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Fern Concerto Mentholated
Fern Concerto Mentholated is WhollyKaw's only mentholated shaving soap — a classic fougère with menthyl lactate (synthetic menthol) for cooling without the menthol smell. Bergamot/lemon/basil/cumin profile on the Tallow base. No burning, reactivates with humidity.
Fern Concerto Mentholated is a mentholated fougère shaving soap on the Tallow base, made in small batches in our New Jersey workshop. Available in Tallow and Vegan builds.
Quick facts
| Detail | What it is |
|---|---|
| Scent family | Mentholated fougère |
| Base | Tallow — tallow plus whole donkey milk |
| Weight | 4 oz / 114 g per puck |
| Lather | Dense, slick, builds in 30–45 seconds with a wet brush in cool water. |
| Where it’s made | Our New Jersey workshop. Small batches, single-vessel saponification. |
| Cooling agent | Menthyl lactate (synthetic menthol) — cool sensation without the menthol smell, no burning, reactivates with humidity |
| Builds | Vegan ($21.99) / Tallow ($23.99) — same fragrance compound, different fat structures. |
What Fern Concerto Mentholated smells like
Fern Concerto with menthol added — the cooling-classic for shavers who want a refreshing edge to a traditional fougère structure. The only mentholated soap in our current shaving-soap line.
Fern Concerto with synthetic menthol. Cooling effect without the smell of menthol. Immediate cool freshness. Reactivating sensation with humidity and safe for all skin types. Does not produce burning sensations. Made with high quality ingredients including donkey milk, castor oil, kokum butter, cocoa butter, lanolin and shea butter for added post shave benefits. The formulation contains synthetic menthol.
The fragrance is built on jasmine, patchouli with carnation, coriander, orris root and sandalwood providing the background. The opening is brightest, the heart settles in around the twenty-minute mark, and the dry-down lasts for hours after the rinse.
The cooling agent — menthyl lactate, not natural menthol
What gives Fern Concerto Mentholated its cooling sensation is menthyl lactate — the cosmetic-industry standard for "synthetic menthol." It’s an ester compound made from menthol (the cooling alcohol) and lactic acid (a mild fruit acid). Functionally, it activates the same cold-sensing receptor as natural menthol but behaves differently in a few important ways:
- Cool freshness without the menthol smell. Natural menthol has a strong, unmistakable peppermint/eucalyptus aroma that dominates whatever it’s paired with. Menthyl lactate delivers the cool sensation without the scent — which lets the fragrance composition (bergamot, lemon, basil, cumin) lead instead of being masked by mint.
- No burning, no irritation. Pure menthol can cause a burning sensation on freshly-shaved skin, especially on sensitive areas. Menthyl lactate produces a clean cool with no burn — safe for all skin types.
- Reactivating with humidity. The cooling sensation can return when skin gets warm or moist later in the day — touching water, sweating, even exhaling onto the lather area produces a fresh second wave of cool. Natural menthol fades and stays faded.
- Longer wear than natural menthol. The lactate-ester structure binds menthol to the skin’s surface for hours rather than minutes. The cooling effect stretches across the post-shave window.
For the Fern Concerto base composition (a classic fougère with bergamot/lemon/basil opening, cumin-heart, and woody dry-down), menthyl lactate is the right cooling agent because it adds the refreshing edge without competing with the fragrance. A traditional menthol-mint version of this soap would taste of peppermint and override everything else.
Tallow or Vegan — which to pick
Fern Concerto Mentholated is offered in two builds. They share the same fragrance compound (so the scent journey is identical) but the fat structure underneath is different.
Tallow ($23.99) is the original Tallow formulation. The conditioning is denser; the lather has more body. If you’ve shaved with WhollyKaw Tallow soaps before, this is the same direction.
Vegan ($21.99) swaps tallow for plant-derived fats (kokum, shea, cocoa, mango). Same fragrance compound, lighter lather body, brighter and cleaner under the razor.
Who Fern Concerto Mentholated is not for
Honest limitations:
- Fragrance-sensitive skin. Fern Concerto Mentholated has a real fragrance load. If our unscented Bare Naked Shaving Soap (Tallow build) or Sans Parfum Vegan Shaving Soap (Vegan build) is what your skin tolerates, this isn’t the soap to switch to.
- Strict dairy allergies. Tallow builds contain saponified dairy proteins. Most contact-dermatitis reactions to dairy are with raw milk, not saponified milk soap, but if you have severe sensitivities, test a sample before committing to a puck.
- Looking for a designer-fragrance clone. Fern Concerto Mentholated is its own composition, not an interpretation of a popular fragrance.
- Pucks-as-decor shavers. The puck is meant to be used. The fragrance is most expressive in the lather; sniffing the puck doesn’t do it justice.
Cost per shave
A 4 oz / 114 g puck of Fern Concerto Mentholated lasts most shavers ~5 months with daily shaves:
- Vegan ($21.99 / ~150 shaves) ≈ $0.15 per shave
- Tallow ($23.99 / ~150 shaves) ≈ $0.16 per shave
For comparison, a single-use disposable cartridge plus a foam can typically runs $0.40–$0.60 per shave with worse skin feel.
What's in the soap
Tallow build:
Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Donkey Milk, Glycerin, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Lanolin, Menthyl Lactate, Fragrance, Linalool, Citral, Benzyl Benzoate.
Vegan build:
Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Glycerin, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyquaternium-10, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Soybean Glycerides, Shea Butter Unsaponifiables, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Menthyl Lactate, Fragrance, Linalool, Citral, Benzyl Benzoate.
Contains no parabens, no chemical sulfates, and no synthetic dyes. Fragrance is a custom compound mixed by an American perfumer to our spec.
If you like the scent profile of Fern Concerto Mentholated, also try
Cross-references from our shaving-soap catalog by shared notes:
- 1776 — shares the patchouli note
- Eroe — shares the patchouli note
- King of Oud — shares the patchouli note
- Belgravia — shares the patchouli note
- Man from Mayfair — shares the sandalwood note
What customers say
★★★★★
Amazing!
This premium shave soap is properly labeled as such. The spice notes combined perfectly with the luxurious menthol finish. The slickness is top notch as well. Perfect addition to my summer rotation of soaps and creams.
★★★★★
What a GREAT mentholated shaving soap!
Wow…one of the best mentholated shaving soaps I’ve used yet, because it keeps the terrific Wholly Kaw shaving properties and wonderful scents, but has that great menthol kick. Because it’s a synthetic menthol, it does take a few minutes to kick in, but when it does, it’s magic! Another winner from Wholly Kaw!
★★★★★
Top tier
Compared to other Wholly Kaw soaps Fern Concerto is top tier, the menthol keeps my face cool, while not being painful and the slickness is out of this world. With this soap, my razor just glides across my face.
★★★★★
Very nice
Very, very nice. Slick, full of lather, great post shave feel. No question a top 3 shaving soap made. I’ll be buying again.
★★★★★
Phenomenal
This soap is one of the best products I have ever put on my face. The face feel and post shave are second to none. Refreshing, invigorating and satisfying. Scent is a clean creamy lemon. Performance and slickness are on par with other Wholly Kaw soaps. No post shave products required. Bottom line: this soap provides a very enjoyable experience.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a puck of Fern Concerto Mentholated last?
Most shavers get 5 to 6 months out of a 4-ounce puck with daily shaving. The Tallow base lathers efficiently — you don't need to load heavily — so a puck stretches further than a typical mass-market soap.
What does Fern Concerto Mentholated smell like?
See the scent walkthrough on the page above for the structured top/heart/base note breakdown. Fern Concerto Mentholated is a mentholated fougère composition that develops over a 3-4 hour wear time on skin.
Why is it called Fern Concerto Mentholated?
Fern Concerto with menthol added — the cooling-classic for shavers who want a refreshing edge to a traditional fougère structure. The only mentholated soap in our current shaving-soap line.
Tallow or Vegan — which build to pick?
Tallow build is the original — beef tallow plus whole donkey milk on the Tallow base, denser conditioning lather. Vegan build swaps tallow for plant-derived fats (kokum, shea, cocoa, mango), lighter lather body, same fragrance compound. Pick on dietary preference; both share the scent journey.
Do I need a brush, or can I lather with my hands?
Fern Concerto Mentholated is a hard puck designed for brush use. A synthetic or boar brush builds the best lather. Hand-lathering works in a pinch but won't get the dense, conditioning lather the soap is designed for.
Why use synthetic menthol (menthyl lactate) instead of natural menthol?
Three reasons: (1) menthyl lactate has no menthol smell, so the bergamot/lemon/basil/cumin fragrance composition leads instead of being masked by peppermint; (2) it doesn't produce a burning sensation on freshly-shaved skin the way natural menthol can, so it's safe for all skin types; (3) the lactate-ester structure binds the cooling effect to skin for hours and reactivates with humidity, giving a longer post-shave cool than natural menthol delivers.
Is Fern Concerto Mentholated a moisturizing shaving soap?
In the way most shavers use the word — yes. People search for "moisturizing shaving soap" looking for a soap that leaves skin feeling conditioned, hydrated, and protected. The technical term we use is "conditioning" because the soap is rinsed off, but the experience matches what people mean. Fern Concerto Mentholated on our Tallow base delivers exactly that conditioned skin feel. For an actual leave-on moisturizer, pair with our grass-fed tallow zinc oxide cream.
Can I use Fern Concerto Mentholated in cold water?
Yes — Tallow soaps lather well in cool water with a 30-45 second build. Hot water gives a slightly faster build but isn't necessary.
Where is Fern Concerto Mentholated made?
In our New Jersey workshop. Saponification, scenting, pressing, and packaging all happen in house. The fragrance compound is mixed by an American perfumer.