The Soap Exchange

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by LifesShort, Sep 3, 2015.

  1. LifesShort

    LifesShort Well-Known Member

    Some time ago, I had the opportunity to test The Soap Exchange's new artisan soaps. The soaps didn't perform as expected, but The Soap Exchange folks went to work reformulating them. Almost a year has passed since then and I had completely forgotten about it. Imagine my surprise when a package from The Soap Exchange arrived on my doorstep a couple of days ago.

    I opened the package to find two pucks of soap in tins (Bay Rum and Barber Shop), along with a bottle of shaving oil and a bottle of beard oil. Even though I won't use either of these oils, I thought that was a wonderful gesture. I will definitely pass these along to friends that will use them.

    I am happy to report that it appears that The Soap Exchange's new formula is a winner! I decided to make a test lather using Bay Rum before actually trying it the next morning. It loaded on the brush easily. I added water a little at a time and was able to work up a wonderful lather. I brushed it on the back of my hand and just let it sit there for about 5-7 minutes to see if the lather would disappear. I was glad to see that the lather did not disappear and could tell that it was plenty slick. The real test, though, would be to shave with it.

    The next morning, I decided to use the Barber Shop scented soap. It lathered just as easily as my test lather of Bay Rum had. It was very slick and I got a very nice shave from it. It seemed to work as well as any other soap I've used, and better than most.

    The scent of both soaps was very pleasant, especially the Bay Rum. I usually am not a fan of Bay Rum, but I really liked this one.

    Many thanks to the great folks at The Soap Exchange, and thanks for not forgetting me. That's what customer service is all about!

    Recommendation: Buy this soap! You will not be sorry.
     
    Norseman, richgem, Fred Hill and 2 others like this.
  2. Thank you for your thoughtful review! We appreciate all of the help and feedback you and others here at TSD provided us with, and I hope you enjoy using them.
    ~Amanda
     
    LifesShort likes this.
  3. JR Reyes

    JR Reyes I scream for....chicken wings??

  4. gwsmallwood

    gwsmallwood Well-Known Member

    I think my puck may have arrived in the mail today. I'll report back after I've had a few head shaves with it.
     
    LifesShort and TheSoapExchange like this.
  5. Spyder

    Spyder Well-Known Member

    I looked at the ingredients hoping to find tallow. I couldn't find any:(
     
  6. LifesShort

    LifesShort Well-Known Member

    The letter that came with mine said that it has tallow. Unfortunately, I threw the letter away so I can't verify it. I'm sure @TheSoapExchange will verify this for us, though.
     
  7. Tallow is the first listed and main ingredient in our shave soaps. We Only purchase grass-fed tallow from Texas farms and ranches and we hand render it ourselves.
     
    jeraldgordon likes this.
  8. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    Tallow ... getting harder to resist.
     
    TheSoapExchange likes this.
  9. @Spyder Tallow is the first ingredient listed on our labels and should be the first ingredient (as it is the main ingredient) listed on our site under ingredients in the description for each soap. If you still don't see it, let me know where you are looking so I can make sure everything has been listed correctly.
     
  10. Lol,
    We actually "blind tested" 42 people. We sent each of them a puck of: Vegan, Lard, Lanolin and Tallow based soaps.
    Every single person picked the Tallow formula as their first choice. Hands down.
    (In case you're wondering, Lard was a close second).
     
    PLANofMAN likes this.
  11. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Lard isn't a great choice for shave soap, as it's softer than tallow.

    That being said, I have an 1869 recipe for shave cream that is lard based. I've been thinking about making it, but have concerns about longevity. I could use store bought lard, as that contains preservatives, but I would rather use leaf lard, as it is much purer.

    Thoughts, concerns?
     
  12. I have no concerns with lard. It actually makes a good soap (and shave cream).
    If your concern is that it is too soft for shave soap, you can modify your recipe with more sodium hydroxide vs potassium hydroxide.
    Lard will not spoil once saponified (mixed with lye) so you don't need to buy it from the store with preservatives. I prefer to render any animal fat myself so I know exactly what I'm using.
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2015
    Omaney and PLANofMAN like this.
  13. Norseman

    Norseman misunderstood Dark Lord of the Sith

    Such customer service is impressive, most impressive.
     
    LifesShort likes this.
  14. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    What I find impressive is that 42 people in a blind test with four different formulas...all picked tallow.

    How did you conduct the blind test?
     
  15. Spyder

    Spyder Well-Known Member

    That's good news indeed:). I looked on your website for the ingredients. Perhaps I just missed it? Anyway thanks for setting the record straight!
     
  16. We sent each puck numbered 1-4. They were unscented (scent testing was done last) We asked them to use each puck for 3-4 days each and keep record with a rating scale of: skin irritation, dryness vs hydrated, length of time lather lasted, slickness, ease of lather, etc.
    The tallow scored highest (between 8-10 out of 10) for each category we used.
     
  17. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    Hmmmm... I'm thinking saponified bacon now... yeah, I should probably have breakfast too.
     
    trey06dmd and LifesShort like this.
  18. gwsmallwood

    gwsmallwood Well-Known Member

    I'll post a better review with some pics when I have a little more time, but initial thoughts on performance are great. I would put this soap right up there with Stirling and Mike's. I think the distinguishing feature is that you can feel the oils a little more prominently during the shave. Not really better or worse, just different.
     
  19. Omaney

    Omaney Well-Known Member

    Au contraire, lard makes for some great soap. I don't like to use it because I dislike the odor when it's been melted. It saponifies well and creates a somewhat hard bar.
     
  20. gwsmallwood

    gwsmallwood Well-Known Member

    Ok, like I said, performance was very good. Nice slick lather, not too airy or dry, and was very easy to load using my Omega S brush. I head lathered and had the lather built very quickly.

    As for the scent...

    The dry puck definitely smelled like leather. I opened it up and without knowing what it was my wife said "It smells like a saddle". I told her that's good since it's called Texas Leather. It wasn't my favorite scent, but I enjoyed it. My wife, not so much. Once lathered she said the entire bathroom smelled like someone had been smoking in there. Cigarettes, not nice aromatic pipe smoke. I didn't really get a cigarette smell. Maybe some tobacco notes, but certainly not cigarette smoke. I enjoyed it. I'll see if a buddy of mine is interested in trying it. If not, I'll probably hang onto it and use it on rare mornings when my wife is not home.
    [​IMG]
     

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