Thread: The Great Common Soap Experiment!

I figured I'd post this in the beginner's section, since so many new guys start with soaps (and other gear) they find locally in drug stores, Walmart, etc. All of the below listed soaps/creams were used in conjunction with brushes found in these same retail establishments, with the exception of two (I was running out of brushes and mugs!). With that said, I believe the "cheap" brushes would actually have performed as well or better than the two, as I will note below.


So, I just spent about the last 30 minutes going through all the soaps/creams I've been able to find locally and building lather with each of them. This isn't an end-all, be-all guide to building lather with any particular soap/cream, but just some observations and real world examples of how the soaps commonly found in the wild can perform. Also, I hope this serves as an encouragement to you all that you don't have to have the best and most expensive gear on the planet to get a good shave (though it may add a sense of luxury and is rather enjoyable).

Okay, so first up, we have Williams Mug Soap (left) and Van Der Hagen Premium (right).




Williams Mug Soap: This soap is commonly found in many stores, and the cost ranges from under $1.00-$2.00. It has been around for a long, long time, though has undergone a change in the formula. After this change, people have complained that it doesn't lather or perform well. As you can see from the image, that's not entirely the case.

In order to achieve the results above, I used the brush and mug from the Van Der Hagen Luxury shave set. This set has a badger brush, though they also make an identical set with a boar brush. I originally purchased this set for ~$30 from my local Walgreens drug store. It also came with a puck of their Luxury Scented soap, which we'll visit further down.

Williams is a VERY thirsty soap. I soaked the puck in a mug with very hot water while my brush was soaking in another mug (around 5 minutes), then dumped the water off the puck and left just enough water to cover the bottom of the mug I used to build the lather. I then squeezed the excess water from my brush, leaving it relatively dry. I then loaded the brush for approximately 30 seconds, making sure the bristles appeared as though they had been dipped in white craft glue. I then began to whip the lather up, which took about two minutes of solid whipping, only stopping to (very) quickly run the bristle tips under the running water from the tap. The end result was a thick, creamy lather, which was very slick. Also, this was the first batch of lather I made, and the photo was taken approximately 25 mins later, showing that you truly can use Williams "for a lasting lather". The results when applied to skin are as follows:


Van Der Hagen Premium: This soap is the one that comes in the Van Der Hagen Premium shave set. Also, the brush was from the same set (though mine was cream colored instead of the normal black handle). This set is usually found at most any drug store, grocery store, Walmart, Target and other retail establishments. I would almost venture to say it's the most common set/soap/brush you'll find in the wild, as the soap and brush are also available for individual purchase. In short, this one is everywhere! Also, this soap is commonly in roughly the ~$2.00 price range.

For this batch of lather, I soaked the brush and puck again in hot water for about 5 minutes. I then poured off the water from the puck and shook the brush 3 times lightly so that no excess water was coming out. The bristles were still well saturated. I loaded the brush on the puck for 30 seconds and proceeded to build the lather in a second mug. I whipped the lather for about 90 seconds, stopping once to, again, quickly run the tips of the brush under water from the tap. The results were a very stiff and slick lather. Though still certainly usable for a good shave, this one was a bit on the airy side, as evidenced by the following pic once I applied it to my skin:




Three more to come in the following post...

Okay, sports fans, are we enjoying the show so far? Still with me out there? Yes? Good!

Next on the list we have the Van Der Hagen Luxury soap (left) and The Body Shop's Maca Root shave cream (right).





Van Der Hagen Luxury Soap: Okay, as mentioned earlier, this one was found at my local Walgreens drug store as part of a set, though it can also be purchased individually for around $3.50-$5.00 per puck. This one is the scented version, and was the first shave soap I ever used and I absolutely love the scent. There is also a non-scented version for sale as well. They will usually be found in drug stores, though you may possibly find them in places such as Walmart or Target.

The brush used in building this batch was the Van Der Hagen Premium boar brush that is identical to the one that comes in the VDH Premium set referenced above. Again, I soaked both the puck and brush for about 5 minutes, drained the water off the puck and shook the brush 3 times, lightly, until no excess water was shaking out. I loaded the brush for just over 30 seconds and proceeded to build the lather. After whipping the lather up for about 90 seconds, I was greeted by a nominally stiff lather that had plenty of slickness to it. When applied to the skin, it was very slightly on the airy side, though not as much as the VDH Premium soap, and it was still plenty adequate to shave with. Also, on a personal note, the scent of this one is highly favorable to my nose over the Premium soap, though neither one are bad. The resulting lather on skin:




Body Shop Maca Root Shave Cream: This one is a very thirsty cream, has a strong scent (though not unpleasant, at least to me) and does take a bit more work. The reward is a great, smooth lather with plenty of slickness and cushion. It is available from The Body Shop, either online or in their retail locations, most commonly found in your local mall. It retails for around $15 per tub, though if purchased through one of their many BOGO promotions can be had for less (I can recommend the Maca Root deodorant, face wash and facial scrub as well, though the aftershave balm didn't work well for me... YMMV). The tub size is generous and should last a long time.

For this one, I had to use a less than common brush for many, since I was running out of brushes- a vintage Ever-Ready boar brush I found at a local antique mall. This one has LOTS of backbone and a rather small knot. I soaked the brush in hot water for 5 minutes and added a snurdle the size of an almond of the cream to a mug. I lifted the brush from the water, letting the excess water run out but did not shake it. Like I said, this is a thirsty cream. I then proceeded to build the lather. Much like Williams, this starts out seeming like it's only going to be a soupy mess, but keep whipping the brush. After about two and a half minutes, I was rewarded with a thick, yogurt like lather that spread easily on my skin with great coverage, plenty of body, nice slickness and nice cushion:




The final cream to come and conclusions in the next post...

A badly needed post considering all the troubles newbies have posted about lathering. If you can't get it done with one of these soaps or brushes going up scale may not help you at all.

Bob

Okay, so it's been a long read, but you're coming to the end... I bet you didn't realize this thread was like the TARDIS... bigger on the inside.


Last on the list we have C.O. Bigelow and then final thoughts:




C.O. Bigelow: Okay, guys, this one has a great and long reputation, though under a different name. C.O. Bigelow is actually Proraso cream, which is an Itallian made cream that has had a long success as a good cream and is praised by many. It was rebranded with the C.O. Bigelow name, which is a drug store on New York (Thanks for the correction, Ivan ). It can be purchased at Bath and Body Works, typically found at your local mall. It sells for $10 for a large tube, $5.00 for a small tube and lasts quite a while. I personally recommend the large tube. If you like eucalyptus or menthol, this one is for you. The scent and feel is refreshing, and the lather provides plenty of cooling comfort, cushion and glide on your face.

For this batch, I had to use my vintage travel boar brush. As you can see by the pic, the knot is long and the diameter is about as big as your thumb, resulting in a pretty floppy brush. One of the VDH brushes above has always yielded great results for me with less effort, though this was certainly no impossible task. I soaked the brush for 5 minutes in hot water and squeezed a snurdle of cream about the size of an almond into the little cup I was using (small brush, small cup, easier time building lather). I then took the brush and shook the majority of the water from it, about 4 light shakes and went to work. C.O. Bigelow/Proraso doesn't need an extraordinary amount of water to build a great lather, and in this case, I actually had a bit much. To solve that, I simply kept whipping the lather, totaling about three and a half minutes.

I was met with a very stiff, thick lather, which was nice and pillowy, very slick and had great coverage on the skin, as seen below:




Final Thoughts: As you can see, it's pretty easy to get good results from common items found in the wild near you. They are often regarded as cheap or sub-par quality, however, I have shaved with each of them (though Williams was only cracked a few days ago for me- that one was tough), and have gotten great shaves from each.

As I've said before in another post, this sport can be as expensive and luxurious or as cheap and utilitarian as you want it to be. The bottom line here is that you can find locally sourced items and get a good shave, which comes in really handy when you're waiting on the more expensive items you've purchased to arrive and need a shave in between (and don't be afraid to buy those more expensive or mail order items... There's some great ones to be had!).

I would encourage you all to keep practicing, experimenting and just generally having fun as you continue down your path. You will get it, it just takes a bit of effort on your part to learn how to get great results. If you need anything, always feel free to ask here on the forum (or better yet, find a local mentor or come to a local meetup). We want you to succeed, and will help in any way we can.

Have fun, and enjoy!

-Creighton

Once you can get her done with the entry level stuff you will be sure to appreciate the finer points of your up scale purchases even more. Gotta pamper yourself to ya know.

Bob

As bob said, badly needed for the new guys, thanks for taking the time to put this together.

Bonus points for this:

Originally Posted by crouton976

I bet you didn't realize this thread was like the TARDIS... bigger on the inside.

Originally Posted by crouton976

It was rebranded as C.O. Bigelow for purchase at Bath and Body Works, typically found at your local mall.

I've got to correct this - C.O. Bigelow is a pharmacy in Greenwich Village in New York City, they title themselves as 'the oldest apothecary in america'. They also sell the cream in the proraso packaging, and at the same price point every time I've been at the store.
They've got a lots of good stuff actually - not uber high scale, but pretty nice too, like MPG, Diptyque, AdP, etc. and some that are hard to find anywhere else like I profumi di Firenze.
Here is their website C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries - Natural remedies, bath & body products - they've got a bunch of semi-goofy proraso ads.

The availability at Bed Bath and Beyond is much more recent thing.

Originally Posted by gugi

I've got to correct this - C.O. Bigelow is a pharmacy in Greenwich Village in New York City, they title themselves as 'the oldest apothecary in america'. They also sell the cream in the proraso packaging, and at the same price point every time I've been at the store.
They've got a lots of good stuff actually - not uber high scale, but pretty nice too, like MPG, Diptyque, AdP, etc. and some that are hard to find anywhere else like I profumi di Firenze.
Here is their website C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries - Natural remedies, bath & body products - they've got a bunch of semi-goofy proraso ads.

The availability at Bed Bath and Beyond is much more recent thing.

Thanks for the correction, Ivan... I wasn't aware of that!

Post updated!

I haven't been able to find it at BB&B in my area. Bath and Body Works has it though.