Had some curiosity regarding the state of the B&B shaving soap universe when the forum was first started 15+ years ago. Went through many of the forum posts from 2006 and 2007 and observed the following:
- B&Bers had many similar questions to those posed today in areas such as technique, storage, soap shelf life and recommendations for a first or next shaving soap.
- Most B&B members back then appear to have contributed to the site for just a few years though there are some who were members then who continue to post to this day.
- The forum appears to have been more U.S. centric back then with some U.K. participation. We are more global now.
- The shaving soap range discussed was narrower than today generally ranging from Williams, Colonel Conk and Mama Bear to the various U.K. brands at the premium end of the market. Specifics include:
- William's, still readily available in many brick & mortar retailers, was a first soap for many B&Bers. This ranged from new hobbyists who bought one puck and quickly moved on to members who used Williams for decades until exposed to other options on B&B. Note that while opinions of Williams were diverse back then they were not as polarized as many today. The soap was often referred to as an "average" product to move up from.
- Colonel Conk and Mama Bear were the "hot" mass market U.S.A. soaps at that time with lots of excitement in the posts related to these products. Van Der Hagen/Surrey (VDH) Select and QED soaps were also well regarded at this time. Also saw L'Occitane periodically mentioned as a premium option.
- Barely any mention of Arko back then. Suspect it was harder to come by in the U.S.A. in those days. Also Williams was still readily available in retail stores.
- European mass market soaps such as Tabac, Proraso and Speik also received a number of posts and were well regarded though much less common than today, in part due to more limited on-line retail availability.
- U.K. soaps, such as Mitchell's Wool Fat(MWF), Turefitt & Hill (T&H), Dr. Harris, Trumpers and Taylor of Old Bond Street were considered as the most premium upscale options that had significant use by B&Bers. MWF was almost given cult like status by it's most ardent fans.
- Art of Shaving (AoS) was rarely mentioned and few had used it. Recall one post where the then $24 puck ($34 today) was gifted and well regarded yet not considered worth the price versus other options.
- Sensed a larger proportion of "old school" puck adherents who preferred Williams or other discontinued brands such as one B&Ber who mentioned an inventory of 10 Burma Shave pucks versus today.
- We liked to experiment with melting and mixing soaps as we do now. Recall one post where molten Mama Bear was poured into 5 holes drilled into a Williams Puck with a Bic Pen. Lots of comments on superlathering soaps.
- It was more challenging to acquire European soaps. They typically had to be ordered from a European based retailer with significant international shipping charges.
- Small batch Artisan soaps were not a significant part of the market back then. Very little if any mention noted.
- At the low end pricing was not much different than today. Williams was around a buck a puck, similar to the pricing right before it was discontinued earlier this year. VDH Select was around $2 and Col Conk and Mama Bear were under $5.
- Interestingly Mitchell's Wool Fat has declined in price. Back then it cost $20-21 in the U.S.A while now it is available typically for $15/under $12 on sale. The decline of the British pound may account for some of this but my sense is that, while it was viewed as a premium product back then, is has more of a mid-market position today.
- Other higher end soaps such AoS ($34 vs $24 then) and T&H ($28 vs $16 then) have maintained premium pricing. Additionally today's high end extends up to soaps such as Martin de Candre and Saponifico Varesino that can range up to $70 each.
- Thanks to globalization and the growth in on-line retail over the past 15 years we have much easier access to a broader range of shaving soaps either through direct purchase from the manufacturer/artisan (e.g Stirling) or via retailers such as Maggards, Pasteurs and Amazon.