07.20.10
Where There’s Soap, There’s Hope!
Manly (or womanly) shaving soaps, plus a cool companion molded soap made with leftovers.
The title to this entry has nothing to do with its content, but someone said that to me recently, and I liked it very much!
Actually, what I want to write about is a new shaving soap for men (and women) that I finished last week. There aren’t many men who use razors to shave with anymore, and probably even fewer who use shaving soap with their razors. However, I have a very good customer who does. I’d like to tell you a little about him because, well, because he likes Anna’s EsSCENTials Bodycare products so much.
This man (we’ll call him Chris since I have not asked his permission to mention him on this blog) is an interesting guy—well-educated, friendly, intelligent, and in his profession he has traveled widely throughout the world. Chris and his wife appeared at my soap table several years ago with an interesting story. They had bought my soaps several times, although I hadn’t formally met them. But what they told me made me sit up and take notice. Chris said that in his travels, he tends to look for high-quality local soaps and likes to test them out. (There are people out there like us, honest!) He said that he had been using my soaps for some time, and he wanted me to know that although he has tried soaps from all over the world, he felt that few compared and none were better than mine.
Well, that meant a lot. Over the years I’ve determined not to make the compromises (lower quality oils and ingredients) that many soapmakers make and which might bring in more profits, but this is something most of my customers do not consciously know. And I’m not pointing fingers at other soapmakers…there is a lot of competition and costs keep going up. But I’ve resisted, and so when someone who has the experience to tell the difference makes a statement like that, it makes all those decisions worthwhile!
A New Manly Man Soap
In the past, I occasionally made round soaps that would fit into shaving cups, but there is not a big market for them, so I had run out. Chris said he is using my hemp soap bar as a shaving soap, but of course it does not fit into the shaving cup. However, he said, it is superior to any other shaving soap he’s tried so he makes do.
Well, I can’t have that! If this customer wants a round shaving soap, and thinks mine are the best he’s ever used, he will have it!
And not only that, he made a few suggestions that I thought were good ones. He likes patchouli, which I mix with hemp seed oil for a softening, moisturizing soap. So I used patchouli and hemp, and mixed that with soothing lavender, for a round shaving soap. He also suggested using a bit of rhassoul clay for a good “slip” and to help the razor. Again, excellent suggestion.
So into the soap lab-OR-a-tory I went, and emerged a few hours later with my latest and greatest shaving soap in the mold. I haven’t decided what to call it yet, but it’s a nice combination of patchouli and lavender, and has a good dose of rhassoul clay as well. It will be a few weeks before it’s ready to go to market, but I intend for Chris to have the best shaving soap I can produce!
