NOTICE
The following review includes a scientific analysis with mass measurements regarding how my sample of soap/cream works for me during shaves of my face and neck. The opinions of those who use or have tried the soap/cream are respected as just as valid. No claims are made about how the soap/cream would work for those who have not tried it.
8th Addition to Optimum Lather Table: L'Occitane Cade Shaving Soap Comes in at 7th Place
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Note: L'Occitane is pronounced as "locks-e-tahn". Based on what is available at their official website, Cade is currently their only shaving soap.
Purchase Date: October 9, 2016
Packaging: The 100 g puck of L'Occitane Cade shaving soap that I purchased at a L'Occitane store was wrapped in clear plastic with a sticker label that listed the ingredients. The puck was round on the bottom, shaped to match L'Occitane's non-oxidizing aluminum shaving bowl. I promptly shredded the soap and pushed it down into the bottom of a one-cup plastic container, as shown above with some of the soap having been used by the time of the picture.
Ingredients: Potassium palmate, sodium palmate, potassium palm kernelate, aqua/water, sodium palm kernelate, glycerin, parfum/fragrance, juniperus oxycedrus wood oil, fusanus spicatus wood oil, helichrysum italicum (flower) oil, cera alba/beeswax, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, hordeum vulgare extract, sodium chloride, octyldodecanol, palm kernel acid, cocoglycerides, pentasodium pentetate, tetrasodium etidronate, polyglyceryl-2 dipolyhydroxystearate, polyglyceryl-3 diisostearate, tocopheryl acetate, magnesium sulfate, sodium benzoate, CI 77891/titanium dioxide
Appearance: White or off-white
Scent: The scent of cade (prickly juniper) in this soap is light and pleasant, in my opinion
Hardness: Hard, based on my limited experience
Loading and Building: Whether bloomed or not, I found that the soap did not load well into a brush, accumulating as finely aerated protolather on the outside of the brush rather than inside the brush. Nevertheless, plenty of soap can be loaded with enough water and time. Building the lather in a bowl is easy with added water, creating more and more finely aerated lather as water is added. The lather volume can, therefore, be very large, but the lather just keeps growing as the water is added, regardless of agitation speed.
Optimization Results with Exact Lathers: Optimization involved seventeen (17) daily shaves from January 20, 2018, to February 5, 2018. Total mass (as soap mass plus water mass) ranged from 7.35 g to 8.61 g and water-to-soap ratio (as water mass divided by soap mass) ranged from 10 to 35. For a water-to-soap ratio of 10, the cushion was pretty good or good and the post-shave had pretty good or good moisture, but there was an overall irritation from the soap that someone else might not experience. Also, the slickness was not good, since there was an overall level of friction during the shave, and there was significant friction on the chin, above the lip, and on the sides during blade buffing. As the water-to-soap ratio increased, the cushion decreased and the irritation from the soap decreased, but the slickness and post-shave peaked at certain hydration ratios. With high and increasing water-to-soap ratios, the post-shave got drier and the slickness got worse. A water-to-soap ratio of 35, for example, was associated with slickness that was okay at times and bad at other times, including bad stick-slip during the third pass on the neck. The cushion was basically nothing at this point, but at least the post-shave was pretty good with no overall irritation, although on the dry side.
The best performance from the soap was found for a water-to-soap ratio optimized to the nearest whole value as 18, and the optimum mass for this ratio was found to be around 7.60 g. For this optimum lather, it took about 1.5 minutes for all of the soap to be incorporated from the bottom of the lathering bowl, but building lather took a normal amount of time. The lather had a fine foam structure with some yogurt-like behavior and a matte appearance with a tiny bit of sheen. Adhesion was not much, but was okay. Applying the lather for passes was okay, but the lightness of the lather made application thinner than desired at a few spots, and application was choppy in the third pass. Slickness was okay overall, but there was significant friction on the chin, above the lip, and on the sides when blade buffing. Cushion was not much. Post-shave was good, but probably a little on the dry side. At least the irritation that I felt with lower water-to-soap ratios was only slightly there. It is possible that my skin is sensitive to one or more of the many soap's ingredients, particularly the apparently synthetic ones.
Full Shot of Optimum Lather in Bowl:
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Full Shot of Optimum Lather on Brush:
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Extreme Close-Up of Optimum Lather with Millimeter-Marked Scale:
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Ranking Results: Ranking tests were conducted from February 5, 2018, to February 9, 2018, with daily shaves using optimum lathers of soaps in the following order: L'Occitane, Barrister and Mann (B&M) Cheshire, L'Occitane, Lisa's Natural Herbal Creations (LNHC) Sandalwood, L'Occitane. Alternating back and forth between soaps, without changing the setup of the razor and blade, really helps with ranking. Given my experience with Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF), a direct ranking test against MWF was unnecessary. I know that L'Occitane works better for me than MWF does. By all measures (slickness, cushion, post-shave), B&M's optimum lather was better than L'Occitane's optimum lather. LNHC also beat L'Occitane, but was considerably closer in performance than B&M was to L'Occitane. Slickness was better overall with LNHC, mostly because there was basically no halting friction with blade buffing, but slickness was not a lot better. It was only somewhat or a little better. Cushion was better with LNHC, too. However, post-shave was drier with LNHC. That could be related to the overall irritation that I felt, presumably from the fragrance oil in my sample of LNHC, as I've written about before. Nevertheless, the shave was closer and better with LNHC, with the exception of the irritation and post-shave dryness.
Final Thoughts: L'Occitane is not a bad soap. As shown above, the cell structure is fine with small bubbles, so the lather has some yogurt-like behavior, but overall, the lather has too much air. This relates to the diminished cushion. The lack of slickness, though, is the real key to why L'Occitane is not a top-tier soap. The price of L'Occitane is not bad, but one can get a better value with other soaps.
Optimum Lather Table
| PR | Performance Ranking |
| PD | Purchase Date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| SCM | Soap/Cream Mass (g) |
| WM | Water Mass (g) |
| TM | Total Mass (g) = SCM + WM |
| WSCR | Water-to-Soap/Cream Ratio = WM / SCM |
| SCP | Soap/Cream Price (USD) |
| PR | Soap/Cream | PD | SCM | WM | TM | WSCR | SCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stirling Soap Co. Shave Soap | 2016-12-19 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 9.00 | 0.08 |
| 2 | Declaration Grooming (Formerly L&L Grooming) Shaving Soap | 2017-08-11 | 1.0 | 8.5 | 9.5 | 8.50 | 0.16 |
| 3 | Barrister and Mann (Not Barrister's Reserve) Shaving Soap | 2017-10-19 | 0.78 | 8.19 | 8.97 | 10.50 | 0.13 |
| 4 | The Sudsy Soapery Shave Soap | 2016-11-09 | 0.8 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 9.50 | 0.08 |
| 5 | Barrister and Mann Latha Shaving Soap | 2016-11-26 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 8.00 | 0.10 |
| 6 | Lisa's Natural Herbal Creations Wet Shave Soap | 2017-03-18 | 0.8 | 7.2 | 8.0 | 9.00 | 0.06 |
| 7 | L'Occitane Cade Shaving Soap | 2016-10-09 | 0.40 | 7.20 | 7.60 | 18.00 | 0.06 |
| 8 | Mitchell's Wool Fat Shaving Soap | 2016-06-26 | 0.27 | 6.75 | 7.02 | 25.00 | 0.03 |
General Notes:
- As documented on August 27, 2017, soap/cream and moderately hard water masses, at room temperature, were directly measured in a smooth lathering bowl and lather was built with conventional agitation using a dry synthetic brush, so as to make exact lather for each shave. Masses were measured using either a 0.1 g resolution scale with a heavier lathering bowl or a 0.01 g resolution scale with a lighter lathering bowl.
- Based on slower three-pass shaves with blade buffing using chrome-plated DE safety razors with agreeable blades and blade exposures, water-to-soap/cream ratio was generally optimized to the nearest 0.5 value while total mass was simultaneously optimized as precisely as could be accomplished by varying soap/cream and water masses from day to day. Lather from inside the brush was used as much as possible in order to effectively eliminate the influence of the brush on total mass.
- Before each pass, extra time was taken to wipe away excess water from the face and allow the face to effectively dry. During each pass, the razor was quickly shaken a few times after each rinse so that excess water would be reasonably removed from the razor. These measures were taken in order to minimize the small additions of water that naturally occur to the lather during a shave.
- Rankings were aided by revisiting previously determined optimums and comparing optimum lathers in sequential shaves.
- Prices are current median best values among the available versions of each soap and cream. However, the current formulations of the soaps and creams may be different from those associated with the purchase dates and the optimization results.
- The table is sortable such that clicking on a column heading sorts the rows according to that column's data, and clicking on the column heading again reverses the sorting order. Product names are links to full review and optimization results for the particular versions of the soaps and creams used.
- Stirling Soap Co. Shave Soap: Lather is soft and uniform with some yogurt-like behavior and only a few small bubbles. Sheen is pretty good or good. Adhesion and application are pretty good or good. Slickness is generally good, but there is typically some friction near the end of passes. Cushion is okay or pretty good. Post-shave is fairly good, but a little on the dry side.
- Declaration Grooming (Formerly L&L Grooming) Shaving Soap: Lather takes time to build, but it has some yogurt-like behavior and only a few small bubbles. Adhesion and application smoothness are pretty good or good. Slickness is okay to good, mostly good, with friction near the end of passes. Cushion is pretty good. Post-shave is good.
- Barrister and Mann (Not Barrister's Reserve) Shaving Soap: Lather has some yogurt-like behavior, but there is a lightness to the lather. Sheen is pretty good. Adhesion and application are pretty good or good. Slickness is okay to good, mostly good, but significant friction may be experienced at several locations, especially during blade buffing due to a lack of residual slickness. Cushion is okay or pretty good. Post-shave is good.
- The Sudsy Soapery Shave Soap: Lather is noticeably airy with a uniform cell structure and foam-like behavior, as opposed to yogurt-like behavior, but there are only a few larger bubbles. Sheen is not good because lather has more of a matte finish. Adhesion and application are okay, at best. Slickness is okay to good, mostly good, but there is significant friction at the end of passes and slickness seems to deteriorate with blade buffing due to a lack of residual slickness. Cushion is not much, and the lack of protection is noticeable. Post-shave is okay, but it is kind of dry.
- Barrister and Mann Latha Shaving Soap: Lather is neither like yogurt nor creamy, but lather is uniform with respect to very small air cells. Lather does not have much adhesion to skin during application. Sheen is nice, but not brilliant. Slickness is mostly good with some very good moments, but there is some friction near the end of passes. Cushion is not much, although it is fine. Post-shave is kind of dry with some overall irritation.
- Lisa's Natural Herbal Creations Wet Shave Soap: Lather is airy with uniformly tiny air cells and few visible small air bubbles. Sheen is okay, but not good or brilliant. Adhesion to skin is pretty good. Application is smooth enough, but not very smooth. Slickness is okay overall, with some good moments and virtually no stick-slip, but there is friction at times and near the end of passes. Cushion is okay, but it is not much. Post-shave is fairly dry with some irritation that probably corresponds with the irritation felt during and after application for the third pass.
- L'Occitane Cade Shaving Soap: Lather has a fine foam structure with some yogurt-like behavior and a matte appearance with little sheen. Application is okay, but lack of adhesion and lightness of lather make application thinner than desired. Slickness is okay overall, but there is significant, possibly even halting, friction during blade buffing. Cushion is very little. Post-shave is good, but probably a little on the dry side, and depending on one's skin, there might be some irritation from the soap.
- Mitchell's Wool Fat Shaving Soap: Lather builds relatively quickly to a sparkly foam that collapses to some degree during application and dissipates somewhat during passes. Slickness is okay overall, ranging from awful to pretty good, and a little stick-slip might occur. Cushion is very little. Post-shave is kind of dry.
It's nice to get some feedback, and yours was a pleasant surprise. Since our opinions largely match, I hope that my reviews can help you if there is a soap or cream that I really like and you haven't tried. I'm currently revisiting B&M Latha with a new sample of it, and then I'll revisit Sudsy Soapery with a new sample of that, and then I'll get to Mystic Water and The Art of Shaving (my first cream). I'll keep going with the scientific method! 
It's all good when I like the soap or it works well enough, like with L'Occitane, but when I don't like it, as with MWF, I just can't wait for the testing to be over. It's kind of nuts what I put myself through sometimes, but I am in the BOSC. 
