A Closer Look at the Rad Soap Co Gentleman's Shave Bar

I like going to farmer’s markets and craft fairs to discover the different handcrafted items.  Particularly, I like to see the bath and body product artisans.  Especially if there is shave soap and other men’s products involved.  

Gentleman's Shave bar by Rad Soap Co.

I was at the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market in Troy, NY some time ago and found the stand for RadSoap Company. They had a good amount of products on display but one in particular grabbed my attention.  It was a bar of soap packaged with a paper band around it that pictured the Rad Soap Co. logo, a barber pole, and a moustache.  It only listed the ingredients and the words “Mens Shave Bar” on it.  It was a 3oz cube of soap that smelled nice and was reasonably priced (around 5 dollars at the time). So, it was yet another wet shaving impulse buy. The packaging didn’t have any directions or even a detailed description.  But the company’s web site did provide a little more detail.  

The Soap Fit Perfectly in my Old Spice Shave Mug

On the site it is listed on site as Gentleman’s Shave Bar and is described as: “A thick lathering shave bar crafted with Bentonite Clay.” The website also noted it is scented with Plumeria and Lime and goes on to further describe it as “… a moisturizing and smooth-lathering bar of soap to gently cleanse and prep the skin for shaving” as well as it not containing parabens, sulfates, Phthalates, harsh chemicals, gluten, GMOs, animal products, or nut oils.  The packaging has since been updated since I purchased mine.  I'm not certain if the formulation has changed, but the ingredients listed on the site match what is printed on the label of the bar I purchased.

Ingredients listed on the packaging

The directions/suggested usage from the site:

• Gently massage bar onto moistened skin, or badger brush creating a thick lather.
• Apply lather generously to desired areas.
• Shave desired areas as you would with a shaving cream.
• Rinse clean with water.

One of my Shave Of the Days when trying out this soap.

This block of soap fit nicely in my Vintage Old Spice Shave Mug. For my first go at this soap, I used my Col Conk badger brush. I wet it and set about swirling it over the block of soap.  While it started to foam, it didn’t yield that yogurt-like consistency that I was hoping for.  After about a minute of swirling it over the soap, I attempted to face lather.  But, much like loading the brush, it didn’t build into one with that dense, yogurt-like, consistency.  It produced a generous and bubbly lather seemed to fade after applied. After about 45 seconds, I noticed some thinning out of the lather. It did have a modest slickness to it, which is probably just a trait it has for simply being a bar of soap.  Even though the razor glided over my slick and soaped up face, I could feel that wasn’t offering the quite the protection that I was hoping for.  Though, I did finish my shave and without irritation, nicks, or cuts.

It produced a generous amount of bubbly lather

Figuring that it might have been bigger knot, I tried lathering this soap another time with a smaller brush.  But the results were still the same.  Finally, I tried massaging it onto my face and then lathering with a brush in Arko Shave Stick-like fashion.  Unfortunately, this didn’t work at all for me.  I got a small amount of bubbles on the face and a little that ran down my hand as well as brush handle.  So, I had to abandon this lather and move on to a different soap to finish the shave.

After about 45 seconds after applying, the lather seemed to thin 

I like the Rad Soap products.  The company is a purveyor of natural products and they have a Natural Insect Repellant that my mother really likes.  But, for me, the Gentleman’s Shave Bar didn’t offer the thick, stable lather that I was hoping for.  The soap smells nice and it didn’t leave me with a feeling of residue on my face.  So, personally, I’d most likely use this in the routine as preshave soap to help soften my stubble rather than a shave soap. 

Have you tried any of the Rad Soap products? Please leave a comment and let us know.