This is my first review of a shaving soap on a new thread. I have shared my take on a few other soaps within pre-existing threads. I share this review hoping that those with skin-sensitivities, like myself, would benefit from it. I am also very thankful to Mceuph75 who generously sent me this precious soap all to Canada as a gift.
I consider my face as a benchmark to test effectiveness and suitability of various shaving products for sensitive skins since mine is most easily irritated by scents, essential oils, dyes, and preservatives. In other words, if a soap agrees with and provides a great shave for my face, chances are that it would be equally beneficial for a great majority of other wet-shavers prone to sensitivities.
Here is a brief description of the ingredients of the unscented soap from Mystic Waters’ website: “I've included a lot of good herbal ingredients in this soap including Calendula officinalis (Marigold) flower, aloe vera, sea buckthorn berry oil and allantoin. No fragrance or essential oils have been added to this soap but it has a mild pleasant natural smell of its own, from the top-quality ingredients. There is no saponified coconut oil in any of my shave soaps, which makes them especially gentle and good for sensitive skin. This soap is particularly soothing due to the botanical additions and lack of added fragrance. Lanolin free.”
I used Proraso White pre-shave gel for sensitive skin, Simpson’s Duke 3 in best badger, Merkur Slant razor loaded with an Astra Blue blade, Thayer’s unscented, and Castle Forbes Lavender Essential Oil Aftershave balm for this shave. The soap was put to use to help take down five days worth of facial hair growth.
This is the shaves-stick format of the soap so I applied it generously all over my face and lower neck. Lathering this soap takes time and efforts even with distilled water. It took me a good 5 to 7 minutes to face lather after applying the stick on my face. Those who have used Mystic Waters soaps can attest to that. But the quality of lather after the hard work came as a shock to me, thick, creamy, stable with a clear sheen. It heralded a great shave and surely I was not disappointed!
Glide, cushion, protection, and slickness aspects of this soap were on par, if no better than, high-quality soaps I have used before such as Haslinger, SV, Barrister & Mann Latha. Mind you that the only soap that stood above these for me was the Wholly Kaw Donkey Milk version. The shave was very smooth and comfortable without any cuts or nicks.
I’ve been wet-shaving for a year and half now and this soap provided so much comfort that for the first time I found the courage to do a third-pass shave and go against the grain. The result of venturing into this unchartered territory was the smoothest shave I ever had without slightest irritation.
I think the most promising quality of this soap for me has been post-shave face feel. My face glows and feels very smooth, soft, silky, and nurtured. There is no redness or razor-burn even on the most sensitive areas of my lower neck.
There have been a few threads on this forum where members have recommended their favorite unscented soaps formulated specifically for sensitive skins. I’ve read them many times and used a few soaps that seemed to popular except for the famous wallet-draining Martin de Candre Unscented and Xpec. Mystic Waters unscented soap provided great, comfortable shave without the slightest irritation for me. Again, the only downside to this soap would be an extra mile you would have to go to create a rich, creamy and protective lather.