(This post was last modified: 01-22-2022, 09:19 PM by Dragonsbeard.)
[quote pid="437660" dateline="1642810067"]
Frank
I never like evaluating samples. However, the biggest problem I encounter is typically with the cushion/protection of the soap as I may not be able to get the hydration of the lather where I want it to be. . If I remember correctly, I did have a minor issue with the protectiveness of the shave when evaluating the sample of the original soap. However, since I attributed the issue to evaluation of a sample, I did not include that as a shortcoming in my original post.That was my problem, not the soap's.
I am not quite sure how evaluating a sample vs a full tub would have any impact upon the longevity of the post-shave, especially since I apply a bonus lather following my shave to allow any conditioning ingredients to absorb into the skin. I attribute the improvement in post-shave to the changes made in the F Base. I believe you mentioned an increase in hyaluronic acid which may well have accounted for the improvement in post-shave. I am probably more attuned to small variations in post-shave performance than most people would be. I check my face every few hours after the shave to see if the conditioning ingredients are still working. F Base continued working like the Energizer Bunny.
I rarely use a post-shave splash, balm, serum or other skin food. However, I used to use a balm when the temperature drops below 10 degrees F as it has done frequently this January. However, as long as I stick with my super-elite class of soaps, I do not even need to use a balm under those conditions. Yesterday, the temperature was around 9 degrees, but I went out 20 hours after shaving with F Base. I felt no need to apply a shave balm to protect my face. That is a terrific result.
Someone mentioned that they got less post-shave with the Lavender scent than they did with some of the other scents. Both the sample and the tub I purchased were Lavender, so that was not an issue.
As for my loading/lathering method, I use it for most soaps and find that it works unless I am using creams, croaps and very soft soaps that cannot tolerate any blooming and hard tallow puck which often need lengthy bloom times. I only bloom the soap for a few seconds until the bloom water starts to turn milky. I have found that loosens the top layer of soap such that it is easy to load the right amount of soap for my shave. I realize that someone who only does a two pass shave might not need to bloom the soap at all, but since I do a five pass shave plus a bonus lather, I find that the brief blooming works well for me.
My only disappointment with ETHOS is the pricing. Although I have the monetary resources to purchase it, I am reluctant to spend more than $30 for any soap. I know I am unlikely to live long enough to finish the soaps I already have in my den. Thus, I do not anticipate purchasing a collection of ETHOS scents, although I know I would like a number of them. Since I have more than enough elite and super-elite soaps to last me for years, my focus is now on finding soaps with "perfume grade" scents. I consider Lisse Collection Lavender Supreme to be a perfume grade scent, even if it is a simple scent.
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As I mentioned everyone has their own shaving rituals and I can respect that as far as blooming the soaps.
What I’d like to address is your comment on pricing in depth not only to respond to you but for anyone of the members or my customers that read this post.
At the time I decided to making Mens Grooming products which was only a couple of years ago one of the many things I had to make decisions on was what kind of packaging would I like to use for my shave soaps. My absolute first choice was glass as it’s a much better environment than plastic as far as product stability goes especially if your using a lot of naturals.like I prefer to use. Aluminum is also very good for naturals but it dents easily and the percentage of jars that can be lost in a good sized pallet shipment was a risk I was not willing to take Also finding a jar large enough or should I say wide enough for loading a shave soap are very hard or almost impossible to get in the US unless your ordering many thousands of jars. Their made in China so Chins is the best option to get them from. Again a path I did want to take. So glass was what I set my sirs on at first but again my disappointment came after doing my sourcing that the only glass jar suitable for shave soap was a jar made in Italy and only one US supplier carried them but the minimum order was 30,000. Well the price was much higher than the typical plastic jars that are more commonly used.in the shaving world. Well that idea also came crashing down when I got a shipping quote on a pallet of these beautiful glass jars direct from Italy. The shipping costs were equal to the already expensive cost of the jars so my cost per jar doubled with the shipping and that price was just way to much. So my next choice was plastic and I knew I wanted a clear almost glass looking jar of high quality and the first jars I bought back then I thought were just that but they had a problem of cracking as they were made of styrene plastic which is very brittle. Something I learned the hard way as I had no experience with the plastic . So always loving the quality and look of the MDC jar I started my search and to make a long story short after again not finding them in the US I thought maybe I’ll try to make contact with MDC knowing that they may not want to share their supplier with another shave soap maker. Well was I surprised as they are a very nice family and we’re kind enough to not only give me their suppliers name but also sone valuable shipping info. So that is my 7 oz jar and I’ll say it’s not cheap. It’s around 4 times more expensive than the more popular PET or HDPE jars that most use. In fact my brushed aluminum lid on my jars alone are about $.40 cents more than the whole jar and cap of the plastic jars I mentioned that most use so between the jar and the lid I’m starting out with a much higher cost as far as packaging goes but it’s the path I wanted to take as I have to like the look of my packaging and from many of my customers phone chats their glad I choice that jar as well.
The other reason my products cost a bit more than some is that I’m using expensive scientifically proven skin beneficial ingredients found in high quality skin care products where the technology is far more advanced than hair care which comes in 2nd in the cosmetic industry which I’ve been a part of for the last 28 years and certainly far more advanced than shaving products have been. I have a special blend called the EOS Complex which was actually developed for a very high end skin care product line that I worked on as product developer along with one of the best cosmetic chemists in the country and the number one supplier/ manufacturer of the finest most technically advanced skin and hair care ingredient company in the world. The project was only a month away from production and the 3 partners had a huge fight between them which ended up in a legal battle that ended the project. I having a great long term relationship with the ingredient company asked if I could acquire the proprietary rights to the complex. They were happy to give it to me and I got a 4 year agreement and so I named it the EOS Complex which stands for Earth Ocean and Science as it’s was originally composed of 34 skin beneficial active ingredients ( now has 36 ) that that come from those 3 sources. The ingredients address not only the epidermis layer providing protection and a soft post shave feel without an oily feeling but mostly go into the Dermis layer of the skin and do their thing which actually improves the overall quality of the skin. ThisComplex is quite expensive which also adds to the cost of the products I use it in. There are also many other ingredients that I use that are expensive as I lean very strongly to using naturals when I can, especially when it comes to my aromas or aroma blends as I call them and if I have to use a chemical within a blend if there’s no natural choice I only use Accords and not pre made candle/ soap making fragrance oils that are much less expensive. I use Sheep and Camel milk both of which are more expensive than other mild and in the case of the Sheep’s milk not easily found. Also and I’ll say this publicly I don’t mark my products up as much as many other products do. I have 6 very well known soap maker friends of mine who have actually said to me you need to raise your prices but my business model was originally not to use vendors but only sell through my website so I was ok with my pricing. When I did take on the vendors that presented a challenge but I’ve got some awesome vendors and we worked things out so they work for both parties. Another reason for the 4 and 4.5 oz sizes. Also recently a couple of customers have been documenting how many shaves their getting out of a 7.5 oz and the 4.5 oz sizes and one just reported to me that he’s exactly halfway through his 4.5 oz Vanilla Safi and he’s a 4 pass shaver and he said that the half of jar lasted him longer than a full jar of an even more expensive soap than EOS so what I’m getting is price per shave is low even with my most expensive stock ( not custom ) shave soap. The Vanilla Safi.
My products may not meet everyone’s price range and I totally understand that but then I’m not trying to compete with $15 to $25 shave soaps. They have their own lane and customer base and I have mine. I try to stay in my own lane and do my own thing. I really enjoy making custom products for my customers and having good communication and relationships with them as well.
![[Image: vgzOwBH.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/vgzOwBH.jpg)
. Agree on all points 