Skullbuster Soaps / Kumbaya

Company: Skullbuster Soaps   

Product: Kumbaya

Founder: Alec Goenner

Location: Egg Harbor, New Jersey

Website: http://www.skullbustersoaps.com

We have a new artisan in the wet shaving community hailing out of Egg Harbor New Jersey his name is Alec Goenner of SkullBuster soaps, He is making a name for himself with some very impressive offerings. I received 5 samples of his tallow-based shaving soaps about two weeks ago and let me tell you the scents on these are fantastic. We have Casa de Café, Cucumber Mint, Five O’clock Shadow, For the Love of Leather and Kumbaya which is the one I connected with and is what this review will be based on. As soon as I opened the sample it became my favorite.

I asked Alec how he got started in soap making here is his reply:

The Christmas after I started wet shaving, I bought my wife a soap kit from Bramble Berry and tried it out because she wanted something different and crafty. The soap came out great and we loved it. I thought to myself, why not try making my own shaving soap. I wanted to make something that was very mild for my very sensitive skin. I spent the next year and a half doing research to see what the difference was and what was involved in making shave soap. Fast forward to the end of 2016 when I came up with my 1st formula and sent it out for people to test. It went over well, but I wasn’t happy with the formula, so I made some tweaks and on the 2nd formula, I nailed it. I sent out the reformulation to more people to test out and they said it was a whole lot better than the 1st formula. At the beginning of 2017, I launched Skullbuster Soaps with my wife, as she is the one who comes up with the scents.

I can’t comment too much on the packaging since I only received samples but I can tell you I do see on the website that a clear tub is used with black screw on lid but this might have changed since this is the only one that’s pictured like that. When I first saw the logo, I didn’t really know what to think. Is this product gearing toward bald men who shave? The logo is a silo of a man shaving his head with what appears to be a DE razor in his hand.

Let’s talk about the scent. Kumbaya is one of those scents that you’ll swear you’ve had before but as hard as I tried I couldn’t match it with anything in my den. It’s described like this from the website: A fragrance reminiscent of gentle, dusky breezes and bonfires, with notes of dried, wind-blown leaves, heliotrope, charred woods of pine and cedar, amber, smoky sandalwood, and musk with a background containing hints of roasted marshmallows, brown sugar, coconut and soft vanilla.

The lathering experience was a good one. I bowl lather and this one did not disappoint. In only a little over a minute I had created a rich and creamy lather that really had great coverage and during that time we had a scent increase as well. I was told to bloom this soap but regardless of skipping this instruction, I think the soap performed flawlessly. The slickness and glide were great providing the right amount for the razor. The post shave feel was a good one.

So, I had a great shave with SkullBuster soaps and I think you will too. For those you who like the leather scent, you must try a sample of “For the Love of Leather” it very close to the real thing and Casa De Café is another fine coffee scent as well. My second favorite would be 5 O’clock shadow this could be a clone of Old Spice and due to climate change issues, you might still be able to enjoy cucumber mint for the extended summer we are having.

Company: Skullbuster Soaps   

Product: Kumbaya 8oz $16.00
Website: http://www.skullbustersoaps.com