Tallow soaps come in many shapes and forms, and loads of factors will determine how it behaves when 'concocted & cured' We are keeping our tallow recipes pure and simple with tallow being the main component used, that being said we have changed the base from a hard to a soft base, and in the process we added a few 'modest' oils to achieve this.
The soap is dedicated to the Rooi Afrikaner, it is a species of cattle that is well known throughout Afrikaans and South African farming culture, these beautifully postured herds have been bred locally from prized animals since 1912. The Afrikaner has good temperament and are easy to handle. Afrikaners have good fertility, and can continue to calve over the age of 16 years, with records showing cows calving at 21. The cows are very maternal, and one female will often care for a number of calves while their mothers graze elsewhere, one has got to love such caring beasts! As mild mannered as the cattle, so is the oil fragrance we added to this soap! We have kept this one much the same with a fairly subdued, fresh-but-not-strong fragrance mix of widely liked essential oils namely; Orange, Lavender, Peppermint and Eucalyptus. The Rooi Afrikaner has built a following for the very reason of not having too much of a presence in terms of fragrance, and we had to keep it this way, this means it is also a good soap to use if you prefer the aftershave medium you use to do the 'work' rather than the soap as it will not interfere with your choice of post-shave product.
The 'Nickelslip' 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 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.
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.
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 Rooi Afrikaners available from the formulation stage, 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!
The soap will be great to use for all types of skin and beard, from skin as sensitive as your missus about her weight, all the way up the scale to beard as tough as a dagga boy backed into a corner.
*Afrikaner bull pic courtesy from Wegdraai boerderye (click on Rooi Afrikaner in the script to be directed to their website.