What's the deal on "artisan" Shaving Creams?

Curious minds want to know.

Why do "The Vast Majority" of Artisan soap makers make Shaving Soap rather than shaving cream? Is there a technical reason? I understand the tripled milled thing (or 5 milled thing for Klar) that is too expensive to make so croaps or soft soaps are made instead of triple milled soaps. But what's the deal on shaving creams? Why don't we see a lot of them?

I know of a tiny handful, very tiny, of Artisan shaving creams. Why is that?

Hard soap or croap is king. It outsells the cream. A producer doesnt like to invest time and energy in a product that doesnt move.

As an example, Tre Cetta from B&M. Will said tallow outsold the vegan Tre Cetta base so he just killed the line.

I'd say those artisans that do make shave cream cater to the ultra nichy kitchy select few among the millions of shavers in the US. So that means a minute percentage of us.

A side note, I think Chris said something about creams in his merchant thread. I read it last night, but cant remember. Might want to check it to see his views?

Yeah, and most of those millions use Barbasol, lol.......

Yeah, and most of those millions use Barbasol, lol.......

Just like I used to. Actually, after I had been DE shaving for a while, one day i decided to give the 'ol Barbasol another shot just for shiggles. I could actually get a good shave with it! I just much prefer a brush and soap and to not spray chemical foam on my face.

But pertaining to the original question, I have to agree with olschoolsteel. They probably don't sell as well as soaps so they don't get made. Or maybe they're harder to make??

Hopefully one of the artisans will chime in with an answer.

I'm going with olschoolsteel assessment on cost effectiveness. I would think is cheaper to produce soaps than creams, specially considering the packaging and equipment required for a cream.

Yeah, and most of those millions use Barbasol, lol.......

Just like I used to. Actually, after I had been DE shaving for a while, one day i decided to give the 'ol Barbasol another shot just for shiggles. I could actually get a good shave with it! I just much prefer a brush and soap and to not spray chemical foam on my face.

But pertaining to the original question, I have to agree with olschoolsteel. They probably don't sell as well as soaps so they don't get made. Or maybe they're harder to make??

Hopefully one of the artisans will chime in with an answer.

I believe we all have used Barbasol at one point.  It was a joke anyway. This place is getting weird by the second, not even a joke is admissible

Stone Cottage, Nancy Boy and Malasapina come to mind.

Curious minds want to know.

Why do "The Vast Majority" of Artisan soap makers make Shaving Soap rather than shaving cream? Is there a technical reason? I understand the tripled milled thing (or 5 milled thing for Klar) that is too expensive to make so croaps or soft soaps are made instead of triple milled soaps. But what's the deal on shaving creams? Why don't we see a lot of them?

I know of a tiny handful, very tiny, of Artisan shaving creams. Why is that?

Big important thing to emphasize here is that most wet shavers use the term "cream" erroneously. What is usually referred to as a "cream" is really just a soft soap. This is a product that is made up of oils and fats that have undergone saponification, and the final state is simply more water-laden.

A true cream starts similarly, but then undergoes what is called a "rot" over a period of several months, the average is somewhere around 6 months total. It's just an odd term for sitting around while the components start to break down further into fatty acids. It requires somewhat more specialized equipment to make(and package.) Startup costs and tweaking formulae would be a nightmare for an artisan.

Compare that to soap where you mix oils, put in the lye, hit trace, fragrance and set it. With hot process, you're looking at maybe 20 minutes of active time and the soap is ready in a week. Cold process and you're looking at maybe 10 minutes of active time and the soap is ready in a month.

Add into this that honestly creams don't really seem to sell all that much in the artisan market. There are wonderful creams available that perform, and often outperform some of the best soaps, but the producers are rarely mentioned, and can't move product relative to the soap producers.

I have my own water. So, I'll just buy soap thanks.
I prefer not to ship water if I can avoid doing it.

I have used some excellent shaving creams, let's see, Palmolive, ICOLONIALI, Tabac, Speick. I know they are not the garden variety artisans, but I'll take them over some artisan junk.