Shaving soap recommendation

[smoker13]

I standfirm with Monsieur Monbla! After running through $$$$ in the eighties when I was young and still chiselfaced I used various expensive scented tubs of shaving creams, GEO F TRUMPER being my favorite brand. Now I'm a wise older man with what looks like sagging jowls approaching and I've got a stockpile of 7 Williams mug shaving soap sitting on my upper bathroom shelf with the one tub I use firmly plantedin an ancient wooden tub from those bygone halcyon days when some fancy-schmancy cream came ensconced in its own wooden tub with cover. the varnish is mostly allworn off , the label completely gone, the patina approaching bleached driftwood/railroad tie......at long last I'm living the dream!

 

[monbla256]

Being a confirmed Williams user all these years, and now having acquired a lifetime supply of this fine soap. another that I've tried recently, and would reccomend is a soap made by ebarbershop.com . They produce a line of 2 1/2 " dia. pucks made with shea butter which I've found lathered as well as my beloved Williams. My daughter bought some for me this past Fritmas and I would reccomend it as it sells at a nice reasonable price of $22.95 for 3 pucks which breaks down to $7.65 ea. Far more resonable than some of the multi-dollar soaps everyone seems to reccomend these days. It comes in several scents and I got the Bay Rum version as I'm a Pinaud Bay Rum after shave user.
http://www.ebarbershop.com/ebarbershop-classic-bay-rum-shave-soap-set-3.html

they are great folks to deal with BTW. :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Stick]

I'm currently using a L'Occitane Cade puck.  Like my contribution to the brushes thread, being my first shave soap I've got nothing to compare it to, but I can say it certainly seems to perform very well.  

I shake all the water out of the Plisson brush leaving it wet but not dripping then load up the brush with 30 secs of swirling on the puck.  I then tip the hot water out of my shave bowl and the water that's left is enough to create a rich, creamy lather within a minute or so.  It feels great on the face and provides a smooth nicely lubed shave experience.  

I reckon I'll look at something like Proraso or Cella next as they're readily available in Blighty.

 

[smoker13]

Plisson! THAT's the brand name of my brush! Thanks very much, Stick, for jogging my aging my memory!

 

[Puff Daddy]

Been using Tabac for the last few weeks. Got this as a gift a couple christmases ago (the puck inside the lidded white glass jar) and didn't get along with the strong fragrance. Now the scent has faded some from sitting and I like it quite a bit, and the stuff lathers wonderfully. Went through a couple tubes of Musgo cream this last year and they are really very good. Liked it a lot more than Proraso, but they're quite a bit more expensive. Still, after a couple years of trying this and that, the smart money is on the block of Cella. Double bag it and keep it in the fridge, cut off chunks as you need it, sucker will probably last 3 or 4 years and is as good as anything else I've tried.

 

[Richard Burley]

...Still, after a couple years of trying this and that, the smart money is on the block of Cella. Double bag it and keep it in the fridge, cut off chunks as you need it, sucker will probably last 3 or 4 years and is as good as anything else I've tried.

Got one, I agree, and I like it.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I picked up some Kiss My Face 4 in 1 Cool Mint. I went with it for various reasons. I bowl lather it with a little water. I like it quite a bit. The best thing about it is how well it moisturizes, but it's downside is that there isn't a lot of residual slickness. You have to reapply it if you're going to keep hitting an area. I'm getting great shaves with it, but I wish it acted a little more like a soap with residual slickness. I have to say I'd recommend it, but I wouldn't put much stock in my opinion. I'm really new to this. I'll keep using it until its gone, but then I think I'm going to try some K Shave Worx. I like their story, and they're getting some good reviews. They appear to be a good value, too.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Picked up a Palmolive shave stick from an overseas shop for a whopping $3 including shipping. Great product, better than I expected. Wet face, rub the end of stick into your stubble, brush out with a damp brush. Simple as can be and produces a very, very good lather. Scent is very minimal and agreeable. I'd rate this higher than a lot of the other high dollar soaps I've tried.

 

[monbla256]

Picked up a Palmolive shave stick from an overseas shop for a whopping $3 including shipping. Great product, better than I expected. Wet face, rub the end of stick into your stubble, brush out with a damp brush. Simple as can be and produces a very, very good lather. Scent is very minimal and agreeable. I'd rate this higher than a lot of the other high dollar soaps I've tried.

A broher gifted me s stick of the Arco recently and after trying it (using the same way you did the Palmolive), I'd have to say it;s an astounding value, both price and shaving wise. And it's available from a wide variety of sources! If I didn't know have a supply of My beloved Williams I think I'd go with the Arco . JMHO :twisted:

 

[Behike54]

BUMP

I have tried just about everything from Spain, England, Italy, and a lot of small artisan soap makers and the more I shave the easier it is to know what's right for me.

In order: (seriously)

Cold River Soap Works. For me, everything else is a distant second.

Tim's Soap (stopped production, aside from special events, charities, etc) I'v got enough Greek Peach to last, so it's cool.

Barrister & Mann

Mitchell's Wool Fat

K's Shave Worx

There's always a Cella hanging around.

Someone mentioned HEAT as the most important ingredient when during prep or while shaving.


I spent to weeks on a small island in Greece and cold-shaved the ENTIRE TIME.

My shaves were SUPERB and beyond refreshing. The soap was Ballenclaugh "Summertime." (bright citrus with grapefruit forward scent, coupled with some rose and cedar)

Voila

 

[Zeno Marx]

Kiss My Face 4 in 1 Moisture Shave...I like it more than I did when I posted about it last year. The grapefruit/pomegranate is really nice. It's a bit weak on the scent, but it's there in pleasant little whiffs. The softest face you'll ever have. Not kidding.

I shaved with bison tallow soap for the first time today. I was gifted a sample. It's not something I would buy for myself, but when reading about it over the past couple years, I've been very curious. For no good reason...or any reason...at all, I imagined it would be slicker than slick. The romantic American in me? Nope, it wasn't. I'm sure there is a learning curve, like with most soaps, but while I did get a great shave, this go-around wasn't any slicker than what I get with a more budget oriented soap at $2/oz. These L&L Grooming bison tallow soaps can be $4.50-6.25/oz. It was still fun, though. Good times.

 

[huffelpuff]

Been using a stick of Arko for almost 2 years now. Just rub over the wet stubble and hit it with the wet brush......poof! Great lather and provides just enough lube that my straights just glide on through. The price is amazing even if you buy an antiperspirant holder for it. Makes travel with it super convienient.

Jim

 

[monbla256]

I just found a drug store here in town that had 12 pucks of my beloved Williams soqp and picked up 10 of them ( didn't want to greedy so left some for others :twisted: ) So now I'm really set for life !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[huffelpuff]

Monbla, I've been doing some digging and it looks like your beloved Williams is still in business! Go to Williamsmugsoap.com for a list of folks that currently carry their products.

Jim

 

[Lonecoyote]

Williams soap has been around forever, it's still cheap, lathers great and readably available at most CVS stores.



FOR THE SPORT OF STRAIGHT EDGE SHAVING

 

[Stick]

Been using g Taylors of Old Bond Street, coconut for the past few months. Using a blob just the size of a pea it produces a thick and creamy lather enough for 2 - 3 passes. Lubes nicely too and the scent is only subtle. Will definitely be buying again. Recommended!

 

[Richard Burley]

D.R. Harris Windsor. A touch spendy, but worth it for the scent alone--a day starter type of thing. Your estimate may vary, etc.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I have not tried Arko, but Williams is what piqued my interest from canned foam to soaps. Someone had gifted me a Williams puck, and while I did not have a brush, I got nice enough results from just lathering it in my hands like a regular soap to realize soaps were a bump up from the cans in regard to slickness. It dried my face out something awful, though (I have a very greasy face, so that is saying something when a product dries out my face). So I went about finding something else. Being frugal, it wasn't much more costly. I gained some performance and a lot of moisturizing. It proved to be worth the additional money. The whole time, I thought $20 and $30 for a shaving soap was absurd. Fast-forward a year plus, I was gifted samples of several $20+ soaps. The types of soaps I thought were insanely priced. Guess what? Again, I found better performance and even better moisturizing. The pricing wasn't entirely bvllshit. Now, whether that improved performance was worth 2-3Xs the price is up to each individual. My point is that it is worth exploring shaving soaps. They are not all created equal. A $20 soap is going to be better than a $10 soap, and a $10 soap is going to be better than a $2 soap.

Kiss My Face 4 in 1 continues to prove itself a great value. For $6 for 11oz, it performs as well as many of the $15 soaps I've tried, and it remains one of the best moisturizing soaps/creams I've tried. It leaves my face feeling like a baby's cheek. Awesome.

 

[monbla256]

One thing to remember, ALL of the reccomendations are based on how these soaps work for the individuals who use them. For example, the Williams soap dries out one persons face yet does not on mine. Pick one at a time, use the WHOLE puck before going to another so that you have a good idea how it works for you.. :twisted:

 

[Lonecoyote]

One thing to remember, ALL of the reccomendations are based on how these soaps work for the individuals who use them. For example, the Williams soap dries out one persons face yet does not on mine. Pick one at a time, use the WHOLE puck before going to another so that you have a good idea how it works for you.

EXCELLENT ADVICE....???



KEEP ON PUFFING!!!