There was once a time when every man shaved using some form of a shave soap, and a brush to lather up that soap. It was a ritual experience, with the patience and luxury of time to precisely execute the action of developing a warm lather, and of carefully lathering to raise the facial hair, and finally the razor to give a close shave. Many people tell us their memories of fathers, or grandfathers…. of the antique mugs they have, or the old vintage shave brush from generations ago. We love when you share these memories. And we love how surprised some people are that the art of lathering shave soap, and the act of shaving is becoming again a common thing.
We did our research after we had a number of men stop and request shave soap. If you are like we were, there was a confusion over why anyone would return to a past way of doing something…. until we really looked into it. Here is what we found out:
- Shave soap is a very simple cold processed recipe with a special ingredient – Bentonite Clay. This clay is what makes the shave so wonderful… it adds a slick surface for the razor to glide easily over the skin. And Bentonite clay also creates a low grade electrical charge when activated by the process of lathering with a brush and water. You won’t feel the electrical charge, but your hair will, and it will stand up straighter, allowing the razor to get a closer shave. This same low grade charge also pulls toxins from the skin.
- Shave soap does not have any harmful or toxic ingredients – you get a clean and pure shave. While we have to use lye in our soap formula by the time you use our soap the lye is completely neutral pH, and the blend of oils, lye, bentonite clay and essential oils has firmly cured into soap. One hidden benefit we keep hearing from our customers is this – Razors are lasting longer because that edge is not worn down by chemicals.
- The average bar of shave soap weights 4 oz, measures 3 inches in diameter and 3/4 inches tall, and lasts the typical man 3-4 months if you shave every day.
And the likelihood of grandpa’s old brush lasting a long time is great – because it is most likely badger bristle. The study of various brushes available is quite interesting ,and certainly we could spend more time on that.
I am working on a quick shave brush primer – but at this time its still a work in progress. We are delighted to say we offer a line of American made shave brushes from Parker Razor company in New York. They should be up on our website very soon.