I see and hear a lot of discussion abut artisan soap makers who have closed up operations in the last 2 years or so. Has anyone put together a list of those who have stopped producing since around January 2023 to the present? There seems to be quite a lot of chatter about those who we'll lose this year, but it's all speculation of course. I'm curious.
Disappearing soap artisans
- Thread starter Lisamelting
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Hi Lisa, I see that this is your first ever B&B post after joining us back in 2021 so a belated welcome to B&B!
You may be able to get a better response if you share a bit about yourself and why you joined B&B. Curious as to your request above. Are you concerned about losing a favorite shaving soap or are you asking this from a commercial research perspective to evaluate the market? We've seen lots of availability changes across most wet shaving products including both hardware and software. With more detail on the reason for your request a more relevant answer can be provided.
You may be able to get a better response if you share a bit about yourself and why you joined B&B. Curious as to your request above. Are you concerned about losing a favorite shaving soap or are you asking this from a commercial research perspective to evaluate the market? We've seen lots of availability changes across most wet shaving products including both hardware and software. With more detail on the reason for your request a more relevant answer can be provided.
With the current economy in Shambles its no wonder people are watching how they spend their money. 
- Thread starter
- #4
Sorry iff it seems like a weird question to ask.
About myself, I've been wetshaving for about 5 years and would consider myself to be a low key enthusiast. I check forums occasionally but rarely, if ever post. I watch videos now and then to get an idea of what's new or different. It was actually a video put out by Latherhog about disappearing artisans that prodded me to ask the question on the forum.
Soaps I have and most enjoy are from Stirling, Soap Commander, Southern Witchcrafts, Mike's and Catie's Bubbles. I've never tried Zingari Man but have a small order from The Razor Company headed this way which includes soap and post shave products from them.
Again, sorry for what may have seemed like an inappropriate post. Now that my Kida have grown a little I have more free time so hopefully I'll be a little more active in the forum.
About myself, I've been wetshaving for about 5 years and would consider myself to be a low key enthusiast. I check forums occasionally but rarely, if ever post. I watch videos now and then to get an idea of what's new or different. It was actually a video put out by Latherhog about disappearing artisans that prodded me to ask the question on the forum.
Soaps I have and most enjoy are from Stirling, Soap Commander, Southern Witchcrafts, Mike's and Catie's Bubbles. I've never tried Zingari Man but have a small order from The Razor Company headed this way which includes soap and post shave products from them.
Again, sorry for what may have seemed like an inappropriate post. Now that my Kida have grown a little I have more free time so hopefully I'll be a little more active in the forum.
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- Thread starter
- #5
I have to agree with what fast shaver has said as well. While restocking some soaps last week I had to make some decisions. I could buy products from Stirling or Soap Commander for very attractive prices. I've used them for years and recommended them to friends and family without hesitation.
Alternatively I could spend twice as much money (sometimes 3X as much) to try something different. In the end, for this order coming from The Razor Company I limited myself to spending no more than $6.00 per ounce of soap and bought a selection from Moon Soaps, Zingari Man and Master Soap Creations (very inexpensive).
There were others that intrigued me but when they approach $30 a tub it becomes hard to justify. Although I do have a tub of Martin De Candre that my wife bought for me that I enjoy very much.
Alternatively I could spend twice as much money (sometimes 3X as much) to try something different. In the end, for this order coming from The Razor Company I limited myself to spending no more than $6.00 per ounce of soap and bought a selection from Moon Soaps, Zingari Man and Master Soap Creations (very inexpensive).
There were others that intrigued me but when they approach $30 a tub it becomes hard to justify. Although I do have a tub of Martin De Candre that my wife bought for me that I enjoy very much.
Welcome again to B&B! Nothing inappropriate about your post, just that it was an unusual first post. Looks like you started wet shaving just a few months before I returned to it and have found a nice assortment of well regarded shaving soaps with some new ones on the way.
Creating and applying bespoke shaving lather is my favorite part of the wet shaving process. My path started with just Williams Shaving Soap, then available at our local supermarket for 99 cents each. I added Van Der Hagen followed by a number of custom Van Der Williams (with other ingredients) blends to deliver optimal core shaving performance (ease of lathering, slickness and stability) for around $2 per 3 oz. puck. Eventually I expanded out into a nice range of around 15 commercial soaps and creams such as Arko, Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF - tallow version), Tabac (new formula), Prorasso, Cyril R. Salter, D.R. Harris, LEA and various pucks and soft soaps from Razorock.
I also set a maximum price that in my case is around $10 per soap that translates to $2-$3 per ounce. Most of my soaps have been purchased for under $6-7 each helped in part by the drop in the British pound in late 2022 that made soaps like MWF available for under $6 each in the U.S. from Connaught Shaving. Made some stock-up purchases then that turned out to be fortuitous given the MWF formula change a few months later. I've found that I can generate great lather with any of these products by dialing each one in with the right technique and brush type. My favorite is MWF with its mild scent and enhanced post shave feel with Cyril R. Salter a close second. I enjoy rotating among my different soaps.
In many cases the ingredients of standard commercial shaving soaps and the premium products that cost 2-3x the price are primarily in the area of scent. For example Cyril R. Salter and D.R. Harris have identical bases. $3-4 Razorock What-the-Puck soap base ingredients are almost identical to the $30+ Art of Shaving pucks per an analysis I posted here 2-3 years ago. The main differences between my soaps and creams are in the areas of scent and post shave feel.
Regardless YMMV and personal preferences apply here and it's enjoyable to share our different individual soap journeys that range from exclusive use of bath soap scraps through various commercial and artisan shaving soaps to super premium $50-60+ products.
Regarding your original question I've linked a couple threads that my be of interest. The first is a retrospective on shaving soaps with a number of informative posts from fellow B&Bers. The second, our Soap Acquisition Thread is useful to scroll through to see what is currently available.
Curious as to your preferred lathering approach and if you also adjust it to your different shaving soaps?
Link to Shaving Soap Historical Retrospective Thread:
Historical Retrospective: B&B Shaving Soap Perspectives from 15 Years Ago - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/historical-retrospective-b-b-shaving-soap-perspectives-from-15-years-ago.628584/
Link to Soap Acquisition Thread:
Soap Acquisition Thread
B&B has long-standing Razor Acquisition and Brush Acquisition threads. Why not have a dedicated shaving Soap Acquisition Thread for B&Bers to share what soaps we are purchasing? What's your latest soap acquisition? Tell us a little about why you bought this particular soap. Post a pic (not...
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Overall our current economy is surprisingly strong with strong growth in the number of jobs, average wages and corporate profits. The root issue that is clouding perceptions of the economy is inflation with average prices up 20-25% over the past few years in part due to the pandemic effects.With the current economy in Shambles its no wonder people are watching how they spend their money.
You are absolutely right that with prices up so much that people are watching how they spend their money. Retailers, auto and CPG firms are starting to recognize that they want too far with their price increases as consumers pull back on purchases and are starting to lower some prices though those reductions are only a small fraction of the increases we've seen since 2020.
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- #8
Thank you for your very detailed response Lane.
I believe that as a whole the hobby is strong, but interest has waned slightly. The days of new artisans appearing what seemed like every week appear to be over.
Personally, I think I will continue to support the artisans that fit my budget and lifestyle, and leave the ones that do not to others.
Some cornerstones of the community such as Stirling, Ariana & Evans and such will most likely continue on. Others, such as PAA I hope fade into the distance.
I believe that as a whole the hobby is strong, but interest has waned slightly. The days of new artisans appearing what seemed like every week appear to be over.
Personally, I think I will continue to support the artisans that fit my budget and lifestyle, and leave the ones that do not to others.
Some cornerstones of the community such as Stirling, Ariana & Evans and such will most likely continue on. Others, such as PAA I hope fade into the distance.
The root issue is America's currency is FIAT, that can and will be inflated into oblivion. The moment America allowed her dollar to be taken off the gold standard, her days as the economic engine of the world became numbered. What we are seeing today is simply the people in power kicking the can down the road far enough for them to be dead by the time the problem can't be postponed any further.
As far as disappearing artisans, I can only think of a handful, like Cold River Soap Works.
Honestly, it's been mostly classic commercial soaps disappearing or changing beyond recognition (Tabac, MWF, La Toja, Williams, Palmolive, Haslinger etc)
Ones that I am familiar with and have thrown in the towel:
Dr Jon's, Route-66, Blue Devil, Hawaiian Shave Co
Dr Jon's, Route-66, Blue Devil, Hawaiian Shave Co
To answer the OPs question, I don't recall anyone keeping a tally.
Obviously, a list of soap you CAN buy would seem to make more sense except maybe for posterity's sake
I don't recall a "lot" of talk about soap makers closing their doors but over the last 12-14 years I have seen many many Artisan and 'commercial' shaving soap makers come and go. The first I can recall, right now, going out of business was Prairie Creations. that was 2010/2011 maybe? There is a long list following that and I am sure there were many before.
FWIW, @Lisamelting, your first post/question seemed straight forward, easy to comprehend, and not weird or unusual. I didn't see any need for it to be qualified further, honestly.
Obviously, a list of soap you CAN buy would seem to make more sense except maybe for posterity's sake
I don't recall a "lot" of talk about soap makers closing their doors but over the last 12-14 years I have seen many many Artisan and 'commercial' shaving soap makers come and go. The first I can recall, right now, going out of business was Prairie Creations. that was 2010/2011 maybe? There is a long list following that and I am sure there were many before.
FWIW, @Lisamelting, your first post/question seemed straight forward, easy to comprehend, and not weird or unusual. I didn't see any need for it to be qualified further, honestly.
Mr. Shavington
Knows Hot Turkish Toilets
I don’t think it really matters when artisan / hobbyist soap makers leave or enter the market. We have more excellent products to choose from than any shaver could reasonably sample in a lifetime. And I don’t think there are any artisan soap makers who make anything so special that we could not do without it. I don’t even think any of them make a product as good as Haslinger, for example, though they charge many times the price.
That is a smart approach that we all need to take both for wet shaving and elsewhere. There is an overall trend across many consumer oriented products where manufacturers and retailers do whatever they can to shift the product mix to higher average retails. For health and beauty aids, including shaving soap, this is done by launching super premium luxury products with what may be relatively minor formulation changes to justify a 2-3x increase in retail. The new Cella soaps are a possible example of this.
Sticking to shaving we've seen this "feature inflation" with electric razors where Norelco has moved the mix from a typical $40-50 triple header razor to price points in the $100-$200+ range. In this case with a change in device architecture (more flexible shaving head that swivels) that, when you look at the research, delivers a minor improvement that slightly speeds shaving around the chin area.
Automobiles is another area with this trend. Often today's "basic" entry level vehicle has far more features than a fully loaded vehicle from a couple of decades ago. Since many consumers don't want what is perceived as an entry level vehicle they purchase a car with far more features than they really need, driving up the average vehicle cost. We also see this in mobile devices where ever more minor improvements are used to convince consumers to move from $500 to $1,000 phones.
Anyway, back to shaving soaps, going beyond your OP on artisan soaps to all products, there is a good chance that this approach has also led to the demise of long time favorites such as Williams, Palmolive shaving sticks or the Godrej shaving rounds in India. Retailers would rather use a stock-keeping location for a $5 Van Der Hagen puck versus a 99 cent Williams puck. Finally I suspect you are right that growth in this area has slowed over the past few years. That may be driving some to seek higher average retails via a more upscale positioning to improve or achieve profitability.
Was not fortunate to try the tallow'd version of Haslinger's Schafmilch, but their current formulation is pretty amazing.
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- #15
You are so correct in that regard. In 2017 I purchased an Acura TLX with V6 and SHAWD. It was a great vehicle and served our family well until I sold the vehicle to my son this year when he got his driver's license.
When looking for our new vehicle I looked at a new Acura which would have run around 58K as well as comparable vehicles. In the end I purchased a new Hyundai Sonata N Line for 34K, which is not on the same level as a NEW Acura TLX, but was equal to or better than the 2017 model I was coming out of.
I know that's way off the soap topic, but when you look at the situation it does appear that so many new products are equal to or better than ones we've had just a few years ago without buying the "top of the line".
When did you last hear of a shaving soap millionaire 
Let's be honest there is not a lot of money to me made in a small shaving soap shop. I am glad they are out their and I will support then as I can. My wife complains I spend too much money on buying weird shaving soaps.
Just got some in from India that someone talked about back in 2018 on this forum. The shipping was the same price as the soap and brushes they also sell $$. Life goes on.....
Let's be honest there is not a lot of money to me made in a small shaving soap shop. I am glad they are out their and I will support then as I can. My wife complains I spend too much money on buying weird shaving soaps.Just got some in from India that someone talked about back in 2018 on this forum. The shipping was the same price as the soap and brushes they also sell $$. Life goes on.....
I don't remember many artisanal soap makers closing from 2023 to today.
Only two come to mind, namely Dr. Jons and the Italian Pannacrema, two artisanal producers who in the last decade had a notable following and were appreciated among wet shaving enthusiasts.
The reality of the wetshaving world though is that numerous artisans have gotten out of the business because they have other full-time jobs that don't allow them to spend spare time doing these products anymore, not because of "the economy."With the current economy in Shambles its no wonder people are watching how they spend their money.
For a lot of these artisans it's a passion and/or hobby, they're not spending all of their time on it trying to get rich. So when they get a promotion, or relocated, or expand the family etc, the passion/hobby has to take a backseat (unfortunately for us).
I also just remembered that also Daisho Spanish Artisan Shaving Soap hasn't been made for about two years and has gone out of business.
I have never tried one of their soaps but if I remember correctly their business was short, maybe two or three years.
I have never tried one of their soaps but if I remember correctly their business was short, maybe two or three years.
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I feel a lot of handcrafted soaps go under along the same line of any handcrafted product, return on investment.
I.E.I used to build handcrafted western saddles on a small scale. At the time, cost of materials was $800. Labor time was 60-90 hours. People balked at final price because a factory saddle was 1/2-2/3 lower.
So I wasn’t happy making $10 an hour.
I.E.I used to build handcrafted western saddles on a small scale. At the time, cost of materials was $800. Labor time was 60-90 hours. People balked at final price because a factory saddle was 1/2-2/3 lower.
So I wasn’t happy making $10 an hour.
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