Fume Shaving Soap

**5savages** · 05-08-2012, 11:30 AM

Several of us were able to take advantage of the generous deal that Joe at shaveabuck.com had for the Fume Shaving Soap. Have any of you tried it yet? What are your first impressions?

I ordered mine on Thursday afternoon and was surprised to see it in my mailbox when I got home from work yesterday! Though I had committed to taking part in the "30 Days of" thread, I made a command decision to put that on hold for 3 days while I test this soap out. I bought the lavender and find the scent to be pretty nice. I don't have much experience with lavender, so I really can't compare it to anything, but it wasn't as floral as I expected (a good thing).

The consistency of the soap is soft, but not quite an Italian Soap texture. This reminded me of the texture cold whipped butter....firm, but with some give.

I'm still playing with loading times and water ratios so I'm not going to give a full review yet, but I will say that I really, really like this lather coming out of this! I think I was fooled by the soft nature of this soap and didn't load long enough, because while I got some great lather, I had to go back to the tub for more. At this point this is in no way a criticism, just me learning the soap.

I'm interested in hearing what others have to say.

**brybry642** · 05-08-2012, 02:18 PM

Still waiting on mine in the fresh scent.

**elsmooth** · 05-09-2012, 07:49 AM

Originally Posted by brybry642

Still waiting on mine in the fresh scent.

Waiting on mine...also got lavender.

**5savages** · 05-09-2012, 10:34 AM

I tried it again last night. I had much better success getting enough lather by loading up longer and using a wetter brush than the first time I used it. The lather is really nice and slick and I really like the scent, but I think this soap may be causing me some irritation. I used a Rapira Super Stainless for the first time last night, so perhaps it was the blade. I'll use the Fume again when I go back to my standard blade and see if there's a difference. I really like this soap (and at this price I love it!) and would hate to have to give it up because it didn't agree with my face.

**leonidas** · 05-09-2012, 11:04 AM

...........i've purchased Fume from Bestshave.net........

...........i really enjoy it........... nice lather, nice scent, nice cushion for the sharp blade.......and nice price...

**malocchio** · 05-09-2012, 05:10 PM

I had my first shave today with the lavender.Nice fresh scent with some lavender type aroma,not atkinsons or puig,but very attractive scent...Took me a few minutes to figure out the water ratio,this really is a croap IMHO . Once I got the right combo,the lather was very nice.I started with brushing the tub,then finishing up in a bowl...I will replace this for sure when finished...

**Bluebriz** · 05-09-2012, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by leonidas

...........i've purchased Fume from Bestshave.net........

...........i really enjoy it........... nice lather, nice scent, nice cushion for the sharp blade.......and nice price...

+1 on the order from Bestshave. Very low price, very reasonable delivery charge, just waiting for it to arrive so I can dive in now!

**5savages** · 05-09-2012, 10:48 PM

I'm getting this soap dialed in, and I'm really liking the scent, but I'm afraid something in this soap just doesn't agree with my face. Tonight I had to make my third pass with Maca Root because the Fume was burning too much. I'm going to put it up and try it again in a month or so. If it still is irritating, I have to let it go. I'm bummed, I was really getting to like the performance of this soap.

**malocchio** · 05-09-2012, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by 5savages

I'm getting this soap dialed in, and I'm really liking the scent, but I'm afraid something in this soap just doesn't agree with my face. Tonight I had to make my third pass with Maca Root because the Fume was burning too much. I'm going to put it up and try it again in a month or so. If it still is irritating, I have to let it go. I'm bummed, I was really getting to like the performance of this soap.

after you thoroghly rinse your face with COLD water,dry it off,then wet your face down with witch hazel...this may eliminate whatever irritation you are encountering...

**5savages** · 05-09-2012, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by malocchio

after you thoroghly rinse your face with COLD water,dry it off,then wet your face down with witch hazel...this may eliminate whatever irritation you are encountering...

Thanks for the advice, but that's my standard procedure and it didn't help. Even if it did, it still burns during the shave and there's no reason to put up with that. What did take away the burn was using Clinique Post-Shave Healer. That worked great!

This last shave I even bowl lathered rather than my normal face lathering, hoping less contact time with my face would make a difference, but it didn't.

**Rev. Jim Ignatowski** · 05-10-2012, 07:50 AM

Does the Fume contain essential oil of lavender? Some people are very sensitive to the EO soaps.

**5savages** · 05-10-2012, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by Rev. Jim Ignatowski

Does the Fume contain essential oil of lavender? Some people are very sensitive to the EO soaps.

It's not listed on the ingredient list (found in this thread), they just list "perfume"

**ggamyang** · 05-10-2012, 06:42 PM

I received mine today, 'cool' scent. I only test lathered it and it took no effort to get mound of thick creamy lather with Omega brush. The lather was slick and most of all it smelled fantastic. It was clean soapy scent but was was different from Arko (which I actually enjoy). It seems Joe brought another 'winner' to us. :)

**Rufust445** · 05-10-2012, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by 5savages

It's not listed on the ingredient list (found in this thread), they just list "perfume"

Thanks for pointing me to the list of ingredients. I was tempted until seeing the close-up of the label, which suggests it's more of a shaving detergent than a shaving soap. I've tried Fitness for Men and VDH DeLuxe, both of which have similar lists, and both irritate my face.

**ggamyang** · 05-10-2012, 11:14 PM

Originally Posted by Rufust445

Thanks for pointing me to the list of ingredients. I was tempted until seeing the close-up of the label, which suggests it's more of a shaving detergent than a shaving soap. I've tried Fitness for Men and VDH DeLuxe, both of which have similar lists, and both irritate my face.

what is "shaving detergent?" if you are referring to SLS, I don't see it on the list. :) If you are referring to "sles 70,"
do you really know what it is? I honestly don't, but I can tell you this it is listed from way far down on the list. :)

**Rufust445** · 05-11-2012, 07:20 AM

Originally Posted by ggamyang

what is "shaving detergent?" if you are referring to SLS, I don't see it on the list. :) If you are referring to "sles 70,"
do you really know what it is? I honestly don't, but I can tell you this it is listed from way far down on the list. :)

I saw the term applied to VDH DeLuxe in a post here some time ago. The list is not tallow based, nor is the list for Fitness for Men.

I'm no chemist, just squeaked by college chemistry. The non-tallow based list, plus the mention of more than one person that Fume irritates their skin, is enough for me not to try it, along with my own experience with VDH and Fitness. The three soaps I've tried and had good luck with are all tallow based: Arko stick, vintage Williams, and Wilkinson Sword stick.

**ggamyang** · 05-11-2012, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by Rufust445

I saw the term applied to VDH DeLuxe in a post here some time ago. The list is not tallow based, nor is the list for Fitness for Men.

I'm no chemist, just squeaked by college chemistry. The non-tallow based list, plus the mention of more than one person that Fume irritates their skin, is enough for me not to try it, along with my own experience with VDH and Fitness. The three soaps I've tried and had good luck with are all tallow based: Arko stick, vintage Williams, and Wilkinson Sword stick.

You never answered my question. What is 'shaving detergent?' Are you calling all non-tallow shaving soaps 'shaving detergent?' :)

**bkfist** · 05-11-2012, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by ggamyang

You never answered my question. What is 'shaving detergent?' Are you calling all non-tallow shaving soaps 'shaving detergent?' :)

SLES 70 (sodium lauryl ether sulfate 70%) is an artificial detergent. The MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for SLES is here: http://www.quantumchemicals.com.au/E...11-06-2007.pdf

It's an extremely concentrate detergent, so it doesn't need to appear far up in the list of ingredients to have a major effect on the lather of the soap, just as you don't have to add much laundry detergent to 20+ gallons of water in a washing machine to have the product clean your clothes.

From the MSDS listing:

SKIN
This material can cause inflammation of the skin on
contact in some persons.
The material may accentuate any pre-existing dermatitis condition.
Skin contact is not thought to produce harmful health effects (as classified under EC
Directives using animal models). Systemic harm, however, has been identified following
exposure of animals by at least one other route and the material may still produce health
damage following entry through wounds, lesions or abrasions.
...
Anionic surfactants can cause skin redness and pain, as well as a rash. Cracking, scaling
and blistering can occur.
Entry into the blood-stream, through, for example, cuts, abrasions or lesions, may
produce systemic injury with harmful effects. Examine the skin prior to the use of the
material and ensure that any external damage is suitably protected.

**ggamyang** · 05-11-2012, 01:01 PM

Google msds for sodium tallowate then you will find similar warnings. :)

**bkfist** · 05-11-2012, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by ggamyang

Google msds for sodium tallowate then you will find similar warnings. :)

I did that while finding the MSDS for SLES... Also, Sodium stearate in the MSDS says to "wash exposed skin with soap and water" if irritation is caused by it - almost certainly the soap you use will have more sodium stearate in it... LOL
Sodium Tallowate (which is a complex mixture of various oils, not a specific chemical) is a possible irritant yes, but quite different in the over-all level of safety required to handle the products and the level of irritation potential. You don't see cautions about being absorbed through open cuts and such.

The thing is, SLS/SLES is generally added by a soap manufacturer who doesn't want to spend the money to use quality ingredients that produce a good, stable lather on their own. If you see SLS or SLES in a shave soap, you know the manufacturer is either incapable of actually producing a good shave soap, OR doesn't want to spend the money/time/testing on the proper ingredients to do so.