Review of Tanglewood '57 Chevy Shaving Soap and Balm
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:02 am
Last week I was in a local vintage store, looking for anything shaving related. I came across a display featuring products by Tanglewood Garden & Farm, and in particular, I was drawn to their “57 Chevy Spearmint & Sandalwood” shaving soap[1] and the accompanying balm, "Man! That's the Balm!"[2]
With names like that and a combined retail price of $18.00 CDN, I thought I could not go wrong, so in spite of the prominent “organic” claims – I’m not a fan – I enthusiastically purchased both.
Upon opening the packaging at home I could easily detect the scent of sandalwood and spearmint, with the spearmint being slightly stronger in the balm. Here they are, alongside my Vie-Long Cachurro and Merkur 38D:
The next morning, after I finished showering I soaked my Cachurro in very warm water, as per my usual routine. Since the soap came straight out of the package, I soaked it in warm water for a few minutes as well, just to soften it up a little while I took care of other stuff.
After draining the brush and the soap I loaded some soap on the brush and made the lather in my bowl. My first impression was that it formed very large bubbles that broke down easily; it took me a solid minute longer than usual to get the yogurt-like consistency that I'm used to with Tabac, but even so the lather looked weak. Here's a "before" picture:
Working the lather into my face seemed to break down the lather even faster; you can see what's left on my face after shaving my neck and the other cheek:
Here's what's left in my shaving bowl after three passes; note that the lather is far less opaque and the bubbles are quite large:
I tried again the next morning, and again the morning after that, and each time I was a little more rigorous with the initial lathering. Unfortunately, the lather broke down just as quickly.
As much as I wanted to like this soap, I have to give it a 2 out of 5 star rating – and that’s being generous. If it weren’t for the great scent it’d get a 1 out of 5.
The balm, I am happy to report, is quite a different matter. I’ll scrape an 8mm chunk from the container, rub it briefly in my fingers to melt the coconut oil and shea butter, and then apply it to my damp face as per the instructions. It goes on smoothly and smells fantastic! Even as I write this (some 5 hours later) my face still feels soft and smooth. The scent is still pleasant but not overpowering, which is lucky for me, as my employer's motto is, "No scents make sense."
I give the balm a 4 out of 5 star rating (recommended).
[1] https://tanglewoodsoap.ca/products/57-c ... aving-soap
[2] https://tanglewoodsoap.ca/products/man- ... on-for-men
With names like that and a combined retail price of $18.00 CDN, I thought I could not go wrong, so in spite of the prominent “organic” claims – I’m not a fan – I enthusiastically purchased both.
Upon opening the packaging at home I could easily detect the scent of sandalwood and spearmint, with the spearmint being slightly stronger in the balm. Here they are, alongside my Vie-Long Cachurro and Merkur 38D:
The next morning, after I finished showering I soaked my Cachurro in very warm water, as per my usual routine. Since the soap came straight out of the package, I soaked it in warm water for a few minutes as well, just to soften it up a little while I took care of other stuff.
After draining the brush and the soap I loaded some soap on the brush and made the lather in my bowl. My first impression was that it formed very large bubbles that broke down easily; it took me a solid minute longer than usual to get the yogurt-like consistency that I'm used to with Tabac, but even so the lather looked weak. Here's a "before" picture:
Working the lather into my face seemed to break down the lather even faster; you can see what's left on my face after shaving my neck and the other cheek:
Here's what's left in my shaving bowl after three passes; note that the lather is far less opaque and the bubbles are quite large:
- brush razor soap balm.jpg (111.16 KiB) Viewed 2941 times
As much as I wanted to like this soap, I have to give it a 2 out of 5 star rating – and that’s being generous. If it weren’t for the great scent it’d get a 1 out of 5.
The balm, I am happy to report, is quite a different matter. I’ll scrape an 8mm chunk from the container, rub it briefly in my fingers to melt the coconut oil and shea butter, and then apply it to my damp face as per the instructions. It goes on smoothly and smells fantastic! Even as I write this (some 5 hours later) my face still feels soft and smooth. The scent is still pleasant but not overpowering, which is lucky for me, as my employer's motto is, "No scents make sense."
I give the balm a 4 out of 5 star rating (recommended).
[1] https://tanglewoodsoap.ca/products/57-c ... aving-soap
[2] https://tanglewoodsoap.ca/products/man- ... on-for-men
I know how you feel. As they say --- been there/done that! And thanks for the informative review and the descriptive photos.