Thread: Elvado soap

Just ordered one of these from MenEssentials. I've heard good things about them but didn't find anything when I did a search. Has anyone ever used these soaps? I ordered the one they made for MenEssentials, The Danforth.

Originally Posted by kwlfca

Just ordered one of these from MenEssentials. I've heard good things about them but didn't find anything when I did a search. Has anyone ever used these soaps? I ordered the one they made for MenEssentials, The Danforth.

Visit ElvadoforMen to get more information on Elvado products .
See Gregs Shaving Soaps Review for a recent review of Elvado Key Lime Shaving Soap

Cheers!

Originally Posted by Mancub

Visit ElvadoforMen to get more information on Elvado products .
See Gregs Shaving Soaps Review for a recent review of Elvado Key Lime Shaving Soap

Cheers!

I was actually more looking for fellow SRP members' experiences with these soaps. I was referring to a SRP search, not a google search...thanks though. Have you ever tried one of their soaps?

I have used the Elvado MoBay Rum and Madera Almond. The fragrances are pleasant, not over powering. As a glycerin based hard soap they do require a little more water and work to get a creamy lather (compared to some cream based soaps) but the glide feels smooth and the addition of the Shea Butter in all of the soaps provide excellent skin hydration.

The Danforth one was specially made for MenEssentials and comes in shea butter and olive oil based soaps. The olive oil one was recommended to me, so that was the one I opted for. Grooming, Shaving, Skin Care, Lifestyle - MenEssentials Grooming, Shaving, Skin Care, Lifestyle - MenEssentials

Got my soap a few days ago....man does it smell strongly of oregano...
I didn't think it would be that heavy and would have more bergamot tones in it.
I made a test lather with it and it seems like a good soap, but I just can't stand their Danforth scent...I couldn't even shave with it.

Sorry to hear that The Danforth does not work for you. I do you use it on occasion and find it works well for me ( lather & scent ). Like the product descriptions says "Not for the faint of heart, this is a powerfully scented shaving soap. Opa!" You should give Elvado a go as the MoBay Rum & Madera Almond soaps are a few traditional wet-shave scents that many find pleasant (I'm partial to the MoBay).
Cheers!

I just received a puck of the Elvado Unscented from a raffle. I have not shaved with it yet, but the test lathers aren't quite as good as what I'm used to. The soap seems pretty slick, but I have not been able to get it very dense. It is a little airy for my taste. I will continue to play around with it (possibly add more water at the beginning) and see how it goes. I am not yet ready to write this one off! I think it will perform well once I get the hang of it.

So, after much testing- here is my full review of the Elvado Unscented Shave Soap:

I was fortunate enough to score a shave set in a raffle- which included a Vie Long Cachurro horse hair brush, and a puck of the unscented Elvado shave soap. Elvado is a newer entry to the world of traditional lathering soaps, and they are from Canada. Their soap is listed as "Bio-Pure Vegan," with African Shea Butter. The packaging also says that it "yields over 180 superb shaves." It does have a very nice ingredient list- which I've listed below:

Ingredients: Cocos Nucifera (Coconut Oil), Elaesis Guineensis (Palm Oil) , Cathamus Tintorius (Safflower Oil), Glycerine (Kosher of vegetable origin), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Purified Water, Fragrance (Parfum 100% Natural), Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbitol, Sorbitan Oleate, Avena Sativa (Oat Protein), Titanium Dioxide (Mineral Whitener)

Now, on to the performance...I have to say, for a soap with quality ingredients- which is priced at $20 for a 4oz. puck, I expected it to perform very well. Unfortunately, I found the lather to be lackluster in almost every respect. I utilized various lathering techniques- Dry method, Marco method, soaking the puck, bowl, face, you name it...and I never got a nice dense lather from it. I also used a variety of brushes to see if that would make a difference (badger, boar, horse, synthetic). No matter how I lathered, the air bubbles stayed somewhat large, and it dissipated on my face rather quickly. The soap provides adequate slickness and protection; but I constantly had to reapply lather during my passes.

Elvado also released a video showing how the soap lathers. Even in their video, it is apparent that the lather is meant to stay on the fluffy side- which for me is a no-go. Here is a link to the video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater

At this point, I wouldn't feel right selling or even giving this away to someone else- as the performance just isn't on par with what the vast majority of wet shavers consider to be ideal. Can you shave with it? Of course. Are there a myriad of other options that perform much better-while costing less? Absolutely. Because of this, I took the most ethical action I could, and disposed of the soap- save for the container. The container is very nice, and will be used to house my new puck of Stirling soap- which should arrive very shortly. The best thing about this shave set is that I got a very nice Vie Long brush- which I will gladly use!

My recommendation, I would not go out and purchase this soap. For all of the reasons I mentioned earlier, it's just not worth it. If you are given a puck for some reason- try it out. You may like it (ya know, YMMV and all). But as someone who has used a variety of quality soaps, Elvado does not live up to my expectations of what a quality soap should be.

I also want to note that Elvado offers other shaving products too (balms, cleansers, etc...). And for all I know, those could be fantastic products. I don't want to come off as bashing the company in any way. I love that there is another company offering traditional shaving products. My hope is that they would continue to test and improve their soap, so that one day they would have a killer product!