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Prompted by the Sharpologist article on best soaps of 2021, I decided to check out the Grooming Dept. and got a tub of Cedarwood shaving soap, which uses their Nai formula, “the ultimate vegan shaving soap!” (their exclamation point). This soap is in their Astute Collection:
Soaps that are part of this collection are either Nai or Kairos formula soaps. They’re usually scented using 100% essential oils and natural resins.
I always check ingredients, so I imagine you do as well. Interestingly, Grooming Dept. lists fragrance ingredients separately:
Scent Ingredients: Orange EO, Grapefruit EO, Ginger Lily EO, Ginger EO, Pink Pepper EO, Geranium Absolute, Rose Absolute, Howood EO, Siam Wood EO, Benzoin Resin, Carrot Seed EO, Alaska Cedarwood EO, Hiba (Japanese Cedarwood) EO, Port Orford Cedarwood EO, Styrax, Muhuhu EO, Himalayan Cedarwood EO, Virginia Cedarwood EO. Texas Hill Country Cedarwood EO, Atlas Cedarwood Absolute. Vetiver Absolute, Patchouli EO, Vanilla Co2 extract, Tonka Bean Absolute.
The result is a fairly complex fragrance that I found appealing. (I’m sure the Tonka Bean helped: I’m a sucker for vanilla.)
The soap’s ingredients are also listed:
Aloe Vera Juice, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Coconut Milk, Castor Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Mango Butter, Camelina Oil, Marshmallow Extract, Glycerine, Rice Bran Wax, Beta Sitosterol, Sunflower Lecithin, Jojoba Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil Oil, Kuki nut Oil, Larch Arabinogalactan, Tara Gum, Erythritol, Glucomannan (Konjac root), Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Propanediol, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Hydroxide, Squalane, Lauryl Laurate, Olive Oil Unsaponifiables, Betaine, Isostearic Acid, Sasha Inchi Oil, Meadofoam Oil, Allantoin, Argan Oil, Tucuma Butter, Ucuuba Butter, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Oleic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Fragrance, Colloidal Oatmeal, Sucrose Cocoate, Sodium Gluconate, Calendula Extract, Ceramide 3, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, Liquorice Root Extract, Beta Glucan, Broccoli Seed Oil, Tamanu Oil, Hyaluronic Acid, Grape Seed Extract, Chamomile Extract, Sea Kelp Extract, Green Tea Extract, Alpha Bisabolol, Inositol, Histidine, Lysine, Arginine, Sodium PCA, Sodium Alginate, Aspen Bark Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf extract, Phospholipids, Resveratrol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) flower extract and Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) flower extract, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Tocopherols.
“Marshmallow” in that list refers not to the confection but to the variety of mallow (a flowering plant) most commonly found in wet, swampy environs such as marshes. That mallow — the marsh mallow — has been used for various purposes for centuries, and one use was a candy made from the roots.
When I loaded the brush (in this case my Plisson HMW 12), I noticed that I had to add a little water, so I bet that the ingrredients would include clay. I lost, but luckily I am familiar with that, since I occasionally buy a lottery ticket. (“Luckily” is perhaps the wrong word in this context.) I wonder whether the soap’s thirst perhaps stemmed from the colloidal oatmeal.
The lather was really excellent — not only a very nice fragrance but also (and even more important) abundant, thick, creamy, and contributing superb slickness and glide. It’s really a first-rate soap.
I will note also that the tub is labeled the right way: the name of the soap is shown on both lid and side, so that whether the tub is stacked or not, you can see at a glance the soap’s identity. Too many of the tubs I have are labeled only on the top of the lid, so when the soap is stacked, the identity is hidden. I am hoping President Biden will push for legislation that will required any shaving soap sold in interstate commerce to be labeled on top and and side.
With the excellent prep, the shave was easy, especially since I was using one of the best razors of 2021 (curiously omitted from the Sharpologist article), the iKon Shavecraft 101. (I notice that it seems to be generally out of stock, so perhaps that’s why it’s not included.)
Three passes to a perfectly smooth face, and my skin feels fantastically good (see ingredients list above). A splash of Anthony Gold’s Red Cedar aftershave to continue the theme, and here we are at Friday again, feeling good.