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4000 Years of Shaving Soap - From Shave Soaps to modern day Shave Oil

4000 Years of Shaving Soap - From Shave Soaps to modern day Shave Oil

Posted by Mr. Foster on Nov 20th 2021

This is very simple. What we use to shave has been determined and evolved based on what is most profitable. Not by what works best for the shaver. We would all be using shave oil to shave if this were not true!

When man first decided he wanted to shave, he gathered wood ash from the fire and animal lard from his left over hunt. He mixed the ash and lard together to make a lotion used for shaving. Something that would give himself some glide as he tried to shave with his crude razor blade.

As time went on man learned to make soap from a similar concoction. He later learned how to apply the soap to his beard with brush as it provided a better lather that moisturized his hairs for a longer time. Later, a business was born and formulators of shaving soap eventually learned how to add water to soap, making it much less expensive to manufacture and easier for men to use. Then in the 1940's - 50's aerosol cans became available and again they reduced the cost of the soap while at the same time reduced the amount of product in the container. Yet they managed to make the consumer believe that they were getting more out of an aerosol can because the final product expanded when it was dispensed.

Needless to say the process of selling shaving soap has been very profitable. Today these same manufacturers resist the idea of selling anything that would change the products that we use to shave. Instead, they focus on the blade technology and advancement because there is more money in the sale of razor blades than in shave lotion.