I recently learned Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap has been reformulated. The new version is palm oil based and no longer includes tallow. It is sad to see another classic tallow shaving soap being reformulated. I prefer tallow soaps and just don't understand why companies want to move away from tallow.
I've used Mitchell's bath soap and am a fan. I wonder if it has been reformulated.
The bath and shower soap is made in a different facility. They remain tallow for now.
The explanation MWF gave for the reformulation was a problematic ingredient in the preservatives, not the tallow itself. We don't know if it was a supply issue, or a regulatory issue.
I'm really hoping my cherished D. R. Harris soaps remain tallow-based. My guess is the big-brand tallow soaps are more in jeopardy than the artisan brands. It seems like the artisans are more tuned in to what wet shavers like.
Stock up now. The last three English tallow based soaps, which includes your beloved D.R. Harris, are all made by Culmak. If they stop producing tallow base for D.R. Harris, the others will also fall by the wayside.
Arko is about the only other hard tallow soap left, what with Derby moving manufacturing to Indonesia and discontinuing the shave sticks and bowls.
Kent is sitting on approximately 1000 pucks of tallow, as of a few days ago. They got their last batch from MWF, 4,000 pucks, all the new formula, and all with the wrong labels (tallow based formula ingredients) on them. Kent rejected them and is looking for a new manufacturer to make their tallow soap. MWF did not inform them of the formula change, nor give them any warning that they would need new labels. Needless to say, Kent is upset.
They did accidentally open a new box and shipped some of the new pucks out. If you have a Kent puck from batch 9265, contact Kent for an exchange while they still have tallow soap left.
I stocked up on MWF. I have 13 pucks, an extra ceramic bowl, and a half puck in use. If you have a favorite traditional tallow brand, I strongly encourage you to stock up now. All the hard tallow soaps are going away.
Areffasoap in Ukraine is the only artisan hard tallow soapmaker that I know of. Yes there will still be other tallow soaps being made by artisans, but those are all soft soaps.
