Shannon's Soaps - First Impressions

[squank]

Greetings, all! I was looking for a lemongrass scented soap, and several kind folks here have recommended Shannon's Soaps as a strong provider.

I ordered a sample of the Lavender Lemongrass scent, along with a small handful of others. I must say, she runs a first-class organization. Her communications were prompt and courteous, and my purchase arrived with generous samples of each soap with a personalized note.

After a small sample of two of the flavors twice each, I had a great first impression. I found good scents, and I get great lather. The only 'nit' I have is the soaps don't seem to provide great lubrication. Now, I don't end up with nicks and cuts -- it's just the feel during the shave rather than a bad result. So, that's not a bad thing at all.

I guess I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if others have the same experience. Again, it doesn't result in a bad shave. It's just these soaps don't seem to help the razor "glide" like other soaps, and the post shave feel isn't quite as strong as a result. Again, not a bad result -- just not as strong as other soaps I have tried.

Thanks for any related impressions you may have.

 

[silverlifter]

Try slowly adding more water as you build your lather. I use her Barbershop and find the slickness is fine for straight shaves.

 

[jesseix]

I’ve tried a few different Shannon’s soaps and didn’t love the performance. I know there’s an “upgraded” base that some of the soaps come in, which I’m somewhat interested to try but not so much that I’m going out of my way to buy a tub.

 

[Eben Stone]

I guess I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if others have the same experience.

I bought samples of every Chupacabra based scent. Still trying them out. I found the slickness to be very good, but not in the same ballpark as my slickest soaps. To be fair, I've been using hard tap water. Next time I use Shannon's I'll try with distilled.

 

[NotEntirelyaNoob]

I've only tried two, one chupacabra base and a sample of Haymarket in her standard base, both have pretty great slickness to me, the chupacabra is a cut above but for the price of her regular base I was really impressed, minimal amount of drag and only very mild irritation after(qualifies as a big win for me and my skin). All that said, I do bowl lather with distilled water which is pretty much optimal conditions for making lather.

 

[squank]

In looking deeper, I don't think any of my samples are from the chupacabra base - that could provide some insight into the results I'm getting. (But I would hope all shave soaps provide strong lubrication....)

 

[midwestshaver71]

I bought samples of every Chupacabra based scent. Still trying them out. I found the slickness to be very good, but not in the same ballpark as my slickest soaps. To be fair, I've been using hard tap water. Next time I use Shannon's I'll try with distilled.

Good slickness, yes. I would also agree not in the same ballpark as my higher end soaps, but then I would not expect them to be either for such an attractive price point. I would put them on par with Stirling or maybe just a tick or two above.

 

[BurnFree]

I am pretty sure Shannon's uses two soap bases in 3 general pricing tiers/lines with some variation between scents and portions: there is the non-labeled "Base" soap, Chupacabra, and finally "RustBelt Reserve," which seems to be the Chupacabra base with fancier scents and maybe a couple moisturizing additives. I have used 4 Base, 1 Chupacabra, and 1 Chupacabra-Rustbelt Reserve, and could not discern any performance difference between the latter two lines. Enjoyed them all. Personally I'd only pay the difference (which is still reasonable) for a Chupacabra base to get a desired scent, but everyone has to make their own value assessment.

Her base soap has a unique consistency & feel that is difficult to describe. Not bad or good, just...different. It prefers requires a heavy load with a gradual painting in or spraying of water, but was slick for me once dialed in. It is definitely not as mindlessly-easy to lather as some other soaps at various price points, nor is it the most stable lather for a leisurely shave, but I particularly like how this base rinses off easily and leaves a balanced post-shave feel.

The Chupacabra base is easier to lather to desired consistency, with improved residual slickness and increased post-shave moisturizing, but the outright slickness improvement is not Night & Day in my opinion. It IS a little easier to use overall. Stirling Sheep is still a favorite for performance. Ranking things is a slippery slope (hah!), but Sheep beats both Shannons bases in my opinion. The Chupacabra is close. Stirling Beef and Beeswax slicknesses are both a step down from Shannon's basic base (if I get the lather right), but Stirling is generally easier to use. The converse is true. For me, Stirling can be worked to whatever texture is desired, but the slickness just doesn't change much - it is what it is. Shannons is more slick with extra effort, but you can also get a dry shave. Any differences are still pretty minor overall...it's soap.

Scent/Skin: None of the Shannons scents have been weird/funky/"unexpected" despite a couple out being out of my normal comfort zone. Zero skin irritation as well, which has not happened with other brands.

So, yeah...I'm a Fanboy. Try playing with the lather a bit more, but if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Plenty of options out there!

 

[squank]

Thanks for your impressions, @BurnFree -- I'll have to be a bit more deliberate next time and use your technique for lathering this soap. I'm encouraged to try again!

 

[BurnFree]

Thanks for your impressions, @BurnFree -- I'll have to be a bit more deliberate next time and use your technique for lathering this soap. I'm encouraged to try again!

Best of luck.
Will be interested to hear your final opinion, good or otherwise. Highly subjective stuff.

I did not mean to imply expert status with very little "premium" soap experience: Zingari Man, SV, an older BM base (don't remember which one), and Canada Shaving Soap.

I've gone back to daily driving Stirling Sheep or Proraso, with a couple Shannons scents rotated in for fun while the fancy stuff gathers dust.

 

[BurnFree]

@squank , I've been playing with a new razor (Goodfellas Bayonetta) the last few days and found that the closed comb rough finish really amplifies soap slickness differences.

I stand by my prior statements (the end result with her base soap between skin & blade is still great for me), but believe @midwestshaver71 puts it pretty succinctly.

Also, the difference between her bases was more distinct with this razor (more for residual vs initial slickness), but it is still not groundbreaking. Hope it worked out for you.

 

[squank]

@squank , I've been playing with a new razor (Goodfellas Bayonetta) the last few days and found that the closed comb rough finish really amplifies soap slickness differences.

I stand by my prior statements (the end result with her base soap between skin & blade is still great for me), but believe @midwestshaver71 puts it pretty succinctly.

Also, the difference between her bases was more distinct with this razor (more for residual vs initial slickness), but it is still not groundbreaking. Hope it worked out for you.

Good info! Thanks for the follow up!