The Light of Moon Soaps: Crafting Joy with Melody & Zach Kent

Melody and Zach Kent love to create. On the surface, one would think Moon is simply about creating soaps. But, to look deeper and to know Melody and Zach, one sees that Moon Soaps is about creating much more: experiences, feelings, and products which delight. While Melody is a storyteller who creates fragrances which transport the user to a place or emotion, Zach brings the true artisan spirit of craftsmanship, which makes every Moon product a work of intense quality. Some artisans rapidly roll out new scents and bases, but Moon moves with an intentionality and care drawn from its passion to provide only the best for its customers, while at the same time making time for its family. What’s clear is that Moon is a collaboration of two passionately artistic and skilled artisans who are staying true to their values of integrity, craft, and joy, to make something which they hope is truly special. They love what they do, and their products are worthy of love. Meet Melody and Zach...

Q: In your chat with Marcus Klinger and Sarah Vincent—the Barbershop Duet—you said you “love products.” What does that phrase mean to you, and where does the passion come from?

Melody: I have always loved skin care and bath products. Since I was really young, I still remember getting a bar of French vanilla soap. I would use it every day to make me feel good and uplift my spirit. It’s amazing what a little scent can do! Moving forward to today, I just love products.  I completely understand when a shave enthusiast has 200 shave sets. They are searching for that moment when they had discovered what a scent/ shave soap can do for you. Makes your skin feel and look better but can also teleport you to a good feeling/vibe. That’s what we try to do with Moon. When I say I “love products,” I mean I genuinely enjoy creating things that people use and connect with daily. From packaging and scent to performance and experience—every element matters to me. Seeing someone enjoy something we’ve created—that never gets old.

Zachary: For me, it’s about creating. I love the process of making something with my hands that will be appreciated and bring joy to the user. Whether it’s a brush or a soap, I’m always thinking: is this something I’d be excited to use? Something I’d want to display on my countertop?

Q: You’ve been making soap since 2008. How did things change when Zachary joined and you launched your first shave soap, Old School, in 2017?

Melody: I had started Moon as a way to stay home with my kids and create something that could bring in an income. My daughter was very young, so finding the time was challenging. I was making cold process bar soap, sugar scrubs and lip balms. Zack was tinkering around with making a shave soap with tallow he had rendered from his day job.  We had a holiday craft fair coming up and decided to make enough to sell. Well, we sold out the first day! It was supposed to be a one and done kinda thing, but we see now what happened! LOL Everything changed in the best way. It really was the beginning of Moon Soaps as most people know it now.

Zachary: I wanted to add a shave soap to our catalogue just to give the women shopping with us a gift option for the men in their lives. I had no idea that doing this would change our demographic so severely. Shaving related products now account for about 90% of our sales. Honestly, I could never have predicted this shift in our business.

Q: Many artisans roll out new scents almost monthly, but Moon grows its catalog slowly and keeps scents in steady production. What drives that strategy? Do you ever release seasonals or revive retired scents?

Melody: We’re intentional about everything we do. Rushing to release a new scent every month just doesn’t suit our approach. We want every product to feel special, have a purpose, and be made with care. Plus, keeping our core scents consistently available gives our customers reliability—they can come back to a favorite any time.

Zachary: We’ve never done a seasonal drop or a one-off scent due to the fact that the process takes a great deal of time and energy. I’ve always felt that if we commit fully to a product and get it to where we are really happy, why discontinue it after a limited run? We don’t make stuff just to keep up with trends or just to make a quick buck, that’s never been our way. I don’t like making someone feel pressured to buy “right now” or they will miss the chance. We may be in a situation pretty soon where we have to discontinue an older product to make room for a new one just to keep things manageable on our side. Hard to say right now.

Q: Moon is known for long development cycles. Walk us through your fragrance-creation process: how do ideas surface, how do you test them, and how do you know a scent is ready?

Melody: Scent ideas usually come from something real—a feeling, a memory, a place, a movie or even a song, from there, we start building it with fragrance oils, essential oils, and aroma chemicals. I feel like I’m a storyteller. I want to take the user to a place or feeling. Kind of what a writer does in a book. We make a batch of shave soap with whatever shave soap recipe we want to use. Sometimes we create a new shave soap base. We tweak, and retest… It takes months. We look at our scent catalog as a whole. If the new scent doesn’t bring something new to the table, we don’t release it to market. We test for skin irritation, scent longevity, post shave feel etc. We want the customer to be thrilled with their decision to purchase a Moon product. We try to bring a little joy to the mundane task of shaving.

Zachary: Once it passes Melody’s tests (which isn’t easy), I use it in a full shave. If we both love it, and it performs across formats—soap, cream, splash—then it’s ready… to sit for several months to ensure fragrance reliability. To elaborate on Melody’s statement, our main core value as a business, in my opinion, is building trust with our customers. Customers need to trust that what we release is worth their time and attention and that we have fully vetted every aspect. Once the soap is ready, then we move on to getting the art together. Sometimes the pieces fit together right away, but usually it takes many drafts and tons of fine tuning. Moon Soaps is my all-time toughest graphic design client!

Q: You’ve said the base has evolved, with Bixby and Santa Cruz showing where it’s likely to settle—for now. What qualities in the current base make you feel it’s close to optimal?

Zachary: The base we’re using now hits all the marks we care about—rich lather, slickness, cushion, and post-shave feel. It’s super easy to use and doesn’t require dialing in. We’re always listening to feedback, but right now we’re in a place where we feel confident it delivers a luxury experience without being finicky.

Melody: And importantly, it still aligns with our standards: ethically sourced ingredients, skin-loving properties, and a creamy consistency that makes shaving enjoyable.

Q: Moon doesn’t yet offer EDTs, EDPs, balms, or pre-shaves. Why have you held off, and might we see any of these down the road?

Melody: We’re not against expanding, but we take our time. Each product we release has to be meaningful and meet our standards. Fragrance products like EDPs are on our radar, but they require different formulation and testing—especially for wear, longevity, and safety. Plus, we want really great packaging that speaks to our customers and is convenient to use. We hope to have them available soon…

Zachary: What Melody said…

Q: Zachary’s handcrafted brushes are a hit. How did he start—was he self-taught? Who supplies your knots, and are there plans to expand the brush line?

Zachary: I’m entirely self-taught, yeah. I started turning handles in our garage just to make a brush I personally wanted to use. From there, it grew fast. The creative side of brush-making really hooked me—designing shapes, experimenting with resins, working with my hands. I try my best to create a brush that is different from everyone else’s. To do this I put a lot of emphasis on the blank itself. I like to do intricate glue-ups like herringbone patterns, segments, laminates, and cool dyes when possible. I have a million things going all the time so making handles more often than I’m doing now isn’t going to happen. Batches are usually 10-15 handles per drop every couple of months. I definitely have way more ideas than time!

Q: Moon partners with retailers worldwide while you stay focused on family. What’s the toughest part of managing those relationships, marketing, and scaling the business all at once?

Melody: Every email, every restock, every decision takes time. We’re incredibly grateful to our retail partners, but managing expectations while protecting our brand’s integrity and staying present for our family is definitely the hardest part. We make everything from scratch and do all of our social media, customer service, graphic design. I’m always wanting to do more and grow Moon. I only want it to grow and be bigger and reach more people. We are really thrilled to be available worldwide!

Zachary: We never want to grow so fast that we lose what makes Moon special. So we’ve been careful with who we work with and how we expand. We hope to have more retailers in the future.

Q: Since Old School debuted in 2017, how has the wet-shaving landscape changed? Where is it heading, and how will Moon adapt to keep growing?

Zachary: The scene’s gotten bigger and more diverse. There’s a wider appreciation now for craftsmanship in wet shaving. People are more educated, and they expect more—which is great. It pushes everyone to level up. Collaborations are a current fad for sure and one we’ve always said no to. Like we’ve said before, getting a new product to market is huge work. Getting more people involved in our creative process would be crazy!

Melody: Recently the community seems to have more micro wet shaving soap companies, with the help of AI for labels and off the shelf fragrance dupes. Everyone seems to be pushing out new shave soaps incredibly fast. Like we have said before, we are in it for the long game.  We’re adapting but staying true to who we are while still evolving. We’ll keep refining formulas, adding thoughtfully to the line, and staying connected to our community.

Q: If you could deliver one message to every wet shaver—current or future—what would it be?

Melody: Keep doing whatever brings you joy!

Zachary: And support the makers. This community thrives because of the people behind the products. Whether it’s us or another artisan, when you support small businesses, you keep the passion alive.

Melody & Zachary Kent

TP

Please visit Moon Soaps to see their full line of products. Moon Soaps can also be purchased at The Razor Company.