olive oil in shave soap -- not even worth trying?

KarlMaldensNose · May 8, 2011

I'm placing an order for some soaps, a shampoo bar, and a couple other products from a small soap company out east. They offer a shaving soap and I'm at least curious. But here's the ingredients, with olive oil right up at the front of the list:

Saponified olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and castor oil, goat's milk, water, cosmetic clay and either Bayberry fragrance oil or Unscented.

Should I even bother? I don't believe there's been even one olive oil shave soap that has been accepted as evenjust "good".

Fortitudo Dei · May 9, 2011

The chances of it being even half-decent are very slim. However if the cost is about the same as a bar of their "normal" soap I'd say get a puck anyway as it will probably make an excellent bath soap and you will get to experience the reason why most artisan-produced shaving soaps are so utterly useless.

sas71 · May 9, 2011

ive tried a couple products with olive oil listed..a couple soaps the other a cream and i had no prbs whipping up thick creamy lather with either product. might take adjusting the water ratio or give it an extra few seconds of mixing to get it right.

SliceOfLife · May 9, 2011

KarlMaldensNose said:
I'm placing an order for some soaps, a shampoo bar, and a couple other products from a small soap company out east. They offer a shaving soap and I'm at least curious. But here's the ingredients, with olive oil right up at the front of the list:

Saponified olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and castor oil, goat's milk, water, cosmetic clay and either Bayberry fragrance oil or Unscented.

Should I even bother? I don't believe there's been even one olive oil shave soap that has been accepted as evenjust "good".

No, that soap will be bad for shaving. Very very bad. Not just because of the olive oil, but that's part of the reason.

Evbo · May 9, 2011

If olive oil is the first ingredient listed then I'd say don't waste your time. My experience with olive oil-based soaps has been that they generate magical lather. As soon as you apply it, it disappears. :tongue_sm

However, if you're in the market for another quality bath soap then by all means, buy this soap. :thumbup1:

mretzloff · May 9, 2011

Olive oil does not mean that a soap will not lather well. Just because a soap has one ingredients does not mean anything, other than that ingredient is in the soap. What is important is how the ingredient is used and how much of it is in there. A soap with olive oil as the first ingredient will almost certainly be a dud, but a soap with olive oil as the fourth or fifth ingredient could be good (or bad).

To evaluate whether a soap is good or not, you need to consider all ingredients. Olive and coconut oil are not two oils that should not be the first two ingredients in a shaving soap (though there could be exceptions), but neither automatically make a soap not good enough to shave with.

sas71 · May 9, 2011

mretzloff said:
Olive oil does not mean that a soap will not lather well. Just because a soap has one ingredients does not mean anything, other than that ingredient is in the soap. What is important is how the ingredient is used and how much of it is in there. A soap with olive oil as the first ingredient will almost certainly be a dud, but a soap with olive oil as the fourth or fifth ingredient could be good (or bad).

To evaluate whether a soap is good or not, you need to consider all ingredients. Olive and coconut oil are not two oils that should not be the first two ingredients in a shaving soap (though there could be exceptions), but neither automatically make a soap not good enough to shave with.

great write up

i think this is the Nivea cream from India..it might be some Susies Bubbles soap..all i can remember was after reading another thread like this i got out a product that had olive oil in it to make the pics :biggrin1:

Evbo · May 9, 2011

mretzloff said:
Olive oil does not mean that a soap will not lather well. Just because a soap has one ingredients does not mean anything, other than that ingredient is in the soap. What is important is how the ingredient is used and how much of it is in there. A soap with olive oil as the first ingredient will almost certainly be a dud, but a soap with olive oil as the fourth or fifth ingredient could be good (or bad).

To evaluate whether a soap is good or not, you need to consider all ingredients. Olive and coconut oil are not two oils that should not be the first two ingredients in a shaving soap (though there could be exceptions), but neither automatically make a soap not good enough to shave with.

This is absolutely correct. That's what I meant -- if olive oil is listed as the first ingredient, it's likely the soap will not be fit to use for shaving.

Thanks for the clarification, Matthew!

Malaspina · May 9, 2011

mretzloff said:
olive oil does not mean that a soap will not lather well. Just because a soap has one ingredients does not mean anything, other than that ingredient is in the soap. What is important is how the ingredient is used and how much of it is in there. A soap with olive oil as the first ingredient will almost certainly be a dud, but a soap with olive oil as the fourth or fifth ingredient could be good (or bad).

To evaluate whether a soap is good or not, you need to consider all ingredients. Olive and coconut oil are ~~not~~ two oils that should not be the first two ingredients in a shaving soap (though there could be exceptions), but neither automatically make a soap not good enough to shave with.

+20

Olive oil further down the list can be a nice ingredient to add moisturizing, but definitely should not be the first ingredient....

delisle · May 9, 2011

As a soap, yes it will be a failure. Now I some really great cream made by an artisan company over on Etsy that was actully pretty good, lathered well and gave a great shave. Will I ever buy that cream again? No, because I developed a slight allergy to it and I am a strictly soap guy now

sigthorson · May 10, 2011

sas71 said:
great write up

i think this is the Nivea cream from India..it might be some Susies Bubbles soap..all i can remember was after reading another thread like this i got out a product that had olive oil in it to make the pics

I was going to mention Nivea too. The one I have here is made in Germany and it happens to be one of my faves. This is the one available all over Canada in shoppers.

du212 · May 10, 2011

I have soaps with olive oil that work but others don't. Specially the Saponificio Artigianale Fiorentino is unable to give lather in quantity and quality,

oversaturn · May 10, 2011

mretzloff said:
Olive oil does not mean that a soap will not lather well. Just because a soap has one ingredients does not mean anything, other than that ingredient is in the soap. What is important is how the ingredient is used and how much of it is in there. A soap with olive oil as the first ingredient will almost certainly be a dud, but a soap with olive oil as the fourth or fifth ingredient could be good (or bad).

I absolutely agree.
The soaps from Calani contain olive oil (down on the list, not in front of it) and are highly regarded.

drewmac · May 10, 2011

I would never use olive oil in my shaving soaps, although the coconut oil isn't horrible. Both of those will certainly lather, but create an airy foam. If this soap had a decent percentage of stearic acid, it may be useable. The stearic, I have found, packs the lather tighter together, creating a dense consistency.

stevodevo · May 10, 2011

I'm glad Matthew commented on this thread... I've been dying to try QCS cedarwood lemongrass and have heard nothing but positive comments on QCS soaps/creams... from the QCS website I notice that both contain olive oil but not as the primary ingredient. So definitely the presence of olive oil itself must not be 'bad'...

kingfisher · May 10, 2011

mretzloff said:
Olive oil does not mean that a soap will not lather well. Just because a soap has one ingredients does not mean anything, other than that ingredient is in the soap. What is important is how the ingredient is used and how much of it is in there. A soap with olive oil as the first ingredient will almost certainly be a dud, but a soap with olive oil as the fourth or fifth ingredient could be good (or bad).

To evaluate whether a soap is good or not, you need to consider all ingredients. Olive and coconut oil are not two oils that should not be the first two ingredients in a shaving soap (though there could be exceptions), but neither automatically make a soap not good enough to shave with.

What's wrong with coconut oil in shaving soap? I am curious, because this morning I shaved with a shave soap that lists saponified coconut oil as the first ingredient; after that is lists palm oil, castor seed oil, and safflower seed oil, in that order. Seemed to make a pretty nice lather.

drewmac · May 10, 2011

kingfisher said:
What's wrong with coconut oil in shaving soap? I am curious, because this morning I shaved with a shave soap that lists saponified coconut oil as the first ingredient; after that is lists palm oil, castor seed oil, and safflower seed oil, in that order. Seemed to make a pretty nice lather.

What soap did you use?

kingfisher · May 10, 2011

drewmac said:
What soap did you use?

I don't want to put it on this board because if negative comments about the formulation are raised, it might paint the soapmaker in a negative light, and I don't want that.

I'll PM you the answer.

Doodi1 · May 10, 2011

stevodevo said:
I'm glad Matthew commented on this thread... I've been dying to try QCS cedarwood lemongrass and have heard nothing but positive comments on QCS soaps/creams... from the QCS website I notice that both contain olive oil but not as the primary ingredient. So definitely the presence of olive oil itself must not be 'bad'...

BOTH QCS creams and newly introduced soaps are awesome! :001_tt1:

try it and you also will sing praises.

fredo456 · May 10, 2011

kingfisher said:
I don't want to put it on this board because if negative comments about the formulation are raised, it might paint the soapmaker in a negative light, and I don't want that.

I'll PM you the answer.

Comments, good or bad, should be shared on this site for the benefit of the members, who could then make an informed decision when buying a product. I don't think the sensibilities of product makers are to be protected, but rather discussed openly. Once someone puts their name on a product and send it out to consumers, they ought to stand behind its quality, for better or worse. Furthermore, you already gave them a good review.

Search

olive oil in shave soap -- not even worth trying?

KarlMaldensNose

Fortitudo Dei

sas71

SliceOfLife

Evbo

mretzloff

sas71

Evbo

Malaspina

delisle

sigthorson

du212

oversaturn

drewmac

stevodevo

kingfisher

drewmac

kingfisher

Doodi1

fredo456

Similar threads