I obtained a sample of Razor Emporium's Barbershop soap yesterday and, having never tried any of their soaps, I felt the need to try it today.
Website Description:
"...made entirely from scratch here in our workshop in Phoenix, Arizona. With notes of musk, geranium, bergamot, oakmoss, orange zest and patchouli, this Barbershop scent is clean, fresh and natural and is a "classic" scent. The lather quality is wonderful and it provides a clean, slick shaving surface without any heavy feeling on your skin or irritating after effects. With glycerin for glide and shea butter for skin conditioning and a great post-shave feel..."
Listed as "All natural and VEGAN".
The website offers a matching balm and splash.
Ingredients:
"Stearic acid, water, coconut oil, potassium hydroxide, glycerin, shea butter, fragrance, sodium hydroxide"
The gear:
Razor: Wacker Chevalier
Brush: Heritage Collection Klenzo with a SHD knot. This knot is more dense, and hence has more backbone than most of my brushes. I wondered if it would be fair to use it for my first attempt since it tends to eat lather, but it worked just fine with the soap.
The shave:
I've gotten use to my WK, DG, MdC and other high-end soaps and didn't necessarily expect too much from the Razor Emporium soap. I'll admit it, I was surprised at the performance. It lathered easily, though it took more water than I expected and needed re-working between passes (I hereby acknowledge that I take my time with each pass). But with that said, it produced floppy peaks in a rich, creamy lather that had that "well hydrated sheen". Application was smooth and satisfying. And the traditional barbershop scent was spot-on and was refreshed each time I added a few drops of water and swirled the lather.
Glide was superb, on par with any soap I have tried to date and far, far better than many. Residual slickness was a little disappointing but satisfactory. But if needed, another dab with the brush treated me to another burst of that classic Barbershop scent.
Post-shave:
The soap rinsed off more easily than many soaps I have used. The post-shave feel was wonderful, clean, soft and smooth all over, with no hint of drying at all. The scent didn't last long, as is typical with most soaps. And the soap had me looking forward to a big splash of Clubman throughout the shave. (C'mon, Barbershop ... Clubman... Does it get any better?)
Conclusions:
I've always skipped over Razor Emporium soaps, thinking I was using the best of the best already. Besides, Razor Emporium sells hardware, not software, right? But this sample has me rethinking that. The soap performed very well and the scent was delightful. My generous dollop from the sample produced mounds and mounds of lather, so I assume I can get by with less product than I used today. That would make this a very economical soap as well. If you are looking for an excellent performing soap at a good price, I would highly recommend you check out Razor Emporium soaps.
Website Description:
"...made entirely from scratch here in our workshop in Phoenix, Arizona. With notes of musk, geranium, bergamot, oakmoss, orange zest and patchouli, this Barbershop scent is clean, fresh and natural and is a "classic" scent. The lather quality is wonderful and it provides a clean, slick shaving surface without any heavy feeling on your skin or irritating after effects. With glycerin for glide and shea butter for skin conditioning and a great post-shave feel..."
Listed as "All natural and VEGAN".
The website offers a matching balm and splash.
Ingredients:
"Stearic acid, water, coconut oil, potassium hydroxide, glycerin, shea butter, fragrance, sodium hydroxide"
The gear:
Razor: Wacker Chevalier
Brush: Heritage Collection Klenzo with a SHD knot. This knot is more dense, and hence has more backbone than most of my brushes. I wondered if it would be fair to use it for my first attempt since it tends to eat lather, but it worked just fine with the soap.
The shave:
I've gotten use to my WK, DG, MdC and other high-end soaps and didn't necessarily expect too much from the Razor Emporium soap. I'll admit it, I was surprised at the performance. It lathered easily, though it took more water than I expected and needed re-working between passes (I hereby acknowledge that I take my time with each pass). But with that said, it produced floppy peaks in a rich, creamy lather that had that "well hydrated sheen". Application was smooth and satisfying. And the traditional barbershop scent was spot-on and was refreshed each time I added a few drops of water and swirled the lather.
Glide was superb, on par with any soap I have tried to date and far, far better than many. Residual slickness was a little disappointing but satisfactory. But if needed, another dab with the brush treated me to another burst of that classic Barbershop scent.
Post-shave:
The soap rinsed off more easily than many soaps I have used. The post-shave feel was wonderful, clean, soft and smooth all over, with no hint of drying at all. The scent didn't last long, as is typical with most soaps. And the soap had me looking forward to a big splash of Clubman throughout the shave. (C'mon, Barbershop ... Clubman... Does it get any better?)
Conclusions:
I've always skipped over Razor Emporium soaps, thinking I was using the best of the best already. Besides, Razor Emporium sells hardware, not software, right? But this sample has me rethinking that. The soap performed very well and the scent was delightful. My generous dollop from the sample produced mounds and mounds of lather, so I assume I can get by with less product than I used today. That would make this a very economical soap as well. If you are looking for an excellent performing soap at a good price, I would highly recommend you check out Razor Emporium soaps.
