Why not try some kiss my face shaving cream? It's readily available (whole foods, some other grocery stores with a "natural foods" section, etc.) and performs pretty darn well (and it is quite inexpensive). I prefer it to the Tom's of Maine, and pretty much anything beats herban cowboy (but herban cowboy beats the burts bees bay rum shave soap).
Herban Cowboy "Natural Organic" Shave Soap
- Thread starter farangzookzon
- Start date
Why not try some kiss my face shaving cream? It's readily available (whole foods, some other grocery stores with a "natural foods" section, etc.) and performs pretty darn well (and it is quite inexpensive). I prefer it to the Tom's of Maine, and pretty much anything beats herban cowboy (but herban cowboy beats the burts bees bay rum shave soap).
Out of desperation bought some yesterday. COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY!!!!!
- NO LATHER
- STINKS TO HELL!!
- BURNS ON 2ND PASS
Going straight into the TRASH!!!
Try making a superlather with it. It's rather slick after all.
I'm mainly using the Toms out of a desire to avoid wastefulness. What I really want to do after my next paycheck is to order up two tubs of Mama Bear.
Tried herban cowboy shave soap this morning over some shave oil with a straight razor. Worked pretty good when I filled the mug with hot water to warm it and soften it first. Like the scent and price.
Smells good. But the worst shave soap I've ever tried. Run for you life.
It's alive, it's alive. The thread is ALIVE!!!
Thanks,
Mike
Thanks,
Mike
I recently started wet shaving and I bought some Herban Cowboy soap at my local food co-op. I have had the same experience as others with difficulty lathering and quickly vanishing lather. I had figured it was my brush technique, but after reading all the criticism of this soap, I realize I may not be to blame. I did notice that the package and color of my soap doesn't look like that pictured at the start of this thread and also haven't noticed any difference in pre an post-lathered soap. Maybe Herban Cowboy has been tinkering with their formulation?
I bought another puck of it after tossing my last one. I really like the scent, but really dislike its lathering and conditioning qualities. So why did I buy some more? I planned to use it to superlather with KMF Unscented. I whipped up a batch for tonight's shave and have mixed feelings. First, it doesn't seem too bad as a scented soap for use in a superlather, but it does make my skin feel a bit dry afterward. I decided to try it again because its not too expensive and I like the smell. I am going to try it a few more times superlathering and if it continues to leave me with a dry feeling face post-shave, I too think I might try it as a soap for showering. It seems that the formulation is really more of a regular cleansing soap recipe as opposed to one for shaving.
I wish I had seen this thread before trying Herban Cowboy on Saturday. I picked up a puck at Natural Grocers. They also had a badger soap, Burt's Bees, and a couple other creams.
I thought it smelled good but I was underimpressed with the performance. The soap quickly dried on the face and didn't offer much in the way of protection. Oh well, it was only a $3.99 experiment.
I thought it smelled good but I was underimpressed with the performance. The soap quickly dried on the face and didn't offer much in the way of protection. Oh well, it was only a $3.99 experiment.
"Sodium palmate, sodium palm kernelate and/or sodium cocoate, water, glycerin, fragrance, citric acid, vitamin E, iron oxides."
It is so important to read ingredients lists! First of all, the two main ingredients are soaps made out of Palm oil and Coconut (or Palm Kernel) oil. Notice there is no Stearic Acid in it which would help give it the kind of lather needed for shaving. Palm oil contains about 2-7% Stearic Acid which is just not enough to do the job! Coconut (and Palm Kernel) are lathering oils but we don't know what the percentage is compared to the Palm oil but there still isn't enough of a variety to give this soap what it needs!
Most importantly, it is a sodium based soap meaning it is made with Sodium Hydroxide which is perfect for bathing but it contains no Potassium Hydroxide which would give it the kind of lather it needs and keep it from drying out your face and be good for shaving. This sounds like it would be an OK bar for bathing or showering but not for shaving even though it also contains some glycerin. There would also be glycerin in the Palm and Coconut (Palm Kernal) oils but again not enough to give the slip and slide that a shaving soap needs.
It is always good to read the ingredients list of a product to see what it does contain and what it doesn't contain and once you know a little more about it then you can make better choices without having to waste your money on what turns out to be a "dud" of a product! If anyone has any questions about this feel free to ask, PM me or post them in my forum. I'd be more that happy to assist you!
It is so important to read ingredients lists! First of all, the two main ingredients are soaps made out of Palm oil and Coconut (or Palm Kernel) oil. Notice there is no Stearic Acid in it which would help give it the kind of lather needed for shaving. Palm oil contains about 2-7% Stearic Acid which is just not enough to do the job! Coconut (and Palm Kernel) are lathering oils but we don't know what the percentage is compared to the Palm oil but there still isn't enough of a variety to give this soap what it needs!
Most importantly, it is a sodium based soap meaning it is made with Sodium Hydroxide which is perfect for bathing but it contains no Potassium Hydroxide which would give it the kind of lather it needs and keep it from drying out your face and be good for shaving. This sounds like it would be an OK bar for bathing or showering but not for shaving even though it also contains some glycerin. There would also be glycerin in the Palm and Coconut (Palm Kernal) oils but again not enough to give the slip and slide that a shaving soap needs.
It is always good to read the ingredients list of a product to see what it does contain and what it doesn't contain and once you know a little more about it then you can make better choices without having to waste your money on what turns out to be a "dud" of a product! If anyone has any questions about this feel free to ask, PM me or post them in my forum. I'd be more that happy to assist you!
