I never see anyone using Mama Bear Soap in SOTD. Why?

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by Tim Spencer, Jul 1, 2019.

  1. Tim Spencer

    Tim Spencer Well-Known Member

    Hey all,

    I got into this wet shaving thing back in 2016 and I'm on any groups, just here on this forum and from what I remember back in 2016 when I did my reading on different brands, Mama Bear Soaps at one time had a solid following in the shaving community. But I rarely ever hear anyone mention that brand ever. I realize the shaving soap is a bit of a "melt and pour", but it's worked well for me when using a pre-shave oil. I have had 3 years to play with the loading and lathering of the soap and I'm able to get great shaves from it. I was wondering why there is so little talk of the brand these days???
     
  2. jaxstraww

    jaxstraww Well-Known Member

    Much different ballgame now. Anyone using a glycerin soap when we have so many better bases available would be out of their mind.

    Just not her stuff either. Top tier stuff 3 or 4 years ago won't even make a top 25 anymore.

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  3. lightcs1776

    lightcs1776 Well-Known Member

    I would love to try her soaps, but just haven't gotten around to it. From all the reviews I have read, she makes an incredible shave soap. Last I knew she was closing her store, but perhaps that is not accurate.

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  4. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    Last used her Obsessed a couple weeks ago. Takes time to go thru my rotation, plus I don't always shave everyday. It's irritation time for me with our heat. Hope it has a break soon.......
     
  5. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    Her cilantro lime, which due disclosure I helped design, is still in my regular rotation. Unfortunately it's no longer available.
     
  6. stingraysrock

    stingraysrock PIF'd away his custom title

    Nana June and her citrus wake up was a right fine soap. If I remember right, she was a school bus driver and trying to take care of her ailing father.

    Over the years, we have lost a bunch of soapers, for a bunch of reasons.

    We still have TSD; The Best Wet Shave Board In The Universe!
     
  7. Badgerstate

    Badgerstate Well-Known Member

    IMO, its because her base isnt all that good. Glycerin used to be fine at one point in time but the industry has moved past it to better bases.
     
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  8. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    I had a Patchouli tub early on...meh. It's gone and I have moved on too.
     
  9. Frijolero

    Frijolero Well-Known Member

    Unlike so many other rumors, there was even an announcement on here website that it would be closing at the end of....2017? I guess she changed her mind.
     
  10. Yehuda D

    Yehuda D Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    I have a couple of her soaps such as the Awakenings and Lemon Ice and they’re pretty damned good.
     
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  11. Frijolero

    Frijolero Well-Known Member

    Out of their mind? That's a little extreme. Depends a lot on what you wuant from a shave soap. By the yardstick of how good a shave they give, many of the latest and greatest bases, with their cool catchy names, offer at best a modest improvement at a substantial cost increase. Where they distinguish themselves is in things other than the actual shave. People who couldn't care less about those other things are not out of their minds.
     
  12. jaxstraww

    jaxstraww Well-Known Member

    So much shave soap.....so little time.


    If you want to use Mama Bear soaps lather it is what I say.

    Question was why you don't see it in SOTD posts.....because it lacks almost everything we look for in face feel as well as shave quality.

    I get it, she is a nice lady. I have no issues with her. But a melt and pour with frag poured in will never get time in my rotation.

    Again, use it if you enjoy it. However, that base will never be a frequent SOTD candidate because of its quality compared with current offerings.



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    Last edited: Jul 2, 2019
  13. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    Went the route of our friends Local Gent, or are yousaying YOUR Mama Bear is gone?
     
  14. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    Sold or PIF'd it...can't remember it was so long ago.
     
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  15. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    Oh ok, thanx
     
  16. John Beeman

    John Beeman Little chicken in hot water

    I tried Papa Bear’s soap but the scent was too strong.

    I tried Mama Bear’s soap but the scent was too powdery.

    So then I tried Baby Bear’s soap and it was just right.
     
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  17. cliffb599

    cliffb599 Well-Known Member

    LMAO.


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  18. Tim Spencer

    Tim Spencer Well-Known Member

    Hmm. I use a pre-shave oil with Mama Bear's shave soap (and many other well though of soaps), and I've found if I soak a little water on top of the puck then use the drops as a pre-shave, then lather up a damp brush really well, then add only drops of water at a time either on a face-lather or bowl lather, then the results are as good as any other soap just about in my den. I rank the now-discontinued Shave Den vegetal soap as a '5' out of 10, and is pretty much my benchmark for a 'minimum standard' for a soap that can deliver an irritation-free/BBS multi-pass shave. All my rankings above '5' must be compared to the Shave Den shave soap. When I use Mama Bear's soap with a pre-shave oil and properly load and lather it with only the water it needs, then the rank I give it is an '8.5'. That's darn near 'elite'. Only a very small number of soaps rank above that.

    The 'only' potential 'ding' I give Mama Bear's shave soap is that it lacks an oily protection ingredient in the base, which is why I use pre-shave oil. Also, a few of Mama Bear's scent oils seem to cause a tad of irritation by the 2nd or 3rd passes in a shave. This is certainly a valid criticism that I think has gotten it put on the back burner in most rotations. But so few people mention that a simple pre-shave oil cures those issues. And I find it weird that when so many of us enthusiasts use all kinds of pre-and-post products that Mama Bear's soaps get criticized. I use pre-shave oil with Catie's Bubbles shaving soap (not the cream-croap, but rather the soap formula) and Catie's Bubbles is thought well of by many. I don't hold anything against a soap when a simple pre-shave item can put it up with elite performance.

    Anyway, I like Mama Bear Shave soap and love using it.
     
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  19. SHAVEWIZARD420

    SHAVEWIZARD420 Well-Known Member

    I busted out my puck of Mama Bears British Leather for todays shave and agree that many of the Glycerin based soaps do tend to get overlooked these days in favor of soaps loaded with various butters. MB really is a decent soap and for some reason people seem to look down at Glycerin based soaps even though many of them are quite good (QED is another awesome example) plus they come in a HUGE selection of scents and have the advantage of often strong scents.
     
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  20. SHAVEWIZARD420

    SHAVEWIZARD420 Well-Known Member


    I believe Shavin Murphy from utube mentioned that Sue may have sold the Mama Bears Company name to a woman named "Jenifer" as they are now produced in Michigan and believe they used to be made in Wisconsin. There were several times MB was rumored to be closing down in the past so your right about that, but thankfully to fans of MB it is still availabe.
     
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