Trevarno Natural Shaving Handmade Soap Product Review (From Male-Organics)

Male-Organics (more about them at the end of the review) gave us one of their favourite products to test – the Trevarno natural shaving soap. However, as I’m not really a shaver (more of a ‘trimmer’) I gave it to my friend, Jez, to test. Maybe he should be called Mr Stubble for the rest of this review as it’s a pity he wouldn’t allow pictures as he’s like a different person before and after shaving. To be fair he goes without shaving for three or four days at a time which is not only a test for any razor he uses but also for the shaving crème – perfect then.

He usually uses a shaving crème that he puts straight onto a brush, rather than a gel or foam from a canister. However, with this soap he first attempted to lather it up in the manner of a hand soap. It didn’t go too well.

“It’s just a bit big for that,” says Jez. “You have trouble keeping the foam or lather in your hand and the edges are a bit square so it’s not very comfortable either. I decided to put it in my shaving bowl and do the work with the brush – it went beautifully from then on.

“It took to the brush well and went onto my face pretty easily. I used a pretty new blade which helped but here was no irritation and gave a smooth shave. I had a good four days growth to get through and it handled that well, the blade didn’t catch at all even though my beard was fairly thick.

“You can still feel some gels after shaving but there was hardly any excess residue with this to wash away. I can’t say I felt amazingly refreshed but it gave a good, clean shave. There didn’t seem to be any smell but then that’s probably a good thing as it means it doesn’t have any irritating perfumes or additives.”

So it works nicely, but how does it compare to his usual, non-environmentally friendly crème? He says: “It compares very well. It’ll be interesting to see how long it lasts though, as a good shaving bowl soap could easily last me half a year ( I don’t shave every day). In comparison with my current product, it was just as good. But the crème I use now comes in a pump action bottle that is applied to the tip of the brush, so no mess at all, and it’s easier to transport as you don’t have to wait for it to dry or put it in some protective bag.

“The fact that the Trevarno shaving soap comes in a small cardboard box is great as it’s recyclable and doesn’t waste packaging, but once you’ve used it, where do you put it? Unless you’ve got a soap holder or bowl handy, it’s just going to sit on the edge of your sink which is a bit messy.

“I’d recommend either changing the shape of the bar so that it’s a bit more tactile, allowing you to lather it up as a soap and apply with your hands, or supplying it with a small wooden bowl/dish so that you can use it with a brush. Supplying a dish/stand would also be good for storing it afterwards.

“On the whole, it was a good shaving product – and shaving since the age of 12 I’ve been through a few.”

I told you he was a hairy man. The soap seems to live up to its promise of “…an extra rich and creamy lather, together with deep moisturising and cleansing without irritation”.

Made in Cornwall, England, the ingredients are as follows: Sodium Cocate, Sodium Olivate, Sodium Palmate, Sodium Cocoa Butterate, Theobroma Cacao and Olea Europaea.

It only costs £2.55 and is available from Male-Organics in the UK.

Male-Organics is an interesting company as they have very strict standards when choosing products. Their about page tells you all about them (obviously) but basically they don’t stock products that contain synthetic fragrances or chemicals such as SLS, Parabans, PEGs, Propylene Glycol or Phthalates and many more. And why did they set up the company? “We had difficulty finding a dedicated organic webshop for men on the internet, so we’ve created our own.”

Fair enough.