Premium Shaving Soap for Men by Sir Hare - Barbershop Fragrance - Shave Soap That Smells Great and Provides a Smooth Shave

I originally wrote this soap a review that was not very favorable. My two issues with this soap was that I could not get it to lather well and the scent was very week. However, I have continued to work with this soap and this is what I have found. First off in regards to the scent. After using this soap for a while the scent strength did improve. I have had a couple of other soaps like this in the past. Some times after you use a soap a few times the sent in the soap come out more. I don't know why this is but it does happen. Now having said that the scent on this soap will still not knock you socks off. However it is my understanding that this is suppose to be a milder scented soap. The sent is pleasant and I like it but if you are looking for a soap with a really robust scent then this product my not be for you. Now as for the lathering. I still can't get this soap to lather well with a boar or bagger brush for some reason. I have recently acquired my first synthetic brush that has a plisson type knot. With this brush I get a excellent lather from this soap with no difficultly what so ever. Once I got it lathering properly this soap performs outstanding. It has great cushion, slickness and post shave feel. And last but not least I would like to comment on this company's customer service. Upon reading my first review of this product. Sir Hare contacted me and offered to either send me a replacement soap or refund my money. This to me is simply amazing! How many companies today are willing to stand behind their product in such a manner? I did not even have to contact them. They read my review and seen that I had a less than satisfying experience and reached out to me in order to make it right. So give this soap a try. Once you get on to it it performs excellent and you have nothing to loose as Sir Hare will stand behind their product if for some reason you are not completely satisfied. Thank You! Sir Hare. PS. My rating on this soap is now 4 stars. I subtracted one star because I still can not get it to lather with anything but a synthetic brush. I then add one star back because of this company's outstanding customer service. So 5 stars overall.

Update: Giving this product a full 5 stars now after using it more. I switched brushes with this soap and have been able to get great lather. The first couple of times I tried this product I was using new boar hair brushes and not having much luck. I pulled out my broken in Semogue 830 and whipped up great lather. The lather is still a bit different than other soaps I have but it's very acceptable and leaves my face feeling great after my shave. It does however require a lot of water for best results. I'll definitely be keeping Sir Hare in my rotation. Great product. First let me say I've only been wet shaving with a DE razor on and off for a couple of years so I'm definitely not an authority. Having said that, I do have some experience using various shaving soaps and creams. I like a product that lathers easily, provides a slick and cushioned shave, and light on scent. I purchased Sir Hare on a whim because I liked the hare on the package...cool looking. I've only used the product a couple of times and I must say it has me both intrigued and baffled at the same time. The scent is very light to my nose which I prefer, but I'm not sure I get the barber shop designation. It smells more like hand lotion to me....but I don't mind it. The first time I used the soap I definitely did not add enough water to my lather as it came out almost like a paste. I faced lathered and the consistency was very thick and chunky, but I decided to shave anyway. WOW....what a great shave. Even though I had a terrible lather, the soap performed great (except for clogging up my razor due to it being to dry and thick). It was slick and provided great cushion and left my face feeling great...like I hadn't even shaved (minus the hair that was gone). I got a really close shave with no irritation. For my second shave I decided to load my brush and bowl lather so I could easily add water to make sure my lather turned out better. This time I got a much better lather, but my goodness the amount of water it needed. I'm not sure if it's the type of soap or my method, but the lather wasn't real frothy...more yogurt like. Like before, I got a really close shave with no irritation. Since my lather was thinner this go round, the soap did not clog in my razor which is a plus. I still need more shaves to get this product figured out, but so far I really like it. It does not lather like other products I've been using, but I may just need more practice using it. The jury is still out on the scent. This does not smell like the typical barbershop scents that other manufacturers have, but it's not bad. The product also looks kinda funny in the container...It's not a hard puck, more like a croap. I do like the over sized container. It makes it easy to load the brush without throwing suds all over the place....nice touch. Also love the label!!

I was upset when I opened the package to see what looked to be only partially full. I could actually see the bottom on one side of the container. It it was just a mess of valleys and peaks, not a smooth flat surface to start lathering on. I can only assume it melted in shipping? The smell....I don't know. I was hoping for some classic barber shop smells like Pinaud or something similar. I don't even know how to describe it. I may eventually like it, but right now, I'm really iffy on it. I really had high hopes for this soap, too. UPDATE 9/17/16 - I used it today for the first time, and I could not get a decent lather at all. I'm not sure if it is because it wasn't a smooth surface to start with, but I really got nothing from it at all. I won't even be able to bloom this soap because of all the peaks and crevices. I will use it until it's gone, but I will not buy it again. UPDATE 11/15/16 - So after a while of using this soap, I can definitely change my opinion for the better on a few things. The smell has grown on me and I find myself enjoying it. After a few passes of the brush over a few shaves, the surface was better. I do find this soap to be better after blooming it. I bowl lather this soap and I can get a decent lather on it. I think the issue the first couple of times of not getting a lather was due to pairing this lather with the head oil they have. I only shave my head, so I would put the oil on first, then try and lather on top. I think the oil prevented any kind of lather. So I bowl lather and only use the oil after I rinse my head after shaving and cut in around my ears. Overall, the soap is good. I may have to buy another at some point. I may want to try their other scent out to see how that is. So I will give it two more stars for a total of four stars now instead of the two. I think maybe I was a little rash at first.

I own close to a dozen different shaving soaps and creams. This is my second favorite soap (i.e. it is very good stuff), and I will always keep some in stock. When I first used it I wasn't that used to shaving brushes (I had previously soaped up my shaving soaps on my face using my hands like regular soap) and thought it was tough to lather well. Well, I was wrong. Now that I have about 3 months experience with shaving brushes, I find this a very easy soap to get a nice luxurious lather out of. It provides excellent cushion and being a good tallow soap it provides terrific slickness. Along with a proper pre and post shave routine, it provides a very comfortable shave experience (especially with a nice DE razor and good blades). The smell is of no small importance for many of us when it comes to shave soaps. There are many variations on barber shop scents, and many different actual barber shop scents, so what does this actually smell like? Well, it is a clean, fresh and somewhat sweet smell. A little powdery, though not as much as Pinaud Clubman aftershave. It smells a tad like a canned shave cream, but fresher, if you can picture what I mean. The smell won't necessarily win awards (I like the smell of my TOBS peppermint, TOBS almond, and Uncle Jon's Pipe Smoke so much more), but it is a good solid shave soap smell that smells clean and fresh and won't overpower your aftershave. As for the complaints about the looks, I find a lot of the small batch artisan soaps are poured into their containers to cool and dry. That leaves them with an uneven and textured/pebbled top. They also often (as Sir Hare does) use an oversized container. There is 4oz of product in here no matter what it looks like with the oversized container and the drying/hardening in the container. Don't let that discourage you. If it does, that is a shame that something so trivial will keep you away from such a terrific soap.

I've been wet shaving with various soaps and creams for a few years now. When I first got this I actually did not like it very much. First of all it came in a tin and was very hard to build a lather because there was no extra room. It was filled to the brim. I also wasn't to crazy about the scent. I got a pretty decent lather after lots of work and a lot of mess because of it being filled to the brim. The shave was ok at first. After revisiting almost a year later, I decided I now LOVE the scent and would work at getting a better lather. I gave up on bowl lathering and would lather directly on top of the soap and I started added more water than usual. Then I got not only an excellent lather but also an excellent shave. I'm looking forward to using all of the silver tin so I can buy the half filled container since it will be WAY easier to lather. I'm assuming it will perform the same. People need to stop complaining about it being half filled, it's quite clear that it is done on purpose and I can assure you a full container is much harder to lather. Update: I recently updated this from 4 to 5 stars as I fixed my issue with the tin (which it looks like they don't even use anymore). I got sick of trying to lather out of the filled to the brim metal tin and took a spoon and scooped it all out. It was surprisingly easy and was even easier to mash in my lathering mug. It is incredibly easy to lather now, and although the lather isn't as thick as some of my other soaps and creams, it is probably the top performer. I have been getting the closest and most irritation free shaves ever with this soap in conjunction with my 2 aggressive razors (muhle r41 open comb with feather blade and feather artist club Dx). I will keep rotating my other soaps and creams for fun, but could easily never need another brand soap or cream again.

Update: I have used this soap for two weeks, alternating my old (expensive) cream and soap for comparison. This soap is truly better (for me) than any of them. When I finish shaving and rinse my face, there is still some "slippery" left. This really is an excellent, excellent shaving soap. I have been shaving with a DE safety razor for more years than I care to remember; at least 50. Through the years I have tried ever razor, blade and shaving soap and cream I could get my hands on. I finally wound up with a Parker Variant razor, Astra blades and Taylor of old Bond Street Sandelwood shaving cream. A near perfect combination, at least for me. Shaving soaps have never been as good as creams for me. They were not as smooth as creams and left my skin dry. I bought this Sir Hare shaving soap on a lark. The reviews were excellent, and to be honest, I liked the jar and the labeling. The fact that a lather can be worked up in the jar is a big plus. I get a good lather going and then finish it in a shaving mug. Works very well. especially with this stuff. It lathers into a thick lather with a very nice aroma and doesn't dry out during the course of my shave, either in the mug or on my face. Please don't think I am putting Taylor of Old Bond Street down. I'm Not. It is a truly excellent shaving cream... but this stuff is even better. I used it every day for a week, then shaved using the TOBS. The Sir Hare beats it hands down. I honestly could not believe it. When I finish shaving with the Sir Hare, my skin was soft and moist. No razor burn, no irritation, and minimal stinging with aftershave. I am VERY happy with Sir Hare, and will certainly use it every day until something better comes along. It'll be fun to see if that ever happens. I'll let you know if it does... :-)

EDIT 04-14-2020 - I have purchased Mitchell's wool fat shaving soap recently and after using it, I say that the Sir Hare is a stronger smelling version of it. So if you have used Mitchell's, just think of this as a much potent/softer soap, easier to lather, and without some of the awesome properties as Mitchell's. This soap is still great and I would buy it again but wanted to mention Mitchell's for scent comparison. Original review: Reviewing this product in 4 areas. Scent, lather, bowl, value. Please read below 1. Scent: is awesome. Reminds me of an old barbershop my grandmother took me to in the Mississsippi Delta. The shop had more of a citrus scent but this was the closest I could find and it took me back. It is not too strong. It's subtle and does not linger. I find myself opening the container to smell it every time I step into the bathroom. 2. Lather: very thirsty soap. You will need to add drops of water as you load the brush but once you get it right you will have a very nice, cushiony lather. It doesnt take long to get it either. 3. Bowl: where else can you get an awesome bowl with a classy hare in a top hat on the lid? Look no more. The art and size of the bowl are very nice. It's all plastic. Part of me was hoping for glass to keep for a very long time, but it works. In the world we live in we typically freak out when we buy something that isn't filled to the top, but the purpose of this bowl is to not do that so you can lather out of their container and not waste your soap because of overflow. This saves you money from buying a bowl, keeps you from having to take one extra thing when you travel, and reduces space in your den. Lets face it. The wives have to put up with enough with us wet shaving. Keep it nice and simple and Every time she opens the cabinet she smiles because she thinks that hare in a top hat is awesome. 4. Value: I think the price is great for what you get. The smell is great and lathers up nicely without all the gunk ingredients most of the bigger guys use in their soaps. Everyone has their barber shop scent or what they think it should smell like, but this is my barbershop scent and I'll continue to use/support this company. I think it is as must try. Thank you Sir Hare and to you for reading.

I bought this because I wanted to try a soap that was supposedly easy to lather and very slick. I don't know if it's my hard water or my face but I just can't get a good glide when shaving with this. I tried quite a few different types of lathering, first face lathering yesterday then today I did three different bowl lathers before I got one that I thought was good. And it took a LOT of my water to get it into a nice lather. The problem was, I had no glide with my razor after about 2 minutes of it being on my face. It was better with the bowl lather but still not as good as the Proraso cream I normally use, which gives a consistently good glide throughout the shave. That said, I personally like the smell. I don't think it's too overpowering and hits the right notes. Unfortunately this isn't for me. But as with everything wet shaving, your mileage may vary.