ELEVEN

Paolo has been working hard in Charleston!

I was pursuing Maggards and noticed Eleven in stock. Ordered. These new soaps are fantastic and the new improved balm I rank along with Naprodis...the late Charles Roberts’ Hydrolast conditioner. The Eleven test balm I used was as good as any I have tried. Paolo’s Eleven ranks with the best offered today.

Same. Ordered the Agrume (Lime/basil). It was my favorite scent.

Looking forward to trying this at some point soon. I enjoyed the v1 formula more than I did the v2 formula. The tallow change is a big plus. And he makes some terrific scents, especially Agrume. Glad to see this scent is still available.

Looking forward to trying this at some point soon. I enjoyed the v1 formula more than I did the v2 formula. The tallow change is a big plus. And he makes some terrific scents, especially Agrume. Glad to see this scent is still available.

I find this interesting. I actually bought 3 scents of v1 right before v2 was released. I liked the performance and scent of the tubs of v1 that I never picked up v2. I used Sapone di Paolo v1 Agrume yesterday A.M. and had an excellent shave! The Lime and Basil scent is really enjoyable, too! Thanks for reminding me that I still had this one, shevek!

I'm still curious about the Eleven soap base, but I will wait until I use up the old tubs first.(i think....)

Interesting, first I've heard of this I didn't realize they had introduced a tallow base. Will be keeping an eye on the reviews for this one...

I used it this morning. It is an excellent soap base. Slick and thick. Right up there with WK, GD, CRSW...

The lime basil scent is excellent as is the orange.

Used the Eleven Amber, Patchouli, & Oak today, and was very impressed with the quality of the lather-exceptionally shiny, took lots of water without breaking down whatsoever, good glide, very nice post shave feel. I'll need a few more shaves with it, but I have a feeling this is going directly into the 'top tier' rotation.

Paolo has been working hard in Charleston!

I was pursuing Maggards and noticed Eleven in stock. Ordered.  These new soaps are fantastic and the new improved balm I rank along with Naprodis...the late Charles Roberts’ Hydrolast conditioner. The Eleven test balm I used was as good as any I have tried. Paolo’s Eleven ranks with the best offered today.

I was struck with your comparison of the balm with the Hydrolast conditioner. Frankly, I was puzzled because when I used it this morning from the pump bottle, it came out as a very thin liquid.

After I read your post, I went back to the bottle, and noticed that most of it was very thick and balm-like. I scooped some of it out and the texture was much better.

I do have a few comments about the balm.

There was a 'kick' to it that I wondered about, so I took a look at the ingredients.

There's alcohol in it. So far, so good. I figured that was the end of it. But after about 15 minutes, my face got pretty red and itchy.

I'm no expert, but I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate used as a preservative. I know that this can cause allergic reactions. Anyone have any insight/experience with this ingredient?

Also, Paolo has chosen to use Diazolidinol Urea as a preservative, and I've read that it's a formaldehyde releaser, so that made me a bit concerned. Again, any comments about your experience with this would be welcome.

Really enjoyed the soap, though.

Paolo has been working hard in Charleston!

I was pursuing Maggards and noticed Eleven in stock. Ordered.  These new soaps are fantastic and the new improved balm I rank along with Naprodis...the late Charles Roberts’ Hydrolast conditioner. The Eleven test balm I used was as good as any I have tried. Paolo’s Eleven ranks with the best offered today.

I was struck with your comparison of the balm with the Hydrolast conditioner. Frankly, I was puzzled because when I used it this morning from the pump bottle, it came out as a very thin liquid.

After I read your post, I went back to the bottle, and noticed that most of it was very thick and balm-like. I scooped some of it out and the texture was much better.

I do have a few comments about the balm.

There was a 'kick' to it that I wondered about, so I took a look at the ingredients.

There's alcohol in it. So far, so good. I figured that was the end of it. But after about 15 minutes, my face got pretty red and itchy.

I'm no expert, but I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate used as a preservative. I know that this can cause allergic reactions. Anyone have any insight/experience with this ingredient?

Also, Paolo has chosen to use Diazolidinol Urea as a preservative, and I've read that it's a formaldehyde releaser, so that made me a bit concerned. Again, any comments about your experience with this would be welcome.

Really enjoyed the soap, though.

The "alcohol" in there is cetyl alcohol, which is used as an emulsion stabilizer.  It is derived from palm oil (my source is RSPO certified.) The whole reason for reformulating was that I was unhappy with the emulsion over time.  It would get very watery.

The preservative i'm using is branded as Liquid Germall Plus.  It contains propylene glycol, and the aforementioned diazolidinyl urea and iodopropynyl butylcarbamate.  I switched because I felt my last preservative (Optiphen) was the culprit for the destabilization of the emulsion.  It also requires much less of it in the recipe.  

Regarding the kick, If I had to guess, I would say you're reacting to something in the fragrance.  

Hope that helps clarify things.

Thanks so much for the response, Paolo. Yes, it could be a response to the fragrance, although there was nothing but a good post-shave feel from the soap. I'll have to try one of the other scents in the AS Balm to see if there's a reaction or not.

All the best,

Michael