Truefitt & Hill Apsley Shaving Soap Review – I Expected It To Wow Me More
Truefitt & Hill Apsley Shaving Soap
The Truefitt & Hill Apsley Shaving Soap proved to be a nice soap with a great scent (which I wish was stronger). I just expected it to wow me more, as one of the other, more expensive shaving soaps did, but this could be an issue with my high expectations, though.
Pros
It can be quite voluminous and produce plenty of lather quickly
The lather produced when I dialed in the water ratio became dense and thick
The very pleasant scent is mild, which some gents will prefer
Cons
I would have liked a bit more of a stronger lingering scent (subjective, of course)
At times it did switch from foamy to much drier quite quickly
Leans on the pricey side compared to others available
Truefitt & Hill has been a classy British gentlemen’s grooming company supplying soap that I have meant to use and review for a fair few years.
I finally got the time and chose the Truefitt & Hill Apsley Luxury Shaving Soap Bowl. Apsley stood out as a scent I was likely to enjoy–and I did, but I would have liked it slightly stronger!
The Truefitt & Hill outfit has been doing the men’s grooming thing for over 200 years. Damn impressive and worth mentioning!
If you are considering another scent from the Truefitt & Hill shaving soaps, then the experience I give in this review might still be useful to you, as the soaps are the same minus the fragrance.
Description and Features
I made sure I purchased the soap puck in the wooden bowl, as I missed that when I used and reviewed the Floris Elite Shaving Soap. It saves a few pennies when not purchasing the bowl, but the wooden bowl just looks so great, and it keeps the puck in its own rightful place.
The lid on the hand-turned and polished Acacia wooden bowl only loosely fits on. This is mostly standard for these wooden types supplied with soaps.
The soap puck weighs 100 grams, which is also quite standard among shaving soaps available.
Ingredients
After putting together a breakdown of the ingredients (as shown below), you will see the profile makes up a good combination of what’s needed to give us a lather that is easy to whip up, providing stability and denseness. There is a lot in this mix!
| Ingredient (INCI) | Function / Category | Role in Shaving & Skin Care |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium Palmate | Soap Base / Cleanser | Saponified palm oil; provides structure, bar hardness, and stable foam. |
| Potassium Palmate | Soap Base / Lathering | Potassium salt of palm oil; softens lather texture and improves solubility. |
| Aqua (Water) | Solvent | Purified water base used to integrate formulation ingredients. |
| Potassium Stearate | Lather Builder | Saponified stearic acid; creates rich, dense, and long-lasting lather cushion. |
| Potassium Palm Kernelate | Cleanser & Latherer | Boosts foam density and aids effective facial skin cleansing. |
| Sodium Cocoate | Soap Base / Foaming | Saponified coconut oil; generates quick, voluminous lather structure. |
| Glycerin | Humectant / Moisture | Draws moisture to skin, enhances blade glide, and protects against razor burn. |
| Sodium Stearate | Soap Hardener | Gives structural stability to the puck and thickens lather consistency. |
| Sodium Palm Kernelate | Soap Base / Cleanser | Saponified palm kernel oil; improves overall foam durability and stability. |
| Parfum (Fragrance) | Fragrance Compound | Proprietary fragrance blend establishing the signature Apsley scent. |
| Palm Kernel Acid | Emollient / Stabilizer | Conditioning fatty acid that balances formula pH and softens skin. |
| Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891) | Colorant / Opacifier | Provides the solid white aesthetic appearance of the soap puck. |
| Sodium Chloride | Processing Aid | Standard salt used in soap production to adjust puck texture and hardness. |
| Tetrasodium Etidronate | Chelating Agent | Softens hard water minerals to ensure clean lathering in any water supply. |
| Pentasodium Pentetate | Chelating Agent | Stabilizes aromatic clarity and prevents oxidation over time. |
| Sodium Gluconate | Skin Conditioner | Biodegradable chelator that protects and conditions skin texture. |
| Tetrasodium EDTA | Preservative / Stabilizer | Prevents discoloration and preserves soap stability across wet/dry cycles. |
| Limonene | Fragrance Allergen | Naturally occurring citrus aroma compound (grapefruit note). |
| Linalool | Fragrance Allergen | Naturally occurring woody-floral aromatic constituent. |
| Coumarin | Fragrance Allergen | Warm, sweet, hay-like aromatic note enhancing the wood/musk base. |
As always, if you have skin sensitivities, check each ingredient on the list. Based on my research, 99% of us guys are not going to have an issue. However, the soap contains fragrance, which can be an irritant for some guys with sensitivities.
There is no ingredients list on the website sales page, which I like to see, but they are on the back of the box.
Scent
There was not a strong whiff of scent as soon as I opened it, unlike my favorite Floris Elite, and I would like to have that. However, held a few inches from the face, I get a light, uplifting, and mild fragrance, which is very pleasing.
Here is an overview of the fragrance notes we can expect.
| Fragrance Note Level | Key Essential Oils & Constituents | Aroma Description |
|---|---|---|
| Top Notes | Limonene, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia | Fresh, invigorating grapefruit and peppery bergamot. |
| Heart Notes | Linalool, Citronellol | Dry, earthy vetiver and delicate floral herbaceous accents. |
| Base Notes | Coumarin, Patchouli / Cedar Extract | Rich cedarwood, warm patchouli, amber, and musk. |
When lathering, the scent is noticeable but quite mild, and some of you guys are going to prefer that mildness, while I would have liked it a tad stronger (that means I like the scent, though). I get the uplifting grapefruit (not overly citrusy) and woody, earthy cedarwood and patchouli scents.
Without applying anything after a shave, I guess it slightly lingers for an hour. It did not affect the aftershave scent I used afterward.
It might be worth me trying the Apsley Cologne, as it’s a scent I really enjoy and want more.
Lather, Shaving and Post Shave Experience
I had quite high expectations for Truefitt & Hill based on the price and their reputation for being one of the top London gentlemen’s barbershops.
They did not fail to deliver a shaving soap that I would happily continue using. In fact, I have used this Aspley many times.
However, I was not wowed by it, which could be because my expectations are a bit too high.
Latherability
I used a couple of synthetic brushes when testing out the soap, which included a Simpson Trafalgar and Kent Infinity Plus. I also tested out bowl and face lathering.
Here is a quick overview of the important factors I found:
- Ease of Lathering: I found it lathers up very easily, in the matter of 20 – 30 seconds, in the wooden bowl. Maybe even quicker when I bloom (i.e., add a splash of warm water first) the soap. It is quite a hard soap, so I found blooming first useful.
- Loading: Loading the brush was easy, but I did have to go back to the bowl when face lathering to thicken it at times, maybe due to it leaning more towards a foamy type of soap.
- Water Requirements/Hydration: I guess it is a little thirsty but not overly. The good thing is switching to more or less water required is not a problem, especially when bowl lathering.
The next video clip shows me taking soap from the puck and then bowl lathering.
When I face-lathered, I would say the brush load looked slightly foamy. However, once I moved the brush through the whiskers, it formed a good layer and was no longer foamy at all.
Bowl lathering was interesting, as I was able to get a more springy texture to the lather before applying and painting it on. I did need to take a few rounds of brushing the soap sometimes from the wooden bowl to get enough going and added an extra few drops of water.
The next video clip shows me face lathering.
Shaving
The Apsley was overall quite pleasant to shave with. I had been testing out Leaf Razors, including the Leaf Original (for head shaving), Leaf Twig, and Leaf Thorn, and the Apsley was the soap of choice for these.
Here is a quick overview of the important factors I found:
- Cushion: It was definitely adequate and provided that barrier between the blade and skin.
- Protection: It did the job here as long as I kept my blade wet enough between strokes.
- Primary Slickness: The primary slickness felt okay but not heavily slick. It needed the water!
- Residual Slickness: It was interesting, as I did not find the soap that slick while shaving, but after wetting my face between passes, the residual slickness was very good. For me, this was a sign that the soap likes its water.
As I might have said, nothing was too negative, but I wasn’t overly impressed when shaving. Other less expensive soaps and shaving creams have performed just as well.
When I used the Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort Pre-Shave Oil, I got additional protection and razor glide on the first pass. That’s a great pre-shave oil!
Post Shave
I did not use any post-shave balm or moisturizer at all when testing and only used an alum block. This allowed me to test teh effects of the soap post-shave on my skin.
I had no dryness at all after, and my skin soon returned to its normal, fairly oily nature. I felt it moisturized well and left my skin comfortable and soft.
Post-shave was basically very good!
Final Thoughts – Should You Try It?
The only real negatives I had were the lack of hydration at times, and I would have preferred the scent to be a bit stronger.
As it costs around £40 and a whopping $70+ in the USA, it is expensive for what I would call ‘just a decent shaving soap‘ (the refill puck alone is quite a lot cheaper). If you are watching the pennies, then I would suggest looking at some of the other shaving soaps we have reviewed.
I want to see what the Truefitt & Hill Shaving Creams are like. I’ve read some good stuff about those!
That Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort Pre-Shave Oil definitely impressed me. More pricey than others, but better.
