Boutique Soaps in Key West, FL

[ackvil]

Recently, my wife and I went to Key West, FL on a mini vacation. While there my wife spotted a place that made and sold soaps. Into the store we go. While there I noticed a basket filled with shaving soap pucks. The owner said that she makes these soaps for her husband and that he likes them so much he said they should be offered for sale to the public. I picked one up and it smelled nice - a light lavender scent. It was $5 for a rather small puck so I put it down without buying it. Well, yesterday my wife took it out of her travel kit and gave it to me.

I have no idea what the ingredients are in the soap - the soap came unwrapped. The soap smells wonderful but is incredibly hard. I put some warm water on it thinking it might soften up a bit. But 5 minutes later it was still like a brick. It makes MWF seem like a cream in comparison!

Well, I must have spent five minutes churning the brush in order to charge it. I could never get much soap on the brush. I tried the soap but it didn't do much on my face so I then combined it with Palmolive menthol cream to make a uberlather and it was fine then.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to soften it up or ideas on how to use it?

 

[mretzloff]

Can you not load the brush at all or is the lather just thin? Have you tried a boar?

 

[ackvil]

The lather is VERY thin - almost like a hand soap. I have tried a combo boar and bristle brush but can't charge the brush very much.

 

[mretzloff]

Unfortunately, this may just be bath soap with clay. Most soapers still think that adding clay to bath soap makes it shaving soap (just look at this nonsense About.com article).

Good luck with it. Let us know if you do manage to get a lather from it.

 

[ackvil]

Unfortunately, this may just be bath soap with clay. Most soapers still think that adding clay to bath soap makes it shaving soap (just look at this nonsense About.com article).

Good luck with it. Let us know if you do manage to get a lather from it.

Thanks, I have a call into the boutique but they are closed today. Will let you know what I find out.

 

[Crixus]

If you'll take a hand grater and scrape it down in the smallest size (like the size you would grate a chunk of romano or parmesan for your pasta, and then put those in a vessel of your choice and tamp them down very well and firm using good pressure. I do this with an empty pill bottle, using the flat lid to level it and make sure it's good and tight.

I do this with all my hard soaps and triple milled soaps. It takes about 15-20 minutes from start to stop, but it's not like you're doing it every day.

I have YET to find the soap I could not EASILY load. On badger, no less. If you do this and you can't get enough soap to determine if it is shaveworthy, put it in your underwear drawer for scent. Don't shave with it.

 

[RichGem]

Before grating it up, try using it like a shave stick... rub it all over your wet stubble and face lather it. Let's see what happens with that.

 

[ackvil]

Thanks for the advice.

Just a few minutes ago the shop owner called me. It seems that someone took a bar of body soap and mixed it in with the shaving soaps. The shaving soaps are tapered a bit inward and the body soaps are flat. So, she is sending me a two soap pucks for my trouble. She said her soaps are made with shea butter. I will see how they perform. Meanwhile, they do smell nice in the shower!

 

[Mike'sWorld]

Before grating it up, try using it like a shave stick... rub it all over your wet stubble and face lather it. Let's see what happens with that.

I do that too. It's quick and easy. I always wondered if anyone else did. Loads your face up really fast.

 

[Darjeeling Express]

Before grating it up, try using it like a shave stick... rub it all over your wet stubble and face lather it. Let's see what happens with that.

My recommendation - exactly.