Product Review: Dr. Jon's Shaving Soap Company; Arctic Hydra Shave Soap

Hello everyone and welcome to my second product review.  Today I will be reviewing Dr. Jon's Shaving Soap Company's Arctic Hydra shave soap.  Before I begin this review, I would like to explain a bit about how I decide on what products to carry in the shop.

First and foremost, I will not sell any product in my shop that I would not use myself.  I stake not only my name and reputation, but that of the shop's as well, on every product I carry.  Therefore, I will not offer any product for sale until I have personally used it and approved it.  Unfortunately I learned this lesson the hard way, but learn I did. 

Several of the products I carry in the shop, I have personally used for years.  However, since I am a small business, I have decided to try my best to promote other small businesses that produce high quality products.  The first three producers I have chosen are Dr. Jon's Shaving Soap Company, Fine Accoutrements Shaving Products and Beard and Company beard oils.  I have already done a review of Fine Accoutrements Shaving Mug and reviews of other products from these three companies are coming soon. 

Before deciding on a new line of products to try in the shop, I do a lot of online research.  Once I find a product I am interested in, I read everything I can find about it on multiple websites.  If I decide to try a product, I usually make a small initial order, try it myself, and then decide if I should carry it in the shop.  That was not the case with Dr. Jon's Shaving Soap Company.

I originally discovered Dr. Jon's Shaving Soap Company on Instagram.  I then began researching the company online.  After scouring numerous websites devoted to wet shaving, I did not find a single negative review on any of Dr. Jon's products.  So when I placed my initial order, I ordered the complete line of shaving soaps.  And you know what?  I was not disappointed. 

I chose the Arctic Hydra for my first Dr. Jon's review for one reason, it is hot and humid in Houston, Texas.  Anything that can cool you off is a great relief, and this stuff really does the trick.  I love citrus scents in the summer because they are light, fresh and clean.  This shave soap combines six different citrus scents with the added kick of menthol.  WOW!

 

First off let's talk packaging.  All of the Dr. Jon's soaps I carry in the shop come in four ounce tins.  The lid of these tins has a colorful sticker with the name of the soap, a colorful picture, and the ingredients listed around the round edge of the lid.  The lid is then taped onto the base of the tin with color-coded electrical tape, ensuring that the lid stays in place until you decide to open it.  I absolutely love these colorful tins.

 

Before I go any further I want to say one thing with all due respect to the producer of this product.  Dr. Jon's calls this a shaving soap.  Maybe I'm old school, but to me, a shaving soap is a hard puck.  That is not true for this product.  To me, this is a thick, rich and dense shaving cream. 

 

While this product smells good while in the tin, once whipped into a lather, the scent explodes into a fresh, clean citrusy combination and the added menthol tingles and cools your skin.  I could pick up scents of the orange, lime, lemon and grapefruit.  I could also pick up the menthol, but it was not overpowering as it is in some shaving creams I have tried.  Instead, the menthol is an extra treat on top of the citrus notes. 

 

The lather was rich, creamy and wonderful.  I did have to use a bit more water with this product, but that is not a bad thing.  I have found that many of the higher end shaving creams require more water.  This usually means that the product is dense and rich, which is very true of this product.  It also usually means that you only have to use a small amount of the product to produce a luxurious lather.  That is very true for Arctic Hydra.  The lather is very slick, but also provides a very nice cushion between your skin and the razor.   

 

 

The above is a terrible photo, but the lather is thick and dense, with a very high sheen.  It only takes a very small amount of the cream in your mug or bowl to produce a lot of high quality lather, making it a very efficient product. 

 

After using this product, my face felt moist and taut for the entire day.  The taut part of this statement is no small feat, since I am no youngster.  I must say the moisturizing properties of this product are amazing. 

 

A lot of reviews list price and quality as different categories.  I combine these two into value.  I would compare this product favorably to several other shaving creams I have used that are double the cost of Dr. Jon's.  I believe this product is a tremendous value. 

 

I can't wait to try the other Dr. Jon's shaving soaps. 

 

Until next time, cheers.