Thread: Shave Cream suggestions?

The trick with Col. Conk is to put a teaspoon of water on top of it and let it sit while you shower/bathe, etc. Then pour the soap water into your lather bowl and use your brush on the soap.

Castle Forbes, Martin De Cadre, and Taylor of Bond Street make very good soaps with good scents, they are expensive, but worth it.

Yup. Solid article. I didn't go thru all 101 pages of comments, but I went thru quite a few and learned a lot. I added quite a few things to my Amazon shopping list and a lot of people are probably wondering why they got a "thanks" from a comment they made 3 years ago.

The Castle Forbes product is a bit expensive, but it's worth it!

There is an American made product that I love, Krampert's Finest. I don't read much about it, but it's wonderful!

Hard to beat Proaso green or red for a good, forgiving, easy to lather, and inexpensive soap.

Originally Posted by BobH

If you have a Body Shop store nearby get a free sample of their Maca Root shave cream to try out.

Bob

Good suggestion Bob, the Body Shop cream is a surprisingly good product. I was never a big fan of the scent, but the cream performs excellent, and it's priced fair.

Anyone who has been around here for more than a little while knows I'm a nut for Barrister and Man soaps. And I wouldn't bother being redundant but for the fact that you mentioned lemon. I adore their Limon Latha soap. As I often say, I think their soaps are the best at any price. But I think you will find the Latha series particularly agreeable in price.

Aloha!

As mentioned, Col Conk soap is glycerin based and not bad if you take some time and care in preperation of the lather. You absolutely need to let it "Bloom", by putting hot water on it while you are in the shower - along with soaking your brush in hot water. Not scorching hot but hot enough to know it's hot water. Pour off the hot water (many pour this in their hands and apply to their face to get a base coat of soap started), then work the soap puck into as thick a lather as you can muster. With some work it's not a bad lather, but it's certainly not the best.

Stirling soap was mentioned, and I'm a big fan. Stirling is small batch artisan shaving soap based on tallow, not glycerin. Tallow based soap gives a much smoother shave IMO than glycerin based soap and works into a much better lather with less effort than soaps like Conk.
LINK - https://www.stirlingsoap.com/

For creames, I really like Proraso's GREEN shaving cream because I like Eucalyptus and Menthol. But I also like the way it lathers. Big time. Smooth and protective while feeling great on the face. All of Proraso's creames are good lather producers IMO. A small dot in your shaving bowl and you can get a superior lather and shave. Cremo Shaving Cream is also a decent "drugstore" brand cream that will surprise most. Like Proraso, it really builds into a nice thick and rich lather with good protection on the skin. Amazon and places like Walgreens sell Cremo for around $7.00 for a tube, so it is very economical.

There are MANY others. It's a big world of shaving products. Experimentation is part of the fun of the hobby and art of shaving! So enjoy and have fun!

Mahalo!

-ZipZop

Originally Posted by BobH

If you have a Body Shop store nearby get a free sample of their Maca Root shave cream to try out.

Bob

^2
Great suggestion, try Amazon!
Great performing cream that won't break your bank!
Search for Obie's post" First Tier Soaps" great post as reference.

Yes, you cannot go wrong with any of the Castle Forbes or MDC lines or any of Obie’s First Tier Soaps and Creams on post 1.

You don’t have to read the whole thing, though it is interesting and worth the time investment.

Obie updates the list, as needed, so it is current, some soaps and creams are no-longer in production.

I must warn you, reading that post, will cost you some money. But do as I did, make a list and make it well known, “That they make Excellent Gifts…”

Yes, some are pricey, but a jar of Castel Forbes or MDC will last a long time, some claim 2 years or more, at least a year, so there is some value there, and they are great soaps and creams.