Exquisite!
Hi, guys. In June of 2022, I set out to test over 10 brands of economical, all natural bar soaps for men. By economical, I mean a bar of soap that costs $1.00 or less an ounce. At the time of purchase (5/28/23), the Varina 10-bar Men’s 2 variety pack cost me $44.99, which would put the price per ounce at $1.00. As of today, 7/28/23, two months later, the price is still $44.99. I have seen the price of many soaps go up due to inflation, but the price of Varina has remained steady. By all natural, I mean a bar of soap that contains essential oils, other natural ingredients like shea butter, and nothing else. In this regard, Varina qualifies. The central reason I bought and reviewed many different soaps is because I wanted to stop using soaps with unnecessary chemicals in them. It wasn’t easy to find soaps that are truly 100% all natural. The list of soaps that qualify ended up being very short, and Varina was one of the soaps that made the final cut! My advice to you is to READ THE INGREDIENTS. Many soaps CLAIM to be all natural; however, once you read the ingredients, you find things in the soap that I would never imagine would be in an all natural soap. In sum, Varina is an economical soap that earns the label “100% all natural.” Keeping this in mind, here's how I would rate the soap in the following categories (1 = low score, 10 = high score). Manliness of the scents (9.5): The variety pack has the following scents: citrus, cedar, & sage; deep sea; tobacco flower; Florida sunrise; eucalyptus spearmint; eucalyptus, hemp, & tea tree; bay runner; mountain pine; stone mountain; and rosemary peppermint. Here’s how I would classify them: • Earthy/minty: rosemary peppermint; eucalyptus, hemp, & tea tree; eucalyptus spearmint • Sweet: tobacco trail; Florida sunrise; citrus, cedar, & sage; bay runner • Fresh: stone mountain, deep sea, mountain pine I don’t care much for cute names like “deep sea” and “stone mountain” because they don’t tell you anything about what the soap is going to smell like. I much prefer straightforward names like “rosemary peppermint” and “eucalyptus spearmint” that tell you exactly what to expect. I gave this set of soaps very high marks on the manliness of the scents, something that not all companies get right. Earthy combinations of scents including eucalyptus, mint, and tea tree are common in men’s soaps. In the sweet category, I was pleasantly surprised by the tobacco soap; however, I don’t wake up in the morning thinking, “Gee, I want to smell like tobacco today!” The other soaps in the sweet category have citrus notes that most men will probably find appealing. Finally, the soaps in the fresh category were difficult to categorize aside from the fact that they had a nice clean smell that men will probably like. Strength of the scents (9.5): On average, I would classify the scents of these soaps as strong, but keep in mind that everyone's nose is different. Also, some scents are stronger than others. I won’t try and classify each individual soap; I’ll simply share that all these soaps are in the moderate-strong range. If I had to rank them, I would say that the earthy/minty scents were stronger than the sweet scents, and the sweet scents were stronger than the fresh scents. One of my pet peeves is that many soaps have such mild scents that you can’t really enjoy them, and the scent doesn’t linger on you for very long after your shower. Varina’s scents will stick to you, and others WILL notice! Pleasantness of the scents (8.75): This boils down to a matter of personal taste. I found the scents to be very pleasant, but I have a bias for “natural” scents, by which I mean scents found in nature. If you are looking for soaps that smell like men’s colognes, this isn’t the best choice. If you like like the scent of common commercial soaps, this also isn’t your best choice. If you prefer little to no scent in your soaps, again, this isn’t your best choice. This soap set is for men who want to connect with nature. I was floored by the variety of flavors that Varina offers! You could spend hours exploring all the options on Amazon. I believe they have two different 10-packs specifically for men, and the citrus pack would also be appropriate for men. You might like some of the other variety packs as well. You can get a 3-pack, 5-pack, or 10-pack. Lather (8.50): These soaps lather up nicely, and the soap’s lather feels silky. I have found that soaps that have this silky feel are less drying on the skin. I haven’t quite figured out which ingredients are responsible for this effect. If I had to guess, I would say it’s the coconut and olive oil. Hydration (8.00): Because I have dry skin, this category was important to me. If you don’t suffer from dry skin, you can skip this category. Varina did a better than average job of hydrating my skin, but there were other soaps that were better. If you suffer from chronically dry skin, two soaps you should consider are Soap Haven’s goat’s milk soap or Verdacura. Both ranked at the top of my list in terms of hydration. Quality (9.5): This is my overall subjective assessment of the quality of the soap and includes things like how long it lasts, how well it holds together, how well it retains its original qualities, and so on. Varina earns very high marks in this category! The look and feel of the soap, how it handles, the care with which it is made, the quality of the ingredients, etc., give me confidence that this is a high-quality soap. Ingredients (10.00): In this category, Varina earns high marks for truly containing all natural ingredients. The ingredients of each soap are a little bit different. To use Florida sunrise as an example, here are the ingredients: saponified oils (organic palm oil, organic coconut oil, organic sunflower oil, organic extra virgin olive oil), orange essential oil. If I were to fault Varina on the ingredients, I would complain that some of the soaps list “fragrance” as an ingredient, something that annoys me to no end. Tell me WHAT you added to give a soap its scent. A truly all natural soap should only be using essential oils to contribute to its scent. As an aside, don’t freak out at the word “saponified.” This term relates to saponification, which is the process by which oil and lye are combined to make soap. Rest assured, there is no lye in the final product. Thus, the quality of a soap will depend on the quality of the oils that are used to produce it, and the richness of the fragrance will depend on the quantity and quality of essential oils added to the soap. Value (6.00): This score is a function of the price/ounce of the soap, which, for Varina, is $1.00. Varina scores low in this category because it was right at the limit of what I considered an economical soap (at exactly $1.00/ounce). To provide a contrast, Crate 61, a truly all natural soap, costs $0.83/ounce. Percentage Score (87.19%): No soap in my study scored 100%, and the highest score obtained was 87%. (One other brand, Age of Sage Masculine, tied Varina at 87.19%.) If I had to rank them, I’d probably put Age of Sage first and Varina second, but this distinction is meaningless. They are both outstanding soaps! Pros and Cons On the positive side, I would emphasize the following: • Strong scents. I like that the scents stick with you throughout the day. • A world of flavors. They have one other men’s set, and they have many other sets with enough flavors to keep you exploring for more than a month! • Silky feel. I think this is due to the olive and coconut oils. The soap feels great on the skin, and it doesn’t dry your skin out as much as other soaps do. On the negative side, here's what I would point out. I really had to nitpick here because I don’t have any strong objections to this soap. • Fragrance. Don’t list fragrance as an ingredient. Be specific. What did you add to give the soap its scent? • Nondescriptive names. What is Stone Mountain or Deep Sea supposed to smell like? Your guess is as good as mine. • Grit. Three soaps in the set (the ones I labeled “fresh”) have grit in them. I always like to caution people to use a gentle touch with the soaps that contain grit, for you can scratch or cut yourself if you apply too much pressure. Here are a few quick recommendations for the men out there who are looking for a truly all natural soap. All of these are available on Amazon. If you are looking for a 100% all natural soap, here are my top recommendations: Crate 61-For Him ($0.83/ounce): A truly all natural soap. Wildly popular on Amazon. Strong reputation. Don’t be fooled by the price. This is an outstanding soap! Dr. Squatch ($1.50/ounce if purchased in 10-bar set): A truly all natural soap. Mild scents. They only make soap for men. One of the most expensive all natural soaps on Amazon. Good soap but not economical! By the way, in my opinion, Varina feels similar to Dr. Squatch, but Varina is cheaper, has stronger scents, and is of higher quality. Dr. Squatch is a long-standing, well-established brand. On the other hand, Varina is a new entry on Amazon. Even so, it deserves your attention! If you are willing to bend a little, I would not consider the following to be 100% all natural because they contain micas and/or colorants. However, otherwise, the following soaps also qualify, come in exquisite men’s sets, and are of high quality: Age of Sage (Masculine or Macho set): The Masculine set has earthy scents, and the macho set has fresh-smelling scents. This soap also scores very high on my list of silky soaps that don’t dry out your skin. The masculine set made #1 on my list! Strong scents. 360 Feel Masculine: This one ranked slightly below Age of Sage for me. The scents are dreamy! This set is a great deal, and the scents are likely to appeal to most men. Want to learn more? I’ve reviewed the following soaps (all available on Amazon): 360 Feel (an Amazon brand) Age of Sage Bali Crate 61 Dove Men+Care Dr. Bronner Dr. Squatch Man Bar Natural American Oliver Rocket Purelis Soap Haven Varina Verdacura Wavertree & London Look for these reviews coming soon (also available on Amazon): Aurial Every Man Jack Fabulous Frannie I have one final word of advice for all the men out there who are looking for just the right soap. Don't depend solely on what I have written here. Why? Because your skin, nose, and tastes are different from mine. Thus, be adventurous. Read the reviews, pick out a few soaps that you think you might like, and compare and contrast them. Only by experimenting will you find the perfect soap for you! Read more
