Sorry i was using the boar the second time. The first was with the supplied brush. Nylon i believe. Tom
I picked this up as an intro to wet shaving to use with cartridges. I believe the brush is nylon. Soap is pretty nice but the balm did not agree with my skin so I gave it away to my brother. Can't complain about the price and I think the brush will become my travel brush so that if anything happens to it, no big deal.
I saw this the other day but, thought it might not be worth it - now going back to see if they have any stock left!
The soap seems more of a cream. It feels nice. It doesn't have much of sandalwood scent but more of a pumpkin spice? The aftershave balm has similar scent. The balm stings my face a little if I have razor burn and nicks.. The brush is synthetic and i like it.
I completely agree. The "soap" is definitely more on the creamy side than even a soft croap. One thing that has been mentioned regarding this product is that isn't much of a lathering product compared to some other creams like Speick. The "lather" you get from TJ's is a thick viscosity that is very slick, but not voluminous. I have never been very good at getting a huge "cushiony" lather with any product so the fact I didn't get a Santa Clause beard face with this stuff was not that much of a let down. I have used this soap now with straight razors and with DE. The cream leaves an absolute incredible post shave feel with no irritation. One thing I did observe with this product, both test lathering it in my hand and on my face, is it leaves a thin "oil like" film on your skin. It's noticeable on your hands as the water tends to bead up on you hand, even after rinsing the product off. Perhaps this residual "oil" is why it gives such an amazing post shave feel with zero irritation. I am not a soap maker, but I am curious if all of the oils are being saponified in the manufacturing process. As for the scent, I agree, the smell is more akin to a pumpkin or creme' brulee smell as opposed to any sandalewood I have smelled. That being said, it is a very pleasant scent to my olfactory senses. The after shave balm is hydrating and non-oily feeling. It absorbed in well with no issues to report. It is a little tricky to get out of the thick plastic bottle. The brush, eh, it's an inexpensive nylon brush. It has a lot of springy backbone and feels full. It does it's intended job satisfactorily. Is it a "Plisoft" or a Plisson level synthetic, not even remotely close, but for a brush that's part of a whole kit that only sells for $9.99, it's fine.
It might be a super-fatted soap*. If so, it will have a limited shelf life. It won't affect the performance, but it's something to keep in mind. *super-fatting is when the oil (fat) to lye ratio is deliberately skewed to fat. This prevents too little fat from being used, which would result in unconverted lye in the soap, which leads to bad chemical burns. It also means that there is oil (fat) that wasn't saponified (turned into soap). These leftover oils (fats) can go rancid over time.
Awesome. Thanks for that info Ryan. Perhaps that might be why the soap is so gentle on the face as well. I never knew it, but, I guess the skin on my face is a touch sensitive. With the TJ stuff, there was absolutely no irritation.
I have been using this shave kit for a bit now, as previously stated, I hated the preshave balm but liked the soap and brush (enough at least to consider it for a travel brush as it is small). After 2 uses the brush handle has developed a crack in it (at least I think it wasn't there when I first bought it...). The soap has been good and provides great cushion, a menthol cool, and as mentioned a great pumpkin spice-y smell, only negative on the soap is that due to its really soft nature it is disappearing quickly so it probably won't last for too long. Just in case anyone else is considering getting this, I'd consider it a decent buy, just make sure you get an intact brush!
