After a visit to my shave shop today, I picked up a new shaving soap from Dead Sea Shave in the Kraken scent. This soap feels quite different from any other soaps I've used so far and with the very positive 1st experience. I can wholeheartedly recommend this soap, if only for the unique experience.
The soap is vegan and contains mud from the Dead Sea and sea moss. Next week I'll pick up a tallow-based soap from them and review that as well.
I did 4 passes + cleanup as a warm-water shave, with a Mühle R41, a Kai blade (2nd shave), Simpson Chubby3 Manchurian badger brush.
This is my experience after the first shave.
Apearance
The soap would be considered a hard soap, but is soft enough to push dents in it. It has a gray color, probably due to the mud. It comes in a screw-cap tin which is about half-height of many other tubs and contains 100 grams / 3.53 ounces.
Ingredients
Stearic Acid, Aloe barbadensis Leaf Juice, Citrullus Vulgaris (Watermelon) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Butyrospermum parkii (Shea Butter), Ricinus communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Chondrus Crispus (Sea Moss), Sodium Citrate, Dead Sea Mud, Kaolin clay, corn silk
Loading
I did not bloom the soap and may need to on the next try. With the density, I would need to load longer than the 40 seconds I did, or perhaps I need to add a bit more water during the load. I did need to load-up a few seconds more for the 3rd and 4th pass.
Lathering
I face-lathered and it was easy and quick. The lather itself is quite different from conventional soaps. It is denser and less voluminous due to the mud. This meant the lather was wet enough when the consistency might make you think to add more water. I caught it in time and got a very nice slick lather.
Cushioning
Due to less volume but greater density, I found the cushioning to be perfect for my taste. I felt enough protection without it interfering with good blade-contact.
Slickness
After the first pass I wasn't sure, as this soap doesn't leave a strong layer when your skin dries that some soaps do. During the rest of the shave I noticed the slickness is absolutely there and gave me a very good and comfortable shave. The absence of this "film" meant it was easier to rinse off at the end and I suspect less scum build-up on the razor.
Post-shave feel
I chose to not use any post-shave products to see how the soap would do. As my face was drying, I feared for a moment that my skin would feel dry as it does not feel slick or slightly fatty that a balm would normally provide. I noticed though, that I didn't feel any uncomfortableness so I decided to let my face fully dry. After a few minutes I noticed my skin felt very good, had great flexibility and was well moisturised.
Scent
I found the Kraken scent to be very, very nice. It has a sweet, almost cookie-like scent with spice-notes.
Conclusion after the 1st shave
My first impressions are very positive. It is great to have such a new experience. It gave me a very comfortable shave, with excellent performance all round, and an excellent post-shave feel.
I'll post in the thread if I have any updates after I get more experience with it. I'll let you know how my experience with the tallow-based variants goes when they arrive.
The soap is vegan and contains mud from the Dead Sea and sea moss. Next week I'll pick up a tallow-based soap from them and review that as well.
I did 4 passes + cleanup as a warm-water shave, with a Mühle R41, a Kai blade (2nd shave), Simpson Chubby3 Manchurian badger brush.
This is my experience after the first shave.
Apearance
The soap would be considered a hard soap, but is soft enough to push dents in it. It has a gray color, probably due to the mud. It comes in a screw-cap tin which is about half-height of many other tubs and contains 100 grams / 3.53 ounces.
Ingredients
Stearic Acid, Aloe barbadensis Leaf Juice, Citrullus Vulgaris (Watermelon) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Butyrospermum parkii (Shea Butter), Ricinus communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Chondrus Crispus (Sea Moss), Sodium Citrate, Dead Sea Mud, Kaolin clay, corn silk
Loading
I did not bloom the soap and may need to on the next try. With the density, I would need to load longer than the 40 seconds I did, or perhaps I need to add a bit more water during the load. I did need to load-up a few seconds more for the 3rd and 4th pass.
Lathering
I face-lathered and it was easy and quick. The lather itself is quite different from conventional soaps. It is denser and less voluminous due to the mud. This meant the lather was wet enough when the consistency might make you think to add more water. I caught it in time and got a very nice slick lather.
Cushioning
Due to less volume but greater density, I found the cushioning to be perfect for my taste. I felt enough protection without it interfering with good blade-contact.
Slickness
After the first pass I wasn't sure, as this soap doesn't leave a strong layer when your skin dries that some soaps do. During the rest of the shave I noticed the slickness is absolutely there and gave me a very good and comfortable shave. The absence of this "film" meant it was easier to rinse off at the end and I suspect less scum build-up on the razor.
Post-shave feel
I chose to not use any post-shave products to see how the soap would do. As my face was drying, I feared for a moment that my skin would feel dry as it does not feel slick or slightly fatty that a balm would normally provide. I noticed though, that I didn't feel any uncomfortableness so I decided to let my face fully dry. After a few minutes I noticed my skin felt very good, had great flexibility and was well moisturised.
Scent
I found the Kraken scent to be very, very nice. It has a sweet, almost cookie-like scent with spice-notes.
Conclusion after the 1st shave
My first impressions are very positive. It is great to have such a new experience. It gave me a very comfortable shave, with excellent performance all round, and an excellent post-shave feel.
I'll post in the thread if I have any updates after I get more experience with it. I'll let you know how my experience with the tallow-based variants goes when they arrive.
