It has become increasingly hard for me to identify a top 5 list of artisan soap makers. For me, it was Catie’s Bubbles, Barrister & Mann, and Mike's at the top for a while. Now, several others have closed the gap and there is a larger concentration of vendors at the top. Based on what I own, I think my top 5 (in alphabetical order) would be: Barrister & Mann Catie's Bubbles Mike's Natural Reef Point WSP The next few are really close though. I struggled to leave off Maggard, but I only have 1 soap from Maria Arman so far. That is one that could move up. Soap Commander and Beer Soap Brewing are also right there. What is your top 5?
TSD Forum Store is in my top five. I am just now branching out into more artisan soap...I will definitely look into your top 5.
I can't use the TSD soaps because I get skin irritation from palm oil. That eliminates several vendors for me, unfortunately.
I don't need an unscented or mild soap. Just one without palm oil. The vendors I listed at the top of the thread don't use it as an ingredient. In fact, I love a robustly scented soap. I do get skin irritation from some cinnamon or sandalwood fragrances, but not as bad as the palm oil.
Too bad about the palm oil. I am a huge sandalwood fan. I use sandalwood face/shower soap multiple times a week, and Proraso Sandalwood (red) was my first real soap purchase.
Unlike a lot of people here, I don't enjoy the sensation of menthol. I have a great Soap Commander Thanksliving balm that I love the scent and performance but even the little bit of menthol in it ruins it for me. Anything more than Proraso green and I'm not interested.
I am kind of all over the place with my soap taste...but you may have picked up that I am part of the menthol mania that goes on around here. I really like the variance and exploration that soap affords to shaving. I try to make everything in a given days kit work and play well together. JRReyes is a huge fan of soap...maybe he'll chime in.
Well thank you for the into Bama....lol I am indeed a lather lusting soap lover. From what I can tell we have similar high standards in top artisan soaps. The only ones I don't see are TIKI or Cold River Soap Works. I'm not sure if they use palm oil to disqualify them, but they are pretty good artisans. I hear Jabonman is good, and I want to try Master Lather from Huntlee/Wickham. Tons of great soaps out there, just wish I could afford them all..lol. I will do my best to test as many as I can and keep providing feedback. That's a solid top 5, and one I couldn't argue with. Great job.
I should give Tiki another try. I ordered several months ago and weeks went by with no communication. She apparently had more orders than she could handle. I cancelled my order and it soured me a bit on them. Plus, all the scents were tropical at the time. She seems more established now and has expanded to more scents.
I have tried several Strop Shoppe soaps. The performance is excellent. In fact, the formulation reminds me of Mike's. But I found the scents to be weak. I have heard that they have increased the scent strength, so I may give them another shot. I find RazoRock to be good value for the price, but not among the best performing soaps for me.
1. Barrister & Mann 2. (tie) Stirling 2. (tie) LA Shaving Soap 4. Tiki (tallow formula) 5. Dapper Dragon I need to try Strop Shoppe, Mickey Lee Soapworks and Catie's Bubbles, though.
@Chuck F once you try Catties, I have no doubt one of those will get bumped off the list. Good call on the TIKI tallow formula..I prefer it much better than the vegan stuff. I knew B&M would hold your top spot.
Try Russian tea from stroppe Shoppe. Amazing STRONG scent. Also I agree about some of the razorock soaps but there are a few great performers. King Louis lavender and xxx are top notch.
Since I basically only use one soap from one artisan, I may sound to be overly partial, but I also like a few others and all of my favourites are tallow-based soaps. 1. Mystic Water 2. Mike's 3. Cold River
