D.R. Harris : Harris Naturals Shaving Soap

I just tried this soap. It cost £18.00 in England and it comes in a wooden bowl.

I was unable to find a refill puck to try and I suspect that is because the soap is hot poured into the bowl and doesn't come in pucks. I may be wrong. The soap is £2.00 more expensive than the normal D.R. Harris soaps. I bought the soap full of expectations of something special.

The soap is white but has a very oily sheen to the surface. The ingredients are as follows:
Glycerin, Aqua(water), Sodium Palmate, Sorbitol,Sodium Cocoate,
Cocos Nucifera(coconut oil), Parfum(fragrance), Palm Fatty Acid, Coconut Fatty Acid, Titanium Dioxide, Pentasodium Penetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate.

So it is a pure vegetable soap with no animal fats and lots of coconut oil.

It has a very mild sweet almond fragrance which together with the buttery smell of the oils that have been added gives an overall smell of mild Christmas Pudding.

The performance I found to be poor. The lather can best be described as thin and weak. When applied it to the face, within a minute is deteriorates to suds.

The soap is mild and gentle but totally useless for shaving. The soap doesn't remain on the face long enough to start a shave.

I intend to return my soap to D.R. Harris and complain under the Trades descriptions Act , that the soap does not work as a shaving soap , it is incorrectly described and is not fit for the purpose described on the box. I will request a replacement product that is fit for purpose or a full refund.

I am very disappointed and feel I have being used to pilot test this soap.

For anybody who is used to D.R. Harris's normal shaving soaps, be warned that this product is very very disappointing.

Unfortunate that a company like D.R. Harris would release an un-proven product to market, it isnt the first less-than-stellar report Ive read on this one.

Thanks for the info.

Sorry to hear about this, any chance you could post some photos of the product and packaging?

Sorry to hear about your poor experience. please keep us posted with what comes of the situation.

English said:

I intend to return my soap to D.R. Harris and complain under the Trades descriptions Act , that the soap does not work as a shaving soap , it is incorrectly described and is not fit for the purpose described on the box. I will request a replacement product that is fit for purpose or a full refund.

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That's it - you stick it to 'em! I love it when people actually hold companies accountable for their claims. I will be very interested to hear what Harris's response is. My guess is it will be a combination defense of their product ("We've thoroughly tested this product and have found it to be very efficacious as a shaving medium and is therefore legally labeled as such, pursuant to the Trades Description Act")/ condescending apology to you for your inconvenience to shut you up ("Nevertheless, we recognize your displeasure with the product, and while we do not feel your view is a common one, we will be happy to honor your request and provide you with a replacement product of your choice, or a complete refund of the purchase price"). Unless, of course, they treat you with the contempt the old English companies are renowned for, and they just tell you to stick it. Keep us posted.

I will keep you posted.

No pictures I'm afraid, it is already in the post back to London.

But you can see a photo of the product here.

http://www.gentlemans-shop.com/acatalog/Harris_Naturals_Shaving_Soap_in_Wooden_Bowl.html#a1706

Thanks and keep us updated, I fear that this is foreshadowing things to come.

D R Harris
Harris Naturals Shaving Soap in Wooden Bowl
Harris Naturals Shaving Soap is made with Certified Organic plant origin soap base, which has been superfatted by the addition of Certified Organic Coconut Oil. The result is a soap which will not dry the skin and which gives a wonderfully smooth shave with the use of a shaving brush.

This product is 99% natural, 98% Certified Organic.

D.R. Harris & Co. is one of London’s oldest pharmacies and has been in St James’s Street for over 200 years. This family-owned business holds the warrant to HRH The Prince of Wales. They are renowned for their range of quality products for both men and women. These include soaps, colognes, bath and shaving preparations. The majority of products are still produced by traditional methods, being hand-made and packed in their London premises

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What a bummer! Thanks for "taking one for the home team".

Oh wow what a bummer, I really love harris soaps!! This really scares me, what is the shaving world coming to! We need more beef fat!!!!!!

The ironic thing to me is Tallow is also a natural product, they should have used organic fed cows for this or something!!!

If they are going to change Marlborough, I sure hope we know about it in advance so I can do a bit of stock piling. I have a bunch of soaps but if I had to choose just one, it would be Marlborough.

Jim said:

Thanks and keep us updated, I fear that this is foreshadowing things to come.

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Don't say such things! Hear no evil!

e d o said:

If they are going to change Marlborough, I sure hope we know about it in advance so I can do a bit of stock piling. I have a bunch of soaps but if I had to choose just one, it would be Marlborough.

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oh geez dont say that I will have to do the same

BrightFutur said:

Don't say such things! Hear no evil!

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Now, now. Don't everybody go and get their knickers in a knot. I'd like to think Harris has enough sense not to foresake their traditional lines, even if they are trying to broaden their customer base somewhat. After all, T&H is still hanging in there with their old stuff four years on from introducing the Ultimate Comfort range. Indeed, T&H North America has started to bring back some of the old stuff they had trimmed to make room for the new line, such as the fragrance range bath soaps and aftershave splashes; they realized people actually like the traditional stuff. Harris will hopefully realize the same thing. Of course, anything is possible, but I wouldn't start to worry just yet, especially if this soap is as bad as reported. There's a good chance it won't sell, and it will simply be discontinued.

Got the tallow out...Messed the soap up

Quite Horatio, quite.

Regards, Todd

Straight from DR Harris, they are NOT planning to change their current formulation to the new Naturals formulation. The Naturals formulation was created to meet the needs of specific customers. However, as long as they can obtain the ingredients for their traditional formulation, they will not change it.

letterk said:

Straight from DR Harris, they are NOT planning to change their current formulation to the new Naturals formulation. The Naturals formulation was created to meet the needs of specific customers. However, as long as they can obtain the ingredients for their traditional formulation, they will not change it.

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Thanks for passing that on!

I am a "specific customer" who walked into a highly reputable barbers shop and purchased the Harris "new" product.

There is no label on the box to say the product is anything other than shaving soap in a bowl. The product was sold to me as an ordinary shaving soap.

Well it isn't a shaving soap. That is a factual statement. Nobody in there right mind would describe a soap that doesn't lather and provides no protection to the face during a shave as a shaving soap.

Anyway, I am still waiting for some response to my complaint. Harris will have received my complaint and the returned product on Tuesday morning.

English said:

I am a "specific customer" who walked into a highly reputable barbers shop and purchased the Harris "new" product.

There is no label on the box to say the product is anything other than shaving soap in a bowl. The product was sold to me as an ordinary shaving soap.

Well it isn't a shaving soap. That is a factual statement. Nobody in there right mind would describe a soap that doesn't lather and provides no protection to the face during a shave as a shaving soap.

Anyway, I am still waiting for some response to my complaint. Harris will have received my complaint and the returned product on Tuesday morning.

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I'm sure your experience is valid and the soap doesn't work for you. However, DR Harris has told me they did extensive testing and received great feedback. It's possible that it doesn't work well for you for a variety of reasons. For instance, a very popular brand of soap on the forum used to be my favorite. I moved, and my water changed, and now I find it horrible. It doesn't lather, lubricity is next to nothing, etc... Nothing is 100% in the shaving world.

DR Harris is usually very responsive, so I'd be surprised if you did not get an answer. If not, let me know and I'll see if I can get a response for you.

letterk said:

DR Harris has told me they did extensive testing and received great feedback.

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Of course they're going to say that. If you ever write to a company to complain about the nature of one of their products (as opposed to an anomalous defect, or something like that), they always defend the product saying they've thoroughy tested it and it proved to be very popular. I get the feeling they put so much faith in the testing that they fail to use it themselves to see that it is, in fact, crap. I'd like to know who was providing the feedback on the Naturals soap. I have read nothing but rotten reviews of this soap all around.