B&M soft heart

As regards the financial end I think it's best to let that rest upon the artisan/maker as ultimately he/she is the one who either profits or suffers as a result. I'd wager we as consumers don't really know what we are talking about concerning the making of a top tier soap let alone the R&D involved. Personally, I think Excelsior is better than Glissant, but I use YaQi synthetics and lathering any artisan soap is effortless as a result and as a face latherer I only need approx. five seconds of loading the damp brush to have enough for multiple passes. That forgoes the need for any Jethro Bodine Cornflakes bowl to make lather in thereby burning through product much faster.    

Recently, I’ve used a couple of different Excelsior base soaps. I load from a bowl, and when extracting some soap for that purpose, I’ve been surprised by how soft even the Excelsior base is. If the PP-8 base (Soft Heart Series) is any softer, it will probably be close to a cream… I have the Le Petit Chypre (Soft Heart Series) on standby, but haven’t used it yet.

I have to say — I don’t envy soapmakers, when it comes to responding to customer wants. Some customers surely complain if a soap is too hard, and thus takes more effort to load. But then others will complain if the formula is too soft, since the soap may not last as long. There just really is no way to please everybody.

Personally, I like all consistencies of soaps, and creams, too. I’d imagine that most of us hobbyists have sufficient amounts of soap in stock, so that it doesn’t really matter if we use 1 gram or 3 grams per shave.

Recently, I’ve used a couple of different Excelsior base soaps. I load from a bowl, and when extracting some soap for that purpose, I’ve been surprised by how soft even the Excelsior base is. If the PP-8 base (Soft Heart Series) is any softer, it will probably be close to a cream… I have the Le Petit Chypre (Soft Heart Series) on standby, but haven’t used it yet.

I have to say — I don’t envy soapmakers, when it comes to responding to customer wants. Some customers surely complain if a soap is too hard, and thus takes more effort to load. But then others will complain if the formula is too soft, since the soap may not last as long. There just really is no way to please everybody.

Personally, I like all consistencies of soaps, and creams, too. I’d imagine that most of us hobbyists have sufficient amounts of soap in stock, so that it doesn’t really matter if we use 1 gram or 3 grams per shave.

I do my lather in a bowl, some of the artisans soap with the great posts shave take a good percentage more of soap, for my mix. I'm really just noticed it this within some of the last few tubs I've scooped

I do my lather in a bowl, some of the artisans soap with the great posts shave take a good percentage more of soap, for my mix. I'm really just noticed it this within some of the last few tubs I've scooped

I used to think that soap consumption doesn’t depend much on the soap’s consistency. After using some triple-milled soaps, I realize I was wrong. With a hard soap like that, I can create plenty of lather with 0.5 g of soap, whereas an equivalent lather with some softer soap may take around 2 g. (In other words, 100 g of a hard soap could provide 200 shaves, whereas the same 100 g of a soft soap might only last for about 50 shaves.)

Over time, that is a significant difference, and could be meaningful to some users. On the other hand, for “soap acquisitionists” such as myself, it would be exciting to actually finish a jar of soap for once…

I’ll try to remember to return to share my Soft Heart Series impressions once I’ve used it.

I used to think that soap consumption doesn’t depend much on the soap’s consistency. After using some triple-milled soaps, I realize I was wrong. With a hard soap like that, I can create plenty of lather with 0.5 g of soap, whereas an equivalent lather with some softer soap may take around 2 g. (In other words, 100 g of a hard soap could provide 200 shaves, whereas the same 100 g of a soft soap might only last for about 50 shaves.)

Over time, that is a significant difference, and could be meaningful to some users. On the other hand, for “soap acquisitionists” such as myself, it would be exciting to actually finish a jar of soap for once…

I’ll try to remember to return to share my Soft Heart Series impressions once I’ve used it.

The only problem is that most currently made triple milled soaps, with a meager few exceptions, e.g., Fine, either have little to no scent or smell like your grandma's purse.

Please provide those soft hearts impressions as soon as you can!

I noticed some comments from Will about why they didn't release Excelsior in this softer base. Apparently the concern was there would be backlash from consumers about it being much softer and being used up quicker, so why are they selling us a more expensive soap that doesn't last as long. No opinions here either way (I haven't tried the "regular" Excelsior yet let alone the Soft Heart formula), just passing along the comments I saw elsewhere.

This is exactly why. We currently have no plans to change over any of the existing fragrances to Soft Heart; it will remain a special occasion sort of thing, though we'll be releasing new ones fairly regularly.

I love both Excelsior as well as Soft Heart, excellent results with both, one just loads a little faster than the other. LPC is such a beautiful Scent, really fond of this one.

I noticed some comments from Will about why they didn't release Excelsior in this softer base. Apparently the concern was there would be backlash from consumers about it being much softer and being used up quicker, so why are they selling us a more expensive soap that doesn't last as long. No opinions here either way (I haven't tried the "regular" Excelsior yet let alone the Soft Heart formula), just passing along the comments I saw elsewhere.

This is exactly why. We currently have no plans to change over any of the existing fragrances to Soft Heart; it will remain a special occasion sort of thing, though we'll be releasing new ones fairly regularly.

That makes sense, and thanks for the confirmation.

The only problem is that most currently made triple milled soaps, with a meager few exceptions, e.g., Fine, either have little to no scent or smell like your grandma's purse.

OK, I laughed out loud. I’m a fan of the Saponificio Varesino soaps that I have, and none of them smell like my grandma’s purse, but strong scents they are not, that is true. (However, I’d definitely use the word “classy” to describe them.)

Having kind of a crazy week, but will try to get around using Le Petit Chypre. I really enjoy the scent of the dry soap and the splash, even though I haven’t yet used them. Glad that Barrister and Mann is bringing back some of these past scents once more.