The Sanga has calved a new generation of shaving soaps, and one can see this one is set to become a prized stud bull in its own right. Apart from it being a soap with a very distinct personality it has an additional claim to fame in that we have made it part of our 'Nickelslip' base range, and also the first in this range to become available. This soap base utilize a natural black clay to give the soap a badass metal-and-ash appearance, it looks like a pile of burnt African hardwood in the tub, but smooth it over with your thumb and you get a steely shimmer that is quite exceptional. We fear other soaps may quiver and go cold spaghetti in the presence of this virile offering, so you may want to store it in a special place, your gun safe being one place it will feel right at home! The scent is brand new, it has a musky sweetness to it, there is a hint of liqourice and some part of it makes you think of Q20, with the smell of brand new silicone hose snaking around in the jar as well. It may sound a bit 'industrial' but I am pretty sure it will become one of those addictive fragrances you cannot stop dipping your nose into!
This soapy workhorse is dedicated to the Sanga cattle, it is a breed of cattle that cover vast stretches of the continent. 'Sanga' is the collective name for indigenous cattle of sub-Saharan Africa. They are sometimes identified as a subspecies with the scientific name Bos taurus africanus. These cattle originated in East Africa, probably around the western shores of Lake Victoria, and have spread down the river Nile (i.e. northwards), with depictions on Ancient Egyptian murals. They have badass horns, but are gentle and soft, just like this must-have shaving soap.
The use of local clay is another step we took in our quest for sustainable products, it is a byproduct of the lapping process when we lap slate stones we experiment with for honing sharp stuff like knifes and straight razors. Make no mistake it is long and tedious work to do this, but certainly worth the effort and we love how it builds into the masculinity of this product. We upgraded the packaging to suit the base, of course it had to be metal; the brushed steely exterior suits the contents perfectly to create a soap that reflects so much of our local heritage in its own unique basic, primal fashion.
We adjusted the base recipe, but kept the ratio of the tallow portion nice and high, in order to preserve the legacy of our original Sanga tallow. This is quite soft a soap that likes to be worked with the brush; when you think it is ready, do yourself a favor and take another minute until you get a lather with a very high sheen. It is quite a thirsty soap which means it holds more water than many other soaps, and with that presents great hydration properties with a beautiful glimmery sheen. a Great test to see if you are on track is to trickle a few drops of water on the side of your head and have it run down to the lather on your face, it should run over the lather rather than make a path through it. This is one of those soaps that can handle a few drops of water dripped onto the brush during the lathering process. Take your time to get to know this soap and you will be well rewarded.
This soap is the perfect partner for very sensitive skin, folks with normal skin and also for Stefan Staalbaard and all of his Kalahari klonge. The fragrance was kept at medium intensity, much the same as the previous version.
Ingredients: Beef tallow, Eish-two-O, Coconut oil, Castor oil, Sunflower oil, Black clay solids, Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Hydroxide, Stearic acid, Essential and/or fragrance oils.
Tip: I love a long load from the tub with this base, it picks up only so much as the dark base is hidden under the white lather that is starting to thicken up in about 15 to 20 seconds, to get down to the soap again you actually have to press down very hard on the brush, but that is certainly not needed as your brush would be loaded sufficiently. I load/work the brush for about 45 seconds before going to the face, this will vary from person to person, brush used/amount of water in the brush and personal preferences, but do make sure you hit the sweet spot!
Note-for-now; We have a few Sanga's from the formulation stage available, they are in the PET tubs we have been using up to now, this version has a natural colour, with a stronger fragrance profile, grab one of each if you like and let us know which one you like best. The natural coloured soaps with the stronger fragrance profile is unlikely to be repeated, so this may be one that you want to use sparingly if it is up your alley. We will remove this option from the website as soon as we run out, and start offering refills for the Nickelslip base, so hang on to your tin!