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Have any gents backed mass-produced soaps after trying some artisan ones like me?

Dear gents,
I am quite surprised with my preferences for soaps.
I think I will only buy mass-produced soaps rather than try artisan ones after they are gone.
IMO mass-produced soaps are a bit more stable than artisan ones due to their long-producing history.
More often than not, artisan soaps give me better performances than mass-produced ones do.
However, the differences are not significant for me to do trial-and-error.
Mass-produced soaps are always cheaper than artisan ones,
although price tags are not quite important for us in the world of wet-shaving.
Price tags are some pluses for me at most.
We always own more than we need.

I am quite pleased with the following soaps in recent weeks.
DR Harris: They are quite awesome since getting techniques in bowl-lathering. Please remember to bloom them first.
Cella: Cella never lets anyone down.
Tabac: How can we forget this iconic soaps? Similarly, Tabac rewards me if I bloom it first.

Do any B&B-ers back mass-produced soaps after trying artisan soaps like me?
What are your favorite soaps?
Hope you are all well in this challenging times.
Happy with shaving lives.
 
Personally, I stay away from artisans or anyone else making soaps in their kitchen.

I have used them in the beginning due to the hype, and after spending hundreds of dollars I realized it was a big mistake.

Currently I rotate among 5 brands, all made in EU to the highest standards and at least for two decades: MWF, Cella, Valobra, MDC, Castle Forbes

None of them sells 20 different bases, each with 50 different scents like many American artisans. There must be a reason for that
 
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Personally, I stay away from artisans or anyone else making soaps in their kitchen.

I have used them in the beginning due to the hype, and after spending hundreds of dollars I realized it was a big mistake.

Currently I rotate among 5 brands, all made in EU to the highest standards and at least for two decades: MWF, Cella, Valobra, MDC, Castle Forbes

None of them sells 20 different bases, each with 50 different scents like many American artisans. There must be a reason for that

Dear @macintoshBR,
You listed one of my favorite soaps, Valobra which is seldom mentioned in recent years.
I cannot find them.
I am wondering if Valobra does not produce hard soaps.
 
Dear @macintoshBR,
You listed one of my favorite soaps, Valobra which is seldom mentioned in recent years.
I cannot find them.
I am wondering if Valobra does not produce hard soaps.

Sir, Valobra is currently on a hiatus. They have been acquired by Ludovico Martelli, the parent company who owns Proraso in the end of 2018. Proraso, on the other hand, has been acquired by an Asian investor in late 2019.

since then, Valobra has been an incognito. No one knows if they will be back. Luckily, I have stocked enough of their hard shaving sticks and face soaps to last me 4-5 years.

I love all Valobra products. It would be really sad if they didn’t return
 
Sir, Valobra is currently on a hiatus. They have been acquired by Ludovico Martelli, the parent company who owns Proraso in the end of 2018. Proraso, on the other hand, has been acquired by an Asian investor in late 2019.

since then, Valobra has been an incognito. No one knows if they will be back. Luckily, I have stocked enough of their hard shaving sticks and face soaps to last me 4-5 years.

I love all Valobra products. It would be really sad if they didn’t return

WOW...
Really sad news.
I love Valobra hard soaps very very much.
When I had very bad techniques in lathering, Valobra rewarded me a lot.
I really want to use them at this time.
 
Count me in. While I still try the ocassional small batch soap (I have liked some of Uncle Jons, and have a sampler from Southern Witchcraft on the way), my 3 main soaps are mass produced: La Toja, MdC, and Pereira.
 
My problem is the definition of ‘artisan!’ Is a small company that has produced great products for decades ’artisan’ or is it ‘mass produced?’ For example, I love Haslinger, MWF, MdC, etc. These companies have been around and can be counted on to have something I will enjoy!!

In contrast, I have had hit-and-miss experiences with some products where the formula changed, the company closed, or the artisan moved on. In other words, when it comes time to restock.

But, that’s me. Others enjoy finding the newest, rarest and most ‘au courant’ product! :a29:
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
My 'bedrock' (available, reasonable and excellent performance) soaps/creams:
Tabac
Haslinger
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Pre de Provance
Proraso
La Toja


I have some MdC to try and some Vito's on the way - both may make my core group.

Stirling, RazoRock, Fine, Cyril R. Salter and Saponificio Varesino could easily also be on the list.

Are MdC and S.V. considered 'artisan'? They do push the criteria of 'affordable'.

Bottom line: There are enough great soaps and creams out there that are readily available and affordable that are top notch, excellent performers that I don't feel the need to be constantly chasing "unobtanium".

YMMV
 
I tend to stick with the long time makers, TOBS, DR Harris, Tabac, Cella, Proroso, etc., but as mentioned above, when products are reformulated sometimes they fail miserably. One of my favorite soaps was Crabtree & Evelyn. Great, hard, English style soap. A puck of Nomad or Sienna was bliss. They reformulated becoming useless, latherless, slickless, weird scented crud. A second reformulation was much better, but still not up to what was before. They are no longer in the shave soap business.

Artisans are hit and miss. Many pucks have gone to the shower after one or two tries, others I really like, but with the current hype and flash sale marketing I won't stay up to midnight attempting to be one of the lucky ones to snag a replacement. Some "artisans" business models or ethics keep me away.
 
I use "mass-produced" (Proraso, Arko, La Toja, Speick) soaps, and I likely always will.

I also use what I term "traditional" artisans, those that have been around for "a while"...amorphous term, admittedly. I always seem to have MdC, SV, LPL, Saponifico Bignoli, etc. around. I also need to bring Santa Maria Novella creme back into my rotation as I used the last of my jar some time ago. I especially have an affinity for Italian-made, and I'm not even of Italian heritage. Oh, I also currently have two Razorock soaps (Dead Sea & SMdF); the only other Razorock product I've ever used is Mudder Focker.

The only "new" artisan soap I use regularly is Barrister & Mann, and the other "new" artisan stuff I'm currently interested in is focused on the Spanish artisans (Eufros, Daisho, Joserra). I just don't really get into the super-fatted, short-to-last soaps.
 
I make soap at home and sold for a short time as an artisan many years back. I use my own soaps often.

That said, the commercial stuff I buy is all mass-produced. Keeping in mind that mass-produced is somewhat relative, of course.

I like hard soaps more than soft. I don't like heavily-scented or heavily-superfatted stuff. I like the shelf stability of the big brand stuff. My commercial soap preferences:

Palmolive
Speick
Harris
Cyril Salter (current tallow formula)
Fine Accoutrements (yes, small operation, but the soap is a hard soap made by a mass manufacturer)

This is not to denigrate artisans. Stirling, Mike's, and B&M certainly have quality control handled, and they have been a this a while. The artisans push the envelope with scent and have explored some cool things in their formulations. It's just that I can have a lifetime supply on hand of my favorite soaps without worrying about rancid fat or drastic changes to the scent. And it's not paranoid to assume my favorites will reformulate or otherwise disappear. In my time as a wetshaver, these fantastic soaps have been discontinued or reformulated to worthlessness:

I Coloniali
Tallow AOS
Trumper
T&H
Valobra
Klar Kabinett
Crabtree & Evelyn
Taylor of Old Bond St. Lavender
Irisch Moos

Keeping a good supply of Palmolive on hand seems prudent.
 
Out of my 80 soaps, around half are commercial brands that make milled soaps.

I would like more but unfortunately, not many makers make triple milled soaps so it's more a supply issue for me.

Artisan soaps are really nice and I enjoy them but I do react to 1 out of 5 so this was basically a big risk for me.

In any case, I'm done with soaps for now since I have around 35 years worth in my den.
 
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