11 Best Shaving Soaps in 2018

Henry Cavendish Himalaya shaving soap for men has it all. An elegant box, a light refreshing scent, the ability to generate a thick, satisfying lather with little effort and the ability to produce a close, comfortable shave that will start your day off on the right foot. This is a great mens shaving soap that delivers on the stylish packaging and won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

From the moment you open the box you’ll realize you made a good choice and once you start working the moistened soap with your bristle brush you’ll quickly forget about canned shaving cream. It’s non-irritating and leaves you feeling like you had both a clean close shave and a facial massage. 

This natural shaving soap from the aptly named Men’s Soap Company doesn’t have the tastefully designed packaging of Henry Cavendish but as the saying goes “never judge a book by its cover”. The fact is that lurking behind the ordinary facade is a shaving soap of substance.

Generating a rich lather is a breeze once you’ve bloomed the soap for a couple of minutes and the Indian cedar, Himalayan blue pine and Indian amber scents that gently envelope you while you shave produce a high quality sensory experience. The Shea Butter and coconut oil provide ample protection and leave your face feeling smooth and silky. What more could you ask?

Razorock Mudder Focker Shave Soap is what shaving aficionados like to call “croap” because it exists in that middle kingdom between cream and soap. It’s extremely mild, something you’ll notice as your working up the lather. It’s almost like it’s not there. Because it’s a croap there’s no need to bloom. You can get right to shaving: a characteristic of the Razorock experience that will appeal to many but not necessarily to those enamored of the full sacrament of shaving.

Razorock’s claim to fame (and it’s a good one) is that it’s made using thermal mud and there’s no doubt it leaves your face feeling like a million bucks. The scent may be a bit off putting to some initially but has a tendency to grow on you with repeated use.

Sir Hare produces a lather of extraordinary texture and fullness with a light old school scent that will have you wondering why you spent so long putting up with the mundane chemical odors emitted by pressurized canned shaving foam. Even if your razor isn’t the sharpest in the barber shop your skin will emerge smooth and free of irritation and that’s quite a trick.

The mango butter in particular leaves your skin feeling so good you’ll want to rub it up against your sweetheart’s face and share the experience. Achieving a rich, satisfying lather is easy with minimal prep and the attractive jar is a really nice touch.

Unlike some cheap shaving soaps that leave your face feeling like it was worked over with sandpaper the oatmeal extract and glycerin in Proraso mens shaving soap leaves your skin feeling pampered. While we weren’t big fans of the packaging we’ve learned to look beyond the cardboard and plastic to appreciate the contents and they are some very pleasing contents in this case.

Proraso as it turns out has been making high quality shaving products for men for more than 90 years so it shouldn’t really be a surprise that they’ve learned a few things about what works. The ingredients in this natural shaving soap produce a surprisingly rich lather and it’s always a plus when a product can say with authority that it contains nothing of animal origin. Great shaving soap for the enlightened shaver.

Taylor of Old Bond Street make some of the best triple milled shaving soaps around. This sandalwood hard refill is a great example. Not only does it smell like an expensive cologne it works like a charm producing a high quality lather after minimal prep. This refill puck is designed to fit comfortably into the company’s wooden shaving bowls which is just the cherry on the cake.

All in all you get a satisfying shaving experience to please all the senses (except, hopefully, taste), a surprisingly sophisticated package considering it’s a refill and you won’t have to mortgage the house or skip the car payment to afford it.

You’d be forgiven if you put this box in the refrigerator to freshen the air because the design looks more than a little like baking soda. However it’s about as far from abrasive baking soda as one can get. The combination of coconut oil and aloe vera produce lather that’s as good at moisturizing your skin as it is preparing even the toughest beards for the razor.

If what you’re after is a shaving soap for men that doesn’t wilt under the razor, doesn’t shrink from a tough beard and doesn’t leave your skin feeling like it’s been assaulted Badger shaving soap is just what the barber ordered. It also provides a light, pleasant bouquet that’s anything but badger-like. Thank the maker!

We love the wooden bowl. We love the balance of citrus and fern. We love the rich premium lather and we love the way our face feels afterward. What’s not to like about D.R. Harris & Co mens shaving soap in its beautiful Arlington mahogany bowl? Holding the bowl while you load up the brush is the kind of tactile experience you’ll recall with fondness years down the road. While in the here and now you get to enjoy a smooth comfortable shave every time.

This soap lathers up quickly even if you don’t have the thickest of beards to assist in the process and it doesn’t lose its “oomph” if left on your face a few extra minutes. The real sign of a quality product. You’re going to pay a bit more for this soap because, hey, mahogany bowls aren’t cheap.

The lather produced by Col. Conk’s World Famous Shaving Soap is not up to the standards of say the just reviewed D.R. Harris & Co product but what it lacks in rich creamy foam it makes up for in the way your skin feels in the aftermath of shaving. Once you rinse off you’re left feeling like you just emerged from a spa or just found that perfect moisturizer you’ve been seeking. One that doesn’t make you feel like you rubbed 30 weight on your face or leave you with volcanic pimples.

Col. Conk’s is affordable, conveniently sized, pleasant smelling and does the job you want it to do while leaving your face feeling great. If the destination is more important to you than the journey Col Conk has a mens shaving soap for you.

Van Der Hagen Glycerin Shave Soap isn’t cheap but it’s well worth the price thanks to its generous lather, its pleasant scent, its hypo-allergenic qualities and the way you feel when you put the razor down and splash your face with cool water.

The packaging left us cold but the product itself has been thoughtfully formulated and is an excellent choice for those with sensitive skin who don’t want people smelling them coming 3 blocks away. Another saving grace of Van Der Hagen shaving soap for men is that it’s widely available both online and in many brick and mortar establishments; for those who really embrace the old school values of going to the store to buy things.

We wrap up this list of the 11 best shaving soaps with Dr Bronner’s Peppermint Organic soap. It’s the only one on the list that comes in a tube, a fact that’s bound to turn off traditionalists. For the open minded though what you’ll find here is a truly vegan and cruelty free product with a pleasant minty smell that lathers up nicely and is affordably priced.

Organic shikakai can trace its origins back several centuries to India where it was (and continues to be) a popular product for washing and conditioning hair. It’s known to prevent raw, itchy scalp which makes it ideal for use on a face covered in more sensitive skin. You’ll feel as good as you look when you shave with Dr Bronner’s Peppermint Organic shaving soap.