Stirling - Shaving Soap

[ezio79]

Stirling Soap Company
A Decade of Gratitude
This week marks 10 full years since Mandy and I received our business license for Stirling Soap Company. Looking back, I am blown away that what started in our kitchen and garage in our rented house in Texas in the fall of 2011 has turned into a business that not only provides a living for our family, but also for the families of multiple employees. In my wildest dreams I never thought that we would have a company that would not only be known throughout niche wetshaving circles in the US, but also carried in dozens of countries on six continents.
This past decade has been full of hills and valleys. After I made the decision to leave the Army after 12 years in 2013, Stirling became our sole source of income for the family. We packed up everything we owned in the summer of 2014 and moved to Arkansas so we could lean on family while we worked to try to turn Stirling into a legitimate business. The whole company fit on a 6 X 12 trailer! For two years we lived in and ran the company out of a small house that my mother paid for with the limited funds she received when my grandfather passed away that year. Stirling was not profitable at the time, and banks just laughed at us when we asked for a loan. Had it not been for my mother believing in us and being willing to take a risk on us, we would have had no choice but to seek work elsewhere and give up on the company. I am grateful that she loved us and believed in what we were building.
Mandy and I both put in more hours in those early years than I would ever consider doing again. Our oldest son, Emerson (now age 9), spent far too much time with a babysitter or with family while Mandy and I spent most of our waking hours making soap and shipping packages. By the grace of God and thanks to the loyalty of you, our customers, we started seeing cause for hope about 6 years ago. Early wetshaving reviewers such as Chris Bailey, Nickshaves, and Shave Busta put out a few videos featuring Stirling products. Stirling was starting to pop up more often on reddit wetshaving subs. We saw the spark at that point. We knew we were on to something.
By 2019, we had finished restoring a 110-year-old building in the downtown of Booneville, Arkansas that would become the headquarters of Stirling. We initially bought it because we just needed more space to grow, and it was dirt cheap because the small rural town had seen better days. We had no intention of opening a storefront. However, so many people stopped by to see our work and express how happy they were that we were working to clean up an old building a provide some life to the town that we decided to go the extra mile to make it a viable storefront. I am so glad we did because I have been able to meet so many of you over the past two and a half years who have driven here on your way to various places. It’s truly humbling to have customers from all over the country who take the time to come out to and visit this dot on the map.
In late 2020 (and at probably the worst time possible), we opened Stirling Roastery as a sister company to Stirling Soap, having completed the restoration on another derelict historic building directly across the street from the soap company. Mandy’s skill at roasting specialty-grade coffees has provided another outlet for Stirling to grow. I’m hopeful that the coffee will one day be as popular as the soap. We just purchased a new video camera and will be doing more live roasts as well as more video tours of the soap company operation, tutorials, and more very soon.
As we start year 11, we are planning to do everything we can to continue to grow the company while providing excellent products at a price point far below the industry standard. There will likely be price increases in 2022, as tallow and lye both cost more than double what they did in 2020, and a 55 gallon drum of ethanol that cost $347 just 12 months ago is now over $1100. Any price increases will not be just a way to line our pockets, though. As of January 1st, we now offer healthcare, dental, and vision coverage to our employees (This also means Mandy and I have coverage for the first time since I left the Army 8 years ago). This is in addition to paid time off, retirement plans with a 3% employer match, and better than average wages for the area. Our employees work hard for us to make Stirling what it is today, and if we can’t afford make sure that they and their families are taken care of, then we are doing something wrong. Ensuring their well-being is the right thing to do.
All of this is possible because you, our customers, have chosen to spend your hard-earned money with us. Even if you place one order and move on, or are a customer who places multiple orders every year, Mandy and I are eternally grateful to you. You have allowed us to do something that we both love while providing for each other and our three boys. If there is one thing I can be bold enough to ask of you, it’s to tell others about us. So many of you already have. Word of mouth is our best way of gaining new customers. I would much rather ask this of you than to charge $8 for a bar of soap so I can afford snazzy YouTube commercials.
Thank you for reading this far. I apologize for the length. I just wanted to share with you a small part of the story that has gotten us to where we are today, and to take the time to say “thank you” again. None of this happens without you, and I promise that everyone at Stirling will do our best to let you know that we are grateful that you choose to do business with us. I wish you all peace, happiness, and prosperity in 2022.
Rod

[darionew]

Bella testimonianza, che fa capire come, davvero in questo caso, ci siano "persone oltre le cose"...
E fa peraltro comprendere come non solo in Italia chi ha idee e iniziative valide si possa vedere ridere in faccia da chi non crede nei suoi progetti.
In ogni caso, una scommessa ben gestita e un'impresa che non solo realizza ottimi prodotti (e anche profitti), ma che sembra far posto a dei valori di attenzione e di tutela degli stessi lavoratori, il che, a mio avviso, merita un ulteriore plauso.
Il ventilato aumento dei prezzi immagino non sarà una caratteristica esclusiva di questo marchio: in ogni caso, i prodotti Stirling che ho provato fin qui sono davvero molto validi e decisamente presentati a costi più che accettabili (senza dubbio, sul mercato americano la differenza rispetto a prodotti analoghi è ancora più ampia), ma comunque meritevoli di un sostegno anche in caso di cambiamento, spero lieve, dei loro costi. Mi auguro proprio che possano continuare con questo piglio e con queste valide prospettive. E grazie @ezio79 per avere riportato questo testo.

[pablomoreno]

Stirling Soap Company
A Decade of Gratitude
......

A leggere questo intervento mi è venuta voglia di acquistare un Sapone Stirling ( anche se ho già fin troppi saponi XD).

[mamele]

A leggere questo intervento mi è venuta voglia di acquistare un Sapone Stirling ( anche se ho già fin troppi saponi XD).

Mi sa che cerchiamo sempre una scusa per acquistare saponi, pennelli, after shave.....

[salva9424]

Salve a tutti chiedo un’informazione, ho intenzione di comprare il mio primo stirling viste le recensioni positive e vorrei provare con la profumazione noir. Ora mi chiedo viste le decine di modelli differenti, tra loro cambia sono il profumo ma la base meccanica è la stessa per tutti gli stirling? O in base ad alcune specifiche fragranze abbiamo anche risultati differenti per quanto riguarda meccanica e protezione?

[Lee]

La base è la stessa per tutti tranne per un paio che hanno il sego di montone.

[salva9424]

Sego di montone? Cosa sarebbe nello specifico, e quale la sua funzionalità? Grazie

[ares56]

E' semplicemente il grasso, tallow in inglese, (in questo caso proveniente dal montone ma generalmente di bovino) che viene saponificato per dare corposità e migliori caratteristiche di protezione ai saponi.

[salva9424]

Ah ecco, quindi se non sbaglio da come ho capito è riportato sulla parte frontale del coperchio, in basso a sinistra tallow giusto? quello che ho scelto io il noir è riportato. Presumo sia da questo che si capisca se contiene il sego di montone o meno

[gigadeath]

No, devi guardare l'INCI. Beef tallow o Mutton tallow a seconda dei casi.

[Mantrakarma]

Ah ecco, quindi se non sbaglio da come ho capito è riportato sulla parte frontale del coperchio, in basso a sinistra tallow giusto? quello che ho scelto io il noir è riportato. Presumo sia da questo che si capisca se contiene il sego di montone o meno

I prodotti a base Mutton Tallow (sego di montone) di Stirling dovrebbero essere i seguenti:
- Electric Sheep
- Scots Pine Sheep

[ezio79]

Nel dettaglio, con sego di montone (Mutton Tallow) ce ne sono vari:

• Electric Sheep (Essential Oil, Mutton Tallow - Standard Line)
  This is the soap of android dreams. The wonderfully slick and comfortable shave of our Scots Pine Sheep Soap now has a cousin. Lemon, Citronella, and Eucalyptus essential oils blend well with the mutton tallow to provide an invigorating and supremely clean scent with this soap.
• Glastonbury (Essential Oil, Mutton Tallow - Availability: Spring/Summer)
  Based on a customer request and inspired by a music festival in the UK, this is a spa-like blend of Patchouli, Lavender, Oakmoss, Lichen, Frankincense, and Vetiver. A gloriously earthy scent. For those who don't mind Patchouli, this soap will put you in the middle of a field with a soft, grassy breeze blowing while Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page engage in an epic guitar battle in the background. Grab a blanket, have a seat on the ground, and enjoy the ride.
• Port-au-Prince (Essential Oil, Mutton Tallow - Availability: Spring/Summer)
  Earthy, grassy, and pungently sweet Haitian Vetiver combined with a small but uplifting kick of Lemongrass.
• Scots Pine Sheep (Essential Oil, Mutton Tallow - Standard Line)
  Made with mutton tallow and lanolin, it has a calm and pleasing pine scent that is nothing like a pine oil used in cleaning products, as it has a touch of oakmoss to round out the blend.
• Sheep Soap (No Fragrance - Standard Line)
  Our flagship soap. This is the soap that started it all and also our most nourishing soap. Sheep Soap is made with mutton tallow that is rich in fatty acids and nutrients, along with lanolin to lock moisture into your skin. You will have a difficult time finding a soap that is better for your skin.

cui si è aggiunto successivamente VAREN (inzialmente L.E.)

Our first original scent in quite some time, Varen was a project 2 years in the making. It was originally made for a Dutch wetshaving forum, so we gave it the name Varen, the Dutch word for "fern".
This natural fougere is a powerful blend of oakmoss, lavender, coumarin, vetiver, sage, cedar, lichen, and geranium.

https://www.stirlingsoap.com/products/varen-shave-soap

[ezio79]

io trovo talmente buone le basi Stirling che fatico a percepire significativi vantaggi nei modelli in cui è usato grasso di montone
(ho provato più della metà dei beef - in pratica ho escluso quelli le cui profumazioni non erano di mio gradimento - e tra i mutton: glastonbury, scots, sheep e varen)

[esatch]

io trovo talmente buone le basi Stirling che fatico a percepire significativi vantaggi nei modelli in cui è usato grasso di montone

esatto.

[Lino]

I saponi Stirling hanno prestazioni eccezionali ed utilizzarli costituisce, a mio avviso, una vera e propria benedizione per la pelle del viso.

[meraf]

Buonasera a tutti, qualcuno mi può aiutare a capire più o meno le profumazioni? Grazie!!!

[ezio79]

sono tantissime ...

ecco un parziale elenco che avevo approntato (su base personale) qualche tempo fa

[Almond Creme]
Description Delicious Marzipan is the second name for this soap. It really needs no other description, other than to say you might try to eat it. It tastes like soap, though. Don’t ask how I know…..For Men and Women. (Fragrance Oil)

[Autumn Glory]
Damp Earth Cedar Oak Musk Sandalwood Black Pepper Apple
Description A difficult aroma to put into words. Imagine walking through the damp woods on a brisk fall morning with the falling leave in all their autumn glory. (Fragrance Oil)

[Baker Street]
Juniper Bergamot Jasmine Patchouli
Description Thank to the generosity of the owners of Strop Shoppe, we are proud to be able to resurrect this iconic scent. A fresh and masculine blend of Juniper, Bergamot, Jasmine, and Patchouli.

Christmas Eve
Pine Fir Evergreen Vanilla Cranberry Mistletoe Cinnamon Clove Ginger Nutmeg
Description With a base blend of pine, fir, evergreen, and mistletoe, and top notes of warm vanilla, cranberry, and seasonal spices, this scent is sure to put you in the Christmas spirit. (Fragrance Oil)

[Executive Man]
Pineapple Birch Black Currant Musk Oakmoss Bergamot Apple Patchouli Jasmine Ambergris Vanilla Rose
Description You make your own decisions and stand by them. You give orders and expect them to be immediately followed. You walk into a room and all eyes are on you. You are the Executive Man. If confidence in a $2,000 suit could be bottled, this is what it would smell like. Inspired by (but not affiliated with) Creed Aventus. (Fragrance Oil)

Scots Pine Sheep (mutton tallow) Pine
Description The shave soap version of our popular Scots Pine Sheep Soap. Made with mutton tallow and lanolin, it has a calm and pleasing pine scent that is nothing like a pine oil used in cleaning products. The fatty acid rich mutton tallow combined with the lanolin leave your face nourished and smooth. (Essential Oil)

Texas on Fire x2
Cedar Birch Tar Cade Labdanum Vanilla
Description Leather. Smoky. Cedar. Made with Birch Tar, Cade, Labdanum, Vanilla, and a heaping helping of Texas Cedarwood. This is the scent of a forest fire in Texas. (Essential Oil)

Vanilla Sandalwood Vanilla Sandalwood
Description By popular demand from our customers... Warm, sweet Vanilla and soft, masculine Sandalwood. Matches the bath soap of the same name. (Fragrance Oil)



Agar
Agarwood Cedar Smoke Spices
Description A warm and aromatic blend of agarwood (oud), cedar, smoke, and exotic spices. (Fragrance Oil)


Alighieri
Amber Citrus Tonka Bean Florals Lavender Cedar Nutmeg Vetiver Musk Leather Chamomile Sandalwood
Description Deep and spicy, this scent is inspired by Dior's Fahrenheit for Men.
A very complex fragrance with leather, cedar, sandalwood, vetiver, musk, amber, nutmeg, and tonka bean.
It's lightened up by citrus, lavender, chamomile, and soft floral notes.

Almond Creme
Description Delicious Marzipan is the second name for this soap. It really needs no other description, other than to say you might try to eat it. It tastes like soap, though. Don’t ask how I know…..For Men and Women. (Fragrance Oil)

Arkadia
Orange Vetiver Black Pepper Grapefruit Cedar Patchouli Vanilla Geranium
Description This scent has top notes of Orange and Grapefruit, middle notes of Black Pepper and Pelargonium (Geranium), and base notes of Patchouli, Cedar, Vetiver, and Vanilla. It's elegant, grassy, and amazingly provocative. Inspired by Terre d'Hermes (Fragrance Oil)

Bay Rum
Bay Orange Nutmeg Cinnamon Clove
Description Our take on the classic Bay Rum scent. Bay West Indies (Pimenta Racemosa) essential oil is blended with Orange, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, and a hint of Clove to provide a very complex and masculine aroma. (Essential Oil)

Ben Franklin
Frankincense Benzoin Nutmeg Clove
Description Made with Benzoin, Frankincense, Clove, and Nutmeg essential oils. This soap smells like an older gentleman’s pantaloons at the end of a hot July day in Philadelphia, drafting important documents with no air conditioner. It’s actually a very unique scent that reminded a few of my testers of a root beer float. An instant favorite. (Essential Oil)
NOTE: The description is tongue-in-cheek. It smells like a wonderful blend of Frankincense, Benzoin, Nutmeg, and Clove. It doesn't actually smell like sweaty old man pants. As of 3 March 2015, we have been averaging about 2-3 inquiries per week as to why we would make a soap that smells like an older gentleman's trousers......

BLACK ICE

British Leather
Leather Bergamot Cedar Musk Lemon Rosemary Vetiver Orange Honey Tonka Bean
Description This is a scent that says, "I've seen every episode of Matlock and I'm proud of it!" Inspired by English Leather. (Fragrance Oil)

Coniferous
Pine Fir Cedar Lichen
Description A blend of Scots Pine, Fir Needle, Texas Cedarwood, and Lichen Essential Oils. This isn’t your typical “woodsy” smell found in shaving and cologne products. This is you taking a stroll through the forest when out of nowhere two trees jump out and pin you to the ground while a third three sits on top of you and beats the stuffing out of you. Then, once he’s done, he jams some moss up your nose. Caution: May cause excessive Manliness. (Essential Oil)

Glastonbury (mutton tallow)
Patchouli Lavender Oakmoss Frankincense Vetiver Lichen
Description Based on a customer request and inspired by a music festival in the UK, this is a spa-like blend of Patchouli, Lavender, Oakmoss, Lichen, Frankincense, and Vetiver. A gloriously earthy scent. For those who don’t mind Patchouli, this soap will put you in the middle of a field with a soft, grassy breeze blowing while Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page engage in an epic guitar battle in the background. Grab a blanket, have a seat on the ground, and enjoy the ride. (Essential Oil)

Haverford
Tobacco Woods Vanilla Tobacco Leaf Tonka Bean Fruit Cocoa
Description Named after one of our favorite Parks and Rec characters, this scent is inspired by Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille and it's just that.
Warm vanilla surrounds a floral tobacco base in this sexy, masculine combination. It's sure to bring you back to the bathroom to get another whiff throughout the day.
***This is the same scent we took to the 2018 Fair Debonaire in St. Louis.

Hipster
Amber Coffee Musk Leather Woods Citrus Florals Vetiver
Description He's masculine and perfectly groomed. You can practically feel the softness of his beard, the plaid of his shirt, the strength of his coffee. He is a hipster. This scent boasts of amber, coffee, musk, leather, and wood are rounded out by citrus, floral, and vetiver notes.

Iced Coffee Hazelnut Coffee
Description Made with a roasted black coffee fragrance with a hint of hazelnut, this soap also packs an icy menthol kick. This is a great unisex scent.

INTREPID MAN

MARGARITAS IN THE ARTIC

Queen of Hearts
Amber Caramel Honeysuckle Vanilla Berries Jasmine Sandalwood
Description Joker ain't the only fool that will do anything for this scent! It's an easy scent to love with notes of caramel, vanilla, berries, honeysuckle, amber, sandalwood, and jasmine.

Varen (mutton tallow)
Oakmoss Lavender Coumarin Vetiver Sage Cedar Lichen Geranium
Description Our first original scent in quite some time, Varen was a project 2 years in the making. It was originally made for a Dutch wetshaving forum, so we gave it the name Varen, the Dutch word for "fern". This natural fougere is a powerful blend of oakmoss, lavender, coumarin, vetiver, sage, cedar, lichen, and geranium.


___


Deton-8
Vetiver Leather Chili Bergamot Black Pepper Tobacco Saffron
Description This scent is inspired by Spicebomb by Viktor & Rolf. It's spicy and a little sweet with notes of pepper, saffron, tobacco, leather, chili, vetiver, and bergamot. Apparently also the soap formerly known as Kaboom.
Kaboom Vetiver Leather Saffron Chili Pink Peppercorn Elemi Grapefruit Tobacco Bergamot Cinnamon

Port-Au-Prince (mutton tallow) Vetiver Lemongrass
Description Earthy, grassy, and pungently sweet Haitian Vetiver combined with a small but uplifting kick of Lemongrass. (Essential Oil)


SCARN
Inspired by one of our favorite television shows and Sauvage by Christian Dior. it's a
fresh, spicy, woodsy scent with notes of pepper, bergamot, lavender, vetiver, geranium, patchouli, cedar, and labdanum.

Stirling Noir
Oakmoss Leather Lavende Fir Sandalwood Lemon Vetiver Geranium
Description Our shave soap version of the popular Drakkar Noir cologne, with which we have no affiliation. (Fragrance Oil)

[ercolinux]

C'è anche il
Pharaoh's Dreamsicle
Arancia rossa, arancia dolce, vaniglia e un po' di muschio egiziano: dolce come il Dreamsicle da cui prende il nome, che è un gelato fatto di crema alla vaniglia ricoperto da un ghiacciolo alla frutta (in questo caso all'arancio).

[whiteblack]

qst sembra molto interessante! al momento possiedo solo gentleman dunshire e mountain man concordo con lino sul fattore benessere sulla pelle li trovo veramente ottimi

[Krapac]

Le profumazioni degli Stirling sono presenti e sfiziose, la meccanica e la scorrevolezza veramente buona. Tra i miei tormentoni estivi l’extra glaciale “Strawberry Lemonade”

[esatch]

Le profumazioni degli Stirling sono presenti e sfiziose, la meccanica e la scorrevolezza veramente buona. Tra i miei tormentoni estivi l’extra glaciale “Strawberry Lemonade”

Ecco, l'unico Stirling che non mi è piaciuto
Io trovo sappia di qualcosa di strano, non dico copertone, ma insomma...

[Krapac]

I gusti non sono tutti uguali ed è bello così. Personalmente lo trovo freschissimo e persistente, in più abbinato al Floid o al Reuzle sulla mia pelle è una bomba. Gli Stirling li apprezzo proprio per i gusti forti e diretti, per esempio il Cocco Lime che è un altro dei miei “gusti” preferiti.

[mamele]

Per quanto riguarda la linea Stirling, c'è qualcosa che si avvicini allo Snake Bite o al Cryoneg di Chiseld F ??

[esatch]

I gusti non sono tutti uguali ed è bello così. Personalmente lo trovo freschissimo e persistente, in più abbinato al Floid o al Reuzle sulla mia pelle è una bomba. Gli Stirling li apprezzo proprio per i gusti forti e diretti, per esempio il Cocco Lime che è un altro dei miei “gusti” preferiti.

E certo che i gusti sono personali e ci mancherebbe pure altro...
Ecco, ora mi hai fatto venire la scimmia per il cocco lime...solo che sarebbe il 32mo striling...

[esatch]

Per quanto riguarda la linea Stirling, c'è qualcosa che si avvicini allo Snake Bite o al Cryoneg di Chiseld F ??

Secondo me i glacial, gli unici che sulla carta dovrebbero, sono comunque meno "impattanti", per così dire.
Io se proprio voglio il botto, ci aggiungo il cube della phoenix come pre.