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There's No Such Thing as a Barbershop Scent

A couple of weeks ago, I started a thread asking about barbershop scented soaps. It seems that nearly everyone makes one, but since I never knew what to expect, I had never tried one. Reading the scent note descriptions didn't help me much, so I figured I would try a couple and see what "barbershop scent" really is. First up was Stirling's Barbershop soap. As some had suggested, it is very heavy on the vanilla. I had been trying to avoid anything heavy on the patchouli, since I don't care for it, and Stirling was pointed out as one that did not have a noticeable patchouli note to it. To my nose, however, Stirling's Barbershop is almost entirely a vanilla scent. It arrived with some bath soaps for my wife and a sample of the vanilla sandalwood bath soap. Off the puck, it is hard to tell those two apart. One poster had stated that you get more of the barbershop scent when lathering, and I would say that that is true, but the vanilla still overwhelms all else to my nose.

Asking what was not like Stirling elicited several other choices and I went with Wet Shaving Products Barbershop for my second try. I have used WSP soaps (and Stirling soaps) before and have found their performance to be excellent, so I knew that I wasn't taking much of a chance. All I can say is that if both of these soaps are Barbershop Scent then (see title of thread) there is no such thing as a barbershop scent. I cannot say at all what this soap smells like; it is quite pleasant, but it does not smell at all like any barbershop I have been in, and it has nothing in common with the scent of Stirling Barbershop.

Oddly enough, this morning I used a soap not called Barbershop that reminded me more of a barbershop than either Stirling or WSP Barbershop soaps. It's Klar Classic. Generally the descriptions you see of the scent highlight leather and spice, but my wife (my primary reference for scent evaluations) agrees that of the three, it is the one she would pick as the Barbershop scent.

I'll finish up the two "Barbershop" soaps I have, but I think I'll leave it at that.
 
Depends on the barbershop. Clubman reminds me the most of barbershops when growing up, but I haven't found a decent soap with the same scent.
Yep
I totally agree
If your idea of the scent of your old barbershop was embarrassing regret and old men saying “I got your nose” while baseball was droning on in the background I’m sure there’s that scent out there and it could be call “70’s Barbershop”. I am currently not looking for one for fear of the horrible hair cut flashbacks that would follow.
 
Yep
I totally agree
If your idea of the scent of your old barbershop was embarrassing regret and old men saying “I got your nose” while baseball was droning on in the background I’m sure there’s that scent out there and it could be call “70’s Barbershop”. I am currently not looking for one for fear of the horrible hair cut flashbacks that would follow.
Oh and the joke

“Shall I lower your ears for ya?”
Never gets old.
 
Yeah I kind of went through the same thing when I started looking for a Barbershop soap. I haven't tried them all by any means, but I like Stirling for spring, Seville for summer, Ghost Town Barber for fall, and Lisa's Barber Shoppe for winter. For me Lisa's and GTB smell the most like a barbershop just because those are the scents I remember. I have read that a lot of people associate Bay Rum soaps with their idea of barbershops. It is funny just how much personal preference plays in this hobby. I am glad you found your barbershop scent though!
 
I'd say it depends on where you grew up what scent you think a barbershop is supposed to have. You might have better luck using a mildly scented soap and following up with an aftershave like Clubman or Superior 70 or Old Spice, etc. A little dusting of shave talc and you should be close.
 
You might like Soap Commander Endurance, it's not classified as Barbershop but very similar to the classic Old Spice scent. It's powdery, spicy, and mildly citrusy. Nice clean soap recipe too.
 
Yep
I totally agree
If your idea of the scent of your old barbershop was embarrassing regret and old men saying “I got your nose” while baseball was droning on in the background I’m sure there’s that scent out there and it could be call “70’s Barbershop”. I am currently not looking for one for fear of the horrible hair cut flashbacks that would follow.
My idea of my old barbershop was back in the 1950's, with 3 Italian barbers, hot lather machines, straight razors, leather strops and talcum powder.
 
the barbershop scent is usually the scent of cheap product - aftershave/cologne you can buy by the gallon and that product was used by more than one barbers at one time in your area. there's no universal barbershop scent, only maybe regional, generic products used in barbershops.

Edit: one example is heavily diluted Clubman :)
 
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It definitely depends on the barbershop. It also depends on one's memory of what the smells were like when you used to go to the barbershop. I have seen this point made in almost every barbershop scent thread and the concensus is that what is a barbershop scent is highly subjective. That said, Stirling Barbershop is one of my very favorite scents. I love vanilla and will add that there is also a heavy powder scent. So I get vanilla and baby powder from my Stirling Barbershop. I also have WSP Barbershop in the T-Formula version. A very different scent from Stirling. It is a clean and fresh scent without the vanilla and I don't get much baby powder either. This is also one of my very favorite soap scents. Performance of both is also excellent. There is also West Coast Shaving Gatsby #1 which many people have said is a "barbershop scent". This one has more perfume in there but not an unappealing one. Again, another one of my very favorite scents. I think my point is that what makes a scent "barbershop" is highly subjective and open to interpretation. But isn't everything in this hobby YMMV?
 
Rocky’s in Milford.
I think this is it, Mineola Barbers in Mineola, NY (on Long Island, where I grew up).

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JCarr

More Deep Thoughts than Jack Handy
Depends on the barbershop. Clubman reminds me the most of barbershops when growing up, but I haven't found a decent soap with the same scent.

Phoenix makes a Clubman knockoff called, "Clubguy" .

They make it in a soap. It's pretty darn close in scent to Clubman Original.

Clubguy Artisan Shave Soap - Classic Barbershop Scent - https://phoenixartisanaccoutrements.com/products/phoenix-artisan-accoutrements-clubguy-classic-barbershop-scent-shaving-soap

After Barrister and Mann Seville, my second favorite barbershop scent is Colonel Conk Bay Rum. It smells nothing like Bay Rum and everything like barbershop.
 
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For me, Tabac is a Barbershop scent.
After returning from the barber its the scent that matches. It must be the Campbells soap for the lather machine that smells exactly the same.
Every barbershop could be different.
 
I agree that every Barbershop has its own scent. I associate a barbershop smell to the one my dad took me to as a kid. It was a one barber chair shop that we went to usually on a Saturday morning. Their were usually 5 or 6 guys hanging out waiting their turn. Back in those days it seems like everyone smoked so the smell I remember was a mixture of coffee burning on the warming plate of the ancient coffee maker, stale cigarette smoke, and cheap aftershave. To be honest, I don't think I want to use a soap or aftershave that smells like that. :huh:
 
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