Which of Mike's Natural Soaps Do You Like? | Your Reviews | & Mine

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

So far coconut seems the most popular of Mike's scents.

At the moment, if I had to pick my three favorites, these three would make the cut.

If I could pick just one of Mike's scented soaps today it would be the Coconut.







I enjoy most of Mike's scents. That doesn't of course say anything about anybody else's scents. I just happen to like Mike's base so I tried a few of his scents.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[sarimento1]

i have only a handful of samples from Mike.
all are nice shave soaps, giving comfortable shaves!!

 

[Doti B]

Lemongrass & Eucalyptus - If you have experience using lemongrass in cooking you will instantly recognize the scent. No lemons here just the lemony scent of lemongrass. I'm still waiting for the eucalyptus to show up. Seeing how the scent of eucalyptus is pretty recognizable it must playing hard to get here.

Orange, Cedarwood, Black Pepper - I'm finding this one to be an excellent middle of the road orange scent. It fits in between my other two favorite orange scented soaps, B&M Nordost and ETHOS Blood Orange. When I want a nice anytime of the year orange focused soap Mike's is my choice.

Vetiver - This is my new love. Nice and earthy and I want to keep sniffing it. This was my first exposure to what raw vetiver actually smells like. I kept sniffing the tub and thinking that I've smelled this scent before. Today as I revisited the tubs for my comments, it dawned on me what vetiver reminded me of. Peanut shells. Seeing how peanuts are legumes, grown in the ground, the shells have a sort of earthy scent to them. I think it's the scent of boiled peanuts where I get the earthy scent from, although my memory may be fading as it been a very long time since I've had the pleasure of eating them.

Rose, Patchouli, Cedarwood might be one I'll consider based on previous comments. From reading the description on Mike's site, the so called Rose really isn't rose but rose geranium. A rose geranium is a type of geranium plant that has a scent of rose but it's not what most would consider rosy.

Coconut also interests me so that one is also on the list.

The biggest problem I have with Mike's is his stock comes and goes and it's hard to find two or more soaps in stock at the same time to spread the shipping cost.

Luckily you are in the envious position of being able to get them. In we can’t

 

[jonwilson]

I love Mike's. He doesn't seem to get much attention, but his tallow shave soaps are great performers. I recently purchased 2 of his lemongrass and eucalyptus and 2 of his eucalyptus and lavender shave soaps. great soaps. 5 oz for 15 bucks. that's a great deal.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I love Mike's. He doesn't seem to get much attention, but his tallow shave soaps are great performers. I recently purchased 2 of his lemongrass and eucalyptus and 2 of his eucalyptus and lavender shave soaps. great soaps. 5 oz for 15 bucks. that's a great deal.

I'd be interested in hearing more about this scent from your perspective.

What about the "slightly more camphorous" statement?

If this is "more invigorating than calming/soothing," I'm not sure what that means either.

Pardon my ignorance. Most of what Mike says about his scents makes sense to me. Sometimes I disagree with parts of his description but at least I usually understand what he's saying. Here I don't which could be why I've not acquired this scent.

(It's not like I don't have any soap.)

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Hopalong]

I’ve got several Mikes, really enjoy the slickness. I like them all. Coconut , jasmine, barber shop, pine, orange/pepper, unscented. Even the weird patchouli, for some strange reason I can’t put my finger on. Along the lines of a Caveman shave. Lol

 

[DoctorPorsche]

The only Mike’s soap that I have is the Orange/Cedarwood/Pepper scent. This isn’t because I didn’t want to try all of his offerings, it’s due to the popularity of his soap and thus many things sell out quickly. It was recommended to me that I purchase whatever scent is available at the time. Regarding the scent, it is a nice citrus, with a dominant orange note and subtle peppery spice to my nose as the name implies. IMHO, the closest thing it reminds me of is almost a dark chocolate covered candied orange.

 

[rsp1202]

I'd like to try, but he doesn't seem to offer anything without lanolin. Is this correct?

 

[Doti B]

I believe so

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'd like to try, but he doesn't seem to offer anything without lanolin. Is this correct?

Mike offers only one base. An excellent base.







I think it's worth a try.

Mike must believe he perfected his base recipe because he doesn't change it. I think the base is perfect, I do. Please don't change the base, Mike. Your shaving soaps have been consistently great for me. It's easy enough to pick a good scent or opt for the unscented.

You've certainly read the label so you know what it says.

I can't tell you whether it will work for you or whether you'll like it.

I've had trouble with some lanolin containing soaps. One brand is very drying to my skin; I won't use it again. Mike's shaving soap is not drying for me.

I use Mike's most all the time. I like how my skin feels. I like the post shave. For me there are no downsides with Mike's.







For the record, I use shea butter sometimes at night. I also use the Cube to wash my face before shaving and I use the Tube as a preshave.

I was somewhat anti-lanolin, and now I like Mike's soap. Short of truly compelling reasons to the contrary I suggest buying and trying a puck. See if you like it. It might be a good $25 bet, but it's not my money.

I had moved to almost entirely using unscented soaps. When I tried Mike's, and liked the base, I realized how easy and simple it would be to try selections from Mike's scented soaps collection. They're all exactly alike except for scent the simplicity of which appeals to me. The only complication is scent.

You might be allergic to lanolin or something like that. That's another thing.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[rsp1202]

Yeah, lanolin and I don't agree. Otherwise the unscented soap sounds like something I'd like. Oh, well. Thanks.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Yeah, lanolin and I don't agree. Otherwise the unscented soap sounds like something I'd like. Oh, well. Thanks.

Bummer.

Have you tried PAA's CK-6. It's available in an unscented or scentless puck. I've not read the ingredient list in a while but believe it's vegan. It's a very good soap.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I have some very nice unscented soaps. I had to switch to unscented soaps because my skin was reacting to the ingredients added to shaving soap to create the fragrances.... or so my dermatologist told me.

1. Canada Shaving Soap
2. Stirling unscented with beeswax
3. PAA Scentsless CK-6
4. Captain's Choice Unscented
5. Southern Witchcrafts Incorporeal
6. Grooming Department Pura

They are all about the same for me... same feel when lathering... same slickness... more similar than different, though there are variations, of course.

This brings me to Mike's Unscented. I've had a tub around for a while but just had the first shave with it yesterday afternoon. I was expecting more of the same.... just an addition to the great soaps I've already been using. It lathered the same in my CaYuen bowl. It didn't look any different. It lathered up just as easily but not easier.... In other words, until I brushed the lather onto my face, its appearance didn't give me any indication I was in for a treat.

I know it's only the first time I've used it, but it felt more luxurious than any soap I've used. I use the same consistency with all my soaps... on the wet side... not the Greek yogurt consistency some people enjoy and/or recommend. It wasn't that I made the Mike's thicker or more "creamy"... or anything. I'm repeating myself to try to communicate how different the Mike's felt on my face. It looked the same but felt better in a way that grabbed my attention. It caught me by surprise.

I plan to use it for a number of shaves in a row.... along with razors with which I'm more familiar. I was using a new base plate for my RR SuperSlant yesterday so I'll need to take that out of the equation, though it hardly matters for how a soap feels when brushing it onto my face. <eg> Or.... I'll continue to dial in the SuperSlant L1OC a bit along with the Mike's.. and continue using it with other razors and brushes.... after DecemBOAR is complete.

Any, Jim... Thank you for recommending it months ago. I'm glad I finally got around to using it.... and the pleasant surprise it brought me.

I'll read the scent descriptions with a bit of envy since I will only be able to experience them vicariously.

Kim, this is the sort of post which might save guys some money.

I like Canada and I like CK-6. I like 'em both a good little bit, but I like Mike's better. No reason to try Southern Witchcrafts or the others.

Thanks.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[rsp1202]

Bummer.

Have you tried PAA's CK-6. It's available in an unscented or scentless puck. I've not read the ingredient list in a while but believe it's vegan. It's a very good soap.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Yes, I've tried the CK-6. It was okay but I ended up favoring MdC Nature and Canada more. I'm going to order a sample of the Stirling unscented beeswax next to see how that works. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

 

[Doti B]

The only Mike’s soap that I have is the Orange/Cedarwood/Pepper scent. This isn’t because I didn’t want to try all of his offerings, it’s due to the popularity of his soap and thus many things sell out quickly. It was recommended to me that I purchase whatever scent is available at the time. Regarding the scent, it is a nice citrus, with a dominant orange note and subtle peppery spice to my nose as the name implies. IMHO, the closest thing it reminds me of is almost a dark chocolate covered candied orange.

This is the one I have and I love it

 

[Badger in the Sun]

I love the straightforward scents of Mike's soaps. My favorite is orange/cedar/black pepper. But I also enjoy coconut, lime, and Hungarian lavender. The only one I didn't like was lemongrass/eucalyptus. Smelled a bit like bug spray to me.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Yes, I've tried the CK-6. It was okay but I ended up favoring MdC Nature and Canada more. I'm going to order a sample of the Stirling unscented beeswax next to see how that works. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

I do like the Stirling beeswax quite a bit too.

 

[silverlifter]

I only have Barber Shop, which I love. It smells exactly the same as Shannon's Barbershop (they both use the same oil blend, Crafter's Choice™ Barber Shoppe - EO & FO Blend 123)* but Mike's is a better base.

* Lots of other soapers use this blend for their barber shop soaps: Maggards, Blackship, Zingari to name a few. It seems to be the de facto new world standard.

 

[DoctorPorsche]

Bummer.

Have you tried PAA's CK-6. It's available in an unscented or scentless puck. I've not read the ingredient list in a while but believe it's vegan. It's a very good soap.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I agree! I actually really like CK6. It provides excellent slickness, and it probably is one of, if not, the easiest bases to lather. My only caveat is post-shave residual feel is diminished comparatively to my “top-tier” soaps. I have not tried the other soaps. I would also add in A&E’s VR2 base.

Yeah, lanolin and I don't agree. Otherwise the unscented soap sounds like something I'd like. Oh, well. Thanks.

Barrister and Mann also removed lanolin from their current formula.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I only have Barber Shop, which I love. It smells exactly the same as Shannon's Barbershop (they both use the same oil blend, Crafter's Choice™ Barber Shoppe - EO & FO Blend 123)* but Mike's is a better base.

* Lots of other soapers use this blend for their barber shop soaps: Maggards, Blackship, Zingari to name a few. It seems to be the de facto new world standard.

How do you know this? I'm not saying you don't know. I'm trying to figure out how to acquire such knowledge.

Very cool information and understanding.

Happy shaves,

Jim