Which Qualities Are Most Important To You When Buying Artisan Soap

[Southernman53]

Performance, Ingredients, Price.

If an artisan makes just one soap then I can see fragrance ranking up there. If an artisan has a top-notch base then they will have a scent that I can live with. Fragrance may be important when picking a particular soap but has no bearing on what brand of soap I'm purchasing. They all have at least one that is useable. I don't even notice the scent when shaving. Good post shave feel is a bonus but I reckon that's what a good balm is supposed to take care of.

 

[namya]

Performance, Ingredients, Price.

If an artisan makes just one soap then I can see fragrance ranking up there. If an artisan has a top-notch base then they will have a scent that I can live with. Fragrance may be important when picking a particular soap but has no bearing on what brand of soap I'm purchasing. They all have at least one that is useable. I don't even notice the scent when shaving. Good post shave feel is a bonus but I reckon that's what a good balm is supposed to take care of.

+1 - in that exact order. The only exception for me would be Tallow - in which case I usually skip the soap entirely inspite of the performance.

 

[Badgerstate36]

For me its performance, price and fragrance. Artwork is fun too but its not a must.

 

[02flhtci]

Ingredients, performance, and scent.

The best soap in the world is useless to me if I can't stand the scent.

This

 

[Brian C.]

Performance, price and scent.

It has to work, be within my price point and I definitely have to be able to stand the scent. These are all of equal importance to me.


AoM; B.O.S.S.;Knight of the Veg Table;MFR2019

 

[Steinmetzify]

Fragrance first, if it doesn't smell like something I want on my face I just won't use it, and to me that's a complete waste of $. Just PIF'd a couple to a buddy new to DE shaving, hopefully he likes them better than I do. There was one a few months back that smelled like the inside of a generations old boot; couldn't stand it in my bathroom but my brother loved it cause he's a weirdo like that, so it's his now lol

Performance has to be there, fortunately I have a friend that's been doing this a long time; he's never steered me wrong when it comes to good soaps.

Artwork has to be cool....this might be a little TMI, but I have a certain self image; if something is too whimsical or just not what I think of as cool, I'm not going to buy it sight unseen.....if it's in a shop and smells great, I'll snag it and rip the label, but not over the internet.

 

[Frozenshades]

Scent, scent, scent, scent........

All soaps perform - they all lather well enough to shave with. Very few fail in that.

+1

Scent #1, Price #2, performance #3

Sure, not all soaps perform equal and I do like some more than others. Yet, I can't recall ever discarding a soap for performance issues which I can't say the same of for scent.

 

[sleepydad]

For me it’s reputation, availability, and scent.

I don’t buy much or very often, but when I do I tend to lean towards artisans thy have made it beyond the first 6 months that stand by their product. I want to see folks succeed, but when they are changing the base every four weeks I don’t want to pay to be a tester.
Also, because I don’t stock pile soaps much anymore, so I tend to stay away from limited releases. FOMO no longer has me in his grasp.

Scent is scent, I want to love the smell.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AimlessWanderer]

The three I voted for, were performance, price, and fragrance, but I'll comment on all six.

Ingredients:
Aside from a quick glance to make sure it has no menthol (which can cause me skin problems), I pay little attention to the ingredients. I care about the nett result, but I'm no interested in how they go about delivering that.

Performance:
This is key, and the sole reason for using soap in the first place. Not every soap can provide the slickness I need with my tap water, at the thinness of lather I prefer for my technique. If I have to apply the product too rich to get slickness, or don't get a good post shave feel, I'll not be buying it again.

Artwork:
Irrelevant.

Quality of container:
Unless the container is so shabby that it won't survive till the soap is finished, this too is irrelevant.

Price:
I have to feel I'm getting value for money, and this isn't just upfront cost, but both the quantity and quality of shaves I get. MdC gave me nice shaves, but costs around 5x per shave what Mitchell's does, and gives me a poorer post shave finish too. To me, it doesn't give value for money.

Fragrance:
I don't want bold scented soaps, and have given Tabac and the American artisans a wide berth for this reason. I should be able to ignore the scent, and focus on the shave. If I can't then I've not got the full attention on the sharp blade on my face that I should have.

So while performance and price are key, an invasive fragrance could make a soap unusable, and make price and performance irrelevant.

 

[steffenapelz]

Scent, scent, scent, scent........

All soaps perform - they all lather well enough to shave with. Very few fail in that.

I am in a similar camp these days. But I think that this is largely a sign of an experienced wetshaver. Someone who has the right razors for their skin, the right routine, good technique. When you are using sub-optimal tools, technique and routine, preformance is the #1 thing. At least that is how it used to be for me.

When I was dragging a Muhle DE89 and ATT M1 over my face two years ago, I wasn't even worried about fragrance. The only thing that mattered was that I didn't want to draw blood and I didn't want irritation, and at that point, I was hunting for the best performance. That is when I started buying GD, DG, WK. And it helped me get through that phase.

Then I discovered the Fatip Gentile and combined with improving technique and routine, I got to a place where performance of a soap no longer drove whether I would bleed or be irritated. With the addition of my RR GCs and Mambas, I have now all but retired the Fatip Gentile and I can shave with any soap, even those like Mike's which I had temporarily benched or Siliski which is just a so-so performer for me.

Matter of fact, I am re-arranging my den slightly today to put away all the winter scents and put all the summer scents within easy reach.

 

[RayClem]

I have tried a lot of soaps. Performance and scent are my two concerns. Everything else is secondary.

I have some soaps that perform exceptionally well, but I just do not enjoy using them because the scent is not to my liking. There are also some scents that irritate my skin.

Then there are soaps that have a wonderful aroma yet the performance falls somewhat short.

But then there are those soaps that have exceptional performance and a wonderful scent. They are a joy to use.

If a soap also includes a great container, attractive artwork, etc. that is simply a bonus.

For me pricing is not an issue until the price gets above $25. Although I do have a few of soaps that exceed that level, I have to be absolutely certain that I will love both the performance and the scent before spending more than that amount. That keeps some expensive soaps out of my den, even though they may be wonderful.