When I first tried a Grooming Department soap (Magnolia) I noticed that my skin felt very smooth after my shave. I also noticed that the lather was slicker than most other soaps I have used. I later purchased the After the Fire soap. Once again, I noticed how slick the lather was and how great my face felt after the shave. I looked at the ingredients of the soap and saw that it contained many ingredients than other soaps.
I then decided to look at the ingredients of various soap makers. The first thing I saw was that GD soaps seem to have many more ingredients in contrast to classic and other artisan soaps. In addition, GD soaps contain more variety of oils in their soaps.
For example, here is a list of ingredients that Murphy & McNeill Claddagh contains:
These are the ingredients for DR Harris soaps:
- Stearic Acid, Water, Beef Tallow, Duck Fat, Potassium Hydroxide, Kokum Butter, Castor Oil, Shea Butter, Vegetable Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Coconut Milk, Kaolin Clay, Lanolin, Tocopheral, Fragrance, Tussah Silk
I have never tried a Sterling soap but some folks on B&B seem to like it. So I went to their website and found that these are the ingredients for Sterling's Agar soap:
- Potassium Palmate, Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua, Potassium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Parfum, Linalool, Sodium Chloride, Petrolatum, Palm Kernel Acid, Coumarin, Orthotolyl Biguanide, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium EDTA, CI 77891
Then I examined the ingredients contained in Grooming Department Soaps. What I observed was that the ingredients vary tremendously depending on the soap. I also noticed that some of the GD soaps contain either Peptides or Silk Amino Acids: ingredients contained in my wife's rather expensive facial cream that she uses.
- Beef Tallow, Stearic Acid, Distilled Water, Castor Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Vegetable Glycerin, Fragrance Oil, Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Coconut Milk, Lanolin, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate
For example, here are the ingredients in the Asinus, the unscented soap.
The ingredients for the Mallard Lavender soap:
- Aloe Vera Juice, Stearic Acid, Donkey Milk, Potassium Hydroxide, Duck Fat, Lamb Tallow, Castor Oil, Glycerin, Kokum Butter, Shea Butter, Cupuacu Butter, Sucrose Cocoate, Fragrance, Safflower Oil, Jojoba Oil, Coconut Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Acacia Senegal Gum, Kaolin Clay, Avocado Oil, Mango Butter, Grapeseed Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Citrate, Xanthan Gum, Carnauba Wax, Allantoin, Chamomile Extract, Sea Buckthorn Extract. Flaxseed Oil, Sacha Inchi Extract. Silk Amino Acids and Tocopheryl Acetate.
For Janus, the vegan soap:
- Aloe Vera Juice, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Duck Fat, Castor Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Mango Butter, Coconut Oil, Goat Milk, Meadowfoam Oil, Avocado oil, Fragrance, Silk Peptides, Glycerin, Sunflower Lecithin, Sucrose Cocoate, Xanthan Gum, Betaine, Carnauba wax, Kaolin Clay, Calendula Extract, Sacha Inchi extract, Green Tea Extract, Allantoin, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Lactate and Tocopheryl Acetate.
My conclusion: it's not just beef tallow that seems to make a difference in soaps. Rather, it is the combination of various ingredients that result in the differences.
- Aloe Vera Juice, Stearic Acid, Oatmeal Milk, Potassium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Shea Butter, Cupuacu Butter, Mango Butter, Camelina Oil, Fragrance, Marshmallow Extract, Glycerine, Sunflower Lecithin, Grape Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Larch Arabinogalactan, Glucomannan (Konjac root), Corn Silk Extract, Beta Sitosterol, Kaolin Clay, Sodium hydroxide, Betaine, Allantoin, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Citrate, Xanthan Gum, Grape Seed Extract, Chamomile Extract, Green Tea Extract and Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E).
Very thorough and informative Jim. Please add my thanks to the list.
For me, and I think for many others, the post shave is one of the things that distinguishes GDept soaps from many others. My GDept post-shave routing is simple:
- Paint my face with leftover lather and let it sit for a minute or two while I tidy up.
- Wipe off the lather, rinse with minimal but sufficient water, and allow the water air dry if time permits. All those skin goodies in the soap are then left on your skin. BTW, Mohammad (the proprietor of GDept) recommends this procedure.
- Use an astringent if necessary.
- Apply fragrance.