Let the madness begin! This is the first head-to-head (or beard-to-beard) evaluation in Sharpologist’s scent-free soap competition. In this series I’m focusing on overall shaving performance so a soap’s cost is not a factor in the review.
The Contestants
[Editor’s Note: links go to a “choice page” with different brand purchase options. Amazon and West Coast Shaving links are affiliate.]
Chiseled Face (chiseledface.com)
From the website: “Our Natural scent has no additional scent added, but you still get the light scent of willow bark, seaweed, and aloe; 4 oz of tallow based soap in a sturdy plastic tub. Tubs are half full to allow for space to load your brush without making a mess.”
Ingredients: Stearic Acid, Aloe Vera Juice, Beef Tallow, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Glycerin, Fragrance, Mango Butter, Avocado Oil, Silk Powder
Zingari Man Unscented Sego (zingariman.com)
From the website: “This Unscented Sego is made for those that like it bare. Perfect for those on the go that don’t like to carry a scent with them or want to pair it up with their own fragrance. This base scent is fairly neutral so no weird odor.
Our tallow base is guaranteed to impress you with its elite level slickness, residual, cushion, glide, and unsurpassed post shave feel. We feel our post-shave face feel is where we shine most, as we consider this a part of your skin health and the way your skin feels for the rest of your day.”
Ingredients: Stearic acid, Vegetable Glycerin, Beef tallow, Shea butter, Potassium Hydroxide, Castor oil, Palm oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Jojoba oil, Oat bran oil, Shea butter (and) Glyceral Rosinate (and) Olive oil unsaponifiables, Coconut oil, Daikon Seed extract, Goat milk, Coconut milk, Sodium lactate
Overall Impressions
Both soaps performed well and each gave me one week of no-nick, irritation-free, close shaves. Although they shared several performance characteristics, they also differed significantly in ways that I consider important. The ratings below are for the final shave with each soap because by that shave I had dialed in the hydration to get a really good lather with my home’s soft water.
Points awarded for each factor:
- 1: Poor
- 2: Fair
- 3: Good
- 4: Very good
- 5: Excellent
Feature: Lack of Scent
| Soap | Points |
| Chiseled Face | 5 |
| Zingari Man | 5 |
I could not detect a scent from either soap.
Feature: Easy lathering
| Soap | Points |
| Chiseled Face | 5 |
| Zingari Man | 4 |
Chiseled Face was a snap: Put a little water on the soap, moisten the brush and you’re good to go. The Zingari Man seemed to be a little thirstier and it took more soaking time for the soap and light water refreshes to get what I wanted; still very easy, though.
Feature: Moisture retention
| Soap | Points |
| Chiseled Face | 2.75 |
| Zingari Man | 2.5 |
My usual sequence is to shave cheeks, neck and then around the mouth and chin. Both soaps thinned out substantially around the mouth and chin by the time I was ready to shave there, even though I had started with a good layer of creamy lather. Otherwise, the moisture retention on my cheeks and neck was good.
Feature: Lubrication
| Soap | Points |
| Chiseled Face | 5 |
| Zingari Man | 5 |
Excellent slickness from both soaps.
Feature: Protection
| Soap | Points |
| Chiseled Face | 3 |
| Zingari Man | 5 |
Feature: Post-shave Skin Feeling
| Soap | Points |
| Chiseled Face | 2.5 |
| Zingari Man | 5 |
Here’s where the soaps’ performances differed. I judge a cream or soap’s skin-protection quality with a combination of factors:
- Blade sensation on my skin: With some bargain-brand soaps, it feels like there is nothing between my skin and the blade’s edge, including shaves with a mild razor. In contrast, good-quality soaps leave a micro-layer on the skin so that even with a more aggressive razor, it doesn’t feel like the blade is coming in too hot. It’s related to lubrication but it goes beyond that because you can have excellent lubrication before the blade passes over but dry skin after the cut.
- Post-shave skin quality: A protective soap leaves my skin supple and slightly lubricated. Less protective soaps produce drier, more taut and more tender skin.
- Alum block reaction: Less protective soaps produce more of a stinging sensation in more spots.
The Chiseled Face soap provided adequate protection, but it left my face drier and more tender. There was no irritation but I could feel a big difference between pre- and post-shave. The Zingari Man outperformed in both categories and I was impressed by how it left my skin feeling very good after each shave.
Final Scores
Winner: Zingari Man Unscented Sego by a score of 26.5 to 23.25 for Chiseled Face Groomatorium Natural Fragrance Free.
Up Next
Wholly Kaw Bare Naked versus WSP Rustic Unscented
Like the comparison and although I like a couple of Chiseled Face Soaps, I also have found the soap’s thinning during a shave and post shave feeling a bit lacking and have steered away from it. I am currently a fan of Stirling Soap Co. They have three unscented soaps so if a comparison is done it will be interesting to see the results against each other and against other brand soaps.
One unscented soap I can recommend is Ethos Grooming Essentials Clean Shave Soap. Great lather and performance.
Great analysis and article!
I wish you could do this ad infinitum until 99.9% of all shaving soaps and creams are eliminated and only one overarching product remains. Unfortunately, I may not live that long but I’ll keep monitoring it afterwards.
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