The Defiance soap shown in the photo is a version 2 (or, as Dr. Jon writes, “Vol. 2”) of Dr. Jon’s Handcrafted Shaving Soap. The ingredients:
Stearic Acid, Water, Castor Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Babassu Oil, Essential/Fragrance Oils, Sodium Hydroxide, Sunflower Oil, Avocado Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Meadowfoam Oil, Aloe Vera, Soy Wax, Slippery Elm Bark, Citric Acid.
The vendor’s comment is interesting (from the link):
. . . We wanted to transition from making a high quality vegan shaving soap to making the absolute best vegan shaving soap available and after months of testing we finally settled on a new ingredient list and method of production that we felt was worth making the transition. The addition of slippery elm bark, aloe, soy wax, jojoba oil and sunflower oil allows us to make an amazingly slick soap that leaves your face feeling soft and so moisturized it you don’t need any post shave treatment.
Defiance is the second of three fragrances in our Cold War series, each is a different take on a sandalwood and mandarin base. Defiance combines the sweet notes of mandarin and sandalwood with the spicy, sharp notes of allspice and black pepper making this the ultimate cool weather fragrance. . .
I used G.B. Kent’s wonder BK4 shaving brush and had no problems getting a very nice lather, though this soap seems to require a bit more water added during loading than version 1 (or “Vol. 1”). The fragrance is quite nice.
Three passes with the 1940’s Gillette Aristocrat (using the same razor pictured on the cover of the Guide) left me with a BBS result and no problems. This head design, which is also found on the President and Diplomat (gold-plated President) is excellent for me.
A splash of Dr. Jon’s Savannah Sunrise aftershave finished the job. I can’t give you a link because apparently it’s been discontinued. Too bad, but I am glad I purchased a bottle. (I assume it’s been discontinued and not temporarily out of stock because there is no entry at all on the site for it. There are entries for items that are simply out of stock, such as the aftershave sampler.)
The ingredients of Defiance aftershave, which probably are the same as used for Savannah Sunrise, are:
Alcohol, Witch Hazel, Rose Water, Fragrance, Aloe, Menthol, Alum.
Filed under: Shaving
