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Post by palmettoman on Jan 30, 2015 1:19:09 GMT -6
Or hey man, hold my beer and watch this. I spend a lot of my working days on the road, in hotels, and previously trying to drink all of the alcohol in America. This has led to boredom and some ill advised things in the past but this is the beginning of the story of how while sober, I decided to give laundry soap a chance at shaving. I was out yesterday knocking about when I happened into a small Hispanic market in Kansas. Somewhere between the tortillas and hot sauce I spied a not too shabby looking senorita picking up some bar laundry soap. Me being me I decided to check it(her)out, what can I say I'm a cad. Anyways, what she was buying was Zote, a gigantic bar of soap(500g) that smelled like Ivory or William's Mug. Reading the ingredients they consist of Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Cocoate, Fragrance, and an Optical Brightener(UV junk from what I gather). Wheels started turning and I figured for $0.88 why not buy some and try it for shaving. If nothing else I would have some emergency laundry soap in the car for hand washing. Back at home today I started reading on their website about it. Says people use it on their bodies. The Optical junk could be a problem but I'm a big boy. I cut a hunk, put it in a small bowl. After soaking it in water I did a very poor and quick test lather but it seem to have lots of potential. Slick, very slick, decent smell, didn't wash away fast, and pretty good lather for little effort. If I had worked it like any other shave soap I think no one could tell it wasn't William's.. Or maybe it is crap. We will see. I started to post this on another board but stopped. I know within minutes some science wonk would be posting that I would catch face rabies or some other crazy disease since it's not artisan shave soap made of hand hammered monkey glands. I figure my grand experiment would be in keeping with this sites nonconforming nature. If it fails we can have a laugh and me not be ticked off that someone is freaked out by me trying something new. My guess is some dry skin and a good shave. If it works I plan on adding some glycerine for a second go. Tomorrow I shave with it! Thoughts? www.zote.com.mx/english/about.htmPic of today's test lather below if it works
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Post by palmettoman on Jan 30, 2015 1:23:01 GMT -6
Lather
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Post by HoosierTrooper on Jan 30, 2015 5:38:30 GMT -6
Looks like it has real potential, like Williams on steroids! From their site it says to use it on clothes of people who have sensitive skin so it sounds pretty gentle.
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Post by fram773 on Jan 30, 2015 7:10:36 GMT -6
I don't think its a good idea. If you must, use it on your hands first. I have not used Zote but I have used Fels. As laundry soap it is intended to be strong to lift stains.
There is a warning label on Fels not to use on skin but I ignored it. My hands shriveled up into prunes is the best way I can put it.I learned my lesson and use it with gloves only. If Zote is anything like Fels and judging by the ingredients it is, I would highly avise against it. But it's your face...
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norfolkdick
Master Shaver
Captain of the Razor Blades
Posts: 1,601
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Post by norfolkdick on Jan 30, 2015 7:28:23 GMT -6
Greetings What a sense of adventure, you really are taking one for the team with this stuff! If it does not work out you could always use it as fishing bait, or to mend leaking pipes or as a mosquito repellant, at least that's what the web site states are it's other popular uses. The optical whitener sounds a slight drawback although I doubt it would make you glow in the dark! Look, I know that times are hard in the states at the moment but I could always purchase a case of Palmolive shaving sticks and post it to one of you to share amongst yourselves until things improve! Keep up the pioneering spirit. Regards Dick.
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Post by palmettoman on Jan 30, 2015 12:21:38 GMT -6
Well, first shave down and I'm alive. I'll reserve my full thoughts for when a few hours have passed to see if my face has any adverse reactions.
I will say that this stuff is almost exactly like William's. A much stronger scent but who knows how fresh my Williams is.
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norfolkdick
Master Shaver
Captain of the Razor Blades
Posts: 1,601
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Post by norfolkdick on Jan 30, 2015 13:34:39 GMT -6
Well, first shave down and I'm alive. I'll reserve my full thoughts for when a few hours have passed to see if my face has any adverse reactions. I will say that this stuff is almost exactly like William's. A much stronger scent but who knows how fresh my Williams is. Greetings I think the American expression is " Real fu**ing hard core man!! Regards Dick.
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Post by drumzalot on Jan 30, 2015 14:48:27 GMT -6
This thread hits right home. Growing up my mother used to use several Mexican laundry soaps. Some of these soaps smelled like Williams or Arko. I see these laundry soaps all of the time in every local market in my area. The manufacturer of Zote "Fabrica De Jabon La Corona" has been around since 1920. Zote's big selling points is that it's made with coconut oil and wallow. Yes, it does have citronella oil as fragrance. I wanted to test this soap's shaving ability but never did thinking it was just too harsh. Zote is short for big soap (jabonzote). The word zote only applies to this soap since people refer to a large bar of soap as either "jabon grande" or "jabonzote." The white bar (blanco) Zote soap is the one I wanted to try not the pink one. There is another even more well known Mexican soap (in Hispanic markets) named "Lirio." Lirio I believe also uses coconut oil and tallow. Some people combine both Zote and Lirio for their laundry. I always wanted to mesh both for shaving and see how that goes.
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Jan 30, 2015 18:32:44 GMT -6
Thanks for taking a hit for the team! You definitely have a pair.
I've considered buying it since I formulate our laundry soap for use in our home. I never considered it for use as a shave soap, but then again any soap I would use for laundry would be far down on that list and I've used a lot of off beat soaps as experimental shave soap. OK, too, now I have so many much better shave soaps now that I'd never even consider it.
FWIW, it's available in our super Wal-Mart here in Maine, so it may or may not be a Mexican thing, but it's definitely a Maine thing. The only way to get further from Mexico in the USA is to cross another country or salt water.
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Post by palmettoman on Jan 31, 2015 1:04:28 GMT -6
Well thanks for the congratulations although I do not think any is in order. All I did was make a logical, informed decision based on the facts before me. I've been told I have a nice face so I had nor have any desire to ruin it.
Yes, its laundry soap in the same sense that witch hazel is alcohol. Both have alcohol but you can't power dragsters off of one of them. Zote has an alkalinity of around .04% according to their website. My college edumication, that I've forgotten, tells me that's pretty low. I washed my hands four or five times with it and it was nothing like Tide or automatic dishwasher powder for that matter. I've experienced the reaction to Fels Naptha that fram773 talked about. Fels has solvent in it. Originally naptha and now in the form of Limonene I believe.
I did check the MSDS. Flammability and ingestion problems mostly. Everything burns at some point and I'm not going to eat it. The skin irritation warnings are about the same as any other soap, it dries the skin. The thing that sealed it was that it can be used for laundry for babies. I honestly don't think any company in this day and age would put that anywhere if it might get them sued. Consumer safety be damned, it's all about the money.
On to the shave. As previously mentioned I had put a slice in a container. I filled it with water and took a shower. I do the same with my William's. After showering as usual I dumped the water off. It was starting to get gloppy so next time I won't soak it as long.
I did a fast load of my brush and swiped it on my face, letting it sit while I brushed my hair. Loaded the brush for real and washed off. Face lathered as usual. I can say this, if you have problems lathering this add water it can take a absorb a ton and keep lathering. I think I could have used a fourth the amount of soap and had enough though.
I took a look in the mirror and I looked like the guy in the Ever Ready razor advert but more hair. No itching, burning commenced so I shaved. I kinda rushed because I wanted see if my face was red but it wasn't. Proceeded to second pass and slowed down. Smelled and felt like William's. Very slick and smooth. Third pass for touch ups went exactly as always. Rinsed off, applied witch hazel, Clubman followed by some oil less moisturizer, and posted the previous post.
I waited around all day for something to happen but nothing did. I suppose I could have my face peel off in the night but I don't think that's going to happen. Asked the girlfriend if she noticed anything and was told it smelled like I cleaned the sink. No rashes or peeling.
Boy this ended up a long post.
Wrapping up.
Would I recommend Zote for shaving? That's your call. Would I do it again? Certainly, I plan on doing it for a week. Did I enjoy it? Gosh yes. For the lather I like, that stuff is outstanding. I don't think I need the long soak time to load like William's. Was I being cheap? Yes and no. I'm not giving up my Barrister and Mann Lavinille. I'm as manly as it comes (I think) but that stuff makes me weak in the knees. On the other hand, $0.88 for 400g is cheap.
Did I do it to prove a point? You bet your butt I did. That and curiosity were my main motivation. I hate for someone to tell me something isn't going to work before I've tried it.
That's my story. Me and my laundry soap will be here shaving for the near future.
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Post by jtmcmahon on Jan 31, 2015 5:05:46 GMT -6
Nonconformist? Yes, which is why I am here and salute you for your curiosity and daring. I believe that unless you have extremely sensitive skin then this probably will not harm you. I know folks down here in Georgia who use Fels Naptha to relieve poison ivy irritation! I do not advocate that...as Fram773 mentioned it can cause enough irritation on it's own. Meanwhile, I can only stand by awestruck.
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Post by HoosierTrooper on Jan 31, 2015 7:27:24 GMT -6
As a fan of modern Williams this is intriguing. A 1.75 ounce puck of Williams is roughly 50 grams and cost around a buck, give or take a few cents either way, and a 500 gram bar of Zote costs the same for 10 times the amount. Sounds pretty frugal to me!
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Post by palmettoman on Jan 31, 2015 12:58:11 GMT -6
OK, so second shave down. The results were much the same. I used less soap and that didn't work out as well as expected. The lather started drying up fast and when I added water it just thinned out too much.
I loaded more soap for the second pass and had no problems. Washed up fine, with no residue. No drying of the skin either, unlike Williams does sometimes for me. It's time to quit calling it William's or comparing it.
I'm headed out tonight to a... ummm...club we'll call it. I'll report back if I glow.
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Post by palmettoman on Feb 1, 2015 14:03:21 GMT -6
Shave three today and it was just as good as the first two. That said,I wouldn't say this is the best shave soap.I have had some that are much worse though. For me the VdH puck is aweful and so is the Proraso in a tube but that is me and I know they are perfectly fine products.
At the club last night I had no "glow", although I never expected to. A warmer rinse today got rid of the residue/remainder of the soap much faster.
I shall solider on and keep this up for a week to see how it turns out.
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Post by wchnu on Feb 1, 2015 18:02:25 GMT -6
Great experiment. On the up side it can be used as catfish bait also. Ask Jeremy Wade. I am going to jump on this wagon soon and try it out with a horse hair brush!!!
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