There's a new soap making the rounds at
The Shave Den, and I got some samples to try out.
Dan Kell, of Missouri, has made his own shave soap. His website, Kell's Original, is ALL shave soaps, which I like a LOT. The soaps he sells are a Hemp Oil blend, with three varieties: Hemp, Hemp\Aloe, and Ultra Aloe, and Dan's story, as he puts it on his website, is "I started playing around with soap and managed to blend up a soap from a combination of several that let me shave every day, enjoy it, and do away with the after shave balm. I shared a bit of my extra with some friends. They liked it so I shared it with a bunch of people from one of the internet forums and they liked it too. And thus was born Kell's Original."
The soap Dan came up with is clear, and comes in a tin or as a plain refill in a variety of scents including classics like lavendar and sandalwood, as well as more unusual ones like Amber (yay Amber!), Juniper Sage and Casbah Mint.
The ingredients are very nice, natural and gentle:
Hemp blend ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil (Grade A extra virgin), Safflower Oil, Glycerine (vegetable origin), Hemp Seed Oil (unrefined), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifer), Soy bean protein (conditioner), Wheat Protein (conditioner)
Hemp/Aloe ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil (Grade A extra virgin), Safflower Oil, Glycerine (vegetable origin), Hemp Seed Oil (unrefined), Aloe Vera Gel, Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifer), Soy bean protein (conditioner), Wheat Protein (conditioner)
(Apparently the Ultra Aloe blend is identical to the Hemp/Aloe with twice as much aloe).
One thing I noticed was the absence of Bentonite Clay. This is a very common ingredient in shave soaps, used to give some added slip and body to the lather. I asked Dan about this, and he explained that bentonite is, at its base, a mixture of volcanic ash and glass and that he didn't like the idea of putting that on his face when he shaved...Sounds reasonable, I reckon!
So we have a shave soap specifically made and tested to avoid skin irritation? Yeah, I can get behind that! I picked up 4 samples, Casbah Mint, Sandalwood, Lime and Amber. I have used the Sandalwood for the last four shaves, and it's a dry, spicy sandalwood rather than the warm, sweet one I typically prefer. But how does it shave?
Fantastically. Really. It's a smooth, thick lather that has tons of slickness. The cushion is a little less than some, but it didn't have any adverse effect at all on the shave. I got 4 great shaves in a row, and that's a good sign indeed. It was a soothing, gentle shave soap and it was a pleasure to use. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other scents, especially the amber...
There are a couple of different things about this soap I should mention. One, it doesn't need as much water as some of my other soaps...try shaking a bit more out of your brush than you might otherwise. Also, my shave routine includes a "water pass", where I do some touch ups with just water--most shave soaps and creams seem to leave just a little residue on the skin after the shave that, with just a little water, is slick enough for a bit of a shave. This soap does not. I'm not sure why, it might be the bentonite, and it might not be a bad thing, but something to be aware of.
Anyway, if you're looking for a nice all-natural shave soap, with an emphasis on skin-care, then I think you've got a good option here. Oh, and for our international readers don't be dismayed by the ridiculous shipping charge that the Shopping cart automatically generates--it's some kind of glitch. Email Dan and he'll get you fixed up.
Give it a try!
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