Tallow + Steel

Never underestimate good packaging. Clean, professional, consistent branding and artwork speaks volumes.

Just finished my first shave with the new T+S formula. I initially planned to try Morocco, but at the last moment changed my mind and used Maya. I must say that my entire life anything that had any of the cloves scent was a no-go for me. Until tonight... The scent is beautifully balanced, intriguing, and refreshing, while being dark and mature. The soap performs outrageously well. If the initial T+S formula was a straight A+, then this iteration has instantaneously earned AAA in my opinion.

As Ryan mentioned above this soap is rather thirsty and it takes water as a champ! I loaded for less than 45 seconds and the amount of lather turned out to be intimidatingly huge. Once the lather is properly hydrated (and it was not difficult to dial it in at all) it makes the razor glide effortlessly  leaving no stubble or irritation behind. I could not resist and after I rinsed at the end of my third pass, I applied the remaining lather and let it sit on my face for a few minutes, which resulted in a serene sensation of a rejuvenated, clean, and hydrated skin.   I did not plan on purchasing the entire line up, but I just went ahead a procured the remaining two scents (Himalaya and West Indies). Additionally, this soap is as organic as it could be, which for me is a huge plus. Ryan, this soap is AWESOME! Here is my SOTD.

Thanks a lot for your review! I'm glad you like Maya. Another reviewer said the scent reminded him of a Cola or Dr. Pepper and dark fruits. I think that's spot on.

Oh, and Ryan @ Tallow + Steel, the artwork and presentation of these new products just astounds me with its brilliance. Some people say such things don’t matter. Well, maybe they don’t if the product itself is garbage, but it seems you have created the whole deal here — supreme packaging with great contents… Looks like I need to make room in my shaving repository.

I agree with Matsilainen - the artwork is beautiful and I think that although a cool label isn't necessary, its like icing on the cake when you have a great product in the tub. When I'm using a soap with great artwork on it I will place the lid on the countertop in a manner such that I can see the artwork while I'm shaving, and also be reminded of what I'm using. I get forgetful sometimes

Thanks gents! We are happy with how they turned out. Our last labels were done by a graphic designer, and to be honest, I liked them, but I did not love them. They were ok for a new company. These labels we did ourselves which seemed to work out much better.

It was great to see Alex's (ANG) thoughts on the soap on first use. I have done two test lathers with different brushes and shaved with the Morocco last night and West Indies this morning. It's pretty safe to say it's the finest soap on the market at the moment. The scents alone are outstanding.

David (dfoulk) is another voice I trust when it comes to soaps and he is spot on when he described the new T&S as slicker than L&L and more moisturizing than Sudsy Soapery which are two of the best soaps made today. There are just no weaknesses in performance.

The only gripe some might have is it's a softer soap compared to the previous version thus more costly. One will go through this jar quicker.

Slickness and its moisturizing properties are unmatched in the soap making world right now.

Look, last week it was GroomingDept for me, and there are new products in the pipeline there but for now show me a better made shaving soap than Tallow & Steel. These guys did their homework.

Calling soap makers 'artisans' gets pretty silly imo. They make soap. I'm not into the fanboyism seen on some forums.

Clearly these guys had a soap formula they wanted to redo into the finest available today.

They did it.

Will this soap formulation come in an unscented version?

As a proud Canadian, I would have loved the 150 products, but somehow I missed all mention of them before today!

It would be great to see a 2nd release of 150 (hint, hint), and castoreum yes please!!!  Anyone who enjoys Caron's Yatagan knows how good castoreum can be.

I ordered Maya (my winter home is among the ancestors of the Maya in the Yucatan) and Himalaya instead from a vendor to try the new Tallow and Steel products instead.

The scent profile of Maya was done very well, and I'm sure if I shared it with the locals (many still speak Mayan languages) they would recognize it and enjoy it.

Just a suggestion about Maya, should the scent ever be refined (not saying it should as I enjoy it as is) I would highly suggest adding Marigold,  Nance, Tuberrose (that scent is used by most traditional Maya), and definitely dragon fruit/flower, along with Zapote.  Cieba is highly valued by the Maya, their most sacred tree I would love to see that incorporated in anything called Maya.

Passionfruit is highly thought of too.

Ironically, one traditional Maya flower is called something like Chak Kuyche, which in English we called the Shaving Brush Tree.  I'm told the Maya used to use it for medicinal purposes and in some of their rituals.  It would be somehow fitting to use it in a shaving product.

The only gripe some might have is it's a softer soap compared to the previous version thus more costly. One will go through this jar quicker.

I’m not saying that this couldn’t be the case, but I’ve been tracking soap weights during my use for some time now. While I, too, expect to see the softer soaps disappear more quickly, I’m repeatedly amazed when I seem to be getting great lathers with the same 1.5–2.0 grams of soap per shave, whether it be a soft soap or a hard one.

It was great to see Alex's (ANG) thoughts on the soap on first use. I have done two test lathers with different brushes and shaved with the Morocco last night and West Indies this morning. It's pretty safe to say it's the finest soap on the market at the moment. The scents alone are outstanding.

David (dfoulk) is another voice I trust when it comes to soaps and he is spot on when he described the new T&S as slicker than L&L and more moisturizing than Sudsy Soapery which are two of the best soaps made today. There are just no weaknesses in performance.

The only gripe some might have is it's a softer soap compared to the previous version thus more costly. One will go through this jar quicker.

Slickness and its moisturizing properties are unmatched in the soap making world right now.

Look, last week it was GroomingDept for me, and there are new products in the pipeline there but for now show me a better made shaving soap than Tallow & Steel. These guys did their homework.

Calling soap makers 'artisans' gets pretty silly imo. They make soap. I'm not into the fanboyism seen on some forums.  

Clearly these guys had a soap formula they wanted to redo into the finest available today.

They did it.

Thanks for your kind words!  Slickness and post-shave are what we focused on.

The soap is softer, but that was done because "ease of loading" probably was the main weakness of our old formula - or at least is what we heard from customers.

I don't know if you picked up the Morocco aftershave, but it's the one scent of ours where the soap and aftershave scents will differ. The rose comes out much more in the aftershave.

Enjoy

Will this soap formulation come in an unscented version?

Unfortunately not sorry.

As a proud Canadian, I would have loved the 150 products, but somehow I missed all mention of them before today!

It would be great to see a 2nd release of 150 (hint, hint), and castoreum yes please!!!  Anyone who enjoys Caron's Yatagan knows how good castoreum can be.

I ordered Maya (my winter home is among the ancestors of the Maya in the Yucatan) and Himalaya instead from a vendor to try the new Tallow and Steel products instead.

The scent profile of Maya was done very well, and I'm sure if I shared it with the locals (many still speak Mayan languages) they would recognize it and enjoy it.

Just a suggestion about Maya, should the scent ever be refined (not saying it should as I enjoy it as is) I would highly suggest adding Marigold,  Nance, Tuberrose (that scent is used by most traditional Maya), and definitely dragon fruit/flower, along with Zapote.  Cieba is highly valued by the Maya, their most sacred tree I would love to see that incorporated in anything called Maya.

Passionfruit is highly thought of too.

Ironically, one traditional Maya flower is called something like Chak Kuyche, which in English we called the Shaving Brush Tree.  I'm told the Maya used to use it for medicinal purposes and in some of their rituals.  It would be somehow fitting to use it in a shaving product.

Sorry you missed 150 - we tried to announce it everywhere (social media, forums) to make sure everyone saw it. We were limited by the castoreum we had.

That's very cool about your winter home in the Yucatan. Maya was inspired by a trip I took last year to Mexico. We did lots of research into the Mayan culture, traditional diets and staples etc. Some of the items you mentioned we definitely tried to include, but they don't have essential oils - or if they do, we were unable to find them.

If we ever do a version 2, I will definitely be consulting you. Cheers

As a proud Canadian, I would have loved the 150 products, but somehow I missed all mention of them before today!

It would be great to see a 2nd release of 150 (hint, hint), and castoreum yes please!!!  Anyone who enjoys Caron's Yatagan knows how good castoreum can be.

I ordered Maya (my winter home is among the ancestors of the Maya in the Yucatan) and Himalaya instead from a vendor to try the new Tallow and Steel products instead.

The scent profile of Maya was done very well, and I'm sure if I shared it with the locals (many still speak Mayan languages) they would recognize it and enjoy it.

Just a suggestion about Maya, should the scent ever be refined (not saying it should as I enjoy it as is) I would highly suggest adding Marigold,  Nance, Tuberrose (that scent is used by most traditional Maya), and definitely dragon fruit/flower, along with Zapote.  Cieba is highly valued by the Maya, their most sacred tree I would love to see that incorporated in anything called Maya.

Passionfruit is highly thought of too.

Ironically, one traditional Maya flower is called something like Chak Kuyche, which in English we called the Shaving Brush Tree.  I'm told the Maya used to use it for medicinal purposes and in some of their rituals.  It would be somehow fitting to use it in a shaving product.

Your reference to Yatagan caused me to sport this long neglected EdT tonight, even though I generally consider it a winter scent. Castoreum is amazing stuff. Is there any shaving soap with this ingredient available to those of us in the US market? By the way, I totally endorse making the really great stuff only available to Canadians.

It was great to see Alex's (ANG) thoughts on the soap on first use. I have done two test lathers with different brushes and shaved with the Morocco last night and West Indies this morning. It's pretty safe to say it's the finest soap on the market at the moment. The scents alone are outstanding.

David (dfoulk) is another voice I trust when it comes to soaps and he is spot on when he described the new T&S as slicker than L&L and more moisturizing than Sudsy Soapery which are two of the best soaps made today. There are just no weaknesses in performance.

The only gripe some might have is it's a softer soap compared to the previous version thus more costly. One will go through this jar quicker.

Slickness and its moisturizing properties are unmatched in the soap making world right now.

Look, last week it was GroomingDept for me, and there are new products in the pipeline there but for now show me a better made shaving soap than Tallow & Steel. These guys did their homework.

Calling soap makers 'artisans' gets pretty silly imo. They make soap. I'm not into the fanboyism seen on some forums.  

Clearly these guys had a soap formula they wanted to redo into the finest available today.

They did it.

I appreciate your confidence in me. Thanks for the kind words.