Green Mountain Shaving Soap?

[TBoner]

I wanted to follow up after several additional tests of this soap. I want to amend my initial review slightly. I still think this is not absolute top-tier soap. However, it is good shave soap and worth trying. I was able to get better lather than before by starting with a wetter brush. Additionally, I concur with those who feel it's a thirsty soap. It took quite a bit of water. I was eventually able to get a thick lather, but it was not quite as slick as the best lathers I've had, nor was it as durable. It was better than MWF in terms of dissipation, but not on par with the top tier. Comparable, perhaps, to Cade (though I know a lot of guys rate that highly). In terms of the quality of the facefeel afterward, this soap excels. It is moisturizing, like MWF, and kind to skin. This is an important point for a lot of guys and worth nothing.

I like Green Mountain's ethos, and I like the scents on offer in this shave soap. If you have good water and don't mind working a bit more for the lather, you will be rewarded with a fine shave. I won't buy any more of it personally, as I get better and quicker results with other soaps, but for those who want to support a US company doing things the right way, this is an option.

 

[soapbox]

Hi Tim,

Thanks for giving the soap another shot. I'm sure others will benefit from your experience!

 

[RocketMan]

I have been using it and find it to be very good shaving soap. I have been spoiled by some fine European products but find the GM stands up to the best of them nicely. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

 

[Sullybob]

I have two pucks of Green Mountain soap. Initially I had a lot of trouble getting a stable lather. I think that the problems was that I was not loading my brush enough.
Two things contributed to me not getting enough soap on my brush, the shape makes it awkward to really load the brush and the soap is pretty hard so it takes a while for the brush to pick up enough soap. Once I started loading my brush for 60-90 seconds my lather stabilized. I also found that I needed to add water very gradually to this soap. I've been using soaps like RazoRock and MdC for a while and with those soaps I can just add water with pretty much reckless abandon. Green Mountain soap will take a lot of water but it needs to be added in very small amounts. I found GM soaps to be some of the slickest soaps that I have ever used and the skin care properties are great. Even when I was still having trouble getting stable lather I was still getting pretty good shaves with my Cobra Classic.

 

[.soap.]

Green Mountain Soap just released the shave soap after three years of R&D (some of which took place on B&B, mostly via the Clown House). So if you haven't heard of it before, that's why.

Full disclosure: my parents own Green Mountain Soap and make the soap themselves in Alabama. I encouraged them to research a shave soap after discovering proper shaving in 2007. The R&D started in late 2008 and finished in 2012.

Not quite four years, but yeah, it took a while. They've been making bath soap since the mid 1970s, but shave soap is a whole different animal. So, three+ years isn't unreasonable. I think it was 35 separate recipes that were tested/iterated. Many of my B&B friends were very generous with their time and comments.

Hi Tim,

Thanks for giving the soap another shot. I'm sure others will benefit from your experience!

I think your involvement in this thread violates the spirit, if not the letter, of B&B's vendor rules and regulations.

If you wish to shill your family's soap, perhaps you should become a formal vendor.

 

[soapbox]

I think your involvement in this thread violates the spirit, if not the letter, of B&B's vendor rules and regulations.

If you wish to shill your family's soap, perhaps you should become a formal vendor.

Hi .soap.,

Welcome to B&B. Throughout the entire process of testing the shaving soap, and throughout my five years on B&B, I have been careful to avoid shilling for my parents' business. I receive no income from their soap company (though I do get soap for free, if you're splitting hairs). I live 12 hours away and work in a different industry. Since I joined, I've made it no secret that my parents make soap and (now) shave soap. I'm excited for them but not their sales agent. I think it adds to B&B that I can provide insight about the development of shaving products; but I don't think I've even encouraged people to buy the shave soap, because I'm trying to be careful.

In sum: I've been behaving this way for five years without incident, so, at least thus far, I think I'm keeping my nose clean.

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

I think your involvement in this thread violates the spirit, if not the letter, of B&B's vendor rules and regulations.

If you wish to shill your family's soap, perhaps you should become a formal vendor.

I think you have your definition of a shill wrong...
n accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others.

Soapbox is doing none of the above, he just answered a few questions, that is it. I think your comment goes against B&B's ToS in which members are meant to behave gentlemanly towards one another. Accusing someone of being a shill, when they are clearly not, is rather un-gentlemanly.

 

[jazzguy]

We have PMs and moderators for this sort of thing.

I think your involvement in this thread violates the spirit, if not the letter, of B&B's vendor rules and regulations.

If you wish to shill your family's soap, perhaps you should become a formal vendor.

 

[SmoovD]

I think you have your definition of a shill wrong...
n accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others.

Soapbox is doing none of the above, he just answered a few questions, that is it. I think your comment goes against B&B's ToS in which members are meant to behave gentlemanly towards one another. Accusing someone of being a shill, when they are clearly not, is rather un-gentlemanly.

+1.

Soapbox/Jesse has always been careful to state his connection to GM. I have never seen him even approach the line of inappropriate behavior regarding GM soaps.

BTW- Welcome to B&B, .soap.

 

[brucered]

In sum: I've been behaving this way for five years without incident, so, at least thus far, I think I'm keeping my nose clean.

Well said soapbox and thanks for the info on their soap...you're nose is probably cleaner then mine, and I've only been here 2 years

 

[OldSaw]

I think your involvement in this thread violates the spirit, if not the letter, of B&B's vendor rules and regulations.

If you wish to shill your family's soap, perhaps you should become a formal vendor.

I'm sorry that you feel this way and I wish you would have expressed your thoughts in a more civil tone or at least alerted a moderator with your concerns. I can certainly see how someone coming in on the mid watch might have a raised eyebrow, but you seem to have skipped a few rungs in your conclusion.

Hi .soap.,

Welcome to B&B. Throughout the entire process of testing the shaving soap, and throughout my five years on B&B, I have been careful to avoid shilling for my parents' business. I receive no income from their soap company (though I do get soap for free, if you're splitting hairs). I live 12 hours away and work in a different industry. Since I joined, I've made it no secret that my parents make soap and (now) shave soap. I'm excited for them but not their sales agent. I think it adds to B&B that I can provide insight about the development of shaving products; but I don't think I've even encouraged people to buy the shave soap, because I'm trying to be careful.

In sum: I've been behaving this way for five years without incident, so, at least thus far, I think I'm keeping my nose clean.

Jesse,

You have been a perfect gentleman during the entire process and it is good to see you posting again.

For the record, I have tested some of the batches but have no connection to Green Mountain Soap other than being friends with Jesse through B&B. I can't comment on the current production as I have not bought one yet and the only reason I haven't is because of the shave purchase sabbatical that I am participating in.

 

[soapbox]

Well said soapbox and thanks for the info on their soap...you're nose is probably cleaner then mine, and I've only been here 2 years

Thanks Bruce! Your check is in the mail.[SUP]*[/SUP]







*Joke! Joke!

 

[Jim]

Jesse, it is good to see you posting again.

 

[soapbox]

Jesse, it is good to see you posting again.

Hi Jim,

Thanks very much. It's been a long time. Please do let me know if I step over any lines.

 

[Isaac]

I think the waters look fine

 

[brianw]

Welcome back Jesse.... good to see youse again !!!!

 

[SmoovD]

Going to bump this thread. This morning was my initial encounter with Green Mountain shave soaps. Can't say that I cared for the shape of the soap so I grated it into an old Dr. Selby container. The scent was lavender grapefruit. The brush was a custom silvertip. The lather was awesome.

The lather was stable and very slick. It was not as dense as I normally prefer...more of a yogurt-like guy and this was like mousse-like. No matter the density, this soap produces a wonderful lather. The scent was nicely composed. The citrus compliments the lavender more than expected. I know that it has only been one shave but this appears to be another excellent choice for tallow soap lovers. Really looking forward to using this puck for quite a long time.

 

[Starkicker]

Damnit, another soap I want to try. I'm fed up with all these new soaps tempting me.

Is the shape of this soap a ball or are those two pucks on top of each other?

 

[SmoovD]

Damnit, another soap I want to try. I'm fed up with all these new soaps tempting me.

Is the shape of this soap a ball or are those two pucks on top of each other?

The puck is oval-shaped. I could not find an appropriate container. Maybe a dedicated mug would work? Shape aside, the soap is excellent.

 

[wsteineker]

I thought I'd chime in on this, as I had my first Green Mountain shave this morning. The puck's a bit odd, sure, but I overcame that by giving it its own mug. Once that was settled, this soap lathered like a champ using my Semogue 830. I took a little extra time to make sure I built the lather slowly, loading a well shaken brush for about 45 seconds then adding water as I went. I'm a face latherer, so that wasn't too out of the ordinary for me. The lather wasn't initially the thickest I've come across, and took a little more time than most other soaps to really pop on my face. Once it came together, though, it was spectacular! I gave it a go with my EJ DE89BA11 and a new Feather and had one of the best shaves I've experienced in a long, long time. Slick, cushiony, wet, stable lather with a top shelf scent (Cheaha, in this case) that just lets the blade do its work. I'll definitely put this one toward the top of my list.