FAQ - If you have a question please send it to us via the "Contact Us" link.
Q: Is Mongo still working on this page?
A: Yes he is and you can help, send in your questions now!
Q: What is a scuttle?
A: A scuttle is a shaving bowl with an integrated warm water container to keep the lather warm. A close shave is more easily accomplished when the skin is warm. A relaxed hair can be cut off closer to its root - which makes the shave - closer. The Scuttles made by Schwarzweisskeramik are double-walled, i.e. there is a hollow between the outer wall and the inner bowl form, into which the warm water is filled via the "brush basin" on the side. When the hollow is filled the water also fills the brush basin and can be accessed there with the brush when additional water is needed. This makes it very easy to vary the water content of your lather.
Q: Is custom labeling available?
A: Yes! There is a minimum of 20 soaps required for custom labeling and there is no extra charge for it.
Q: Can I buy bath soaps in other fragrances other than the ones offered?
A: Yes! There is a minimum of 8 bars in Cocoabutter Glycerin Soaps or 20 bars in Cold Process. CP soaps would take 4-6 weeks to deliver for curing time.
Q: Are shaving soaps available in puck form?
A: No, all of the shaving soaps are poured directly into the tubs when they are made. Soaps can be removed from the tubs however and once that is done would be 3" diameter soap pucks weighing 4 ounces.
Q: How can I remove the soap from the plastic tub?
A: Slide a sharp, slender knife around the outside of the soap in the tub. Once this is done the soap should simply pop out. If it doesn't, put it in the freezer for 1/2 hour and then try again.
Q: Can the glycerin shaving soaps be melted?
A: Yes.. only glycerin soaps are meltable, do not try and melt the CP bath soaps. I do NOT recommend this however, it is much better to remove the puck from the tub than to melt the soaps as the fragrances in the soap sometimes have low flash points.. If heated too high, your fragrance may dissapear.
Q: Should I lather in the tub?
A: It is best to load your brush with soap from the tub, then build your lather in a separate lathering bowl, adding water as needed. First wet your brush, then shake it out. Then load your brush with soap and them move to the lathering bowl for your lather. You will find that your shaving soap lasts much longer this way and will have better control of your water to soap ratio.
Q: How should I store my soaps?
A: Always let your soap dry before covering, but once it is dry keep it covered. Your soap will last for a very long time, but if left uncovered your fragrance may dissapate.
Q What kind of brush works best?
A: There is no easy answer to that question and it is usually a matter of personal preference, but boar hair brushes seem to work better with soaps as they are stiffer.
Q I'm really confused about soaps in general. I use sunlight pure soap as a hand soap, but it performs terribly as a shaving soap, despite having ingredients in it that make me think it should be a good shaving soap. I was wondering what exactly makes a good shaving soap? Is it tallow, or glycerin, or is there some fancy other ingredient that makes them foam more, or provide more lubrication? Are the old school lye based soaps better for you in general? I was wondering what your thoughts are as you seem to be the resident expert. Thanks for whatever response you can give. ?
A: There a number of factors that make up a shaving soap.. there should be a thick cushiony dense lather and it should be very slick. Both of these can be done in a number of different ways, for me I like to keep things natural so don't use any chemical offerings. A shaving soap is going to be much more gentle in general also and the rule of thumb is you can use a body soap on your body, but a shaving soap can be used on your face and your body also because of the lather and gentleness of the product and many men allocate shaving soaps that they don't like to the shower because of this. Bath soaps typically do not work well as shaving soaps as the lather is thinner and tends to break down faster, not giving you the good slip and cushion that a man prefers to shave with. Soapmakers tend to keep their recipes a secret, they don't like to share specifics regarding what precisely makes their soaps perform in different ways and the ingredients list will often be close to the same for both soaps. Homemade soaps tend to not make very good shaving soaps, however there are some terrific triple milled soaps out there that work very well even tho I have not been able to reproduce a good lye soap that performs as well for shaving as a glycerin soap would be so at this time my preference is strongly for a glycerin product as a shaving soap. I am specific on my website for which soaps are used for each but in a nutshell, I recommend glycerin shaving soaps for shaving and both glycerin and home made lye soaps for the body.
Q: Is my information secure on your site? I use firefox and don't see the locked lock at the bottom ?
A: All payments from this site are directed to PayPal's secure site ... and in answer to your question this site is secure, I have all my information on this site as does Mama and I have never had a site hacked yet ... Mongo :)
