Nick, in "defense" of La Toja's price: it is a very concentrated soap used in the shave stick - one stick will last a good while. It is an excellent soap for shaving, with fine aftercare.
Hey Nick. The way you justify prices of the products is probably the best way to look at it. Keep making the videos the way you always have. They are great and informative and I'm sure all of your fan base, including me, loves them. Keep doing you man, it's workin.
I've used La Toja shave cream and really liked it. It gave a fine shave. Sometimes when I watch these I want to go lather up ! I really liked the scent too. A couple months ago I had an infection on my neck that got large and was a real problem. I used a couple soaps that are advertised as healing and remembered about La Toja's salts and minerals. The shave cream is not only a great one but my infection cleared up right away. This is smart to have around in case you get the same situation I had. Shop around , Nick , these can be bought for not a lot of money on the internet.
My only problem with your pricing "system" is that you can't really compare 1 oz to 1oz for different soaps. 1oz of Hard triple milled soaps will give you way more shaves than 1oz of glycerin soap or 1oz of cream. I'm ok with a 3$/oz puck of hard soap, but that's very expensive for a softer soap/cream like TOBS
Just shaved this morning with the La Toja. I absolutely love it. Very thick and slick lather. I picked it up in Spain this year with some Lea cream and stick and some Personna blades that turned out to be Israeli reds. The La Toja was 2 euro, the Lea cream and stick where 1.5 euro each and the 10 puck of blades 2 euro. I find the La Toja scent to be very nice, the Lea is clean and a little lemony, the blades are outstanding. As a bonus the shave sticks come in great plastic holders. Recovering from surgery on my hand so the soap sticks are great .
I just bought this from maggard's and I can't wait to try it. I will have it at my house when I get home but have to wait til tomorrow possibly. I also missed out on the barbersole that sold out 200 in 8 minutes today so this will soften the blow. Do you think you can do a video sometime of your top 10 picks of classic smelling soaps?
I love La Toja products, my husband has been using La Toja shaving soap for years and won't use any other, one stick last for months and months, he shaves every day. La Toja is a small island in the north west of spain in the region of Galicia, just to the north of Portugal. Their head office seems to be in Barcelona, they seem to be part of Schwarzkopf & Henkel , Dusseldorf. They produce a range of soaps with mineral salts extracted from the thermal waters in the area, their soaps are long lasting and smell really nice. I think they are one of the best commercial soaps available, but I still can't use them, so I make my own soaps for myself and my family.
You are correct: La Toja products originated in Galicia on the small Island of La Toja. The Mineral Salts used in the products were historically extracted on the Island, and used in the thermal spa, which still has some renown in Spain. The company that produced La Toja product was taken over by Schwartzkopf, who have gradually rationalized: first, the sales office was centralised with their other operations in Barcelona, and the production was later also moved to their production lines over there. According to some online sources, production is now in Germany, but minerals from La Toja are still supposed to be used.
Nick, before you leave for Boston check out Merz Apothecary in Lincoln Square. La Toja sells for $6. Also a crazy selection of wet shave goodies. Take care.
Nick I have learned lots watching your videos, thank you very much. I notice you go to the boar hair brush often is this preferred over badger hair or more soap dependent? Thanks Mike
Hi Nick, Just back from Lanzarote, Canary Isles and bought one of these, which I usually do when in Spain for Euro !.36 (about $1.89). Great thing is that the slickness may depend on your water ( try distilled) but the stick (and cream) does last a long time. There's a company in Cadiz called ''yourshaving.com'' That sells these even cheaper with not bad postage deals and positive customer service. As somebody that normally rotates between Martin De Candre, Tcheon Fung Sing and HTGAM every other day, I really like the La Toja and think that price per use, it is an excellent product with a great clean smell. Keep up the good work with the reviews. Cheers
Thanks Nick. I haven't tried a soap stick yet. I can see how convenient try can be for travel. My art of shaving travel kit is used up so I need an alternative for those occasional overnight stays. Any suggestions on a travel case for a double edge razor?
Great video I just may picking up a La Toya soap or cream next time I order online. Have you tried yet the Macca Root shaving cream from Body Shop? Many say it's really good I just picked up a sample from the Body Shop too try.
Nice video, Nice soap stick. Also try Lea. Both Lea and La Toja are like 3$ a stick in Europe. My fav sticks are still Valobra and Tabac sticks. Cheers Claus
Hey Nick - Have you tried any of WM Neumann products? I have some soaps on the way (yet to try) but their AS are UNREAL good. I know they have a bay rum you might like (as it sounds like you are an addict, like myself) but their Heartwood scent is one of the best scents to ever grace my nose. Do you have a link to a review or do you plan on doing one in the future?
I heard that la toja and lea shaving stick contain titanium dioxide nanoparticles wich are used to provide whiteness and opacity to the shaving cream, these particles have potential health risks (like allergy), and has been classified as an IARC Group 2B carcinogen when it is inhaled.
Yes. A lot of soaps contain TO2 particles to make them whiter. I would avoid that, there is no need for more chemicals on your skin. Otherwise it seems to be a great product.
You'll find it on ebay.co.uk , you can get 3 for £7.50 right now.It's been cheaper in the past, or alternatively if anyone you know is going to Spain they'll find it for 2 euros a stick in lots of shops. Happy hunting!!
May I suggest to everyone uses shave sticks of any make with any ingredients; Before rubbing the stick on your face just briefly dip the tip of the stick in to hot water about 30 seconds, would make lathering much easier.
I bought one of those sticks this summer while I was at my vacation in Spain, and it was only 1,39 Euros... 7 dollars seem a little excessive to me. But apart from that, nice review! :D
Tried this stick. My face was burning during the straight shave and I thought my technique was too rough but alum block provided no bad feedback. Washed face and it was OK again. Waited a couple hours and Re lathered for fun and face started burning again. Just not for me.
Wasn't complaining about the video btw. Video was great, just this soap irritated my skin. It was a great shave otherwise. Ill try it again at a later date.
With tallow soaps I have a hard time having slickness remain without adding water. It's like my face eats us the moisture and the slickness leaves with the water.
Wow, that's expensive. Bought mine for 2.75 euros here in Europe, so a little more than $3. Don't enjoy it too much, i find Speick stick being much better.
SmurfK Nice price! I just bought some in bulk, a total of 4 for $16.80 USD, which is exactly $2.40 USD an ounce. Pretty good deal I think. Also, Speick, been thinking of buying some, how do you describe the scent of it? At least in your opinion.
Xelerium The scent can be odd on Speick stick at first sniff. What you get when you smell it right out of the box is a lot of pepper. So much that i was thinking i was gonna sneeze for a second. Once you lather it up, you get more of the lavender, that overpowers the initial pepper smell. I really love the "experience" with it. Most commercially available soaps tend to smell somewhat similar, soapy, floral, but not Speick. That pepper smell is something that i was not expecting.
SmurfK Ah, great description of it, I always just find people saying it smells spicy, not much descriptive there! Another question; does La Toja Shaving Stick still contain titanium dioxide in their ingredients list? I've been searching around and found consecutive inconclusive ingredients lists and I couldn't say for myself since I don't have it yet with me.
+Michael Petersen That would be due to the fact that it also contains tallow. It's awesome in stick form! Why melt it? It's an awesome old school stick shaving soap.
