Colonel Conk has changed their shave soap formula.

I hate it when companies change the formula of their products without warning. As someone who purchases their shave soaps once every few years I was surprised on my latest batch order. I usually order around 6-8 shave soaps at once to get free shipping and keep me stocked up for awhile.

This time around I did notice a change in their packaging. They now come in rectangular paper based packaging instead of the round plastic ones. While the paper based packaging is more environmentally conscious you could use the older plastic one if you didn’t have a shaving mug or when traveling.

The package sizing has also been downsized. Colonel Conk shave soaps used to come in large and small portions. The large used to be 3.75 ounces (110.9 ml) and now it’s 3.15 ounces (89.3 g). The price has certainly not reduced even when the size was reduced. I ended up having to pay an additional $3.70 per soap. I’ve been purchasing the older soaps for close to ten years at the same price until this last order.

The most egregious change was altering the formula.

Colonel Conk new 3.15oz size
The new packaging. This looks like shower soap.

Colonel Conk new 3.15oz size ingredients
The ingredients are now printed on the side of the box on the new product.

Here is a list of the ingredients as shown on packaging in 2025.

Sodium Palm Kernelate
Sodium Palmate
Water
Potassium Palm Kernelate
Palm Kernel Acid
Potassium Palmate
Fragrance
Sodium Gluconate
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
Glycerin
Palm Acid
Sodium Chloride
Xanthan Gum
Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil
Tocopheryl Acetate
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Maltodextrin

Colonel Conk old 3.75oz size
The old packaging with included plastic that can double as a container in a pinch.

Colonel Conk old 3.75oz size open
The old formula. The texture and appearance are completely different when compared with the new reformulation.

Here is the older formula according to someone who emailed the company asking for the ingredients in 2008. The old packaging never gave a list of the ingredients.

Triethanalamine
SLES (a variation of Sodium Lauteth Sulfite)
DI water
Propylene Glycol
Soap Flakes
Stearic Acid
Tatrasoddium EDTA
Polysorbate-20
Color
Fragrance

You used to be able to melt the original shave soap in the microwave to form nicely in your shaving cup. No longer can you do this. The texture of the soap was slick to the touch while the new one feels rough and more akin to actual body soap. The smell while similar is also very overpowering when sitting unused in their packaging. You’ll notice it immediately if it’s sitting in your bathroom for the first week or so.

While the Colonel Conk brand has never been on the higher end of shave soaps it has worked well enough for my purposes. They used to lather well and produce a nice slick comfortable shave. Too bad the new formula kills off both of these factors. The lather dissipates very quickly and does not provide the same amount of slickness for a nice razor slide like the older formula.

I certainly will not be buying Colonel Conk shave soaps any longer.

I now have multiple packages of Colonel Conk shave soaps to go through. These might need to be relegated to shower soaps as they certainly feel like they’ve been designed this way.

A search for a decent shave soap that doesn’t break the bank and works well is now on my to-do list.