Thread: Question about soap vs. cream....

Fred- USE MORE WATER WITH YOUR SOAP! I had the same problems as you but its because us newbs don't use enough water! I think you will find you love the Conk Bay Rum if you lather it right. But also, it is VERY hard to beat proraso, I think it would lather well even if you tried to mess it up.

Firefighter- Fred's set up seems like a pretty good set up to save some dough. I would recommend it.

Originally Posted by fpatton

I'll give my newbie (Day 28!) two cents for what they're worth. I started with a tube of Proraso, a puck of Conk Bay Rum, and a Tweezerman brush, purchased through Amazon, a Filly strop from RupRazor, and Nivea Extreme from Safeway. I use a small bowl from my kitchen, and dry the razor on a shelf. Razor was shave-ready from the classifieds.

Now, I've loved the Bay Rum smell since I was a kid, so I was rooting for it. I tried both the Conk and Proraso by themselves, and very much preferred the Proraso. I have not bothered to get any glycerin or other additives yet, so I'm not whipping up uberlather. I really liked the lather from the Proraso, but found the Conk dried up too easily on my face. So, score one for the cream.

I then got a sample kit from the local Art of Shaving store (freebie!). This was a revelation in lather production. An almond-sized dollop of cream VERY quickly gave plenty of whipped-cream consistency lather for a shave, and the shave was more comfortable. Best of all, since it was unscented, I could mix in some of the Bay Rum soap for a nice scent. Score another for the cream, but give the soap some credit.

I then got samples of Lavender and Bay Rum soap from SRD. (I now own more scented products than my wife, who thinks I'm nuts.) They had a MUCH more intense smell, and made a much better lather than the Conk, but I still found them a bit too drying. The introduction of glycerin might help, but mixing with a little AOS cream made for a really luxurious shave. Cream wins again, but a really top-notch soap is a fantastic addition.

I have some Castle and Forbes Lime on the way, so we'll see how that compares to what I've done so far. It gets great reviews for lather production. I'm planning to get some of Mama Bears soap at some point as well, but I'm definitely leaning toward favoring creams.

I should also point out that in my limited experience, the smell is really more for your benefit during the shave than anything else. I don't find it to have any lasting effect, which I think is good.

Good luck!

Fred

firefighter,

Nice choice...In fact, I purchased my very first str8 razor from Vintage Blades. The owner, Jim Ayars, is very personable. Send him an email or call him before you press the "complete order" button and he will be more than happy to discuss your needs and help guide you into the world of str8 razor shaving.

BTW...I own the very same razor in a round point.

Originally Posted by khaos

Fred- USE MORE WATER WITH YOUR SOAP! I had the same problems as you but its because us newbs don't use enough water! I think you will find you love the Conk Bay Rum if you lather it right.

Thanks! I'll try that tomorrow morning.

Fred

Originally Posted by khaos

Fred- USE MORE WATER WITH YOUR SOAP! I had the same problems as you but its because us newbs don't use enough water! I think you will find you love the Conk Bay Rum if you lather it right. But also, it is VERY hard to beat proraso, I think it would lather well even if you tried to mess it up.

I love col conk bay rum. I actually found that using too much water was my problem at first....

I too was finding the suds drying out on my face, but it was because the mixture was way too thin. I dialed back the water waaayyy back and found the right ratio that gets the soap to explode into nice creamy lather, the consistancy of mayoniase. When it is nice and thick, it does not dry out.

-Chief

Good point. I didn't think of it that way. Too thick or too thin is a problem... so I guess just play around with it!

Originally Posted by khaos

Fred- USE MORE WATER WITH YOUR SOAP! I had the same problems as you but its because us newbs don't use enough water! I think you will find you love the Conk Bay Rum if you lather it right. But also, it is VERY hard to beat proraso, I think it would lather well even if you tried to mess it up.

Firefighter- Fred's set up seems like a pretty good set up to save some dough. I would recommend it.

+1 the odds are you need more water.

"khaos" said it well play around with it.

I learned a lot by taking an afternoon and working
my way half way through an inexpensive puck of
Williams one lather at a time.... too much too little
lather clockwise, counterclockwise, pumping,
no pumping. Not shaving just latherin...

That buck fifty was well spent.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

+1 the odds are you need more water.

"khaos" said it well play around with it.

This morning I went with the SRD Bay Rum soap sample, and used more water than before, and it was MUCH better. I will continue to play with it, and will be re-trying the Conk tomorrow.

Love this forum!

Fred