Classic Shaving Soap Review – Best Option for a Thin Wallet
Classic Shaving Soap
An inexpensive shaving soap, coming in a large collection of different scents. If you are looking to try something new or grab a gift for a wet shaver in your life, you can hardly do better.
Pros
Very Inexpensive
Great thick Lather
Accurate Scents with Complex Notes
Soft Texture
Large Catalog of Scents to choose from
Cons
Small amount, will use quickly
Packaging is hard to work with
On the next step of our journey reviewing the best shaving soaps, we are stopping off with ClassicShaving.com to review their Wet Shaving soaps.
Classic Shaving has a smorgasbord of scents to try, so for the purposes of our review today, I went with the ones that caught my eye: Sandalwood, Bay Rum, and a personal favorite scent Pipe Tobacco.
Each soap has been given a test, and at the risk of tipping my hand too early, I can tell you that this is a great soap overall. For more details, read on.
About the Brand: Classic Shaving was established by a group of people who recognized the growing popularity of Wet Shaving. They recognized the fact that there was both a knowledge gap and a price ceiling that kept most guys from really engaging with the hobby. They offer some great products at a low price, and are perfect for people just getting into the wet shaving hobby.
Classic Shaving Soap Description
Classic Shaving offers their soaps in a small 4 oz package, clasped in a “clam-shell” like plastic casing. While this casing is great for storage and shipping, you’ll need to find a large enough shaving mug for it.
As you can see from the pictures, this soap doesn’t really fit in my Proraso Mug. Instead, I had to grab a soup mug from the kitchen just to find something to fit it. The downside here being that the mug in question is smooth inside, so there is no friction to build a good lather quickly.
The only other complaint about the packaging is the awkwardness of attempting to close it. The soap does make the plastic somewhat slick, so making sure the lid is firmly closed is annoying. Though really that is only a petty niggle.
About the Scents
Classic Shaving offers a large variety of scents for their shaving soap. Listing them all from their website:
“African Musk, Almond, Bacon, Bay Rum, Citrus Basil, Citrus Spice, Fresh Lime, Forest Pine, Lavender, Lime & Coconut, Menthol, Pipe Tobacco, Rose, Russian Leather, Sandalwood, Sweetgrass, Vanilla and Violet. Also available in Unscented and our Holiday Scents, Candy Cane, Tannenbaum Pine, Frankincense & Myrrh, Winter Spice, Lump o’ Coal, Gingersnap, Fruitcake, and Holiday Punch”
Personally, I love all of these, and I want to try them all. I’m big on trying new scents, so trying to decide which ones I wanted to demo for this article was somewhat difficult. I hit on the three below because they were popular, and also something that intrigued me.
Sandalwood
The first scent I used, Sandalwood, is a classic shaving scent. It starts with a sweet almost vanilla scent, then moves into a deep woody smell like pine or oak. Finally, it finishes with a clean cotton smell, that really makes your skin feel clean afterward.
Bay Rum
If you are a fan of spiced rum, then this scent is for you. It has a sharp cinnamon aroma when you first smell it, bringing to mind the spices of good rum. The scent is followed by a sweet and sugary smell that brings the feeling of sipping eggnog at Christmas time. Finally, the aroma finishes with a slight floral smell.
Pipe Tobacco
This aroma is more of a deep and woodsy smell. There is still a sweet element to it, vanilla extracts and something slightly fruity. The middle scent has a sudden hit of mildew and earth. Finally, it finishes with a smoke smell that teases the nose and senses.
Ingredients
From the Classic Shaving Website:
“Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Sodium Cocoate (from Coconut), Sodium Stearate (Stearic Acid), Propylene Glycol (Coconut), Sorbitol, Deionized Water, Bentonite Clay, Fragrance, Coloring: FDA Red 40 and/or Yellow 5 and/or Blue 1, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Titanium Dioxide. May contain fragrance and essential oils.”
Not an extensive list of ingredients, but certainly easier to read than some others I have seen. For the most part it’s veggie oils and water. Most of what is here is what you would find in most bar soaps.
Overall, this is a pretty stripped down formula that makes a really easy going soap. The minimal ingredient list and the essential oils make it very good for sensitive skin.
The Lather and Shaving Experience
For the purposes of my review, I did my normal shaving ritual: three passes over the skin, with a fourth clean up pass at the end. For this shave, I used a regular safety razor to check and make sure the lather wouldn’t clog up a regular razor.
For one pass, I lathered from the puck straight to my face and the second pass was lathered in my Proraso shaving bowl first.
How well does it Lather?
This stuff was really good for lathering. After letting it charge up with water for about 5 minutes, it produced more lather in one minute than other soaps have after 5 minutes of attempting.
The lather was good and thick, and took a long time to really dry out. It stayed on my skin for an extended period, keeping its sudsy texture the whole way through.
The lather also really retained heat well, with the lather staying warm even after letting it set in the open between passes. This warmth has a very soothing feeling against the skin, especially with the second and third passes.
Of note, it is also very easy to clean your brush off afterward. With some more oily soaps it can take awhile, but this one rinses clean relatively quickly.
When I lather from the puck to the face instead of the bowl to the face, there was one real notable difference. The lather was much thicker and stronger smelling. The warmth also lasted longer in the bowl when it came straight from the puck.
Overall, this has everything you want in a lathering shaving soap.
How is the Texture?
Texture-wise this soap feels very oily to the touch. Most likely so because it is based on veggie oils.
The texture does have a tendency to stick to the skin until you wash it off. Not a bad trait in a shaving soap, but definitely feels somewhat oily on the skin when just touching the soap.
Luckily this oily texture rinses easily with water and does not clog up the razor.
How is the Overall Shave?
The overall shave was nice and smooth, with the razor gliding over the skin easily. The thickness of the lather made it very easy to shave away the hair on my face, even after letting my facial hair grow for three days straight.
The soap lather was easily spread and lubricated the razor as it moved over the skin. The lather rinsed off easily, leaving no residue and did not block the razor blade at all.
There were a few nicks and cuts, but that is just normal for the most part.
Value for Money?
This is where the Classic Shaving soap really stands out. While the Lather and Texture are pretty good, getting this soap for the price advertised is almost a steal.
At time of writing, ClassicShaving.com has a sale for 50 percent off. Meaning each of these shaving soaps are only $5 US dollars a puck. For that price (plus shipping and handling) you could try these scents for almost nothing and have a great soap to go with it.
For this cost, this is a great new soap to give a go.
Any Common Consumer Issues, Complaints, or Positive Reports?
Most reviews for this soap are overwhelmingly positive, with many of those who responded citing the scents, the texture, and the lather as their favorite parts.
There are a pair of small complaints you see here and there.
Most people are complaining about how hard it is to get the soap out of the plastic packaging to fit it in their shaving mug. Apparently, the company used to ship these soaps in a paper wrapping, but switched to plastic relatively recently.
Other than that, people love this soap and rave about it over more expensive brands they have tried.
Final Thoughts – Who is the Classic Shaving Soap Best Suited For?
I know it might sound trite, as I say it often, but this soap is going to be great for anyone who wants to try out wet shaving for the first time. At this cost, it is definitely something a newbie could use to see what wet shaving was all about without breaking the bank.
I would also recommend this soap for people who are looking for an inexpensive gift for a wet shaver in their life. With Christmas coming in just a few months, these soaps would make great stocking stuffers for the guys, or a small gift for groomsmen at a wedding party.
Visit ClassicShaving.Com to find out more.
