Thread: Soap / Cream Recommendations

la toja cream is excellent well worth a punt
you won't be disapointed

You might try just adding a few drops of glycerin to your soap. Add the glycerin to your mug, then work it around in your soap as you're loading up your brush. I add glycerin to all my soaps and creams. And the best part is that glycerin is cheap and you can get almost anywhere, including Walmart.

What is the benefit of adding glycerin to your lather? I see a lot of comments and a few vids adding it.

Glycerin adds a little slickness to the lather; it sorta adds a little extra lubrication.

Buy Castle Forbes

Originally Posted by sffone

Glycerin adds a little slickness to the lather; it sorta adds a little extra lubrication.

It is inexpensive and easy to try. A little goes a LONG way.
Shop for the little bottle in the cake decorating section of a
grocery store or in the vanity section of a drug store.

With some soaps extra slickness would make
my face too slippery to correctly pull my skin tight
and also makes the grip on my blade feel unsure.

Good soaps like Mitchell's Wool Fat and Tabac have the
correct amount out of the box (correct for me).

Warning, long reply.
I currently own VDH (the solid pinkish stuff), Williams Mug Soap, a plethora of SRD samples and a full puck of Blood Orange, Prorasso, Tabac, and DR Harris Marlborough.

Williams- From what I've read Williams isn't worth much other than a strop conditioner (which is what I bought it for since it was cheap), but I haven't shaved with it, so maybe I could make it work, I'll test it and let you know if there is any secret to lathering it other than glycerin.

VDH- Has done me well with regular shaving, but I haven't tried it with a straight since I've started using them (been about 4 months or more I think, but I'm not keeping track)

SRD- For some reason I have problems with SRD soaps. I've gotten a good lather a couple of times before, but most of the time it just seems too thin for me and disappears really quickly especially in a scuttle, but it works great for cartridge razors, so I keep it on hand for travel and those days when I'm in a hurry (I don't like to take straight razors on the road and risk ruining them, and I don't like to hurry the therapeutic experience of a straight shave). I am still experimenting with it though, maybe I shouldn't soak my brush before hand with this one and try to use very little water.

Prorasso- Is a great shave cream/soap type substance. I like it especially on those tired mornings when I really need something to give me a fresh feel. It works great and hasn't let me down yet, but it can be easy to load up too much on your brush if you're used to lathering puck soap resulting in wasting some.

DR Harris- Has been another great soap for me, a little higher in price than Prorasso or Tabac, but still a great soap. Just be careful if you're sensitive to scented soaps and also make sure you get enough water in it, it is a harder soap and you don't want to shave with it if you don't have the right water-soap mixture in your lather as it can get pretty thick.

Tabac- So far is my number 1 go to soap. I love the smell, it's relatively cheap, and has yet to ever give me a bad shave. Very easy to lather too.

I haven't tried Mama Bear's soap at all, but from what I've heard it's a great soap. I look forward to trying it in the future when I work my way through some of the soaps I have already as I'm running out of room for my straight razor stuff One more thing to mention is I form my lather in a separate bowl from the soap and I've created a poor man's scuttle with it and another dish, may seem crazy, but this has had a huge effect on my shaving experience.

All in all though Tabac has been my favorite and I highly recommend it.

I'm going to agree with above post and say Castle Forbes, it seems expensive but a little goes a long way and it lathers very easily.

Alraz's the bomb is also very good but a little harder to lather.

Soap wise so far I like SRD, TGQ, and Mama Bears. I might get lynched for this but I did not like Tabac.

Originally Posted by errnest

Soap wise so far I like SRD, TGQ, and Mama Bears. I might get lynched for this but I did not like Tabac.

This is why there are so many, something for everyone. So don't feel bad.

P.S.
I do like Tabac...LOL

Originally Posted by errnest

I'm going to agree with above post and say Castle Forbes, it seems expensive but a little goes a long way and it lathers very easily.

Alraz's the bomb is also very good but a little harder to lather.

Soap wise so far I like SRD, TGQ, and Mama Bears. I might get lynched for this but I did not like Tabac.

errnest,

I have the following creams and soaps in my rotation, all of which I would rate very highly.

Cream: Al's The Bomb (Cedar), Castle Forbes (Lime), Cella, Ingram, J Peterman (1903), Proraso, Taylor of Old Bond Street (Rose and Shaving Shop), and Valobra.

Soap: Edwin Jagger (Sea Buckthorn) and Tabac (Original).