RazoRock Linea Officina Artigiana Artisan Shaving Soap
RazoRock has brought another wonderful line of soap to market this year, the Linea Officina Artigiana artisan shaving soap. Say it with me one more time, Linea Officina Artigiana; I know what you're thinking I don't speak Italian. In simplest terms this line of artisan soap is hand-crafted in a work shop by one master craftsman in Italy.
We here at The Shave Den have our very own master craftswomen JoAnna, who is responsible for creating some of the greatest hand-made products as well as running the TSD store. Given the care and attention to detail that artisan products entail especially soap, it was only natural that I broke down and tried the Linea Officina Artiana soaps, or LOA soaps as I will call them.
Notably what stands out when you purchase a traditional Italian soap is the general nature that, they're tallow, soft, lather wonderfully and for some unfortunately smell like cherry. The LOA soaps are all of these, with the exception of the cherry scent as there are various unique and colorful scent options to choose from, they're however fragrance oil based (In this case a blend of essential oil and alcohol) which may or may not cause problems for some.
I was fortunate enough to have Joseph Abbatangelo, one of the men behind RazoRock and proprietor of Italian Barber, take part in a question and answer session via email.
This is the exact transcript from the email, and from our brief discussion I easily gathered Joseph, is as passionate about wet-shaving as anyone.
Q: What was the inspiration for the Linea Officina Artigiana soaps?
1) Our inspiration for the RazoRock Linea Officina Artigiana came from the two legendary Italian shaving soaps, P.160 and Cella. Since I first started wet-shaving, my favorite soap has been P.160 Morbido (now discontinued) with Cella being a very close second. As many people know, we also run the shaving store ItalianBarber.com; the number one request since opening Italian Barber has been... "Why can't I get a soap like P.160 and Cella in a variety of different scents?" The more we thought about this inquiry, the more it made logical sense. Although, I'm a big fan of the classic almond (mandorla) scented soaps personally, the market can always benefit from some variety and choice.
Q: Was the base formula for the soap, a product that's currently in production?
2) Yes, the base formula is similar to both P.160 and Cella, coconut oil and tallow, although the Linea Officina Artigiana has a slight twist. Also, the LOA soaps are hand-made by a single artisan in a small workshop in small batches; because of the love and attention given to these soaps, selection of ingredients and the production process is definitely more personalized then a massed-produced shaving soap. I'd like to note that the Muguet de France soap has no tallow but instead there is shea butter added.
Q: Artisan products are generally small batch, or made to order, is the supply limited?
3) Yes, the Linea Officina Artigiana soaps are made in very small batches. Although there is room to expand production a little, these are still all made by one man, so there is a definite ceiling on production quantity.
Q: You have chosen very colorful and unique scents, do you have official scent descriptions for them?
4) At first, I wrote some scent descriptions but admittedly this is not my strong-suit and I quickly realized that my descriptions were not very good. To be honest, it's very difficult to accurately describe non-traditional scents; for me it's like food, someone can describe how something tastes to me but the only way I really ever understand is after trying the food myself. For example, I described the Third Eye as sandalwood when it is not a traditional sandalwood scent that most shavers would expect; it's really a hybrid fragrance that appealed to our noses during the scent selection process. So, we decided to drop the scent description.
Q: What is the one thing you would like people to know about these soaps?
5) The one thing we would like people to know is... These soaps are made with love and extreme passion! For my partner and I, this is truly a labor of love, not a pursuit of monetary riches. We have tried to price the soaps as low as...
