and closest shaves of my life, also left me with some irritation. But, I just shaved again with Tallow 1.1 and here is what happened.

I soaked my boar brush and bloomed my soap while I showered. After my shower I took the bloom water and rubbed it over my face. I loaded my brush with a ton of soap and took it to an empty mug to build my lather. The lather this time was a good deal more foamy but still retained the slickness from previous shaves. I applied the lather to my face and almost immediately felt a light burning or tingling sensation on my face. The shave as usual was excellent. I achieved a 2 pass DFS with a few touch ups at the end. I finished up with a big splash of witch hazel and felt a slight burning sensation. I looked to see if there was any irritation, and luckily there was very little. About 15 minutes after my shave my skin started to feel very very dry, so I applied some aloe based skin moisturizer which burned a little when applied.

I used my Merkur 33C with an Astra SS on its 2nd shave. I learned that I cannot achieve the same angle on the right side of my neck as I can on the left side of my neck (i shave right handed). So I shaved the right side of my neck in a different direction and really liked how it felt.

 

I have scheduled my VDH Luxury soap for Tuesday and beyond. I haven't used it in a while. I get good results with it.

 

I'm going to give that another try sometime this week.

 

I am happy to report that there is no residual irritation today from my shave with Tallow 1.1 yesterday !!!