Sassafras Shaving Soap

[Big Jim]

I had a Father's Day gift of Sassafras Shaving Soap. Does anyone know anything about it?

The box identifies that it was made by A Wild Soap Dar in Manor Texas. Ingredient list shows that it is a vegetable oil and butters based soap. It is dark brown, the puck is rough and hard. Very slight root beer scent. When wet scent seems more like a mild lavender although lavender doesn't show up in the ingredient list.

Instructions recommend blooming the soap ("For best result, soften the surface of the soap with a teaspoon of hot water 10 minutes prior to your lathering regimen.") I did that before test lathering last night and it softened up nicely. I returned the lather to the top of the puck and left it overnight.

This morning no additional softening was needed. It lathered beautifully and performed very well. I'll be happy to consume this puck.

 

[Scarry Knight]

I love sassafras. I’ll look this up, thanks. Ordered a mess of root last year for tea, from Missouri or Arkansas

 

[TBoner]

Glad you dig it. It was the first shave soap I ever bought. I find it unusable, but I do like the bath soaps from the same maker. The scent on that sassafras is fantastic.

 

[FarmerTan]

If you could sell Sassafras I'd be a millionaire. Lol, my woods are full of it. I love peeling back the bark and chewing on the pulp of the twigs!

 

[Scarry Knight]

Lavendin is in the ingredients list on their website, under essential oils, right before the sassafras.

 

[Big Jim]

Lavendin is in the ingredients list on their website, under essential oils, right before the sassafras.

And so it is on the box too. The print is quite small.

 

[BigJ]

Great review!! Enjoy!

 

[Grundi]

I blame @Big Jim for causing me to purchase a puck of AWSB Sassafras Shaving Soap!! Just delivered today so I haven't had a chance to try it yet (I'm a morning shaver and I cannot wait to try this soap); however, I did want to post my initial impressions...

SWMBO: stringent sniff test garners an approved reaction!! This is like 90% so everything else is bonus!!

The Puck: as you can see from the picture, it's bigger than Williams (huge thanks to @Guitar10 for the puck and helping me perfect my Modern Williams lathering technique!!), and nearly as hard. The color is brown with the faintest hint of purple. I'm planning to use my MW lathering technique instead of the recommendations on the package.

The Scent: is amazing!! It's a combination of root beer (without any sweet or vanilla - reminiscent of the root beer barrel candies without the sweet part), lavender (that's slightly toned down), and a supporting cast that's hard to pick out. For me this is more of a manish scent than unisex. I'm hoping that it lingers for a while after the shave.

The Box: got that big hole in it so it'll be challenging to store the puck after I begin using it. I'm guessing that it's made from recycled material - which actually isn't that big of a deal to me, but does add a bit of an environmental seriousness to the whole package. (I'm kinda more interested in the soap - now performance and scent is a big deal to me)

Sassafras Shaving Soap for my 4th of July Shave!! (Even if things do turn out awesome, I'm still blaming @Big Jim for tempting me buy this soap)

 

[ShaverAZ]

Unlike tallow soaps, I've found that veggie-based soaps readily melt in the microwave to best fit into covered containers I store my soaps in. Be careful, though, since you only need a low setting for a short time to melt them without scorching them. I use 15 seconds at a time on medium low power and heat until just melted.

Today I melted a new 4.5 oz soap into a 2 cup Rubbermaid bowl with red screw-on lid. There's plenty of room to melt a 4-5.5 oz puck. Works GREAT & can also be used as a lathering bowl.

 

[Grundi]

Unlike tallow soaps, I've found that veggie-based soaps readily melt in the microwave to best fit into covered containers I store my soaps in. Be careful, though, since you only need a low setting for a short time to melt them without scorching them. I use 15 seconds at a time on medium low power and heat until just melted.

Today I melted a new 4.5 oz soap into a 2 cup Rubbermaid bowl with red screw-on lid. There's plenty of room to melt a 4-5.5 oz puck. Works GREAT & can also be used as a lathering bowl.

Thank you for the suggestion and excellent instructions. (I actually have it in a freezer baggie right now, but your idea is much better)

 

[Grundi]

AWSB Sassafras Shaving Soap

I have used this soap for the past 4 shaves and wanted to post feedback on it

TL;DR - amazing scent, slick soap, but average lather

Lathering - the soap is easy to lather (I'm using face lathering) and also easy to over water. This is NOT a thirsty soap and can foam up if you rush it. Anyone who has rushed Modern William and ended up with airy, foamy lather will understand. This AWSB Sassafras doesn't get anywhere near as bad, but will foam if you add too much water too quickly. That said, I got plenty of slick lather which lasted for several passes. Even though the puck is a dark purplely brown, the lather is a light tannish (off white) color.

Lather/protection - there's plenty of it but it's not the thickest. I use Tabac Shaving Stick lather as a measuring stick for this since it's my high-water mark for protective/dense lather. It's a good, middle of the road lather.

Slickness - here and scent is where this soap shines. It's above average slickness is very noticeable, allowing for some buffing and passing over the trouble spots a couple of times without razor burn

Scent - amazing; instantly one of my top 5 scents; root beer and lavender with an excellent supporting cast that my nose isn't sophisticated enough to discern.

Post-Shave - no tightness, no irritation, and no drama; this is as good as I can hope for from a soap

Overall - very satisfied with this soap and it will be in my regular rotation. The price point is good, and the scent makes it stand out from the other artisan soaps.

(Being serious here) Thank you, @Big Jim, for letting us know about this soap. I've found a treasure.

 

[ajkel64]

Thanks for the review. Nice gift.

 

[Oliviamaynard]

They sell this at central market HEB in Houston. I will try it

 

[Scaramouche]

Great review! There's also this one from Macduff's, which is not exactly sassafras and is fairly faint, to me, on the "root beer" vibe, but is an alternative woodsy "birch beer," with outstanding performance as well: