Thread: Shaving soap vs cream...

Sorry, ejaeger, misunderstood your question...but the short answer is canned foam is mostly air and chemicals....real shaving soaps and creams are combinations of soaps, scents and various facial "nutrients/lubricants" that make the beard softer, the face feel better and the razor perform better at clearing the whiskers off.

Real shaving soaps and creams are much better than canned foam. What they do is:
-help soften (hydrate) the hairs making them easier to cut (reduces or eliminates pulling and tugging)
-make the hairs stand up allowing them to be cut closer to the skin
-create a thin barrier cushion between the skin and razor that reduces skin irritation from the razor
-Provide lubrication to help prevent razor friction on the skin that helps prevent sticking, chatter, and pulling up skin folds/ridges that can get nicked or cut.
-moisturize the skin
-if scented, provide a pleasing, if not long lasting scent (some scent agents can be irritating to some persons)

Creams are often a little easier to lather while hard soaps (Mitchell's Wool Fat, Tabac, etc.) often last longer before being used up. Some soaps (Cella, ProRaso, etc.) are soft having characteristics of both soap and cream. I use and like both. I often mix them together in a bowl or scuttle and add glycerin to make uber lather, but good soaps and creams stand up well enough in use without combination.

Good techniques such as no razor pressure on the skin, skin stretching, keeping the lather and hairs moist, correct razor angle, beard reduction WTG followed by XTG and ATG strokes, and a sharp blade are still required for a good shave. Using good technique with a new blade without also using good lather will usually tug, pull, and irritate the skin

HTH

Thanks everyone. I'm looking at Mitchell's Wool Fat for a starter soap. From what I've read it'll be great.

I have been using Mitchell's off and on for a few months now and find it to be quite good. I add a little Pacific shave cream to it and whip up a good lather for a nice smooth shave.

Go for it!

Originally Posted by ejaeger

Thanks everyone. I'm looking at Mitchell's Wool Fat for a starter soap. From what I've read it'll be great.

MWF can be challenging even for experienced lather makers, but you shouldn't let that dissuade you. After all, we're here to help you. And the best part is if you can lather MWF successfully you can lather anything

Ryan I agree, I refused to give up until I could get a good lather from Williams. MWF still proved a short adventure for me. After this I personally have not run into anything I can not get a good lather from within a couple of tries.

There is a kind of middle ground. The soft soap. I love them.

Not as fluid as cream (you can actually swirl your brush on top of it), but not as hard as a soap (you can actually stick your finger in and take a chunk and throw it into your brush).

My all time favorite is ACCA Kappa's 1869 (though I just found out they changed the formula a bit). Great almond scent and great on the face. Best part is it has a better than most aftershave... which is almost more important to me.

Of course there are others! Its a great alternative and very forgiving to a new wet shaver!

Either way - we are blessed with great choices no matter which way you chose! Just don't get bogged down by price. This stuff lasts I would guess about a half a year. On a per use basis, that cheap. Not two bucks for a can of goop cheap... but when was the last time you used goop and upon application you just wanted to sit back and smell??

Good luck and have fun!!

For the last few years I've intentionally been quite agnostic about the cream versus soap issue. Started using premium creams with very good results. Tried and love MWF and have a small stash of that (about a dozen pucks). Tried a number of small independent shave soap makers with varying results but have two I tend to go back to often that have both a great scent and a serious lather that lasts. Also have a few 6 oz containers of Cremo Cream that I'll use when I'm in a hurry or on the road - it doesn't get much easier than a little Cremo rubbed into the face and splash a little water onto it to make lather. It's not a thick lather but it sure makes shaving smooth!

Lately I seem to use the following:

30% of the time just cream
30% of the time just pucks (leaning toward MWF)
The other 40% of the time it's a mix of cream and puck in the same scuttle.

Also, if I have the time I'll use a pre-shave oil or cream but that's another discussion. There are 6 different ones I have and try to rotate between them - eventually I may settle on one pre-shave oil - or not.