Shaving Soap Reviews

These are my opinions on shaving soap I've tried… nothing less, nothing more. Unless otherwise noted, all products were purchased at my expense.

I wasn't clever enough to put dates on every reveiw. Undated reviews are from sometime beteween 2003 to 2007.

I have sensitive skin, and most shaving soaps irritate me. Unfortunately I don't know what ingredients bother me. Just because a soap irritated me doesn't mean it will bother you. But if you have sensitive skin, maybe you should try ones that don't irritate me first.

And my overall favorite is…

Altesse: The soap is triple milled, and was decently priced in the US. Even thought the soap round looks smaller then a refill of D.R. Harris, it is the same size (100 grams) as other rounds that are made to fit into bowls, at about 2/3rds the price.
Scent: The scent is unusual for a shaving soap, not your normal "clean & fresh", citrus or floral smell. It's a bit earthy and hard for me to describe. Others have said they detected vetiver in it. I did not find it pleasant, but others like it.
Lather: The lather started off thin, but after working it for a long time with extra water it took off and was very good and thick. It did take more work then other soaps however.
Irritation: More then I was willing to put up with.

Arko Shaving Soap

A dirt cheap yet effective soft shaving stick from Turkey. It can be sort of hard to find, and shipping to the USA can be a problem. I got mine from www.tulumba.com.

The soap is very soft, it has the consistency of chilled modeling clay. It comes in a stick, but I was able to mold it into a bowl by just mashing it down, and smoothing it out with my thumbs.

Scent

It smells just like soap. I personally didn't like it that much. It's got quite a bit of scent to it, but it's not as strong as Tabac, and since it's such a generic soap smell, I didn't find it offensive.

Lather

Superior. The lather really felt a lot like the lather I get from creams. It had the same "airy" texture to it. Right off the bat I got lots of lather, but it took a bit more time working the lather to get it to the thicker consistency that I like. Defiantly one of the top 3 latherers I've used so far.

Irritation

Too much for me

Art Of Shaving Lavender Shaving Soap: This soap takes the cake for cost so far. One 95g bowl-refill (note, most bowl-sized soaps are 100 grams) costs $24 in the USA where it's made, and even more overseas. The soap is harder then a glycerine "melt and pour" soap, but not as hard as a triple-milled soap like DR Harris, so it won't last all that long ether. On a positive note it is better for the skin then DR Harris and other very hard soaps, but still not quite as moisturizing as Pre De Provance and other softer soaps. It's certainly a very good soap, but with it's high price-tag I don't recommend it.
Scent: Smells just like lavender essential oil, which is what the ingrediants say was used to scent it.
Lather: Very good, but not the best, and not enough to justify it's price tag to me.
Irritation: Even though the soap is for "for sensitive skin", there is still too much irritation for me to use it with a straight razor.

Brown Bag (No Longer In Business)

Handmade soap with alo vera and bentonite clay (for lubrication).

The soap makers can do some custom soaps (custom scents for example), but I'm not sure of the price or minimum quantity. The price for non-custum soap is very good, at $3.50 for a 3.5 oz puck.

Scents

Bay Rum

This is definitely my favorite bay rum scented soap, although it is very faint. I think it smells absolutely fantastic. Very invigorating, it smells like my bottle of pure imported Bay Rum to me.

Irish Tweed

This scent is not listed on the website anymore, but perhaps it can still be made. It's a nice invigorating, clean and (to me) oceanic smell.

Irritation

Unfortunately the soaps irritated me, in spite of their simple ingredients. I sometimes use the bay rum soap because I absolutely love the smell, but even when using a DE razor it irritates me.

Burma Shave Soap: I waited so long to write-down my thoughts on this soap, I've forgotten most of them. What I do remember was that the soap wasn't very remarkable, but very cheep. Since it gave me light irritation, I used it up in the shower and moved on to other soaps. This soap is a bit hard to find, but very reasonably priced. Burma Shave had probably the best known advertising campaign when it comes to shaving, even today. The soap still has some nostalgic or 'collectable' value, and the packaging still looks very retro. If you happen to find it in the store, I think it's worth a try for this if nothing else.
Scent: Don't quite remember, soapy perhaps?
Lather: Nothing great, perhaps a hair under Williams. I didn't have any major trouble working the lather up, or having it disappear, but it just wasn't that great for me.
Irritation: Mild, but still there. Since Williams soap is equally inexpensive, and more available, I used up the burma-shave as a bath soap, and filled it's niche with Williams.

Classic (Shaving) Brand

Excellent stuff but it caused too much irritation for me to use. It has bentonite clay in it, which makes it quite lubricating; it's been called "slicker then goose snot".

Scents

Almond: This should really be called "citrus almond" in my opinion; it is orange in color, and to my nose citrus notes dominated.
Unscented: as advertised, no strong smell.

Lather

Quite good, and easy to produce.

Irritation

Way to much for me to use. The almond scent gave me the most irritation of any production shaving shop I've used to date. Anecdotally I've heard that the almond scent is the most irritating of the "Classic Brand" soaps. The unscented was quite a bit better, but still irritated me to much for me to use.

Classic (Shaving) "Gold" Hypo-Allergenic Shaving Mug Soap

A simple soft glycerin soap that can be melted in the microwave to fit any shaving mug. Unfortuantly, this means it won't last as long as a harder soap.

Due to the lack of scents, and cost ($6 a puck), I won't buy it again.

Scent

Unscented. It smells like soap. It's actually a fairly appealing scent (but not as nice as well done scented soaps). However I find it a boring soap to use because the scent is too subtle. A heavenly scented soap or cream is part of the shaving ritual for me.

Lather

Good, and easy to produce. Maybe a bit above Col. Conk in the lather department, but it doesn't blow it out of the water overall. I can get them to produce the same quality lather, with a hair's-edge lead going to the "Gold" soap. It is easier to get a good lather from the "Gold" soap however.

Irritation

Absolutely none. There is a money back guarantee that the soap will be non-irritating. I do not think classicshaving.com will ever have to refund any money. I measured the pH of the soap as a totally neutral 7. So far it's the only shaving soap I've measured with the same pH as water. The next closest was the QED soap at 6.5.

Col. Conk.

The overall winner, albeit by a narrow margin. After a few years of trying different shaving soaps, this is the one that I will always have on hand. It is non irritating, and has the best overall mix of lather, scent, and availability. Other soaps have individually better features, but every part of Col. Conk. is good. My biggest complaint is that since it is so soft, it dosen't last very long.

Conk melts cleanly in the microwave. If you have a nice cup the soap won't fit in, or you have a small cake (or 2) that you want to completely cover the bottom of a large shave bowl, just put the soap in the container and nuke it for a couple of seconds.

Scents

Amber: (closest to unscented), nice clean subtle and rich amber scent, My favorite.
Almond: not my favorite almond smell but not a turn-off.
Bay Rum: A sweet bay rum smell, it almost smells like cherry to me. It is not my favorite Bay Rum scent, but I like it and will buy more when my cake runs out. My 2nd favorite Col Conk scent. (UPDATE 2009-10-01: oh how tastes change! It's nice at first, but sometimes has an unpleasant chemical undertone. Not planning on buying again unless I get a craving for it.)
Lime: Ugh, smells like lime jello to me! I'll never buy it again. Some people really like the way it smells though. If you like lime, it's probably worth a try.

Lather

Good. The benchmark that I judge other soaps by. Because it is a glycerin soap the lather dose not flake as it dries which is a big plus for me.

Irritation

None for me with any of the scents.

Colgate Shaving Mug Soap: Terrible, cheap, and hard to find. I would honestly recommend buying a Dove bar instead if it's all they have in the store.
Scent: Smelled a lot like olive oil to me, with a faint hint of spice. Not a very strong scent, and somehow unpleasant.
Lather: Terrible. It was hard to get the lather started, very thin, and it dried up almost instantly. Even worse it dried clear.
Irritation: I only used it once because the lather was so terrible, but I felt a small bit of irritation.

Crabtree & Evelyn: Sandalwood: Possibly the cheapest Sandalwood scented soap out there. It comes in a wooden bowl, but you can buy the refills for about 1/3 the price of the soap in a bowl. It irritated me too much to use while shaving, but I can use it in the bath or shower, even on my face, just fine.
Scent: smelled like sandalwood, as advertised. I liked the smell, although it's not my absolute favorite scent.
Lather: Mediocre. The bottom line is that it will lather up much better then normal soap, but worse then other shaving soaps.
Irritation: To much for me to use while shaving.

D.R. Harris Almond

A top-shelf soap, from the UK. It's actually said "Deee Are Harris", not "Doctor Harris"; D.R. stands for the initials of one of the founders, Daniel Rotely Harris. Daniel Harris was a "pharmaceutical chemist". The company was founded in the 1790's and has a real history. It turns out some very high quality products but I've heard that not all of them are of the same level of quality. Did I mention that they hold the warrant as "chemists" for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and HRH The Prince of Wales?

The soap itself is triple milled, and a bit harder then some shaving soaps, which means that it will last quite some time.

Scent

It's not almond scented. The smell is kind of an invigorating citrus, I've heard that it's Eau De Quinine. As near as I can figure, the "almond" in the name refers to almond oil used to make the soap.

Lather

Far Superior. You have to work the lather for a bit longer then most soaps to get it there, but once it's there it is a cut above other soaps. It flakes a little when it dries.

I used it again last night, and I think it may have taken the #1 spot away from Joris. Loads of thick lather.

Irritation

Moderate, but ultimatly too much for me to keep using

Geo F. Trumper: Coconut Oil: A good soap from a well-regarded British firm founded in the 19^th century. The cocoanut oil soap is supposed to be for sensitive skin, but unfortunately it didn't work for me. The soap is triple-milled, but relatively soft for a triple milled soap.
Scent: Coconut. I really really liked the tropical coconut scent. This was the best smelling soap I've tried so far.
Lather: I only used it twice, and that was some time ago, so I can't say for sure what the lather is like. I remember it being very good lather, but I can't really compare it.
Irritation: Too much for me to use! I'm not sure exactly what ingredient I was reacting so badly to (it's not coconut oil), the soap was supposed to be for sensitive skin, but it left my skin with a burning feeling.

Haslinger: Sage

The soap is blue in color, and will color water that is poured on it. The coloring does not tint my skin or my brush that I have noticed. It might stain a light-colored brush if used exclusively. The lather is white like any other soap.

It's harder then Col. Conk or the ClassicShaving.com soap, but it is not triple milled. I would not try melting it in the microwave.

The only place I know I can get the soap from is shavemac.com in Germany. Muehle-Pinsel sells some soap made by Haslinger under the Muehle-Pinsel brand. I will not buy more when it runs out.

Scent

Sage. A nice calming scent. I especially like using it if I'm shaving before bed.

Lather

Good but not fantastic. It flakes as it dries.

Irritation

None when I started using it. But I get sporadic irritation from it; very strange. I've finally decided that it doesn't work for me overall -- just too many weird intermittent incidences when I used it.

Joris Shaving Soap: A premium soap, which can be a little tricky to find in the USA. It comes in an attractive looking "tin", which is unfortunately made out of cardboard, so you can't shave out of it. The soap is a wide "bowl" type puck. It is totally round on the bottom, so it doesn't fit in just about any container. I have it sitting flat-side down in a large mug right now because it's the only way I could make it fit.
Scent: Pleasant "clean" smell, a little warmer then some clean scents.
Lather: Very Good. You really need to add a lot more water to the lather as you are working it up, or else it will get very thick. This makes it a bit tricky to get the lather just right, but it's really good when you finally get it.
Irritation: Mild, but still there. I won't be ordering more.

Kell's Original Hemp Blend

A glycerine soap from kellsoriginal.com. I got my sample as an unexpected freebie with an order from bullgooseshaving.net. I belive the Turkish Mocha scent is an exclusive of theirs.

Scents

Turkish Mocha: "Smells like dessert!" pretty-much sums it up. Very sweet and chocolatey smell. There are definite coffee notes. Occasionally while shaving I'll get a bitter blast of them. It seems to compliment Musgo Real. But shaving with dessert just isn't my thing. As with many handmade soaps, the scent was very strong!

Lather

Pretty good. It's possible to add too much water to the soap though, and then the later comes out very thin.

irritation

Too much for me! Unfortunately I haven't tested an unscented cake, so I don't know if it was from the scent oils, or the soap's formulation.

Review Date

2009-10-01

Kingsley For Men Shaving Soap: Bad soap, don't get it. The shape is like a small puck, but the bottom is totally round instead of flat so it' won't fit in just about everything.
Scent: Pleasant "clean/soap" smell.
Lather: Dries too quickly for me to use. Even worse it dries clear so I can't see where I have to shave. It doesn't even lather all that well in the first place.
Irritation: None for me, but I only used it once. I ended up ruining it in an attempt to melt it in the microwave. It dose not melt well.

Mama Bear Shaving Soap

This is a glycerine soap which comes in a plastic container. There are an amazing number of different scents listed on the maker's website.

Scents

Christmas Forest: Smells very woodsy and like pine. The soap is very strongly scented.

Lather

Good, I only tried it once, but I like the later from Col. Conk better then the lather I got. However, have more experience with the Conk, so it shouldn't be a black mark for this soap.

Irritation

A fair amount. I do not know if this was due to the soap formula, or the amount of scent-oils needed to give the soap such a strong pine smell.

Muehle-Pinsel Aloe Vera Shaving Soap (1st generation)

Apparently Muehle also sells re-branded Haslinger soap. They are also apparently working on a new formulation of their shaving soap. This isn't a review of ether of those. This is a review of their "first generation" soap, which is a little white puck, with a green windmill logo.

I was not impressed with this soap. I wasn't very impressed when I tried using it as a bath soap ether. Skip this product if you find it.

Scent

Pleasant "clean/soap" smell.

Lather

It was hard for me to get started, not very thick, and worse it dried clear very quickly.

Irritation

None for me the few times I used it.

Ogallala Bay Rum

The cakes are a generous 4.5 ounces. I got mine for $4.75, which is a good deal per ounce.

Scents

Limes & Peppercorns: Lime is the dominant note. I couldn't detect pepercorns, but there is a sort of spicy/bay undertone. There is a sweet vanilla or powdery base to my nose.

Lather

Lumpy. The lather clumps up, and has a thick consistencey, more like clay than creme. I haven't seen another soap do this.

Irritation

Pretty strong. I havne't tired the unscented variety, so I'm not sure if it was from the "Limes & Peppercorns" scent oils, which sound potentially inflamitory…

Review Date

2009-10-11

Pre de Provance Shaving Soap in a tin: The soap comes in a little screw-top tin that is actual metal (which is a nice change from the likes of Joris's cardboard box). You can shave out of the tin, which some people might like for travel. However, I like to run hot water over my soap before I use it, and the thin tin got very hot when I did this. The soap is a pretty decent size 150grams or about 5.3 ounces.
Scent: It smelled a bit like Oranges to me.
Lather: Very good. Very dense; because was a lot of lather (there was plenty though), but because the lather itself was very dense and heavy feeling. It behaves a lot like a glycerine soap. It left my skin feeling very nice.
Irritation: Unfortunately too much for me to use, or else I would have been hooked.

Provence Sante Shaving Soap: This soap contains talcum powder to soothe irritation. The idea seems totally ludicrous to me. If the talc is staying on your skin after shaving, then you haven't wiped off all the soap residue, and leaving soap on your skin all day is a sure-fire way to irritate your skin.; I think the soap is triple milled, but I'm not sure.
Scent: A very nice smell that's a bit to complex for me to try and define right now. It's not just a generic "clean/citrus/floral/soap" smell. The ingredients say it contains essential oil of linden and vervain. The scent is the soaps strongest point for me.
Lather: Very good. It does dry down powdery, as one would expect from a soap with talc in it. I do not like that feature, because if you take your time then the soap starts flaking talc everywhere
Irritation: Too much for me to shave with.

Rivivage Shaving Soap: The first thing that hit me about this soap is that it is small (I think 57 grams). The picture at classicshaving.com shows the top of the soap. The bottom is shaped like a dome, so it seems to me like it has about half the volume of a small Col. Conk cake, even though it's about the same diameter. For $8.99 I really hope this stuff lasts! It is triple milled, so it should last a while for it's size… but it's still pretty expensive per ounce.
Scent: "Powdery Orange". There is an added scent, I found the discreption at classicshaving.com misleading on this point.
Lather: Excellent.
Irritation: Too much for me to shave with.

Tabac

Great scent, and all around good soap, but I didn't think it was as spectacular as many people do.

Regardless, it's got a huge following, there are now several US suppliers. Tabac make an aftershave and a full line of toiletry products, if you like the scent.

Scent

Very nice strong "Tabac" smell. Like tobacco or Spanish leather with floral and spicy notes. A strong smelling soap. It'll almost act like an air freshener in a room. But it's not overpowering when shaving.

Lather

Good to excellent lather, but not markedly superior in my opinion. For me the biggest negative with the lather is that it flakes when it dries on the face, which I do not like. It's not terribly mosturizing ether.

Irritation

None at all. This was a welcome surprise for me, because the soap was hard and strongly scented.

Taylor of Old Bond Street Shaving Soap: This is the only type of "scuttle-sized" soap Taylors offers, their other soaps are all bowl sized. This is pretty much the same size as Rivivage, but even more expensive. I do not like the price one bit, but the price of the bowls is a little better.
Scent: Mildly spicy and clean. I guess I'd call it a "generic old fashioned soap smell". There was a sticker on the soap saying only "Herbal Aromatics" were used, whatever that means. The soap was more moisturizing then I expected, but it's still fairly drying. The soap is triple-milled, so it should last a while.
Lather: Pretty good, but it took me a long time to get a good lather.
Irritation: A whole lot. I know lots of people use the soap without problems, but if you are prone to irritation from soaps avoid this one for sure.

Truefitt & Hill: 1805 Scent (BATH SOAP)

This is a review of the Truefitt & Hill bath soap, not their shaving soap. Oh boy was I embarrassed when I found that out several months later. I don't know how I thought it was shaving soap when I got it. Oops.

The puck of soap was very solid and hefty, and it had more soap in it then it looked like from the package, which was a nice surprise. The soap is triple milled. Truefitt & Hill makes other products (cologne, shaving cream, etc) in the 1805 scent. I think 1805 smells great.

I'd heard great things about their shaving soap, but this soap didn't perform (no surprise in hindsight, since it was a bath soap).

Scent

A nice "oceanic" smell. It smells the same as all the other "1805" T&H products.

Lather

A big disappointment for me, the lather would appear quickly, but had the consistency of bubble bath, not the creamy consistency that I expect from high-end shaving soaps. It didn't thicken up as I kept working it. The lather also dried clear on my face pretty quickly. I kept trying the soap, thinking that the problem was with me not the soap, but I just couldn't get it to perform no matter what I did.

Irritation

None that I noticed the 3 or 4 times I used it.

QED Shaving Stick

These are shaving sticks, not pucks of soap. They come in push-up plastic tubes with a screw-on lid, which would be good for travel when size is a premium. The soap is a clear glycerine soap that can be easily melted into a bowl or mug in the microwave. To the best of my knowldge, the soap is the same formula as the QED shaving bowls. All scents are natural (and quite nice from what I've seen… errr sniffed). Like most glycerine soaps, this did not leave my face feeling dried-out after use. I think the QED soaps are underrated.

I measured the pH of the unscented soap as bit over 7.5, which is closer to neutral then most shaving soaps.

Scents

Unscented: as advertised, no strong smell.
Frankincense and Murr: This was a neat scent I just couldn't pass up. It was sort of a lightly earthy citrus smell to my nose.

Lather

Superior. I think the lather is underrated by people who are used to the "English" style triple-milled hard soaps.

Irritation

Unfortunately, it was more then I could handle. This came as a surprise, since it was a very simple glycerine soap.

Van Der Hagen "Glycerine"

Looks just like the Col. Conk Amber, and performs about as well (maybe a bit less), but doesn't smell as nice to me.

Because of the excellent price, and easy meltability, this is the soap I prefer for "experimenting" — adding my own essential oils or ingredients to shave soaps.

Scent

A gineric "soap" smell. Somehow I didn't like it at all. It's a bit sharp to my nose, but I certianly wouldn't call it offensive.

Lather

Good. Not quite as good as the Col. Conk, but in the same class.

Irritation

None that I'm sure of. Given the price, I have no qualms about recommending it for sensitive folks.

Review Date

2009-10-01

Van Der Hagen "Select": A soft white soap. I can't tell if it would melt in the microwave, but my guess is it would.; It's very inexpensive ($2 or less locally), but a good soap, and a solid performer. I will definitly buy more when my supply runs out. At the price it's a no-brainer.
Scent: A very mild "soap" smell. I like it, even though I don't like the way the Glycerine VDH smells. Go figure.
Lather: Very Good. I've only used this soap twice so far, but both times it lathered very well — noticeably better than the Glycerine VDH.
Irritation: None
Review Date: 2009-10-16

Williams Mug soap: Very very inexpensive, and with a great scent. It works pretty well, but I wouldn't recommend using it exclusively because it can be pretty drying and dosen't offer all that much protection. When I use it in rotation, I get great shaves from it with no side effects. But when I use it exclusively for over a week my shaves are noticeably worse. If you add something to it (cream, oil, glycerin, etc) then it works pretty well.
Cost: Last time I checked you can get it at Wallmart for $0.97 a 1.75 OZ cake.
Scent: Clean Citrus smell. It reminds me a little of the Arlington line by DR Harris.
Lather: Quite good really. Not the best of the best, but good. Do not let the price fool you, it is a good soap! It's been around a while, and is the most commonly carried shaving soap US in drug stores today. It would not still be here, or be this popular, if it were a bad product. Try adding a couple of drops of oil (Olive oil, Avocado oil, Apricot kernel oil, etc.) to the lather when you are working it up, and you will get a rich creamy lather that won't dry out your skin.
Irritation: Mild and tolerable. I can straight-razor shave with it just fine. If I take over 45 minutes or so my face will start to feel a little discomfort, but not much.