The Soap Opera Himalaya Shaving Soap Review 18 April 2020 edit - The Soap Opera was sold awhile back, and the new owners no longer have onerous hidden surcharges tacked onto the shipping cost. Shipping is now a flat rate of $3.95 and free for orders $50 and above. The price of the soap has also increased from $4.50 to $5.95. The review was updated accordingly. There is also a lavender-scented version of this soap, which is also very nice. www.thesoapopera.com Brick and mortar store 319 State Street Madison, WI 53703 Store Hours: M-F 10-8, Sat 10-6, Sun 11-5 The Soap Opera's Himalaya shaving soap used to be highly regarded and garnered much praise on the shaving forums. I have not heard much about it for some time, however. Was this because it wasn't any good or merely due to the "soap du jour" trend on the wetshaving forums? I decided to try the soap myself and find out. Ingredients Glycerin, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Water, Safflower Oil, Sorbitol, Fragrance, EDTA, FD&C Dye Colorants. This was taken from their website, as the soap did not have the ingredients on the packaging. The list made no mention of the shea butter noted for Himalaya on their shaving soap page, but it stands to reason that these two ingredients are also in the soap. Lather The soap is very easy to lather, and works well with both more and less water in the brush. The lather will vary in consistency accordingly, but it always worked great for me. It is easy as pie to whip up enough thick, creamy, fragrant lather in the brush to last for three passes with plenty left over. The lather also lasts for a reasonably long amount of time once applied to my face. It is easily long enough for leisurely shaving passes, something that is much appreciated. - Ease of lathering: (10/10) - Life span of lather: (8/10) Dovo 918 052 pure badger brush on left, Omega 50014 boar travel brush on right Performance Himalaya shaving soap is very slick. The razor easily glides over my face with no tugging or pulling whatsoever. The lather is also especially protective, and I had no cuts, nicks. weepers, or irritation when using this soap. That is despite getting baby-bottom-smooth or nearly so shaves every day. Once I tried a five pass shave just to see what would happen. The result was a baby bottom-smooth shave, as usual, and with zero irritation. Now that is protective! The skincare is a standout, too, and left my face feeling great after shaving. - Lubrication: (9/10) - How protective: (10/10) - General skincare: (9/10) Scent The scent is hard to describe, but I find it wonderful and a major selling point for the soap. Perhaps the it is an ode to Creed's Himalaya fragrance? Regardless, it is one of the best scents I have ever encountered. The scent strength is just right - not to strong yet still quite noticeable. Two thumbs up for The Soap Opera here! - Scent: (10/10) Value for the money By itself, the soap offers outstanding value for the money. A 3 oz./ 85 gram puck costs only $5.95. The puck is about 2.5 inches / 6.4 cm in diameter. That is a steal for a soap that performs so well. Shipping was $3.95 for two pucks, and the order was sent out promptly. That is a great bargain for a fine soap. There are also volume discounts: Buy 3-6 and save 5% Buy 7-11 and save 7.5% Buy 12 save 10% - Price: (10/10) - Would you buy again: (10/10) Conclusion The Soap Opera Himalaya shaving soap is a top performer, and at the top of the heap with the best soaps and creams. It excels in every category. What more can one ask from a shaving soap? Reports in years past that it was an excellent soap are indeed accurate. What I find puzzling is that it seems to have fallen off the radar on the forums. I have not seen it mentioned in quite some time. What's up with that? - Overall: (9.5/10) My water hardness 46 ppm as CaCO3 (soft) The water hardness was taken from my utility's latest water quality annual report.
Very thorough and informative review. I think you answered your own question regarding why no one purchases this soap. The S&H is over the top.
Great review. I agree that the shipping charge is insane at over three times the cost of the actual soap.
My beef with the handling surcharge is that it is hidden within the shipping fee rather than being explicitly stated. I feel that is dishonest, and so will likely not be buying again from this seller. Had it been explicitly stated that there is a nearly $10 handling fee, really just a price increase in disguise, I would find it far less objectionable. Ditto if the actual shipping cost was $15. I think the surcharge is to discourage onesies and twosies orders. Most retailers implement this as a clearly stated minimum purchase amount, however. If three soaps are ordered, the $10 surcharge amounts to $3.33 per soap, making the price $7.83 per puck. That is still a good deal considering the quality and size of the soap cakes, even if not extraordinarily good. If you have never tried this soap, I recommend doing so in whatever quantity you choose. The soap itself is really good. You can then decide for yourself whether or not all the handling charge nonsense is worth it.
