Top performing shave soaps with essential oils in place of fragrance

[ScritchTheItch]

I have sensitive skin. In the past 3 years my technique and equipment have reached a level where the only irritation is coming from the soap on my skin. I have tried many different products in my life (shaving and otherwise) and found that the presence of synthetics and/or synthetic "fragrance" in the ingredients list results in irritation. With shave soap, the irritation persists despite the use of high quality pre-shave and aftershave.

The problem is I have been struggling to find a performant natural soap. Badger Balm, for example, makes a shave soap with incredible (organic) ingredients and smell, but zero performance. (It pretends to lather then dries up on your face before you get your razor up. I have even written them to modify their high potential formula but they don't seem to be taking any action.) I haven't found any others with such clean lists.

To relax the search, I'm asking for recommendations for shave soaps that use essential oils in place of synthetic "fragrance" and lifting the requirement of a perfectly clean ingredients list. I figure this will get me close enough to what I need.

(First post.)

 

[Rocket 1]

Definitely recommend checking out Ethos Grooming Essentials. An outstanding base with a focus on non synthetics.

 

[Kyle89]

Stirling has an option on their website to sort their shave soaps into an essential oil catagory as opposed to fragrance. Looks like they have 14 scents to choose from once filtered. Worth a look.

 

[Mr5x5]

Mama Bear Soaps Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower , Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic 20+ essential oil soaps.

 

[Omega48]

These are the ones with EO's only that I use (in order of preference):
Martin De Candre: soaps.
Stirling: they have several soaps and after shaves without synthetic fragrances.
Saponificio Annamaria: soaps and after shaves.
Sudsy Soapery: soaps and after shaves.
Barrister And Mann: Cheshire soap and aftershave (supposedly without synthetic fragrances).

 

[Eben Stone]

Castle Forbes

 

[AlphaFrank75]

KaliFlower Organics
Mike's Natural Soaps
Elvado Woodland Reserve Shave Soap

 

[Dtownvino]

As @Rocket 1 said it’s Ethos for me - I am in a similar boat.

Also found MacDuffs is mostly good for me with Fragrance Oil.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

I highly recommend Stirling‘s Scots Pine Sheep. The ‘safest’ of the mutton tallow offerings from a scent perspective, and your skin will thank you.

 

[Wgg2017]

I haven't tried it yet, but I just ordered several samples from Mystic Water that are essential oil only.

Mike's Natural Soaps perform well for me but it's not entirely clear from the website which are essential oil only.

Ethos is very good but expensive.

 

[musicman1951]

Get yourself some MdC Nature. Unscented, fabulous lather and it will last nearly forever - over a year of daily 3 pass shaves for me.

 

[Dtownvino]

I haven't tried it yet, but I just ordered several samples from Mystic Water that are essential oil only.

Mike's Natural Soaps perform well for me but it's not entirely clear from the website which are essential oil only.

Ethos is very good but expensive.

Mike’s uses fragrance oil. Dan is right about Stirling Sheep. MacDuffs has a natural (unscented) too.

Ethos is expensive but I do get more shaves from it than most other soaps (except MdC) by weight.

 

[abies]

For what it's worth, Maggards allows you to filter on essential oils as a fragrance type for soaps. I think there might be some other vendors as well but can't remember which.

 

[bdehne]

Shannon's Soaps have some scented with essential oils. I have used Haymarket and Barbershop. Both performed well.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Signature Soaps from the UK are very good. All of their shaving soaps use essential oils only (or unscented). Totally clean ingredients list. Pasteur's in NYC carries some of them at reasonable prices. It's up to your personal taste, but I have been very happy with Capra (unscented goat's milk base) and Coria (geranium rose and lavender).

Laugar of Sweden offers only essential oils or unscented in their shaving soaps.

 

[Wgg2017]

Mike’s uses fragrance oil. Dan is right about Stirling Sheep. MacDuffs has a natural (unscented) too.

Ethos is expensive but I do get more shaves from it than most other soaps (except MdC) by weight.

Some of Mike's seem to be essential oil only, or at least partially essential oil. For example, his Vetiver says it's essential oil in the description. The problem is he doesn't state if it's only essential oil or not. Also, most of the other scents don't specify one way or the other. Some more detail would be nice.

 

[Dtownvino]

Some of Mike's seem to be essential oil only, or at least partially essential oil. For example, his Vetiver says it's essential oil in the description. The problem is he doesn't state if it's only essential oil or not. Also, most of the other scents don't specify one way or the other. Some more detail would be nice.

I’d bet if you emailed him you would get your answer; good, bad or indifferent.

 

[Wgg2017]

I’d bet if you emailed him you would get your answer; good, bad or indifferent.

I'm sure he would answer. However, I shouldn't have to email in the first place. That information should be on the product page. Imho.

 

[Dtownvino]

I'm sure he would answer. However, I shouldn't have to email in the first place. That information should be on the product page. Imho.

welcome to the artisan soap world… I ask all of them questions before I buy and not all answer.

My skin is pretty sensitive.

 

[vtmax]

Eufros - Great essential oil presentation from Manual Garcia.
KaliFlower Organics - another wonderful EO offering from Sweden.
Ethos. - nice essential oils but prefer the lather and post from the above two.