Thread: New soap question

Before getting into soap characteristics, I want to remind you that for a shaving soap to have sufficient slickness for shaving, the lather must be properly hydrated. Every soap is different in the amount of water needed to produce an optimal lather. If the lather was not slick enough, you might try adding more water a few drops at a time. If that does not help, you have a bad soap. It would have been most helpful if you had mentioned the name of the soap, unless it was a local artisan. I purchased one such shaving soap at a local fair. I could shave with it, but it was far from optimal.

I have evaluated a lot of soaps: more than 160 soaps from 60 different soap formulations. Some have been so bad that I threw them in the trash, some I relegated to shower use. Most of them, however, were usable ranging from good to superb.

The type of soap that works best for you depends largely on your beard type and skin type. If you have a very thin, light beard and fairly tough skin, you can use most any soaps. I have a coarse, heavy beard and sensitive skin, so I prefer higher quality soaps. That is why I have tried so many different soaps in the pursuit of the one that works best for me. I continue to evaluate new soaps in order to provide guidance to others. I recently became an tester for one of the top artisan soapmakers to help evaluate new formulations being developed.

My best soaps are easy to load, easy to lather, are extremely slick, have cushion to protect my face from the blade, and have ingredients designed to moisturize, condition and pamper my sensitive skin. However, some of the others who have posted do not necessarily want the same thing in a soap that I do. You might not either.

As an example, Arko has been recommended as a good soap to start. I know some shavers who use Arko every day. I could not do that, however, as Arko leaves my face feeling tight and dry. However, it is great for those whose skin does not need moisturizing.

No matter your beard type or skin type, any shave soap should be slick. If your soap is not slick, it does not deserve to be called a shave soap. For those on a budget, I recommend Yardley of London moisturizing bath bar with Cocoa butter and Shea butter. It loads easily, lathers easily, is plenty slick and the fatty butters do a decent job of skin conditioning. Where this bar soap fails to satisfy me is in the area of cushion/protection.

Originally Posted by joelkerr

I've definitely gotten irritation from soap before. I know because there was burning before I even put the razor to my face. The soap in question was Henri & Victoria Cognac & Cuban Cigars.

Same experience with the same soap. Others seem to use it with no issues though. Irritation from a soap varies person to person.

Bob

Bob

It was some someone got me from a craft fair. After reading comments im guessing its the soap quality.

I bet that was the original formulation. Obie commented that he had the same reaction you did. On the other hand, I have not had any adverse reaction and quite enjoy both the soap and the scent.

I met one of the owners of H & V and he confessed that one of the components of that batch caused irritation for some of its users. They changed the formulation and the newer batches seem to be OK.

Try contacting them to see if they will replace the offending item.

Originally Posted by DZEC

I bet that was the original formulation. Obie commented that he had the same reaction you did. On the other hand, I have not had any adverse reaction and quite enjoy both the soap and the scent.

I met one of the owners of H & V and he confessed that one of the components of that batch caused irritation for some of its users. They changed the formulation and the newer batches seem to be OK.

Try contacting them to see if they will replace the offending item.

Thanks for the update on that H&V soap. Fortunately, it was a sample from a forum member so nothing to replace. That was years ago and put me off buying any H&V soaps since then. May have to give it another try.

Bob

Originally Posted by DZEC

I bet that was the original formulation. Obie commented that he had the same reaction you did. On the other hand, I have not had any adverse reaction and quite enjoy both the soap and the scent.

I met one of the owners of H & V and he confessed that one of the components of that batch caused irritation for some of its users. They changed the formulation and the newer batches seem to be OK.

Try contacting them to see if they will replace the offending item.

I gave that soap away a couple years ago to someone who quite enjoyed it. I'm totally ok with that. I also found the scent too strong and sweet for my tastes, so I'm not interested in replacing it.

Another factor in soap performance can be as simple as your water. When I moved around five years ago, most of my soaps continued as before, one or two just refused to lather with the water here, and a couple that I really hadn't cared for in the past suddenly perked up. The ones whose performance changed were, in my case, all "artisan" soaps bought from etsy sellers, craft fair vendors, etc. The usual suspects such as Mitchell's, MDC, the Body Shop cream, just continued on as before.

Yet another YMMV factor to consider.

Maybe not the quality of the soap, although I’ve found most artisan craft types lacking in quality, but the irritation is something in there that doesn’t agree with your skin.

When I first read your post, I thought about recommending adding more water. Messing with the water content to get in dialed in. After reading through the thread and finding out it was purchased at a craft fair, I would tend to believe it's a bad soap. I have had horrible experiences with soaps from craft fairs and Etsy. I won't buy them anymore. There are too many reputable artisans to be rolling the dice.

If you want an artisan soap try Mystic Waters, Cold River Soap Works, Mike's Natural. There are plenty more, but these artisans have been in the game for a long time and their prices are reasonable.

Back to old faithful tonight. Slick as glass and smooth. Ill stick with the name brands and tried and tested. Thanks for the input from everyone.