Characteristics of the perfect shaving soap?

[JBLA]

Hello,

As a soapmaking hobbyist who's recently gotten back into wet shaving, I'm in the process of developing a shaving soap (for personal use, at least until I have a version that's worth marketing without wasting anyone's time).

I've done enough reading to get a sense of which ingredients to use / avoid, but I'm interested in hearing what the characteristics of a good shaving soap are for you.

I'm looking for more of what the ideal shaving soap EXPERIENCE is like for you, what are the characteristics that really make you consider seeking out a particular bar?

This can be anything from the creaminess / slickness of the lather, to the scent, to the aesthetic appeal of the bar / packaging? What would your ideal shaving soap be like? (Or, if you've found it, what is it like?

Thanks in advance for your time!

J.B.

 

[Mr5x5]

Welcome, stop by the hall of fame and tell us about yourself.

Mama Bear is my favorite...great scents, great price, no irritation, slick and cushiony.

 

[mblakele]

Welcome to B&B!

I have simple tastes. All I ask for is a soap that produces slick, cushiony lather like Art of Shaving, moisturizes like Institut Karité, and smells like Caswell-Massey - at the price of Arko. And in a stick, please.

 

[gash]

Slickness!

 

[keith_hendrix]

Slickness!

this.

 

[TriSlim]

Slickness and leaves my skin adequately moisturized post shave. Of the 10-15 shave soaps I have tried, I tend to like more scent than most. I suspect scent is often what leads to irritation for many.

TriSlim

 

[Mad Man]

In no particular order:

Protection: the best soaps for me leave me weeper free even when my technique varies. Standouts are MWF, Cella, Irisch Moos, Proraso
Slickness: allowing the blade to glide. Proraso Green (new form) is slick and reducing friction.
Cushion: that hard to define feeling of the blade not actually being in the razor (my definition) so that cutting occurs without there being a perception of it. Not really related to blade sharpness (tugging). I've had cushion with Feathers and Derbys (opposite spectrums IME of sharpness) but not with all soaps. I differentiate this from slickness as some soaps allow slickness at the cost of cushion (blade runs freely but can always feel it)
Fragrance: this will polarize. Some love Arko. Some don't. Same with the Raso. Same with Cella. You ain't gonna please everyone here but the funny thing is most non-fragranced soaps also get flak for the same reason.
Price: MdC may be the best soap on Earth. But I'll never know. I like AdP but I don't like the price. At some point you will experience diminishing returns by pricing your product out of the market.

* disclaimer: these are my terms/definitions and my milage does vary...as does everyones.

Good luck with your project,

 

[redbike]

Slickness and cushion, as described by above poster, and scent are my three most important characteristics. I think most of us will agree that slickness and cushion are important. As noted scent is highly variable across individuals. I tried Tabac for years and finally came to the conclusion that I didn't like the scent regardless of its very good slickness and cushioning properties. Packaging is not important to me; all my soaps go into a covered glass or plastic container. Round pucks make this easy. Good luck.

 

[ridnovir]

Slick, cushioning, moisturizing with as little of bad chemicals as possible =

MWF, Tabac, Mike,s Natural Soaps, Mystic Water Soaps, Queen Charlotte Soaps, MdC, Valobra, Razor Rock Artisan line.

 

[Nick Danger]

Slickness and leaves my skin adequately moisturized post shave.

Those are the two most important qualities for me. I like the soaps and creams I've tried with Shea butter, which seems to leave my skin in excellent condition after the shave.

For me, a great soap is also unscented. I know a lot of guys love a heavy scent, but I can't use most scented products. A few of the artisan soap makers do offer an unscented version along with the line of scented soaps, and I hope you'll do the same.

Nick

 

[mikesaidhi]

Most important is protection/cushion/slickness (all hard to define).
Scent is secondary.

 

[nwjs]

Hard, long-lasting soap, preferrably.
Stable, fine-pored foam that is alkaline enough to soften the beard but doesn't irritate the skin.
Ability to buffer enough water in the foam.
Not too slick. Certainly no extra fake "slickness" ingredients such as silicone oil.
Light, inoffensive scent that washes off with the final rinse.
Quality ingredients, preferrably non-tallow or tallow only from trustworthy, reliable source.
No "luxury blahblah" nonsense, pure show ingredients (handpicked alpine new moon foobar) or exaggerated price.

 

[mharris127]

I wish you luck making a shave soap. Most tallow-based handmade shaving soaps are utter crap and those that make a good one like Michelle or Mike have spent years perfecting their soap recipe. However, I will make you an offer since describing the properties of a good shave soap is so difficult for people. Once you have a recipe that you think works, let me know. I would gladly test a puck of your shave soap and honestly critique it for you (I promise to do so nicely). I am sure a few other members would also be willing. I do have one saving grace for you here -- the rejects usually make great shower and/or hand soaps.

 

[JBLA]

I wish you luck making a shave soap. Most tallow-based handmade shaving soaps are utter crap and those that make a good one like Michelle or Mike have spent years perfecting their soap recipe.However, I will make you an offer since describing the properties of a good shave soap is so difficult for people. Once you have a recipe that you think works, let me know. I would gladly test a puck of your shave soap and honestly critique it for you (I promise to do so nicely). I am sure a few other members would also be willing. I do have one saving grace for you here -- the rejects usually make great shower and/or hand soaps.

I've been making soap for a while, and have shaved with reasonable success using my standard coconut/olive/soy bath bar, and others have been pleased with it as well, but after getting into a little more detail about the ingredients (and qualities thereof) of the premium shaving soaps, it's clear that there's substantial room for improvement.

There will be samples provided once I get a recipe that I'm reasonably happy with sorted. I picked up a couple feet of 1.5" plastic tubing for a mold today, which will work for samples and shave sticks once I get a recipe down. I'm contemplating an homage to Martin De Candre for the first batch, as it seems to be well regarded and the ingredients are readily obtainable.

I'll keep you posted. Thanks to everyone for their input!

 

[Omp]

This one maybe doesn't apply to all but ease of lathering is a plus point. A lot of B&B'ers enjoy the slow process of building a quality lather but there will be a lot who want something that quickly bursts into a creamy lather.
Slick and non-drying would be 2 key aspects for me.