Monterey Soap Company Shaving Soap Review *PICS*

[joel]

First let me say.... the actual Monterey Soap Company store on Cannery Row is an amazing place to visit. FILLED with incredible soaps, candles, etc. Really a wonderful little place, an absolute joy to visit! The neatest part... you can actually watch them make soaps, candles, etc.

Now - onto the review.

I purchased 3 cakes of soap, 2 cakes of Honey Almond Oatmeal (one bowl, one refill), and one cake of morning mint. Both smell exceptional, the morning mint almost smells like a spearmint toothpaste... it is quite nice in the morning! The honey almond oatmeal is simply divine!

Cakes of soap...
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=781

Morning Mint unwrapped...
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=830

Back or morning mint...
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=831

Soaking Brush...
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=825

Time to get to business...
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=826

A few swirls...
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=827

Soap Lathered...
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=828
http://badgerandblade.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=829

I am going to do things a little backwards with this soap, as there is somewhat of an exception with this soap. It acts a bit different from other soaps so...

Rating Scale – Each Quality from 0-2 (2 being best)

Price – 2
Quality – 2
Scent – 2++
Efficacy – 1*
Moisturizing properties – 2

Total – 9 out of 10

* - This soap works incredibly well..... however it is tricky. It lathers like the dickens, but performed differently with different shaving brushes. It seems to almost prefer a softer brush, like a vulfix/kent over a firmer shavemac/simpson. Now the only "complaint" I have is that the lather tended to "dry out" and began to dissapear after a bit when the soap was used with the firmer brushes. Even when it looked very thin/light, it provided outstanding lubrication, and it WORKED outstanding, but seemed kinda odd. When using a softer brush with plenty of water, it worked perfectly... very interesting stuff. I am quite curious if the morning mint will act in a similar fashon - however one thing is for certain... I'll always have a few cakes of this stuff in my toiletry locked - especially the honey almond oatmeal, as they smell incredible, and work quite well! Very nice stuff, but be forewarned, it is a bit tricky if your only brush is a firm one (but it will still work just fine and dandy).

[Austin]

Joel, great review. How did it leave your skin?

[joel]

Joel, great review. How did it leave your skin?

"Moisturizing properties – 2"

Buttery smooth my friend! This Monterey soap really moisturizes and softens your skin.... probably this soap's second best quality - behind scent.

[rtaylor61]

Joel,

Would you please explain your rating system to this old redneck?

Randy

[joel]

Joel,

Would you please explain your rating system to this old redneck?

Randy

For Sure!

Each attribute can receive up to 2 points - the more points, the better the overall score. For example, if a 5 oz tub of shaving cream is $6, then it is going to receive a "2" where as if it is $35, it would receive a "0". The scores are then added together to form the overall score of the product, which is accompanied by a written explination. The "++" on the scent scoring on this product was simply to show the scent wasn't just great - but truly fantastic, but did/does not impact the final score.

Make sense?

Rating Scale – Each Quality from 0-2 (2 being best)

Price – 2
Quality – 2
Scent – 2++
Efficacy – 1*
Moisturizing properties – 2

Total – 9 out of 10

[joel]

Oh - I meant to mention. The packaging sucks for these soaps.... they are just sort of wrapped in tissue paper and labeled. The one good thing, is not only are they labeled, but they are all different colors, so it is easy to tell them apart. The quality of the shave bowls is quite high, although they do not include a lid (which is somewhat pointless anway - but a lid WOULD be preferred.) At $10 for a bowl of soap and $5 or so for the refills, they are neat soaps! Certainly not going to put Tabac, T&H, or QED out of business though!

[fisherc]

Being a resident of the Bay Area and frequently in Monterey I too have tried this company's shave and bath soaps. Quite honestly I found them to be below average though my trials were several years ago. First, they use synthetic colorant as well as fragrance oil. Personally, I don't like this. Second, I found the shave soap to be well below average in terms of shave efficacy. The lather, as I recall, was quite thin and bubbly and the lubricity was nil. Granted, they may have changed their formulations since I tried them as it has been quite some time ago.

Chris

[atnight]

Hopefully they have been reformulated! There's a few more creams I want to try before getting to these soaps, but Monterey has some really attractive scents, ie Honey Almond Oatmeal and Mandarin Lemongrass. Definitely not your typical Lavender, Sandalwood, Rose, etc.. At any rate, thanks for the review, Joel.

[joel]

Being a resident of the Bay Area and frequently in Monterey I too have tried this company's shave and bath soaps. Quite honestly I found them to be below average though my trials were several years ago. First, they use synthetic colorant as well as fragrance oil. Personally, I don't like this. Second, I found the shave soap to be well below average in terms of shave efficacy. The lather, as I recall, was quite thin and bubbly and the lubricity was nil. Granted, they may have changed their formulations since I tried them as it has been quite some time ago.

Chris

Chris,
They have an older shave bowl which was in a taller bowl apparently, which was supposedly inferior to the one I purchased. Allegidly - they (at least now) use all natural scents/coloring, but to be honest with you Chris due to your extensive knowledge in the area, I'd trust you over them. Regardless, this stuff was quite good in my opinion. For you however, I don't think it would be best, as you are looking for pure efficacy, and although a good soap, it simply is NOT better than QED, T&H, and Tabac.