Monterey Soap Company Shaving Soap

Couldn't agree more with Joel and Aaron.

I had the opportunity to visit the shop: it's as wonderful as described.

The soap? Not so much. On the upside, it's pretty cheap (I recall something like $6 or $7 a puck, though it's been a while since I bought it). The scents are pretty solid, too. I don't have the strongest sense of smell, sadly, but these penetrated my defenses in a pretty pleasant way.

On the not-so-upside, the lather just dissipated incredibly fast. The shaves weren't terrible by any means, but this soap falls into my "with so many other options out there" file. If I ever do take the opportunity to visit and buy some more, I'd view it as a primer for superlather. In that role, it might just work very, very well.

I found the same problem with the soap drying out. Despite being local, I doubt i'll be buying from them again.

However, the store is a fun visit.

First let me say.... the actual Monterey Soap Company store on Cannery Row is an amazing place to visit. FILLED with incredible soaps, candles, etc. Really a wonderful little place, an absolute joy to visit! The neatest part... you can actually watch them make soaps, candles, etc.

Now - onto the review.

I purchased 3 cakes of soap, 2 cakes of Honey Almond Oatmeal (one bowl, one refill), and one cake of morning mint. Both smell exceptional, the morning mint almost smells like a spearmint toothpaste... it is quite nice in the morning! The honey almond oatmeal is simply divine!

Cakes of soap...


Morning Mint unwrapped...


Back or morning mint...


Soaking Brush...


Time to get to business...


A few swirls...


Soap Lathered...



I am going to do things a little backwards with this soap, as there is somewhat of an exception with this soap. It acts a bit different from other soaps so...


Price – 2
Quality – 2
Scent – 2++
Efficacy – 1*
Moisturizing properties – 2



* - This soap works incredibly well..... however it is tricky. It lathers like the dickens, but performed differently with different shaving brushes. It seems to almost prefer a softer brush, like a vulfix/kent over a firmer shavemac/simpson. Now the only "complaint" I have is that the lather tended to "dry out" and began to dissapear after a bit when the soap was used with the firmer brushes. Even when it looked very thin/light, it provided outstanding lubrication, and it WORKED outstanding, but seemed kinda odd. When using a softer brush with plenty of water, it worked perfectly... very interesting stuff. I am quite curious if the morning mint will act in a similar fashon - however one thing is for certain... I'll always have a few cakes of this stuff in my toiletry locked - especially the honey almond oatmeal, as they smell incredible, and work quite well! Very nice stuff, but be forewarned, it is a bit tricky if your only brush is a firm one (but it will still work just fine and dandy).