Kell's Original Hemp Oil Shave Soaps

[jackmormon]

I received two of these soaps last Thursday. The Aloe Juniper/Sage and the Ultra Aloe Lime. First impressions are great - very fast shipping and nice presentation with the tin cannister. The soap is a clear soap and performs (IMO) in the league of Mama Bear or QED. With face lathering it was thick, dense, cushioning, and slick. Very smooth after feel. I have used the Juniper/Sage three days now and out of the 20 or so soaps I have tried it is, by far, my favorite scent. Wow. I love artisan soaps and this is one of the better ones I have tried.

Has anybody else had a chance to try any yet?

 

[gollum83]

Nope haven't tried Kell's yet, but was considering it. I'm leaning toward the lime. You try that one yet? How is it?

 

[BullGoose]

Yes. I received a few samples from Dan and really like the Almond scented and Lavender scented Hemp blend. It is very easy to whip up a lather and I found the soap to be very moisturizing. I am eager to try the Shea butter blend when it comes out.

 

[gollum83]

Yes. I received a few samples from Dan and really like the Almond scented and Lavender scented Hemp blend. It is very easy to whip up a lather and I found the soap to be very moisturizing. I am eager to try the Shea butter blend when it comes out.

Awesome. I'm willing to buy some now that you've gone and unofficially endorsed it.

Edit: Just pulled the trigger. One each of Lime and Lavender, Ultra Aloe Blend. Can't wait!

 

[dpm802]

Where do you get this stuff from? Can someone post a link?

I googled it, and found plenty of reviews, but can't find where to place an order.

 

[mmack66]

http://www.kellsoriginal.com/main.sc

 

[gollum83]

And don't forget to use the coupon code BB-Intro. It takes 10% off all orders over $5.

 

[gollum83]

Man has that fast! Ordered Sunday evening, and received my soap today. Both the Lime and Lavender smell excellent, heavenly even, and let me tell you BullGoose wasn't kidding; the soap does lather very easily.

I tried the Lime out right away. I wetted my brush, lightly squeezed out the excess water, and swirled it across the top of the dry puck. With a little work and some more water, lather just sort of exploded from the brush. Very slick, and very moisturizing stuff, and it left my face feeling like a million bucks. All in all, it seems to be top notch stuff.

I'll have to do some more 'research' before I publish my findings in the review section though... Yeah, yeah... I know, poor me...

 

[Zhukov]

I have been using these pretty much since they came out, and tried to post a review in the review section, but got hit by the 50 post count minimum rule that just went into effect and the thread was deleted.

My face isn't the most sensitive, so keep that in mind about these comments.

I've tried several soaps, including the much vaunted Tabac, but always felt that Proraso cream just lathers better and plain out feels better. With Kell's Original soaps, that's no longer the case. Most of the soap I have is the hemp blend, and it lathers up wonderfully and shaves very well. I now have a shaving soap that's as good as my gold standard, so that's pretty good. Shaving soaps tend to be cheaper and have more scent varieties available which makes me happy.

It's always nice to see more variety and competition on the market.

 

[jdougal]

I'm looking to purchase a few of these. Does anyone know if these are meltable? I'm thinking about buying just the pucks and melting them to my containers.

 

[gollum83]

I'm looking to purchase a few of these. Does anyone know if these are meltable? I'm thinking about buying just the pucks and melting them to my containers.

Yes, you can melt them. As a matter of fact, I just melted the lavender puck I recently received the other day into an Old Spice mug.

 

[Jim]

The first ingredient of this soap is Olive oil, notorious for weak unstable lather.
Can anyone compare this soap to other soaps they have used extensively that have a commercially available melt and pour base? Such as QED, Mama bear, Honey bee spa?
Comments like "its great" are not helpful when discussing the comparative merits of a product. A direct side by side comparison to a well known product, comparing the aspects of cushion, density and slickness will help the members decide on a soap to purchase

I hope that somehow this soap has overcome a dismal track record for olive oil, yummy on salads- poor in shaving soap.

.

 

[Zhukov]

Can anyone compare this soap to other soaps they have used extensively that have a commercially available melt and pour base? Such as QED, Mama bear, Honey bee spa?

Not the above mentioned products, but I did explicitly specify that I've compared it to Tabac and found it to be at least equal to in shaving comfort, and superior in lathering ability. If that's not sufficient, then I don't know what to add.

 

[Jim]

So in your experience this olive oil based, melt and pour soap is as good in all measurable respects to Tabac?

What soaps have you tried?

 

[Koss]

I noticed they have hemp oil, aloe, and a mixture of both.

Anyone know what to expect from each? What would those add to a soap or to the health of skin?

 

[Zhukov]

So in your experience this olive oil based, melt and pour soap is as good in all measurable respects to Tabac?

Yes.

It feels like I'm being raked over the coals here, when all I'm doing is relaying what personal experience *I* have had with the soap. I mentioned in my initial post in this thread that I'm not terribly picky so maybe that's part of the problem, but it hardly seems proper to be scoffed at in such a manner. Maybe someone else will be along soon that has more experience in these matters than I do to answer your question with more details.

 

[Jim]

Z, I'm not sure why you would think that, or why you felt the need to call me out. I am asking for you to clarify your point. You posted what would seem a very different experience than what other have had with this "type" of soap. If you could clarify exactly what you are comparing it to then this thread may be of value to the members and be a little more interesting-
This is a discussion board, we talk about things.

 

[Zhukov]

Z, I'm not sure why you would think that, or why you felt the need to call me out. I am asking for you to clarify your point. You posted what would seem a very different experience than what other have had with this "type" of soap. If you could clarify exactly what you are comparing it to then this thread may be of value to the members and be a little more interesting-
This is a discussion board, we talk about things.

No problem. I wasn't trying to call you out, so I apologize if it came across that way. I'm the kind of guy that doesn't experiment much, so when I find something I like, I stick with it. Coupled with my face not having any special needs, I suppose that makes me a less than ideal reviewer, and I don't really know much about how different soaps are manufactured and their various attributes.

 

[Seraphim]

No problem. I wasn't trying to call you out, so I apologize if it came across that way. I'm the kind of guy that doesn't experiment much, so when I find something I like, I stick with it. Coupled with my face not having any special needs, I suppose that makes me a less than ideal reviewer, and I don't really know much about how different soaps are manufactured and their various attributes.

Jim brings up a valid point of clarification. You post comparing this glycerine soap to be in the same league as Tabac certainly piqued my interest. Personally I have never had the greatest luck with glycerine based soaps (nice and slick, but no cushion for my straights...), so I put myself in the "finicky" about soaps department.

Some guys don't care, nor notice any difference whether they are shaving with Williams or vintage Yardley's, or perhaps even goo in a can!

I believe the important thing when reviewing something is to give a base of reference--i.e.- "I don't like Williams, since the lather is bubbly, thin, and unprotective, but when I shave with Tabac the rich luscious lather allows my razor to glide over my face like Alladin on his magic carpet....etc..."

When you do that, it allows the folks who like thin, slippery, non-protective soaps stay away from the rich, delicious soaps, and vice-versa.

 

[L. Martino]

Can anyone compare this soap to other soaps they have used extensively that have a commercially available melt and pour base? Such as QED, Mama bear, Honey bee spa?

.

Hi Jim,

I'm familiar with and have used all the small vendors you mentioned, plus a few more. Although I rarely use those types of soaps now, I know which ones work best for me. My regular rotation now mostly consists of DR Harris, MWF, Institut Karite, and with the occasional change of pace using things from QED, Irisch Moos, or TGQ. Heh, will that work as a good background?

Anyway, about the Kells Original: I used it three times, the version being Hemp/Aloe with the amber scent. It has it's strengths and weaknesses, but overall it was a positive experience.

For some reason, I had a hard time finding the sweet spot with this soap. Yeah, that was odd for me, since I use mostly hard soaps without issue, and types like Kells are a snap normally. I had to play around, adding small dibbles of hot water to finally get the lather looking right. Acted more like MWF than a melt and pour.

Now keep in mind that it can sometimes take me 4-5 times to truly get the lather perfect with a new product, and other members may have had an easier time than I did.

The lather itself wasn't as thick as others I've used, but still not bad. I loaded my brush with enough for my multiple passes, and it didn't break down during my shave. I did notice there being less cushion than what I'm used to, but that may possibly be due to my technique still not being perfect for this particular product(but I doubt it). Still, it was surprising, but not actually unpleasant.

The reason it was no big deal is because this lather is nice and slick. The razor went around my face effortlessly, and the less cushion seemed to make the shave a little closer than usual. I was more aware of the blade on my face than I'm used to feeling, but not in a bad way. The main thing though was there was zero discomfort.......very smooth.

The post shave skincare is quite nice. I rarely have any reactions to soaps or creams, so I can't tell you how it works on sensitive skin. I'll just say that my face felt very smooth and soft when finished. That's a strong point for this stuff.

I'd say the slickness and comfort is similar to most of those other small vendors products. Whipping up the lather was a little difficult for me, but maybe another time or two woulda helped...who knows. The soap does seem to have some very nice 'after the shave' properties, and might be good for sensitive skin types.

Dan offers samples of all three versions for a very low price, and that might be the way to go at first. Even his full size soaps aren't expensive, so there's not much risk either way. Who knows, the stuff may be fine for you, depending on what you're looking for.

So, maybe this will help somehow. Heh, you readers all are aware of the charming YMMV thingy, and this is just one opinion. Best thing to do when trying to judge how something performs is to look at ALL the info, and then try to determine what stands out with most of the reviews.

Martin