Hub City Soaps

On the topic of Hub City Soap, I did order a Chats With Grandpa set a couple of weeks ago based on this thread.  I haven't tried the soap yet because I was unsure of the scent.  Its a fairly standard barbershop scent, they did mention bay in the scent notes which I can't detect on the puck or in the splash.  That annoyed me I must admit because I feel like Pavlov's dog, the artisan mentions bay or bay rum and I buy it.  There are other examples of this where there is no bay - Diver Down (to be fair he said "bay inspired" in that one but still).  In any case what I've been doing for the past couple of years with a soap/aftershave the scent of which I am unsure of is that I will leave them on a convenient shelf and then sniff them every now and then to see if anythings changed and surprisingly things do change.  I'm not sure if its my nose - brain connection or familiarity or what but often, not always but often I find that the scent grows on me.  Anyway, I tried the Chats with Grandpa splash a couple of times and I've come to actually like it so now I'm going to try out the soap.  Friday Night Lights sounds interesting - how prominent is the smoke scent?

Friday Night Lights has a sweet, candy-like scent off the puck. I get Vanilla, Marshmallow, Coconut mostly. Perhaps even something along the lines of s’mores while out camping.

However when I lather it, the scent opens up and gets more complex... I can easily detect a faint campfire smoke note.

In my mind, I keep thinking it’s a sweet, modern sandalwood... but I’m not sure others would agree with that assessment.

Overall, it’s very pleasant and I think most folks would enjoy it.

Performance is outstanding

I'm always sceptic when I see Water as first ingredient of the INCI. (Rider base)

I'm always sceptic when I see Water as first ingredient of the INCI. (Rider base)

Will you elaborate as to why?

Personally, I wouldn't care as long as the lather, performance and post shave were excellent. I can vouch for Hub City checking all 3 of those boxes.

Please don't mixup Hub City with Buff City  

I bought a puck of Buff City.  It wasn't good.  

I'm about to order some Hub City.  If its in the same league as A&E, then I think its worth the trial.

So much so that I just ordered four different sample because the scent profiles intrigued me.  SSAD still afflicts me.

I'm always sceptic when I see Water as first ingredient of the INCI. (Rider base)

I'm always sceptic when I see Water as first ingredient of the INCI. (Rider base)

Will you elaborate as to why?

Personally, I wouldn't care as long as the lather, performance and post shave were excellent. I can vouch for Hub City checking all 3 of those boxes.

As far as water or Aqua being the first ingredient. There is no reason to be worried about that.  For example, let's say Aloe Vera or a group of Botanicals are listed as the first ingredients which is very common, just know that if it's mixed in with the lye water ( Why water or aqua are normally listed first ) the Aloe or botanicals which are exposed to high temps during the Saponification process,  any benefits the Aloe or botanicals may have will be burned off essentially. I understand the Marketing benefits using these ingredients as the first ingredients on a list but honestly if I'm looking at a list I'd rather see them  down the list and added afterwards.  So seeing water or aqua as the first ingredient should have no effect on weather you purchase a shave soap or not.

I'm always sceptic when I see Water as first ingredient of the INCI. (Rider base)

I'm always sceptic when I see Water as first ingredient of the INCI. (Rider base)

Will you elaborate as to why?

Personally, I wouldn't care as long as the lather, performance and post shave were excellent. I can vouch for Hub City checking all 3 of those boxes.

As far as water or Aqua being the first ingredient. There is no reason to be worried about that.  For example, let's say Aloe Vera or a group of Botanicals are listed as the first ingredients which is very common,  just know that if it's mixed in with the lye water  ( Why water or aqua are normally listed first ) the Aloe or botanicals which are exposed to high temps during the Saponification process,  any benefits the Aloe or botanicals may have will be burned off essentially. I understand the Marketing benefits using these ingredients as the first ingredients on a list but honestly if I'm looking at a list I'd rather see them  down the list and added afterwards.  So seeing water or aqua as the first ingredient should have no effect on weather you purchase a shave soap or not.

Good info, thank you Frank!

Will you elaborate as to why?

A lot of water normally means a paste with a low yield in terms of duration.
Then it is often also a question of secondary lubrication, not very rich.
So a product with a quality / price ratio not very interesting for my tastes.

For example, let's say Aloe Vera ...

In that base there are no Botanicals.
Just more "water" as milk.
Raider Base:
Water, Stearic Acid, Beef Tallow, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Goat Milk, Pig Lard (Manteca), Castor Oil,
Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Avocado Oil, Lanolin, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, and Vitamin E.

Sure, many soaps have water as their main element, but they don't work well on my skin. (Dermatitis)
Having tried many products, I have now resigned myself.
Just looking with amused interest at all these variations on the same model, that aim more at fragrance than technique.

Will you elaborate as to why?

A lot of water normally means a paste with a low yield in terms of duration.
Then it is often also a question of secondary lubrication, not very rich.
So a product with a quality / price ratio not very interesting for my tastes.

For example, let's say Aloe Vera ...

In that base there are no Botanicals.
Just more "water" as milk.
Raider Base:
Water, Stearic Acid, Beef Tallow, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Goat Milk, Pig Lard (Manteca), Castor Oil,
Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Avocado Oil, Lanolin, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, and Vitamin E.

Sure, many soaps have water as their main element, but they don't work well on my skin. (Dermatitis)
Having tried many products, I have now resigned myself.
Just looking with amused interest at all these variations on the same model, that aim more at fragrance than technique.

I was using Aloe and Botanicals as an example not saying they were used in David’s formula. If you have dermatitis I’m actually working on something to address issues like that. Pm me if you’d like to test them.

Ok I went off topic sorry guys.

I am sorry if I offended anyone by listing the top soaps in my den. I love Hub City Soap. I listed the other soaps because I hoped I would provide some perspective to others who might be interested in purchasing it. My top ten soaps do have a post-post shave that lasts slightly longer than the second list. For me, that is important, but for many people it may not be. I consider all of the soaps I listed to be elite, including Hub City Soap. I can get a superb shave using any of of them. Thus, if you love any of the other soaps on my list, I think you will love Hub City Soaps as well.

RayClem, I’m glad you did because they’re top level soaps and there was a few on there I haven’t tried. I too like Hub City and just ordered some samples to try to find some scents I like but I do like the performance.