Barbershop professional shaving bar

[brothers]

This soap was located at a flea market or estate sale sometime in the last 10 or 11 years, and has been tucked away in the plastic bins and forgotten. The photo doesn't show just how yellow it is (In a pretty way). It's got a mild not unpleasant scent. I've never thought of lathering it just for the heck of it. Sodium tallowate is the first ingredient. Do any of our SMF members have any experience with this one?

[TRBeck]

I have a puck of the original scent. Couldn't get it to do much better than bubbles. It was a disappointing purchase for me. Great branding. That font! Too bad about the performance.

[brothers]

Thanks Tim. That explains why it's never mentioned in the forums!

[TRBeck]

Gary, I would still give it a shot. You may have better luck or better water. I think Roger (Shave4Fun) used this stuff for a while.

[brothers]

Today's impulsive use of the Barbershop soap was, to say the least, very rewarding. Instead of the soap I normally used, I picked up the Barbershop, ran warm water over it and loaded the brush. I was expecting the opposite of what I got. There were no weak suds, instead, it was thick white cream. I built the lather on the palm of my hand, adding tap water to the tips of the brush as the lather continued to grow. Not surprising for a tallow-first ingredient list, but surprising indeed for the thick rich lather that overwhelmed the big synthetic brush. What began as a test lather suddenly became my normally-expected mountain of rich, smooth, creamy shaving lather. Nothing to do at that point except to pick up the razor and shave. No dissipation of lather, nothing but the best I've come to expect from all of my soaps. The post-lathering splash of water on the face followed by the buffing and smoothing latherless pass was as slick, if not more slick, than any other, bar none. Three hours post-shave my face still feels "creamy" in the most positive sense. Too bad this bad boy is long-since discontinued, otherwise I'd be placing an order for backups. And to think I've had this old (faintly scented with something herbal) tallow shaving soap sitting in a box in the closet. Yes, I agree, it's what one would expect with a name like barbershop professional shaving bar. Here's what we call that lather in spades.

SOTD Barbershop 061319.jpg (1.06 MiB) Viewed 2865 times

[TRBeck]

Gary, I may have to dig out my puck again and try it once or twice more. Perhaps I was just having an off week previously.

[brothers]

Might be worthwhile. This was a surprise.

[John Rose]

It may be one of those soaps that works better if it is used frequently and not allowed to completely dry out.
Also, I just noticed that "crater" on the top. Could it be intended to hold a little puddle of hot water to bloom it for a couple of minutes?
Williams Mug has a similar crater formed by the raised rim, and it's perfect for blooming.

... Great branding. That font! ...

I thought it looked familiar. It just took me a few minutes to recall my Barbershop brand brush.

Closeup of handle of Barbershop brush, with APShaveCo Tuxedo knot.

IMG_0145.JPG (752.49 KiB) Viewed 2310 times

[CMur12]

John, I see that you are another seasoned wetshaver with sound contributions to make here.

Glad to have you with us.

- Murray

[jbcohen]

Hmm, I might have to go look for a puck of this brand on the internet. Seems to have gotten great reviews.

[Brutus]

It may be one of those soaps that works better if it is used frequently and not allowed to completely dry out.
Also, I just noticed that "crater" on the top. Could it be intended to hold a little puddle of hot water to bloom it for a couple of minutes?
Williams Mug has a similar crater formed by the raised rim, and it's perfect for blooming.

... Great branding. That font! ...

I thought it looked familiar. It just took me a few minutes to recall my Barbershop brand brush.
IMG_0145.JPG

I remember the brush from more than 20 years ago, mainly for the fact that the paint that covered the wooden handle soon started to flake off.
It was replaced under warranty, but the replacement was no better than the first one, which taught me to be wary of painted wooden handles.

I also used the soap at that stage, but - except for a pleasant old-fashioned scent - have no further recollection as to its qualities - which is one way of saying that it was most likely not remarkable.


B

[John Rose]

I remember the brush from more than 20 years ago, mainly for the fact that the paint that covered the wooden handle soon started to flake off.
It was replaced under warranty, but the replacement was no better than the first one, which taught me to be wary of painted wooden handles.

Mine was already starting to flake when I got it from APShaveCo, especially around the flat end.
I just let it flake, then (since that photo was taken) took sandpaper to it and refinished it with several coats of marine spar polyurethane.
I also rounded off the end slightly to prevent premature wear around the edge, but left it flat enough to stand up.

[brothers]

John, were you able to save the signage?