SMF

Company: Mystic Water Soap
Product: Lemon Verbena Shaving Soap
Founder: Michelle Burns, Soap Artisan
Location: Riverdale Park, MD
Website -http://www.mystic4men.com

Ok, let me start off by saying I screwed up. I ordered a refill instead of tub and because of that I can’t really say much about the packaging. I did however create my own out of a Pine Brother plastic case for cough drops. It was the perfect size after I sliced the puck down the middle and the label fit just right.

Michelle runs her shop out of Riverdale Park, MD where she’s been making artisan soap for over fifteen years. Her first foray into shaving soap was an eye-opening experience she quickly found out that it’s not as easy as making bar soap. So, after many failed attempts and reformulations Michelle got it right and lucky for us because her shaving soap is truly outstanding.

Lemon Verbena is an herbaceous plant, a flowering shrub with lemon-scented leaves. It is used in cooking, added to herbal teas and in perfumery, and has a bright and uplifting light lemon fragrance but lemon is not the only scent here I do get other florals which I have yet to identify with each use I sense something else in the mix.

Lathering was not a problem for Mystic. I bowl lather and in just a little over 1 min an amazing amount of rich creamy lather was achieved. The lather was able to penetrate my 5-day old beard and the slickness and glide was outstanding allowing me to go over areas many times without irritation. The post shave feel was just wonderful as well.

So, I had a wonderful shave with Lemon Verbena it has an enjoyable scent. I'm looking forward to trying other offerings from Mystic Water Soap.

Company: Mystic Water Soap
Product: Lemon Verbena Shaving Soap Tub $11.79 / Refill $9.91
Website - http://www.mystic4men.com

Thanks for another great review, WetTheFace.

I really like Mystic Water shaving soap, myself. I remember reading that this soapmaker sourced her tallow from local cattle ranchers and that she rendered it herself.

I purchased mine at least a couple of years ago. Do you think it has been reformulated since then?

- Murray

Hi, this is Michelle from Mystic Water Soap. I still render the tallow for my Sensitive Skin soap from the grass-fed beef raised by my friends Julie and Bob Bolton of Groff's Content Farm. As my business has grown, I have had to supplement that tallow with store-bought tallow (still food grade, though!). Last year I reformulated my soap slightly, to include citric acid, a chelating ingredient, to help offset the lather inhibiting effects of hard water. I'm really glad that the OP liked the Lemon Verbena soap - that's one that I need to make again.

eyebright wrote:...Last year I reformulated my soap slightly, to include citric acid, a chelating ingredient, to help offset the lather inhibiting effects of hard water. I'm really glad that the OP liked the Lemon Verbena soap - that's one that I need to make again.

But just this last Spring I bought three samples from you and despite beating the soap like a rented mule it failed to lather even with a top notch synthetic brush in my hard water. I gave up and gave two away. For the record, it is the only tallow soap that I have used that did that.

This might be helpful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHHYN3Do9ns

Thanks for the helpful video Michelle. It's true that there are a lot of variables involved from one person to another, and from one product to another.