Some of the Home Grown...

I love the DIY attitude. It's one of the great things about this traditionalist wetshaving gig, it seems to bring out creative impulses that otherwise might have lain dormant. Home made strops, homemade razor scales, homemade everything. And just the other day, a member of Straight Razor Place very generously sent me some of his homemade soap.



(Picture courtesy of Blackstangal)

Member Blackstangal on SRP posted about finally giving up on pricey commercial soaps (and they can certainly be that....as much as $30 for a piece of soap. SOAP!!!), and had decided to make his own. Seeing his post on SRP, I replied that since it was good enough for him, it might be good enough to make a few bucks. His response? He sent me some to try!

He's got three scents, "Laidback Lime, Buttery Coconut, And Mind Chillin Melon" and he sent me samples of all three. I started with the melon, the scent that struck me first and Al's recommendation. It's a pleasant sort of turquoise shade, and the scent is high and sweet--kind of like Everlasting Gobstoppers. Not cloying, though, it's quite nice.

For my shave, I did my usual routine--after a shower, lather up and do my thang while the lather softens my beard, and shave. The lather took a little bit more work to get going that I expected, but it came in time, and it came BIG. This stuff was rolling out of the bowl...and my brush got loaded up with tons of super rich, creamy lather. That was surprise number one. I've never gotten that thick or heavy a cream from a cold-pour soap before, not even from my beloved VDH Deluxe.

On my face, the lather was smooth and cool--Al mentioned a mysterious "cooling" effect that he himself couldn't explain; there's no menthol or mint oil, so it shouldn't be there. but it is--it feels like a cool autumn breeze on your face. The lather sat light, not heavy or uncomfortable at all like some of the thicker soaps. And then the shave. Surprise number two.

Ohhhh, what a shave. I don't know what Al does when he makes this stuff, but I sure as heck hope he keeps it up...My face LOVED this soap. Seriously, during and after this shave my face was singing ballads to Mind Chillin' Melon. It was full of protective cushion (a rarity in cold pours...) and nice and slick, too. I got a 95% BBS shave in two passes, and not only was it comfortable, my face felt like I had just gone to a SPA, rather than dragged a few inches of sharpened steel over it. I almost forgot to splash on my AS Milk, my face felt so refreshed...I did it, though, because I'm a creature of habit.

All day, I kept rubbing my face and smiling. Good shaves make good days, doncha know? And I certainly got a good shave off this one.

I am OVERJOYED that I got some of this soap. For one thing, it's a damn fine soap. For another, it is proof positive that people CAN do this for themselves, it doesn't have to be expensive or posh, and I love that. Of course, there's a little irony in this because the next soap in my rotation (and my next review, cha cha cha) is Penhaligon's English Fern, which is as pricey and posh as it gets. Oh, me...