And an omission from this list does not mean it’s a bad product— there is a lot of great stuff out there! Lothur (Løthur) Grooming is a relatively new artisan out of the UK, with limited availability in North America, but they are making waves in the wet shaving enthusiast community with their shave soap formula that contains Dimethicone. Here is my review of one of their soaps, “Tears.” Ease of lathering with a shaving brush using water with a variety of mineral content (in other words it works well in both “soft” water and “hard” water). Let’s look at this “embarrassment of riches” to try to determine which are merely really good and which are the top 12 shaving soaps. The Fall Of The English And The Rise Of The Italians?

Wet Shaving Products (WSP) “Formula T” shave soap is a “croap” with some fantastic scents and a tallow-based formulation that is both “minimalistic” and excellent-performing. Read Sharpologist’s review of WSP’s “Mahogany” shave soap for details. Some Special Cases Cold process may also use a heat source but it’s used to liquefy solidified oils for mixing. The real saponification comes from an exothermic heat reaction between the fatty acids of the oils and and a lye (“base”) they’re mixed with. Cold process soaps take about a day to “cook” and take several weeks to cure. Extra ingredients are added early on and the soap’s texture has a smoother look.

Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap

Zingari Man came on the wet shaving artisan scene in 2019 and after a bit of a shaky start have been surprising shave enthusiasts and reviewers with some outstanding shave soaps that produce a really rich lather formulated with their “Sego” base. Here is Sharpologist’s review of one of their shave soaps, Wanderer. Honorable Mentions Mitchell’s Wool Fat Shaving Soap (“MWF”). Available in a single (mild) scent, some consider it the only shave soap they will use. However, since it contains lanolin, some with sensitive skin may have trouble with this soap. And a reformulation has caused some concern in the enthusiast community. Contains Lanolin, which is a natural wax secreted by Sheep, which keeps their fleece waterproof. Excellent for conditioning the human skin. One advantage of bowl lathering (which I discuss in my Guide) is that it makes it easy to experiment: you can continue working the lather as you periodically add small amounts of water until the lather is clearly too loose/wet. Along the way, you can observe lather at each stage of development and figure out (by look and by (literal) feel, by rubbing some lather between your fingers) the ideal lather. Doing that sort of experiment on your face is pretty much impossible — it requires a bowl.

There are basically two ways of making artisan-style soap: hot process and cold process. They each have their advantages and disadvantages: Chiseled Face shave soaps enjoy an excellent reputation, particularly within the enthusiast community. Ghost Town Barber, their take on the ubiquitous barbershop scent, is a particular stand-out. Cryogen is another highlight among “menthol heads” for it’s extreme cooling (OK, freezing) properties. Declaration Grooming Mitchell’s Wool Fat Soap, is a very gentle soap, particularly soothing to sensitive skins, or for frequent hand washing. Not too many years ago there were a few high-quality, old-school, tallow-based (more on that below) men’s shaving soaps from the established high-end names (Trumper, Taylor Of Old Bond Street, Truefitt & Hill, DR Harris, etc.) that were familiar to those who use a safety razor; and some low-end, every-man products like Williams Mug Soap, Burma-Shave Soap, and (a little later) Van Der Hagen.

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Wholly Kaw is another wet shaving artisan that has made an impact in the shaving soap world. Their “claim to fame” is the use of donkey milk (some use a less charitable term for donkey) in some of their shave soaps. Donkey milk contains a number of proteins, vitamins, and other ingredients friendly to the skin and often used as an alternative to Lanolin, which can be irritating to some people. Post-shave moisturization and skin feel are particularly good with these formulas. Zingari Man Remember, “Your Mileage May Vary” with these recommendations: although there is a large majority that like these products there will always be some for which a soap does not work as well. Another common debate rages on, about “tallow-based” vs. “vegetable-based” (or perhaps “animal” vs. “vegetable”) shave soap foundations. The process of making either type of soap is the same. The only difference is the fatty acid profile that results from the oils and fats used. Despite the “conventional wisdom,” it is technically not appropriate to call non-tallow based soaps “glycerin based.”

The internet abounds with conspiracy theories, rumors, and smears. If you have some specific charge or complaint, that’s one thing. Repeating scurrilous rumors is another.Oh sure, you could find a hardy artisan toiling away in their kitchen–if you knew where to find them. But they were few and far between (one notable “old-timer,” Emsplace, is still around, having stayed in business largely by word of mouth). Now Barrister And Mann is another established artisan with a reputation for product scents, and their “Omnibus” shave soap base performs very well even in “hard” water. They have even experimented with unusual ingredients like synthetic menthol. Captain’s Choice Recently one of my blog readers urged me to try bowl lathering (load brush with soap, move to a bowl to work up the lather, adding driblets of water as needed). I have done bowl lathering, but not for some years (countertop real-estate issue), but I’m open to trying things. Tallow + Steel has been around for a few years and their tallow soap base is definitely in the “best” range. Their scents evoke exotic destinations with names like “Himalaya,” “Madagascar,” and “West Indies” but the real focus should be the performance: most everyone comments on the lubrication ability of these soaps. Post-shave feel is also noteworthy. Availability is not as widespread as other names on this list though so it may be more difficult to obtain. Hot process uses an external heat source to (carefully) speed up the soap-making process (“saponification”). Hot process soaps generally take less time to make: a couple hours for saponification and about a week to cure. Extra ingredients are added near the end of the “cook time” and the texture of the soap is generally rough-looking.