Member
Chicago Suburbs
Because most artisan soapmakers are small operations, sometime operated by a single individua or family, it can be difficult developing, producing and stocking multiple formulas. However, there are a few who do so.
Ariana and Evans still sells their strained yogurt and pig fat formula, although recent efforts are on developing the Kaisen base.
Barrister and Man still sells their Reserve formula without lanolin along with their Excelsior formula that contains lanolin. They also sell the SoftHeart base on a limited basis.
Cold River Soap Works produces soaps under their Glide, Select, Oliva (olive oil based), and Shapenmilk formulas.
Gentleman's Nod has their new Cardinal tallow base as well as an earlier vegan base.
Grooming Department is always coming out with new bases. The current offerings are Nai which is a complex vegan base and Kairos. A revised Mallard duck fat base should be released soon.
Murphy & McNail has their standard Aon base and a limited edition Kodiak base with bear tallow.
Shannon's Soaps has her standard base and a new Rust Belt Reserve formula.
Wet Shaving Products has a tallow based Formula T base and a vegan Rustic base.
Wholly Kaw offers both tallow and vegan versions of their Buffala and Siero soap bases.
If you have unique skin sensitivities and allergies, you will have to try different soaps and find out which work best for you. Some soapmakers sell small samples of their soaps, but not all do.
Personally, I have found soaps containing strong concentrations of lime, lemon, grapefruit, pepper, mint, clove, and cinnamon can cause severe skin irritation. However, I have found that in small concentrations as part of a complex blend of scents, I can tolerate all of these scent notes. Thus, I look for complex scents will a lot of different scent notes so that none of the individual scents will be concentrated enough to trigger a reaction. Using unscented soaps is also an option, although for me, scent plays a large role in the enjoyment of the shave.
Although somewhat pricey, one soap you might consider is Grooming Department Nai. It is probably as close to a "holistic approach to soapmaking" as I have encountered. It is currently sold out, but should be restocked soon. This is a formulation containing 55 ingredients including many specifically designed to nourish the skin. Although you might be scared of using a product with so many ingredients, remember that unless you are strongly allergic to one of the ingredients, it is unlikely that the concentration of any single ingredient is going to be high enough to trigger a reaction. This is a strictly vegan product with no lanolin, milk, whey or animal derived fat. Also, the scents are purposely kept light to minimize reactions from those who might be sensitive to specific scent notes. I have tested 90 different soap formulations and Nai is one of the very best.
Ariana and Evans still sells their strained yogurt and pig fat formula, although recent efforts are on developing the Kaisen base.
Barrister and Man still sells their Reserve formula without lanolin along with their Excelsior formula that contains lanolin. They also sell the SoftHeart base on a limited basis.
Cold River Soap Works produces soaps under their Glide, Select, Oliva (olive oil based), and Shapenmilk formulas.
Gentleman's Nod has their new Cardinal tallow base as well as an earlier vegan base.
Grooming Department is always coming out with new bases. The current offerings are Nai which is a complex vegan base and Kairos. A revised Mallard duck fat base should be released soon.
Murphy & McNail has their standard Aon base and a limited edition Kodiak base with bear tallow.
Shannon's Soaps has her standard base and a new Rust Belt Reserve formula.
Wet Shaving Products has a tallow based Formula T base and a vegan Rustic base.
Wholly Kaw offers both tallow and vegan versions of their Buffala and Siero soap bases.
If you have unique skin sensitivities and allergies, you will have to try different soaps and find out which work best for you. Some soapmakers sell small samples of their soaps, but not all do.
Personally, I have found soaps containing strong concentrations of lime, lemon, grapefruit, pepper, mint, clove, and cinnamon can cause severe skin irritation. However, I have found that in small concentrations as part of a complex blend of scents, I can tolerate all of these scent notes. Thus, I look for complex scents will a lot of different scent notes so that none of the individual scents will be concentrated enough to trigger a reaction. Using unscented soaps is also an option, although for me, scent plays a large role in the enjoyment of the shave.
Although somewhat pricey, one soap you might consider is Grooming Department Nai. It is probably as close to a "holistic approach to soapmaking" as I have encountered. It is currently sold out, but should be restocked soon. This is a formulation containing 55 ingredients including many specifically designed to nourish the skin. Although you might be scared of using a product with so many ingredients, remember that unless you are strongly allergic to one of the ingredients, it is unlikely that the concentration of any single ingredient is going to be high enough to trigger a reaction. This is a strictly vegan product with no lanolin, milk, whey or animal derived fat. Also, the scents are purposely kept light to minimize reactions from those who might be sensitive to specific scent notes. I have tested 90 different soap formulations and Nai is one of the very best.
