Finally!! Update - Tallow Soap Project

RazorRamone · Post by **RazorRamone** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 6:00 pm

For those of you that remember, I have been trying to get my triple milled shaving soap project off the ground for nearly two years.

Without getting into all the details, trying to get this soap made through contract manufacturers has been very challenging. After nearly giving up, I decided to work with a chemist and create my very own tallow soap formula.

Today, I received the first samples. As my previous experiences with manufacturers were awful, I did not have high expectations. I put the very hard/heavy/traditional tallow shaving soap puck (floral sweet almond scented) in a bowl and gave it a whirl. To my surprise, I have a soap that IMO has a lather that already completes with my classics collection!! It would seem very much like a traditional English inspired soap. (Pens, Yardley, DRH.)

Fingers crossed on next steps! Wish me luck.

Baloosh · Post by **Baloosh** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:12 pm

Dibs on the first round of samples!

TRBeck · Post by **TRBeck** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:23 pm

Good luck! I think this and this alone might tempt me to break my resolution against buying consumable shave goods this year.

Looking forward to more information. I'm very excited about this and for you.

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:28 pm

Sounds terrific!

I wonder...Does your chemist friend have any thoughts about any differences for a soap that would work well with hard water?

Thalay Sagar · Post by **Thalay Sagar** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:30 pm

Very exciting! I look forward to hearing more.

Nitrox · Post by **Nitrox** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:54 pm

Thanks for the update Razor, I thought you had given up after not hearing about it for so long. Hope all goes well for you.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:04 pm

Please succeed!

nathanb · Post by **nathanb** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 11:51 pm

Great work, just like others I eagerly await more news!

desertbadger · Post by **desertbadger** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:42 am

I hope everything turns out the way you want it to!

Regards,
David

JayTrek · Post by **JayTrek** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:34 am

Being a fan of tallow-based soaps...I look forward to hearing of further developments.

churchilllafemme · Post by **churchilllafemme** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:49 am

Good luck. I'll look forward to hearing about your progress, and perhaps trying one of the soaps in the future. I really like these projects.

RazorRamone · Post by **RazorRamone** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 10:17 am

Thanks for all the well wishes.

I am testing the sample soap all this week. Although the soap initially lathers really well, there appears to be tweaks required in terms of cushion and lather stability.

If there's one thing I do know, a properly developed product usually takes time. That said, I am quite pleased with Round One of development.

As my Chemist is not a shaving enthusiast (he prefers shaving gels), I would be pleased if I had a retail ready soap before Summer.

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:21 pm

This is good news, indeed.

I believe a little coconut oil added to the tallow before saponification will make the lather volume increase, rather than the creamy lather you get from tallow or lard alone.

If I might ask how are you doing the milling?

Chris

RazorRamone · Post by **RazorRamone** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:47 pm

Hi Chris: My Chemist has partnered with a soap manufacturer with a strong press.

Thanks for the insights. I need all the help I can get.

2clfrwrds · Post by **2clfrwrds** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:27 pm

You've worked long and hard on this, so when you finally say it's ready, you can count on me for a purchase.

--Glenn

Quarterstick · Post by **Quarterstick** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:22 pm

I recall a few months back when you tapped into the SMF brain trust to identify the best of the best current soap on the market. I am glad this is moving forward for you and the inital results are moving in a more positive direction this go around. Although I am anxious to try the final product, I am willing to wait for quality versus speed to market. So next week will be just fine.

CMur12 · Post by **CMur12** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:11 pm

I'll be watching this with eager anticipation. Of course, I'll only be able to use the soap if it is available in unscented form or naturally scented. Unfortunately, I can't handle fragrances.

- Murray