Shaving is Art!

Before the advent of high performance triple blade razors, and canned foam shaving cream there was the old fashioned way… a cake of soap resembling a hockey puck, blended from great oils, rich essential oil and either bentonite or kaoline clay.  The puck of soap lived in a mug especially purposed for this destiny.  And often the art of wetting the boars head bristle brush, and gently whipping the soap foam to a “whipped eggwhite” consistency meant taking time.  Barber shops were wildly popular destinations because the barber was the master of whipping that soap to a shave cream, and the shave was oooh sooo smooth.

At one of our very first shows we had a number of men stop and ask for shave soap.  At that time we did not have the product, but the good little elves of Images in Bloom moved into a research and development phase, sourcing the clay, the recipes, making a mold, and experimenting with the first recipe.  By July 2010 we had a viable product that smelled amazing.  This was our first packaging challenge – a round “hockey puck” sized bar requires special wrapping.

The wrapping technique involved making pleats every 1/2 inch around the bar, with the loose ends gathering to the center of the face of the soap.  This is known as french pleating… and here is what it could look like:

Considering the photo above is work done by a machine, i knew i would need to be precise, and yet it would not look as neat.

We developed a box that would hold the wrapped soap, and a nice label that clearly identifies the soap contents.  The fun began when we went sourcing local potters to make bowls for us and a reliable source of good quality shaving brushes.  Our shaving line has grown, with a generally wonderful selection of pottery or glass shave kits.  Currently we are featuring the glass kits, with a wonderfully sandblasted clear coffee mug with a big moustache and the words “good morning”.  They are wildly popular and the glass is blasted by “Blastmasters”.  Cindy and Vinny are the owners, with whimsical creativity and laser precision on their work.

If you are looking for something for that special man in your life please consider introducing them to the slow and refined art of shaving the old fashioned way.  The shave will feel closer, the razors will last longer, and the skin will love the organic fresh ingredients much more than all those chemicals!!!

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