Sometimes bath soap artisans try their hand at making shaving soap. Most fail spectacularly. Here is one that didn’t: PJ’s Soaps And Bombs.
PJ’S STORY
From PJ’s website:
Early in 2021, PJ’s Soaps and Bombs was just an idea of Patrick and Jill Cunningham who wanted to do something different and creative. Jill worked for a major corporation in the Sacramento area of California involved with building Light Rail Vehicles, Locomotives and Passenger Coaches but it was not tapping into her creative side which is one of her passions. Patrick is still working for that same company in the capacity of a Mechanical Engineer which is a bit more creative, however he does have a passion for working with his hands developing and creating unique things. At the beginning of July of 2021 PJ’s Soaps and Bombs officially launched their website to help people to relax and destress at the end of a long day but turning their bathroom into a sanctuary….
A passion project for PJ’s is the Non-Profit group Room Redux who is compassionately dedicated to encouraging healing and improving the lives of children who have faced abuse through Room Transformations. In support of Room Redux PJs, 100% of all sales of the Spend a Buck Buy a Duck to Room Redux Bay Area Chapter to help abused children move forward in their emotional growth.
PJ’s Shave Soap, La La Lemongrass
From the webpage
Rich, creamy with lots of lather so it is perfect for shaving legs, underarms or wherever you need to shave. The cocoa butter in addition to the glycerine is perfect for dry skin as it will leave your skin soft, velvety and moisturized.
My Experience With PJ’s Soaps And Bombs La La Lemongrass Shave Soap
[Note: I received a complimentary bar of shave soap through a PR representative for PJ’s.]
Ingredients: coconut oil, palm oil, safflower oil, glycerin (kosher, of vegetable origin), cocoa butter (unrefined), purified water, sodium hydroxide (saponification agent), sorbitol (sugar alcohol), propylene glycol (made from vegetable glycerin), sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), oat protein, wheat protein, mica, titanium dioxide, chromium green oxide, tin oxide, manganese violet and essential oils.
Presentation
This shave soap comes in a minimalist thing cardboard box. Unlike pretty much all shave soaps I’ve tried, this shave soap ‘puck’ is square instead of round. That’s an automatic red flag for me, as previous square-shaped shave soaps from bath soap artisans I have tried have been disasters, performance-wise. More on that in a moment.
PJ’s describes the scent of this shave soap as “…invigorating, fresh, light, lemony, earthy and sweet.” Off the puck I get strong citrus and wood notes in my admittedly insensitive nose. The scent moderates a little when lathered but it is still quite noticeable and persistent. That’s a good thing for me, as I prefer shave products that are fairly strongly-scented.
Performance
As I mentioned earlier this shave soap raised a red flag with me so I approached using it with some trepidation.
Lathering re-enforced that trepidation somewhat, as it was a little thinner and foamier than most other shave soaps, even in my “hard” water. But from a visual perspective it seemed good enough to continue.
And here is where the (delightful!) surprise came in. The performance of PJ’s La La Lemongrass shave soap is really good for me! Both lubrication/glade and cushion/protection are well above average for me…in fact it approaches outstanding. Post-shave moisturization is decent, though I don’t think it rises to the outstanding category for me.
The combination of the relatively strong scent and the excellent performance ensure this shave soap will be in my regular rotation.
Summing Up
In my experience bath soap artisans usually don’t make good shave soaps: most think adding a bit of clay will do the job and call it a day. PJ’s Soaps And Bombs La La Lemongrass shave soap breaks the mold (if you’ll pardon the pun) with exceptional performance in its class.
PJ’s products are available through their website and on Amazon.
