GroomingDept

vtmax

Forum GOD!
A new soap out of the San Francisco Bay area. Mohammad, the soap maker, is making a vegan version with, imo, the most unique ingredients on the market. A new tallow and duck fat is coming in a week or so. Think Bufflehead improved and actually available. But we'll see on that.

The lather and post shave are the finest I have encountered. It can incorporate more water into the prep than any soap I have ever used. He documented his progress on instagram (GroomingDept) and knows his craft as well as anyone.

I rank it clearly above Eufros Premium, CRSW, L&L and others. Some might balk at that but I have used those other soaps extensively. I just ordered it blind and could not believe the quality so thought to post to the forum.
 

Nishy

Forum GOD!
Staff member
Wow quite an endorsement and coming from yourself, valid. Thanks for sharing @vtmax any chance of a couple of lather pics and the dry soap? What is the dry consistency like? Also what is the price of the soap and quantity?
 

halvor

a most elusive fish
19 for the soap plus just over 20 in shipping costs (to NO), Nishy, so if ordering a single soap it's about 40 dollars plus whatever customs may want to charge. I had a look a while back and let it rest given the cost - and the fact that I have a few acquisitions on my back for this year already...
 

vtmax

Forum GOD!
...and I understand. I have Phoenix & Beau (one of the finest soaps made today:happy:) and other European soaps mailed home to Kerry in the southwest of Ireland and pick them up when back. I was reluctant to post because of the customs etc. but guys stateside/Canada have the shipping issue with Eufros. Mohammad does ship his soaps for free in the US.

I am in Manhattan for work today and don't have pics on phone but I did post some on GroomingDept thread over on the DFS forum. The consistency is a softer soap similar to a P&B or L&L but not as firm as Mike's.
 

iamsms

Video Assistant Referee
I have used this soap for the last two shaves. It is a nice soap but the jury is still out. I will keep using it for 7/8 more shaves.
 

Oasisdave

Forum GOD!
Used Elan for the first time the other day and had a very nice shave. Great slickness, cushion and post shave, I did find the scent a little on the lighter side though. In another forum Mohammad asked how strong we like our soaps scented in general and I commented that I would have like Elan at out twice the strength and right away received a PM offering to send some samples of his new soaps that have stronger scents. He seems like a really nice guy and he certainly makes a great soap.
 

groomingdept

Forum GOD!
Vendor
Hello!

First post on the forum, happy to be here. Here are a couple of background links on how I started working on the soap. I'm already working on revising the vegan to achieve better post-shave feel, better slickness, and better fragrance strength.

https://damnfineshave.com/thread-grooming-dept?pid=139267#pid139267

https://damnfineshave.com/thread-grooming-dept?pid=139282#pid139282

Some lather shots: https://damnfineshave.com/thread-grooming-dept?pid=140340#pid140340

A photo of the revised lather: https://damnfineshave.com/thread-grooming-dept?pid=142904#pid142904
 
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mr. smith

Forum GOD!
I used the Patchouli Wednesday evening and then the Lime last night. The soap is soft and reminds me a lot of Mystic Water. The lather is a challenge but once dialed in, you will find this soap checks all the boxes, i.e., slickness, shave, and post shave. The first time using the soap, I didn't load enough; make sure you "load it like you hate it". The second night, I had my brush soaking and maybe wrung out just a tiny bit before putting a very damp brush into the tub to load.

I'd say, load with a very damp brush for a minute or more. Apply the loaded brush and then use copious amounts of water during the face or bowl lather. Mohammad (@groomingdept) says you should have a very thick and shiny yogurt like consistency. I was able to achieve a great lather on the second night (last night) when using the Lime however, I felt that I could have loaded a bit more...something to think about for next time.

I found the soap to be extremely slick when lathered correctly. The scent is not very strong out of the tub, maybe a 3.5 to 4 in strength (out of 10). You will also smell the soap base's natural scent, which can be a bit strong. The best way to measure the quality of the scent is to leave the cap off for a few minutes and then take a whiff. The Lime is my favorite thus far as the scent is so authentic, like a fresh cut lime. The scent will open up a lot more during the lather phase; the strength goes up to a 5 to 5.5.

Last night; I used a Blackland Black Bird machined razor, a fresh Permasharp blade, my 28 mm Paladin PK-47 Ivory brush, and the Grooming Dept. Lime soap and was able to achieve a BBS with a 3-pass shave and minuscule cleanup pass. I had a great shave last night. Mohammad recommends after shaving, just like PannaCrema and their Nuavia soaps, to remove the remaining soap and apply it to your face like a mask. Let it sit for a minute while you conduct cleanup and then rinse off. I do this after every shave but you can easily feel how hydrating the soap is. I did not use a toner or aftershave last night and about two hours after shaving, my skin felt like I had not scraped the crap out of it. The post shave from these soaps are second to none, I believe that is where the soap shines. Get the lather and consistency / load correct and you will have a guaranteed, great shave.

Mohammad has also tweaked his vegan formula to allow a much better lather; the new formula will be showcased in the next release. He has a presence on the Damn Fine Shave forum and discloses many things there if you're interested in learning more. He is also active on Facebook and Instagram; look for Grooming_dept.

I haven't read of anyone not liking the performance; the scents could be a bit stronger because the base can overpower it but I believe Mohammad is addressing that with stronger scents in his next batches.
GD 7JUN17.JPG

Photo with the lids off; the soap is super soft, just like Mystic Water. These photos were just taken; I have used each tub, one time.
IMG_1432.JPG

Ingredients list as shown on the underside of the lid.
IMG_1433.JPG

I hope this helps if you were on the fence about grabbing some.
 

groomingdept

Forum GOD!
Vendor
I'd be keen on this! Ditto to one or two others...

Perhaps we need to organise a group buy!
Thank you so much for your interest! Here are some of the new scents which will be available in about 3 weeks and my first Tallow+duck release.

Kölnisch (Vegan): Lime, Petitgrain, Litsea Cubeba, Lavender, Benzoin, Oakmoss, Patchouli

Magnolia (Vegan): Citrus Accord, Blackcurrant, Magnolia, Cedarwood, Incense

Amber (Vegan): Passion Fruit Mandrin, Amber

Yuzu (Vegan): Citrus Accord, Yuzu, Basil, Clove, Vetiver

Aether (tallow+duck) in 4 weeks: Fennel, Sage, Petitgrain, Peppermint, Orange, Grapefruit, Ginger Root, Clary Sage, Cedarwood, Amyris
 
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groomingdept

Forum GOD!
Vendor
I’m excited to announce that on August on 24th I’ll release my new vegan base and the new beef tallow & duck fat base. I originally launched my vegan base with soy wax as the main source of stearic acid. For various reasons fragrances made with large amount of essential oils dissipated rather quickly. I swapped out the soy wax and now I use stearic acid, but I have also added new ingredients. The new vegan and tallow bases have many ingredients in common. Based on my observations and a large pool of testers I can say the two bases surpassed the soy wax formula in terms of slickness, residual slickness and post shave feel. Some testers couldn’t tell which is vegan and which is tallow!

I’m releasing some new scents and a couple of favorites are coming back. All scents will be on the stronger side around 7-8 out of 10 with some having staying power beyond the shave duration. At this time the tallow+duck will come out in one scent, but over the next few months I’ll release new scents.


I hope you like my offering


Vegan:
Magnolia: Magnolia, Petitgrain, Cedarwood Atlas and Incense Accord
Bois De Neroli: Neroli, Orange Blossom, Orris, Wood Accord
Yuzu & Basil: Yuzu, Citrus, Basil, Vetiver
Amber & Mandarin: Mandarin, Amber, Black Currant, Incense Accord (not the same as magnolia),
Basique: Vetiver, Amyris, Patchouli, Amber, Sandalwood, Wood Accord, Musk
Patchouli: Patchouli, Patchouli flower, Cedarwood Virginia, Iso-E super
Voyage: Elemi, Orange, Lavender, Patchouli and Amber

Tallow+Duck
Aether: Peppermint, Citrus Accord, Fennel, Sage, Ginger, Clary Sage, Cedarwood, Amyris

In the works

Tallow:
Smoke: Juniper, Rosewood, Ho Wood and Air and Fire
Janus: Citrus Accord, Cyclamen, Rain, Cardamom, Magnolia, Pepper, Fern, Musk, Guaiacwood, Cedarwood Virginia
Lemon & Violet
Oud & Bergamot
Sandalwood & Black Pepper
Oakmoss & Leather


Vegan:
Cedrus: Cedar & Rose
Oriental Plum
Oud & Bergamot
Hay & Incense
Vetvier Nobile ( a reworking of the original vetiver release)
 
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