All Natural Shaving Soaps

**LedZeppelin** · 09-04-2006, 10:57 AM

Hi fellow B&B'ers:

This is my very first post. I hope it does not start a world war!

What are some of the more favorite all natural shaving soaps. Burt's Bees is suppose to re-introduce their Bay Rum shaving soap in September of 2006, but I have read at least one person on here who had trouble getting it to lather and I also read where a poster was not as happy with the comfort/closeness of the shave.

I am particilarly concerned with mono, di and triethanolomine (MEA, DEA and TEA). I am game to read opinions about the manmade chemicals in non-all-natural shaving soaps as well as opinions about the all natural soaps available.

Thanks,

LedZeppelin (Steve)

**Jim** · 09-04-2006, 11:07 AM

Welcome Steve!

Top right hand corner of the page, gold star icon is the review page- Have fun!

**LedZeppelin** · 09-04-2006, 04:49 PM

After spending a whole afternoon and part of last night researching shaving soaps, I have found that I think I prefer an all natural shaving soap and that Mama Bears may end up being my old standby. I have ordered the reformulated (Shea Butter, E, and Aloe added) and Essential Oils Eucalyptus, Clove Leaf & Tangerine, Rosewood and Cedarwood & Lemon. As soon as they are reformulated, I am going to order the Essential Oils Dragon's Tears, Patchouli and Ylang Ylang.

I saw where someone was concerned with burning from Clove Oil. I asked Sue if she had any negative feedback about it and she said that she was also concerned since it was a "hot" oil, but that the Clove Leaf & Tangerine had far more Tangerine and that she had not receiced any negative feedback about the Clove Oil so far. I also noted on her site where under the description of the ingredient Eucalyptus it said that I may not be good to use Eucalyptus for days on end, but with the my-collection's-bigger-than-yours group around here, that shouldn't be a problem!...note that I have ordered 4 flavors already and am chomping at the bits to order at least 3 more flavors.

My weapons thus far:

Colonel Conk Apothecary Shaving Mug
C&E Best Badger Brush
Mama Bear's all natural EO Shaving Soap (4 flavors ordered)

Now all I have to do is spend yet more time researching blades!

**Jim** · 09-04-2006, 05:44 PM

Now all I have to do is spend yet more time researching blades!

Thats easy

**TraderJoe** · 09-04-2006, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by LedZeppelin

Burt's Bees is suppose to re-introduce their Bay Rum shaving soap in September of 2006, but I have read at least one person on here who had trouble getting it to lather and I also read where a poster was not as happy with the comfort/closeness of the shave.

1) No way! Is this fact or what? Do you know if they are going to bring back the whole line, and the cologne too...

2) Welcome to B&B

3) Natural stuff (which I try to stick with):

Soap (these are also my favorites):
OLIVIA
ARKO
MamaBear
QED
Crema Cella Sapone

Cream:
OLIVIA (don't have ths....yet)
Crema Cella Sapone (this stuff lathers like a cream)
Tom's of Maine (But I haven't tried this one)
Herbay Cowboy (can't lather this with a brush, bummer)

AfterShave:
Weleda After Shave Balm

Art of Shaving ASB
Herban Cowboy

**kozulich** · 09-04-2006, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by LedZeppelin

Hi fellow B&B'ers:

This is my very first post. I hope it does not start a world war!

What are some of the more favorite all natural shaving soaps. Burt's Bees is suppose to re-introduce their Bay Rum shaving soap in September of 2006, but I have read at least one person on here who had trouble getting it to lather and I also read where a poster was not as happy with the comfort/closeness of the shave.

I am particilarly concerned with mono, di and triethanolomine (MEA, DEA and TEA). I am game to read opinions about the manmade chemicals in non-all-natural shaving soaps as well as opinions about the all natural soaps available.

Burt's Bees is one of the few soaps I have discarded before I finished with it. Well, to be accurate, it became a shower soap for me. The bay rum fragrance was great, but for shaving, it just didn't cut it

I would never buy it again.

For me, Mama Bear and Honey Bee are tops. So far, I prefer the Mama Bear, but many on here prefer the Honey Bee. Both are great values. I can't say with certainty whether they are "all natural" but I'm sure Mama Bear Sue and Honey Bee Sue could say for sure.

Orest

**LedZeppelin** · 09-04-2006, 07:12 PM

I'm not sure about the rest of the line. Did you have good luck with the Bay Rum soap? Thanks for the list of other all naturals...I think this is a good thread to have on here.

**TraderJoe** · 09-04-2006, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by LedZeppelin

I'm not sure about the rest of the line. Did you have good luck with the Bay Rum soap? Thanks for the list of other all naturals...I think this is a good thread to have on here.

I first saw Burts Bee's Bay Rum line several years ago when it first came out. At the time, I hated shaving and didn't like bay rum smell...so I didn't try any of it!

Now, I love shaving, love bay rum, and their line has been discontinued. I've managed to get a leftover bottle of the ASB, but I've always wanted to try the cologne as it gets such great remarks.

**LedZeppelin** · 09-04-2006, 07:20 PM

Mama Bear's is handmade and all natural. That is not to say that Honey Bee isn't darn good stuff. I am probably making a mountain out of a mole hill with my all-natural-paranoia and I have seen excellent comments about Honey Bee's fragrance and performance.

Steve

**LtBrugman70** · 09-04-2006, 08:09 PM

It's not a paranoia at all. Natural ingredients, at least as far as soap is concerned, are very beneficial.

Glycerine is the main ingredient in the 'all-natural' soaps that everyone's mentioning, and it is also great for the skin. Too many of todays modern foams, gels, and even bar soaps contain harsh foaming agents and industrial emulsifiers that strip off too much of the natural oil in your skin. This can make your skin even oilier as it tries to overcompensate, leaving you with dry/oily skin. Sorry for rambling, but I suffered with acne for years before realizing, through research, that changing my diet away from high GI foods would spare me, not harsh anti-acne soaps that actually made my skin worse.

Oh, for anyone with acne problems, a number of studies have shown that societies which consume large amounts of green veggies, low-to-no refined sugars, and low GI foods have virtually no acne and a very low rate of occurance for other skin conditions. Skip the soda, drop the donut, and eat your spinach, and stick to glycerin soap.

**Sue** · 09-04-2006, 10:44 PM

Hi Steve,
The subject of natural ingredients is interesting and I am the first to say I do not have a lot of answers. It’s a personal decision of what to use on your body. In my shave crème, along with other ingredients, is an additive by the name of Sodium Coco Sulfate. Pretty unnatural sounding unless you consider the word ‘Sodium’ as being of importance, referring to salt. Actually, Sodium Coco Sulfate is derived from pure coconut oil. Why isn’t it called coconut flakes or something natural sounding? Heck if I know.

This is a debate along the same lines as Essential Oil –vs- Fragrant Oil. Both smell great, both can irritate or even strip the finish off your furniture or counter top but which is best for your skin? I wouldn’t put furniture stripper on my skin but have used both EO’s and FO’s. I received a few oils the other day and my Granddaughter wanted to smell them. From the pipette, I put a drop on a paper towel and held it near for her to smell. She accidentally touched it to her lip. She cried in pain for over ten minutes.

How about soap? It’s made from lye. Lye burns your skin, can clean your drains, and kill you if you ingest it. But mixed and cured with a fat; animal or vegetable makes a very nice bar of soap. It’s no longer ‘lye’ but ‘soap’.

A while back all products seem to go thru a ‘natural’ or ‘pure’ craze. Remember when everything was clear? There was clear dish soap, clear shampoo, clear detergent, and clear mouthwash to name a few products.. Clear was everywhere and purported to be ‘better for you’. Was it really? There was just no added color. The fad has pretty much died down.

I ran across this website which is a soap vendor. I think some points to consider are well stated and this is a good discussion thread to add it to:
http://www.baudelairesoaps.com/stories/natural-soaps-and-body-care-products.php\

Sue

**tanker** · 09-06-2006, 04:46 PM

As far as I'm concerned, I prefer a soap that performs regardless of the ingredients provided they are not harmful. With that said, a number of natural ingredients can cause problems. I would not want the extract of poision ivey in my soap.

**Sue** · 09-06-2006, 06:47 PM

Tanker,
Naturally derived Poison Ivy Extract ??? Too funny, LOL, a picture of the wicked witch from Wizard of OZ, stirring a caldron came to mind.......I suppose we soapmakers had better quit using 'Eye of Newt'.
Sue

**Mama Bear** · 09-06-2006, 07:03 PM

That would be us... bubble, toil and trouble... or is it trouble, trouble and double trouble....

Eye of Newt indeed..... Bwaaaahhhaaahhaaaaa lmao

Bear Hugs!

Sue (Mama Bear)

**htownmmm** · 09-07-2006, 07:00 AM

Welcome to B&B Steve!

It appears that you have found what you needed (so far)- I thinkkthat you will not go wrong as long as you stay amongst the "SOOZ"(Saint, Mama, and Honey).

BTW, you have been assimilated!

Marty

**LedZeppelin** · 09-07-2006, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by htownmmm

Welcome to B&B Steve!

It appears that you have found what you needed (so far)- I thinkkthat you will not go wrong as long as you stay amongst the "SOOZ"(Saint, Mama, and Honey).

BTW, you have been assimilated!

Marty

P.S.- Is this assimilation a good thing or a bad thing?

Since this is a natural soaps thread, I'll start there. Mama Bear's seemed to get the some of the best performance comments for natural soaps. Interestingly, the next thread is about soaps for sensitive skin and a lot of them that are recommended are natural soaps. TraderJoe listed some more natural soaps earlier in this thread. I want to try them too eventually...I guess I have been assimilated!

I'm still a newby. My past shaving experience includes Colonel Conk Amber soap with a C&E EJ Best Badger and Sharp's Mint Kick cream...all with a Gilette Good News disposable! I "lurked" on this site for a while and read an awful lot of opinions about an awful lot of shaving subjects. I practically didn't have a social life this past weekend (I'm sure many B&B'ers consider B&B a social life!) but I learned an awful lot about shaving. I'm kind of a super newby. There are wildly varying opinions about DE razors or not and, if DE's, adjustable or not. The Merkur HD seems to be the most loved on B&B. I think I would like some adjustability but read a lot of posts about the Merkur Progress having blade alignment issues but a couple of people who say, as long as they are careful to line up the triangle and the indention, that they have good, consistant results. I'm an engineer and if anyone could consistently assemble and disassemble a Progress, analyse the results and troubleshoot, it would be me...but I'm not confident enough in that statement to plunk down the dough just yet.

**gundog** · 09-07-2006, 05:48 PM

I prefer the Honeybee for the best shave and the best feeling skin aftwards. I have sensitive skin and this soap works great for me.

**Kyle Stoner** · 09-10-2006, 01:19 AM

I love this thread! Thank you all for the info and opinions!

**Elmo** · 09-10-2006, 05:21 PM

I think it wrong to assume that natural is always best. Most(maybe all) of the larger pharma/nutraceuticle companies have extensive reaearch and development groups of chemests, biologists, and physicians. In the US, claims must be backed up. Dermatologist tested means it was.

I spent many years as a manufacturing consultant to many of the larger pharma, cosmetics, and consumer packaged goods companies. They take their product claims quite seriously and do the R&D and quality control to back up their claims.

Use whatever works for you; read the ingredients and make your decision.