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Stirling Soap Company

alfredus said:
So glad you are happy with the soap! As I said on my SOTD review: Mike's might win the post-shave contest by a bit, but Stirling makes up for it in the glide.
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Yes, well you had a fair bit of 'skin' riding on them being good or not but I'm glad I heeded your sagely advice. I have that we independently came to basically the EXACT same finding does tend to add credence to my conviction. Obviously you know what they say about great minds....

As for lather building: it's very funny, but when I had only boars, Stirling was so much easier to lather for me than Mike's. Now that I know both and am used to all kinds of brushes, I wouldn't know which one is harder to lather...but then I like to overload anyway:)
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You may well be right (again!) but the Plisson had to work relatively hard to get the lather just right - then again it's generally been used for CRSW soaps lately and they lather very easily - so I might have just been spoilt in that regard.

@alfredus , do you recall if your Stirling soaps had the new Shea Butter formulation? I'd imagine that being part of the ingredients would adversely affect the ease of lather, as it'd be added to 'super-fat' the mixture after the saponification process has completed i.e the lye has consumed/neutralised itself against the base fats in the mixture.


filobiblic said:
I have a sample of this and enjoy the scent a lot. I also got the sample-sized balm with the same scent. I don't recall my little puck being as soft as yours. Perhaps a formula change? (Added Shea butter didn't you say earlier?)
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Yes, as stated I'd think very few gents would actively dislike the scent - I think it's SSC's most popular one - atleast going by the number of reviews posted on it.

The shea butter would definitely significantly soften the soap - hopefully this won't sound too dicky but it's a rare chance to use my soap book reading crap but if they're being really smart about it they're adding the more expensive shea butter once they've gotten 'trace' in their process (pretty sure SSC are only cold processed soaps?) - thats essentially when the lye/fat mixture starts to thicken. So the idea is that the qualities of your more expensive oils will be retained if they're not consumed by the lye saponification, hence you 'super-fat' using them at the end.

That makes the end product softer - though depending on what oils/fats you use even early one the product's end firmness will vary. But given that all my soaps are very soft - MUCH MORESO than the product when I've seen it in Youtube reviews etc - I would say it's certain that the new formula is responsible for this.
 
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To be honest I have no idea about the Shea butter. My old pucks definitely didn't and the samples I used during travel are all gone. I have somewhere 2 new unused pucks - going to check those...
 
Ok 2nd soap review....

SOAP REVIEW - SSC Lemongrass & Cajeput



SSC's DESCRIPTION: Unavailable as it's currently out of production (they tend to vary some lines).

TEXTURE: Again kind of mid range - not the softest but also not the firmest.

SCENT: Really punchy and pleasant lemongrass is the first thing that envelops you. It's EO based so not fake or nasty at all. The cajeput (which apparently is another name for the Tea Tree) comes later in the scent profile and rounds it out very nicely.

I'd previously gotten a Mike's NS sample of his Lemongrass and Eucalyptus and I found this a bit tired and flat so at first i didn't really feel compelled to order SSC's slightly different varient (cajeput instead of Euca). But over at one of the shaving forums there ere a couple of people who were absolutely fantatical about this scent - like they were posting all the time how great it was and when it came back into production they were going to buy a 1/2 dozen of them etc.

So decided to grab one and it was a very good move. It's very strongly scented but does not get overpowering or unpleasant. It's a 'light' scent too so the strength of it is very acceptable. The wife loved it and as stated in the SOTD thread rather than leave it with the lid off to dry out overnight in the bathroom (and you should always let your soaps air/dry out before putting them away) I moved it to the bedroom as it just smelt too good to waste!

Really nice soap for the hot summers we get here - the scent could easily work as a base under any number of citrus/green scented modern style summer colognes. Really great scent.

LATHER: Pretty much exactly the same as the SDM in my previous review, I think all the SSC soaps I have share a common base formula so I do not expect getting any real variation in lather etc unless I'm providing the variables. Suffice to say again it was very good, plenty of it and very enjoyable to use.

OVERALL: Excellent soap. I used to be one who believed that the scent was purely a bolt on benefit and the main thing was that it had to lather great etc but with soaps that smell this good and ALSO perform fantastic why would you not want to use them instead? Really fantastic summer soap, easily the BEST summer soap/scent I have. An absolute keeper!
 
Ah...and I was content with the Lemongrass & Eucalyptus from Mike's :)
 
Nick the Knife said:
Now you KNOW I'm a big fan of Mike's but scent wise that soap is a VERY poor cousin to it's SSC rival.
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Guess I will have to get it then...one day :)

Just checked, and indeed my 2 new full pucks (Bay Rum, Scots Pine Sheep) have Shea Butter. I do still have quiet a bit of one of my old pucks (Bergamot Lavender) and a bit of an old sample (Lavender & Sage) left, so will do some comparisons...
 
After reading the updates on your soap - i gave mine another crack last night after a bit of time off. Its a lot easier to load when using the plisson than i remember. How are your 2nd and 3rd pass lathers? mine seemed really thin and i couldnt build it despite having a fully loaded brush.
 
Adam said:
How are your 2nd and 3rd pass lathers? mine seemed really thin and i couldnt build it despite having a fully loaded brush.
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Not an issue at all - in fact I've been finding I've loads left over.

I'm assuming for your 2nd pass you wash face off and then semi-build the lather over again with just your clean but wet face and whats in the brush (no reloading of soap etc)? Or do you just apply whats already in the brush straight on without any re-lathering?

Suffice to say I do the former, I find that 2nd pass re-lather always comes together very quickly prolly as there's generally a good deal of ready to go lather in the brush. I'll rarely do a full 3rd pass, but often spot duty-polishing etc.
 
SOAP REVIEW - SSC Glastonbury

SSC Glastonbury

SSC's DESCRIPTION:
Based on a customer request and inspired by a music festival in the UK, this is a spa-like blend of Patchouli, Lavender, Oakmoss, Lichen, Frankincense, and Vetiver. A gloriously earthy scent. For those who don’t mind Patchouli, this soap will put you in the middle of a field with a soft, grassy breeze blowing while Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page engage in an epic guitar battle in the background. For others, it might smell like 100,000 hippies standing in a muddy pit after a week with no showers. (Essential Oil)
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TEXTURE: Again kind of mid-range firmness.

SCENT: It's complex and as I said in the SOTD whilst it's not unpleasant its not my favourite of their efforts. I can see what they were trying to achieve and having grown up on the North Coast of NSW I don't have any issue with the scents that are associated with 'hippy' lifestyles - haha well not the BO! But I think they're missing a few things in it that could have made it bang on. Perhaps some frangipani or ylang-ylang as it's a bit flat IMHO. The wife wasn't a fan of it either, she somewhat disliked it whereas I was just not overly chuffed with it. Could work in summer or winter but prolly better in the later as it'd work as a base for wintery style colognes.

LATHER: It actually gave me the best lather of all the SSC soaps so far - but that could just be down to me getting better at them. Loads of lather and very little loading needed.

OVERALL: Its a good, solid soap - gawd knows people use all kinds of horrid stuff year in year out and never blink so I think I'm just getting very spoilt if I have any real misgivings about this. That said if I could do over I'd try my luck at something else instead as it's not a definitive or overly noteable scent for me - I think SSC could have done a lot better with it and didn't nail their brief.
 
As reported in the SOTD I used today an old formula Lavender & Bergamot - great lather and fantastic post shave. This and their Bay Rum are definitely my 2 favourites from them, so next shave will be with a new formula Bay Rum...
 
OK - new formula is indeed very different - please look at my SOTD comment
 
SOAP REVIEW - SSC Barbershop


SSC's DESCRIPTION:
Candy cane pole twirling outside? Check. Cup of combs in the mystery blue liquid? Check. A smell that recreates the essence of sitting in the old-time barbershop, reading the paper while you wait? Check. (Fragrance Oil)
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TEXTURE: This was one of the softest soaps from the eight I ordered - VERY soft - just a tad or two firmer than toothpaste!

SCENT: I've tried several other 'Barbershop' inspired scents and this one is VERY different. Much sweeter and less powdery than others. I do NOT feel it smells anything like a barbershop and as such they missed the brief completely but it's a very pleasant scent and was well liked by both my wife and myself. For me Mike's Natural Soaps has a much truer Barbershop scent that evokes images of the fancy chair and hot towels on the face but this SSC one is just too sweet and warm spice oriented to hit the mark - but as noted it's still a very nice scent but just don't expect a true barbershop scent from it.

LATHER: As with all the others the lather was excellent - a tad hard to get perfect and not as fluffy/dense as some but gave me all the protection and slickness that I needed and thats all I need.

OVERALL: It's a good soap, the scent is very good but NOT barbershop IMHO - lingers nicely on you - more winter than summer. Tad on the soft side but thats again a preference thing. Would buy again but not a compulsary purchase IMHO.
 
SOAP REVIEW - SSC Frozen Tundra


SSC's DESCRIPTION:
What’s that? You didn’t make it to the NFL and you’ll never know the feeling of having your face mashed into the ground at Lambeau Field while scoring a touchdown in December? We’d be happy to help you out with that. A blend of nine essential oils and menthol meant to recreate the scent and feel of earth in winter. (Essential Oil & Menthol)
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TEXTURE: This was probably the firmest of all the SSC soaps I received and was like firm play dough.

SCENT: First off my wife HATED this. It does smell like sports liniment, so there's a strong note of camphor that dominates. There's a few softer notes in there as well but you'd need a better nose than me to pick up on them. I ordered this with my eyes open as I'm an NFL fan and thats clearly been the inspiration for SSC with this soap. That said I think that it might be a case of LESS being MORE, as whatever the 9 essential oils are in this they've essentially canceled each other out as picking any out is very difficult.

Now all that is NOT to say that the scent is unpleasant but I think that SSC could have perhaps gone with the menthol and camphor over a simpler, clearer masculine base and ended up with a better result - as is it's a bit of a hazy mixed up scent with the camphor jumping out at you - so sounds like a lot of essential oils (which are costly) were somewhat wasted.

I did like this scent but i was just left thinking they could have improved a few aspects of it - I was also drawn by the allure of 9 essential oils but found this a fake attraction.

LATHER: Again the lather was absolutely excellent. Each time I use the SSC soaps I find myself thinking about what actually is a good lather, which I think I might get up in a separate area as a discussion piece - but for me the SSC soaps do what I need a shaving soap to do - and making a Santa Claus look-a-like lather isn't one of them. I found the post-shave with this one to be a tad better than the others, my skin felt even better than usual - and with the shea butter in them I'd expect that!

The menthol strength is IMHO just right, a nice cooling sensation but no numbness or over the top reaction. Does definitely ENHANCE the shaving experience which I think is the end benchmark for it's inclusion.

OVERALL: Again it's a very nice soap. This is the only mentholated soap I've got in my stable, I've used Godrej Menthol Mist before but this is significantly stronger and vastly superior overall. The scent is one that grades out as only fair (and the least enjoyable of all SSC soaps I've tried so far) but definitely not the attraction to it. I have a mentholated splash on that I use every now and then and I figure this soap would be kind of the same - in that it makes a very enjoyable change of pace - but overuse would tend to negate the somewhat limited points of difference that it brings to the table.

It'd work well in summer and compliment most colognes (the camphor in it doesn't tend to linger) but I think it'd work reasonably in winter as well. I think if you're placing a decent order from SSC you'd want to get atleast one mentholated soap and this isn't a bad choice but I think I'd give strong consideration to the Orange Chill or Margaritas in the Arctic options instead if getting a do-over.
 
Another great review - thanks Nick!
 
Sounds like tiger balm soap.
Got a puck of this on its way over along with margaritas and a glacial soap.
 
Thanks for the extensive write ups @Nick the Knife. Speaking of lathers, have you tried Jabonman or Shaver Heaven soaps?
 
Nick the Knife said:
Thanks mate, hopefully it helps someone.

No, haven't tried either of those two.
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A sample won't do full justice to the soaps, but I'll send you some. I'm keen for you to compare them to what you already have tried...
 
filobiblic said:
A sample won't do full justice to the soaps, but I'll send you some. I'm keen for you to compare them to what you already have tried...
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Super generous and kind of you...as is your trademark! But alas I have my hands full giving enough attention to my own soaps at present so I will have to respectfully decline your kindness. Much thanks though. :-)
 
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