Wholly Kaw

I thought I’d start a thread where we can post about Wholly Kaw shaving soap and other grooming/skin care products. I recently received a tub of Amber Bomba and a bottle of splash. I shaved with it today. It smells very nice but the star of the show is Sri’s new soap base!! This is one incredible slick smooth wonderful shaving experience! I thought that Siero base was the pinnacle but this one exceeds it. It’s not only a top tier base, it may be THE top of the top tier base, at least in my experience. I could go on but the best way to confirm if I’m exaggerating (I’m not) is to try it for yourself. Sri, you’ve done it again

Here is the ingredient list from the Wholly Kaw website. I’m not sure the name of this base but I’m calling it the Crème Fraiche base. 

Soap made in our new base made with Donkey Milk, fermented Crème Fraîche, Hops Extract, Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils.
Ingredients:
Tallow:
Aqua (Water), Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, (Vegetable) Glycerin, Lac Asinae (Donkey Milk), Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica Seed (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao Seed (Cocoa) Butter, Crème Fraîche, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Parfum (Fragrance), Lanolin, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sorbic Acid
Vegan:
Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Glycerin, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Potassium Mango Stearate, Sodium Mango Stearate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyquaternium-10, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Soybean Glycerides, Shea Butter Unsaponifiables, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance

Interesting!

I have a couple of Sri's Siero tallow soaps. They are good enough to be included in my listing of Super Elite soaps. However, that formula was first released a couple of years ago. While it still is a suberb shaving soap, several other artisans have released formulations in the past year that surpass Siero. Since Wholly Kaw has always produced some of the top soaps in the market, I always wondered when Sri would release a new formula. If it is an improvement on Siero, that is good news.

There are a few recent soap formulas that I have not yet tried. I will have to add this one to my wish list. While the Amber Bomba sounds interesting, Inizio might be more to my liking. It is based on : Neroli, Saffron, Cashmeran, Tonka, Oakmoss, Juniper, Vanilla, Musk, and Sandalwood.

I will be most interested in hearing reports from others who try the new formula.

Love Sri, his business model, business acumen, professionalism and products. No self promotion, BS nor drama, simply delivers.

Good on ya Sri

Inizio looks interesting but I went with Amber Bomba as it also looked interesting and I could get free shipping!! I like the Amber Bomba fragrance so no regrets there. It’s a darker soap I’m guessing because of vanilla which darkens on exposure to air. You can see it’s lighter below when you scoop it out. I had no expectations on trying this other than the excellence I’ve come to expect from Wholly Kaw. During the first WTG pass I was thinking, this is pretty good. Then during my second XTG pass I was thinking, this is really good and during my third ATG pass I’m thinking wow! This is freaking awesome. The bar has definitely been raised. 

Almost forgot to mention the post shave face feel. Superb, really nice. 

whollykaw  Sri, what is it about crème fraiche that works so well in this soap?  I know you’ve been working with various milk ingredients but this one is special.

No, no way, the new base does not beat the siero base, there is no way, this new base loses the ingredients that made the siero base an elite base with that amazing after shave. The new base removes those ingredients in order to lower the price of the soap and adapt to market prices, now we have a $20 soap that I really can't even say it beats the competition that is in that price range, I hope the siero base doesn't disappear, it would be a real shame as I consider it the best on the market in terms of skin care.

Inizio looks interesting but I went with Amber Bomba as it also looked interesting and I could get free shipping!! I like the Amber Bomba fragrance so no regrets there. It’s a darker soap I’m guessing because of vanilla which darkens on exposure to air. You can see it’s lighter below when you scoop it out. I had no expectations on trying this other than the excellence I’ve come to expect from Wholly Kaw. During the first WTG pass I was thinking, this is pretty good. Then during my second XTG pass I was thinking, this is really good and during my third ATG pass I’m thinking wow! This is freaking awesome. The bar has definitely been raised. 

Inizio is on pasteurs now if you still want it. Amber bomba smells really good though you made the right choice in my opinion. Inizio smells good too but out of all the new soaps I've tried this year the scent of amber bomba is probably my favorite.

Almost forgot to mention the post shave face feel. Superb, really nice. 

whollykaw  Sri, what is it about crème fraiche that works so well in this soap?  I know you’ve been working with various milk ingredients but this one is special.

Thank you and glad you found the new base exceptional.  One of the primary goals for the new base was to reduce the amount of water used in the formulation.  Less water makes the soap concentrated and a little goes a long way.  Second we do the fermentation for 48 hours to get the raw material of crème fraîche. Fermentation brings out acids that is good for exfoliation, moisturization, etc. such as lactic acid and other goodies that are great for our skin.  It also makes it more thicker and creamier. You would get exceptional post shave too that is a direct result of these processes. 

Appreciate the question too!!

I thought I’d start a thread where we can post about Wholly Kaw shaving soap and other grooming/skin care products. I recently received a tub of Amber Bomba and a bottle of splash. I shaved with it today. It smells very nice but the star of the show is Sri’s new soap base!! This is one incredible slick smooth wonderful shaving experience! I thought that Siero base was the pinnacle but this one exceeds it. It’s not only a top tier base, it may be THE top of the top tier base, at least in my experience. I could go on but the best way to confirm if I’m exaggerating (I’m not) is to try it for yourself. Sri, you’ve done it again

Here is the ingredient list from the Wholly Kaw website. I’m not sure the name of this base but I’m calling it the Crème Fraiche base. 

Soap made in our new base made with Donkey Milk, fermented Crème Fraîche, Hops Extract, Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils.
Ingredients:
Tallow:
Aqua (Water), Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, (Vegetable) Glycerin, Lac Asinae (Donkey Milk), Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica Seed (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao Seed (Cocoa) Butter, Crème Fraîche, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Parfum (Fragrance), Lanolin, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sorbic Acid
Vegan:
Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Glycerin, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Potassium Mango Stearate, Sodium Mango Stearate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyquaternium-10, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Soybean Glycerides, Shea Butter Unsaponifiables, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance

This base was in the formulation and testing stages for several months -- wanted to create something that takes advantage of milk and its derivatives. The more I formulated the more I learnt. Its been a good learning experience riding on the back of this development of the new base.  I am stoked you loved the performance.  Appreciate it!!

No, no way, the new base does not beat the siero base, there is no way, this new base loses the ingredients that made the siero base an elite base with that amazing after shave. The new base removes those ingredients in order to lower the price of the soap and adapt to market prices, now we have a $20 soap that I really can't even say it beats the competition that is in that price range, I hope the siero base doesn't disappear, it would be a real shame as I consider it the best on the market in terms of skin care.

Siero is not going away. Ingredients for the Siero cost way more and supply chain issues have made it harder to keep the costs down.