Soap for men?

[redhead1226]

I have a quick question? I have always made soap with women in mind and I have never made a soap specifically for men as my sons tell me that they use body wash and so do all of their friends. I do not even have men's fragrance but I do have a lot of essential oils. I want to convert the men in my family and there are lots of them.

Can any of the men here or even women tell me do men look for different qualities in soap then women? Do they want a moisturizing soap also or do you guys just want it to clean you! lmao! My basic recipe I have always formulated for women. And you guys may not like what I like. Most men I talk to say Oh I use "Axe".

 

[lenarenee]

I use a higher percentage of coconut oil in men's soap - at least 5% more, and take the sf down a notch or two. Why? Because so many people on SMF say their men before a drier feel to their skin. That seems to be the case with the men I soap for - but most of them are young, with young skin.

Btw, a lot of them love lavender eo; not the really flowery one, but more like a 40/42.

 

[Susie]

My husband and son love my soaps. Both like a solseife with menthol in them for the cooling feel. I keep the SF down to 5%. They both prefer a 20-25% CO soap for the extra cleansing.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Try a salt bar with a manly scent - lavender is a good choice. A salt bar is "unusual" enough that it could bridge the gap between commercial and homemade products.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

I add a bit of AC into a swirl.
I keep SF low anyway in all the bars and everyone's happy.
Stepson doesn't care for fragrance, he'll use whatever. Husband is a bit of a manly man haha. He loves Aussie bamboo grass from NG. I like it too, it's kind of unisex.

 

[mx5inpenn]

My teenage boys like citrus, vanilla or unscented best. Husband prefers citrus. Spearmint and eucalyptus is also a favorite. My brothers like deadly weapon from NG. Also, making a beer soap might convince some to try just by label appeal.

 

[shunt2011]

I too make my soap with a bit more CO and lower SF. Though my husband has a tendency to have drier skin so I just make my regular one for him. My family/customers like Cracklin Birch and Perfect Man from NG. I have a couple that like anything Citrus but the first two are hands down favorites. Then comes Cedar and Balsam (NG) and 50 Shades (WSP). I sell a lot of men's soap.

 

[lsg]

My men love my soap. Here are a couple of Men-type fragrances:
1 part cedarwood/2 parts sweet orange
1 part sage/2 parts lemongrass
1 part rosemary/2 parts spearmint

 

[BrewerGeorge]

BB's Wasabi FO is my favorite "everyday" scent. BB's Tobacco and Bay Leaf FO is very manly, but it might be a little too "old man" for the Axe kids. Lavender and peppermint, apart or together, are good too.

 

[artemis]

My husband likes a 100% CO with a high superfat-- I think it's all those bubbles. While he prefers citrus, he'll use just about any fragrance I make.

 

[BattleGnome]

My husband likes Brambleberry's Mahogany but I have yet to soap with it. It's his go to for beard oil

 

[snappyllama]

My guys have very strong feelings about salt bars. Those that do a lot of hands-on work and have cuts/scrapes absolutely hate even touching the bars. The others love them.

They all seem to like my regular soaps, beer soaps, and pine tar bars. I don't change my recipe for them. As for scents, they like the "manly" cologne types you'd expect. Citrus/herbal/clean scents are a bit hit. Weirdly, some go crazy for sweet/foodie scents. So you never can tell...

For FOs...

BB Cold Water
BB Mahogany (like Battlegnome, I also haven't tested this in CP yet - but they love it in B&B stuff)
NG Cracklin' Birch

 

[dixiedragon]

In my experience, the men don't tend to pick the scents that are labeled "masculine". Bay Rum? Meh. Sexy Man? Meh. Vanilla? YAY!

Try making wider bars (if you can) and maybe don't have frou-frou stuff - swirls, mica, etc.

 

[HowieRoll]

It seems that the men who have smelled a collection of my soaps gravitate toward anything with minty scent (peppermint/spearmint/eucalyptus) and/or soaps that have patchouli as a base note (lime patchouli, patchouli mint, etc). To a slightly lesser degree, bergamot is also a fan favorite among the menfolk, but also keep in mind that I'm a hobby soaper and do not have super wide smelling audience.

 

[Steve85569]

I keep a salt bar and a high SF coconut bar at the sink for when I come in from the shop or garden.
For my shower I like a 5 to 8 SF number with a low cleansing value.
But then I am in my 60's which is a long ways from being a teen.

 

[dibbles]

When I started making soap, DH used it. For some reason he decided to use a bar of his regular commercial soap (left over from a big Costco pack). Even though he didn't think he noticed a difference while using the handmade soap, he definitely did see the difference in how his skin felt after using the commercial soap. 2 showers, and it went in the trash.

I have a variety of unisex scents. For EOs, I have found that a lot of men really do like lavender either by itself or mixed with mint, orange or litsea; patchouli and orange is good, and also lemongrass with cedar. For the FOs, scents with amber, sandalwood, vanilla, citrus and piney/juniper types seem to be well liked. My son's favorite is Snow Witch (Mad Oils), my son in law likes Rejuvenating Eucalyptus (BB) mixed with eucalyptus EO, and DH isn't fussy. I'm more likely to hear about what he doesn't like.

 

[Scooter]

In my household unscented wins the day. Any fragrances, if used at all, are always EOs and not FOs... Fragrance preference seems to be for lavender, tea tree oil, and citrusy things. But I have not used them a lot. Oh, peppermint in my 100% CO brine bar went over well.

 

[cmzaha]

My largest clientele happens to be men even in my new markets. The men buy the women stand there and look. I keep cleansing number around 15 in my men's soap and 8-11 in my soap with women try fragrances. As mentioned before, my biggest selling soap is Dragon's Blood, followed by Deadly Weapon, Fierce type, Coolwater, Eucalyptus, Hardwood Musk, Patchouli, etc. The balance of most of my soap fo's are pretty unisex

 

[sue1965]

My husband likes all of my soaps but mainly uses the unisex /manly scents....Eucalyptus/Spearmint/Rosemary, Sandalwood Vanilla, Citrus. One of my absolute favorites is Cold Water from BB....it smells amazing!!

 

[gdawgs]

I've taken lots of samples to work and let the boys sniff around.

The scents that get the best reviews of the ones I've used are(all from Brambleberry) Shave & a Haircut(one of my favorites), Mahogany(smells very similar to Mahogany Teakwood at Bath and Body works), Spiced Mahogany, and Tobacco and Bay leaf(another one of my favorites). Many like pine tree scents too.

Most of us guys don't really care about the look of soap that much(although I do appreciate the artwork that many here do). Just a good old bar of soap that smells good.

Also, I've also found the many guys like pine tar soap. I scent mine with a little peppermint EO.

I also like Cold Water, Salty Mariner and Yacht Club for the aquatic type scents.