State of the Soap 2023

[HMan]

The way I discovered TSC was when searching for info on soaps, and there was a guy here who made YouTube videos, with a detailed rating system. Darn that I've forgotten his name.
Anyway, it seemed that a few years back the peak soap buzz must have been reached. There were crazy rating systems for every soap property etc, lots of discussion on what soaps were best and why.
I know for myself, I settled into what I liked, and truth be told most of the big buzz generating artisans didn't really wow me in the way they did some. No big deal there, to each their own.

Are people still searching for grail soaps, or has it basically gotten to the point, that they are mostly all good, and it's more about the scents?

For me, I just found a brand I liked best, and though I've tried a lot, always come back to the same artisan. Only recently I found another that is totally different, yet also gives me a good feeling when I use it, and that was just a discovery by accident, as I'm not actively looking for better soaps at all anymore.

How about you?

 

[Scuttlesoap]

Hey my friend - I believe the guy you are mentioning was a dude named Ruds. I think the ratings were getting a little ridiculous when they went about the 100 scale - but from everything I can tell - it seems that this search for the “Holy Grail” soap base has calmed down quite a bit in the last few months - given that our artisans are constantly improving, new artisans are always joining the fray, and the fact that I think people are realizing that we really have good soaps out there and you like what you like - not to mention there are so many factors to how a soap performs that has nothing to do with the bases. I truly hope it stays this way.

I think you hit it on the head when it comes to creating scents - a lot of artisans are doing homages to more frags - and not just the typical Aventus clones - but if not unique - at least expanding their repertoire.

I usually look first for scent notes that I like (citrus and boozy baby), then colognes that I have (Stirling really threw down the gauntlet with a Creed and a Prada homage this year), and finally I‘m a sucker for a cool label or unique take on something (for instance - I love the CBL nod to the movie Princess Bride - just think that’s fun, Apex Alchemy has some neat soda scents, and Razor Emporiums nod to times gone past are cool to me). There are a few artisans out there that do bespoke stuff as well….

Great idea for a thread Cole!

 

[Spider]

The way I discovered TSC was when searching for info on soaps, and there was a guy here who made YouTube videos, with a detailed rating system. Darn that I've forgotten his name.

That was Josh, @Dagwoodz

I've settled on a handful of favorite artisans, and really only buy new scents from them. In the last few years, any time I've ventured outside those artisans, I've either been disappointed by the scents, or I find the soap no better than what I'm already using. The soap market it so saturated now, I find it no longer exciting to try new stuff.

 

[HMan]

That was Josh, @Dagwoodz

I've settled on a handful of favorite artisans, and really only buy new scents from them. In the last few years, any time I've ventured outside those artisans, I've either been disappointed by the scents, or I find the soap no better than what I'm already using. The soap market it so saturated now, I find it no longer exciting to try new stuff.

That's him, thanks for jogging my memory.

Sounds like we're in the same place soap wise, regardless of what artisans we've settled on.

 

[beginish]

I’m working through the stock of soaps I accumulated through 2014. In my back of the envelope calculation, I think I have 5 years of shaves in the box. All are top quality classic triple milleds or vintage. I’m happy to say that some are now unobtainium or have been for a long time. My daughter gave me a new puck of Cade for Christmas and I’ve been using it for about a week now.

 

[dkeester]

I have a ton of soap. Both artisan and old-school triple milled pucks. PAA, CBL, Stirling, Heritage Hill, Declaration Grooming, Grooming Department, RazoRock, RazoRock "What the Puck," Arko, tallow formula Tabac, Cella (yup the brick), Fine Classic, Stubble Buster, a bunch of modern Williams Mug, MWF, Oz Shaving, Wild West Shaving Company, Noble Otter, A&E, LEA Classic, Catie's Bubbles, Moon Soaps, DR Harris, La Toja, Victory Shaving, and several others. There is probably enough soap in my stash to last me somewhere between 10 and 20 years. That is not including the handful of creams that are also in my stash. I notice a difference between the triple milled soaps and the artisan ones. The old-school ones tend to feel a little better and shave a tad more smoothly on my skin. However, it is a matter of degrees. I really can't complain about any of the artisan soaps. They are great too. With the right amount of water and elbow grease every one of the soaps in my stash makes a fantastic lather. But, none of them feel quite as good on my face as Tabac does. If I were to start my stash over again today, with all the experience that I have, I would probably buy a ton of Tabac (if I could find it), a few other old-school soaps (MWF, Arko, etc.), and select scents from certain artisans that I like. A bunch of the artisan soaps that I have are unobtainium now, but that doesn't make them more desirable. Artisans come and go. There are some scents that I can't get anymore that I miss. There are even more that I will never try because I have so much that I can't easily store all of it. But, like has been said above, it is the scents and not the performance that differentiates them. At the end of the day, all of it is just soap and it all makes excellent lather if I use my brush correctly. The olfactory experience is the key.

Now I need to get to bed so that I can get up early enough in the morning that I have time to shave. I think I can finish the last of this tub of PAA tomorrow. Then I can get back to working on a tub of Oz Shaving. I killed 7 tubs of soap in 2022. I am hoping to kill more that that in 2023.

 

[HMan]

I’m working through the stock of soaps I accumulated through 2014. In my back of the envelope calculation, I think I have 5 years of shaves in the box. All are top quality classic triple milleds or vintage. I’m happy to say that some are now unobtainium or have been for a long time. My daughter gave me a new puck of Cade for Christmas and I’ve been using it for about a week now.

Yeah, that's a great point, I think so many of us have so many soaps, that adding more seems futile. Always nice to have some unobtanium in the mix too!

I have a ton of soap. Both artisan and old-school triple milled pucks. PAA, CBL, Stirling, Heritage Hill, Declaration Grooming, Grooming Department, RazoRock, RazoRock "What the Puck," Arko, tallow formula Tabac, Cella (yup the brick), Fine Classic, Stubble Buster, a bunch of modern Williams Mug, MWF, Oz Shaving, Wild West Shaving Company, Noble Otter, A&E, LEA Classic, Catie's Bubbles, Moon Soaps, DR Harris, La Toja, Victory Shaving, and several others. There is probably enough soap in my stash to last me somewhere between 10 and 20 years. That is not including the handful of creams that are also in my stash. I notice a difference between the triple milled soaps and the artisan ones. The old-school ones tend to feel a little better and shave a tad more smoothly on my skin. However, it is a matter of degrees. I really can't complain about any of the artisan soaps. They are great too. With the right amount of water and elbow grease every one of the soaps in my stash makes a fantastic lather. But, none of them feel quite as good on my face as Tabac does. If I were to start my stash over again today, with all the experience that I have, I would probably buy a ton of Tabac (if I could find it), a few other old-school soaps (MWF, Arko, etc.), and select scents from certain artisans that I like. A bunch of the artisan soaps that I have are unobtainium now, but that doesn't make them more desirable. Artisans come and go. There are some scents that I can't get anymore that I miss. There are even more that I will never try because I have so much that I can't easily store all of it. But, like has been said above, it is the scents and not the performance that differentiates them. At the end of the day, all of it is just soap and it all makes excellent lather if I use my brush correctly. The olfactory experience is the key.

Now I need to get to bed so that I can get up early enough in the morning that I have time to shave. I think I can finish the last of this tub of PAA tomorrow. Then I can get back to working on a tub of Oz Shaving. I killed 7 tubs of soap in 2022. I am hoping to kill more that that in 2023.

Yeah, that's the big thing I was wondering, have people found a soap that just works for them?

I know I found that with Tallow and Steel. It's the soap that just feels right to me. I don't feel any need to make a fuss about it, I know lots of people hate the stuff (like Tabac!) Others I have, though perfectly good, don't have that something I find in T+S.

Very cool that you found that in Tabac! I

With the old stock I already have, I've got enough that if I want that bit of variety, I'll just go to one of those soaps.
I do order Tallow and Steel, in bulk! But then I actually finish tubs of it too

 

[GearNoir]

Cole said I had to come here and confess my closet 3017ing.

Hi everyone, my name is Chris. I’m a closet 3017er of soaps for over 2 years now. I have stopped looking for new soaps for a number of years now, simply because almost all of that I’ve tried have been good and I feel (my feelings were first brought to my attention by SWMBO) I have too many.

So mostly my 3017ing and my lack of bringing new stuff in has been in efforts to eliminate the old stuff. No complaints though…because it’s all good stuff! Some are better, sure, but only a couple of the super cheapie stuff has ever really turned me off to the certain brand.

Thanks for letting me come here today and share.

 

[HMan]

Cole said I had to come here and confess my closet 3017ing.

Hi everyone, my name is Chris. I’m a closet 3017er of soaps for over 2 years now. I have stopped looking for new soaps for a number of years now, simply because almost all of that I’ve tried have been good and I feel (my feelings were first brought to my attention by SWMBO) I have too many.

So mostly my 3017ing and my lack of bringing new stuff in has been in efforts to eliminate the old stuff. No complaints though…because it’s all good stuff! Some are better, sure, but only a couple of the super cheapie stuff has ever really turned me off to the certain brand.

Thanks for letting me come here today and share.

Thanks for sharing Chris, we have coffee and stale cookies in the back.

 

[Scuttlesoap]

Cole said I had to come here and confess my closet 3017ing.

Hi everyone, my name is Chris. I’m a closet 3017er of soaps for over 2 years now. I have stopped looking for new soaps for a number of years now, simply because almost all of that I’ve tried have been good and I feel (my feelings were first brought to my attention by SWMBO) I have too many.

So mostly my 3017ing and my lack of bringing new stuff in has been in efforts to eliminate the old stuff. No complaints though…because it’s all good stuff! Some are better, sure, but only a couple of the super cheapie stuff has ever really turned me off to the certain brand.

Thanks for letting me come here today and share.

I’m not judging - I’m just saying when the Zombie Apocalypse happens - some of us will be clean shaven and some of us will be scruffy scavengers clawing and scratching for the small remnants from their clown puke soap.

 

[beginish]

I haven’t had the soap acquisition itch for a very long time now. I’ve given away or sold more pucks in the last 7 years than I’ve bought. I think the last ones I personally bought were a small tub of Omega and a 2 oz puck of Clubman soaps last year (both used and now finished!). Though I 3017 religiously, I will not do that with the Unobtainium. I will feel free to buy again when the commons (e.g. readily available or I just don’t care about them that much) are gone.

 

[slantman]

 

[beginish]

View attachment 120922

You are in for a treat. I used the plain Bay Rum and thoroughly enjoyed the performance and scent.

 

[beginish]

I haven’t had the soap acquisition itch for a very long time now. I’ve given away or sold more pucks in the last 7 years than I’ve bought. I think the last ones I personally bought were a small tub of Omega and a 2 oz puck of Clubman soaps last year (both used and now finished!). Though I 3017 religiously, I will not do that with the Unobtainium. I will feel free to buy again when the commons (e.g. readily available or I just don’t care about them that much) are gone.

After the MWF reformulation Crime, I took another look at my stock, and calculate that I will finish my garden variety soaps sometime in 2025. The Unobtainium I expect to last me into my 70’s with sporadic use. I also picked up 3 pucks of my favorite soap, Provence Sante Green Tea, as it’s getting harder to find and I fear a reformulation. At $9 a puck from Smallflower,it was an easy decision.

 

[ashwinbalachandran]

I love anything from Barrister & Mann - their scents are nice but that base is just incredible! In particular I love - Cool, Lavender, Le Grand Chypre , Muir E Woods and Oceana! Having said that , I have heard that their 4 horsemen didn't really go down well and has made many a B&M fan cautious

 

[Spider]

Having said that , I have heard that their 4 horsemen didn't really go down well and has made many a B&M fan cautious

You've got to be cautious with many of their seasonal or special release offerings. Seems they are usually polarizing. I've been burnt by them too many times. With 4-H being the last straw. I'm done with B&M.

 

[ashwinbalachandran]

You've got to be cautious with many of their seasonal or special release offerings. Seems they are usually polarizing. I've been burnt by them too many times. With 4-H being the last straw. I'm done with B&M.

I understand. My friend is also in a similar position. After 4-H, he has kinda given up on B&M. I have not. I really like their plain vanilla offerings

 

[slantman]