[Preliminary Thoughts] Desmond's Barrow Non-Tallow Soap Beta.

Disclaimer: This review is for Desmond's Barrow's 'beta' of a new non-tallow formula Peter (Scritchnscrub)  is trying to develop.  Not considered "vegan" since it does contain lanolin.  This review puck came in the mail unsolicited and unexpected (it just showed up one day).  I did not purchase this as it was a gift from Peter.  This "review" is edited from an email exchange between Peter and I and published with permission from Peter.  I will include his response in a second post.

I'm generally not so much a fan of veggie soaps as I tend to find them drying and not so great with water stability/slickness (although they tend to be VERY cushiony, but of the airy foamy time and not the thick slick kind).  The only non-animal tallow hard soap I have is L'Occitane's Cade Puck which also tends to be not so water stable and gets overloaded and breaks down fast.  I only keep the Cade because it's my first 'real' soap so it has a soft spot in my heart now that I know how to dial it in easily.

My initial impressions, with the soap, however has left me with a different opinion of veggie soaps.  Bare in mind these are my initial impressions.  I will have more for you as I go along.

Loading - Took longer than your tallow version, but that's to be expected considering the texture is a bit firmer than your previous tallow soap.  I didn't try 'blooming' the soap and I would expect that to make a positive impact with loading.

Water Stability - The soap is quite a bit thirstier than the tallow version, but that thirst allows more leeway to 'dial in' the soap for a user's preference.  It took quite a bit of water to finally break the lather.

Density/Cushion - This is a function of water-soap ratio.  As expected density goes up with and cushion goes down with more water.  This is fine by me since I prefer a denser less 'foamy' soap.  I did find the soap to be plenty dense once I got the amount of water I want.

Slickness - This is something I always prioritize above all else, Again water ratios played a key part.  I found the slickness to be adequate, but not as slick as the tallow versions of yesteryear.  I will continue to evolve my use of the soap with more water and will report back.

Post Shave - The soap actually surprised me how moisturizing it was.  I did the torture test and did not use any aftershave product, and did not feel as if I needed anything else.  The post shave moisturizing does feel a hair behind your previous offering but well above any vegan non-tallow soap I've used.

If I was to comment at this point about how I would describe this soap, I found it to be very flexible in how it presents itself and it's all about the water-soap ratio.  My previous flexibility king would have been sweet comb's soap (which uses beeswax for the fat) but that soap never found proper rotation in my den and it's been relegated to more of a curiosity once-in-a-while-soap.  That soap was also super drying.

Any reason why you decided to switch to vegan non-tallow soaps?
What are the scent notes for this soap?  (I get light citrus-floral, Neroli perhaps?)

Unedited response from Peter (Scritchnscrub). Published with permission.

Hi Spencer,

Glad you received it - and thanks for your comments. I would agree with all of them. I too find non-tallow soaps to be on the drying side sometimes. The slickness of mine is slightly off and I'm still trying to finesse that. Also, I shaved with it yesterday morning and found it to be more drying than previously but our weather got a bit colder to so maybe the air is dryer and that's impacting it.

I've always wanted to develop a proper non-tallow soap (this one isn't vegan because of the presence of lanolin) but I found it difficult to replicate all the properties we enjoy with tallow soaps. I went back to it recently because I've always struggled a bit with the ethics of tallow soap and though I do feel there are pragmatic reasons to use tallow soaps vs tropical oil based soaps for environmental reasons (vs humane reasons for using veggie soaps) I also do think it's possible to make a non-tallow soap that is just as good as a tallow soap and I decided I wasn't ready to admit defeat yet. I figure if I can perfect a non-tallow formulation, that will help clarify where I truly stand on the ethics!

My first goal was to see if I could formulate without the use of palm oil but I think I'm going to try introducing some sustainable palm oil into the formula at this point. The high amount of cocoa butter adds a wonderful richness to the lather but may compromise the slickness somewhat.

The scent is a trade secret at the moment but you are right on the nose (pun intended) with the general notes. I decided I wanted to see what people's impressions of the scent were this time around without planting preconceived notions in their minds about it.

Anyway - great to hear from you and yes, please do let me know your impressions after subsequent shaves. I have found slickness increases with the amount of water used and that the soap can be quite thirsty, though it works well applied with a richer touch too.

All the best,
Peter

An excellent review, Spencer, and thanks for your insights, Peter.  I found this non-tallow formula excellent and agree with Spencer about the post shave feel; it's very good.  Overall, Scritchnscrub, my favorite of your soaps remains that first Lemon Lavender tallow because it gave me such a WOW factor from the minute I built the lather and put it on my face to the end when I washed the last remnants of the shave away.  However, this non-tallow formula easily slips into the Desmond's Barrow rotation.

An excellent review, Spencer, and thanks for your insights, Peter.  I found this non-tallow formula excellent and agree with Spencer about the post shave feel; it's very good.  Overall, Scritchnscrub, my favorite of your soaps remains that first Lemon Lavender tallow because it gave me such a WOW factor from the minute I built the lather and put it on my face to the end when I washed the last remnants of the shave away.  However, this non-tallow formula easily slips into the Desmond's Barrow rotation.

Ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one with a "Desmond's Barrow Rotation". The only other soap that gets that treatment is Barrister and Mann (and that's mostly due to scent and the sheer number of BM soaps I have).

I rotate between 5 groups (eg I have arbitrary grouping of soaps, which in my case is mostly due to what soaps fit in what drawer, and pick randomly from that group when it's that group's turn) and only BM and DB have their own dedicated group....

An excellent review, Spencer, and thanks for your insights, Peter.  I found this non-tallow formula excellent and agree with Spencer about the post shave feel; it's very good.  Overall, Scritchnscrub, my favorite of your soaps remains that first Lemon Lavender tallow because it gave me such a WOW factor from the minute I built the lather and put it on my face to the end when I washed the last remnants of the shave away.  However, this non-tallow formula easily slips into the Desmond's Barrow rotation.

Ha!  I'm glad I'm not the only one with a "Desmond's Barrow Rotation".  The only other soap that gets that treatment is Barrister and Mann (and that's mostly due to scent and the sheer number of BM soaps I have).

I rotate between 5 groups (eg I have arbitrary grouping of soaps, which in my case is mostly due to what soaps fit in what drawer, and pick randomly from that group when it's that group's turn) and only BM and DB have their own dedicated group....

I mean, really, doesn't everybody?

Is Desmond Barrow reopening?l

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