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Disclaimer: This review is for Desmond's Barrow's (DB) '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. These are my final thoughts after enjoying the soap for a number of months in my rotation.
Personal Note: My apologies for the massive delay in writing this post. The holidays were my initial excuse but now we're already into April. I understand that Peter has yet another formulation in the works that I look forward to trying
TL;DR - Not as water stable and prone to flooding but once you get it dialed in, it's the slickest of the bunch. Post shave is excellent and I am comfortable going without after shave products. My favorite soap to date.
I would like to direct everyone to my previous posts about the first and second formulations of Peter's soaps to get a feel for the progression of this project.
I think Peter has managed to find a happy marriage between formulation one and two. Noteability the slickness is fantastic while still being very moisturizing to the point where I don't feel the need for post shaves. For me, only one other soap can claim the no-need-for-more-product award and that is Mystic Waters (MW). As compared to MW, DB is infinitely easier to load and lather. However it's not as mindless as before and one would be careful not to flood it. As always, flooding is easily remedied by more soap load, but who likes to waste soap right?
Initial conversation with Peter revealed a potential concern for a decrease in slickness due to the high amount of cocoa butter, and my first impressions would support this thought. I did discover, however, adding more water easily brings the slickness up considerably. As noted, earlier, I did flood the soap a few times before I figured out it's potential.
If you haven't gathered by now, water control is the name of the game with this soap. It's got a bit of a learning curve, but is very much worth it. It's my current go to with a straight. Slick and thick without too much cushion/foam.
Peter is currently on a break with the commercial offerings of his soap and I doubt this formulation will be offered in its current form. But fear not! As noted previously there are TWO improved formulation in the works (one with lanolin and one without). Hopefully they address the water sensitivity issue.
Personal Note: My apologies for the massive delay in writing this post. The holidays were my initial excuse but now we're already into April. I understand that Peter has yet another formulation in the works that I look forward to trying
TL;DR - Not as water stable and prone to flooding but once you get it dialed in, it's the slickest of the bunch. Post shave is excellent and I am comfortable going without after shave products. My favorite soap to date.
I would like to direct everyone to my previous posts about the first and second formulations of Peter's soaps to get a feel for the progression of this project.
I think Peter has managed to find a happy marriage between formulation one and two. Noteability the slickness is fantastic while still being very moisturizing to the point where I don't feel the need for post shaves. For me, only one other soap can claim the no-need-for-more-product award and that is Mystic Waters (MW). As compared to MW, DB is infinitely easier to load and lather. However it's not as mindless as before and one would be careful not to flood it. As always, flooding is easily remedied by more soap load, but who likes to waste soap right?
Initial conversation with Peter revealed a potential concern for a decrease in slickness due to the high amount of cocoa butter, and my first impressions would support this thought. I did discover, however, adding more water easily brings the slickness up considerably. As noted, earlier, I did flood the soap a few times before I figured out it's potential.
If you haven't gathered by now, water control is the name of the game with this soap. It's got a bit of a learning curve, but is very much worth it. It's my current go to with a straight. Slick and thick without too much cushion/foam.
Peter is currently on a break with the commercial offerings of his soap and I doubt this formulation will be offered in its current form. But fear not! As noted previously there are TWO improved formulation in the works (one with lanolin and one without). Hopefully they address the water sensitivity issue.
-Spencer
