Thread: Moisturising Soap/Cream?

Mornin' folks,

I am currently using Williams soap which I have loved for years, but being new to the straight razor my shaves are taking a while, and having the soap on my face that long is making it feel tight and a little dry afterward. I also tried a sample of the SRD "Opus X" soap, which smells wonderful, but leaves me in more or less the same shape. For reference I am using alcohol based aftershaves, Old Spice and Dominica Bay Rum.

Is there a soap or cream on the market that will help me with this while I learn and get my shave time down? I have heard that Mitchell's Wool Fat with the Lanolin is a great moisturizer, and that Cella the Italian stuff has nice moisturizing qualities. Is there anything else out there you would recommend, or is this just sort of an unavoidable consequence of a long shave? I'm thinking of heading into NYC to Pasteur's Pharmacy/Cambridge Chemists to look for something, and I believe they carry these two soaps among many others. I'm leaning toward the Cella right now as it will be less expensive but I would appreciate any advice/tips you might have.

Bear in mind that part of what is giving your face that tight dry feeling is the fact that you are learning to shave with a straight razor and you are exfoliating your skin more than it is used to-in other words giving yourself a bit of razor burn. Having said that I find most of the soaps and creams with tallow or lanolin to give good results. MWF for sure. I also love Tabac. While you are developing your technique you may want to treat your face to some post shave moisturizing.

Thanks Mitch, I will work on it!

I squirt some Lansinoh breast feeding lotion (100% lanolin) into my scuttle when I whip up my lather. Works across the board with all my soaps. No dryness. No razor burn. I rarely even use aftershave.

I would say the best thing would be to use a moisturizer post shave for awhile before putting on your chosen AS on or use a shave balm for awhile as they are more moisturizing then alcohol based AS. Just be sure to let the moisturizer, if you go that route, is dry before adding the alcohol based AS. If you don't I have found that what moisturizer is not dry will clump up and make it look like your skin is peeling. You can easily wipe the clumps off but you are losing some of the moisturizing effect.

Also I found VDH Deluxe to be more moisturizing then Williams Mug Soap do to the shea butter in VDH Deluxe.

i can't say enough about the french soaps.. pre de provence is loaded with shea butter and most say they don't even apply an aftershave afterward.

just my opinion though.. i seem to react better to shea than i do lanolin.

So I just went to the bathroom and rubbed on one of my gf's creams to moisturize, I come out, and she says "What's going on with your face, it's very shiny!" I told her I moisturized and she asked what cream I used, I said "the green one" and she was confused. I showed her which one and she informed me that it is in fact some sort of hair cream. LOL

Anyway, I went to Pasteurs today and smelled a bunch of soaps (this place is like a toy store), I wound up going with the Cella which just smells so creamy and luxuriant although I was torn between that and the Tabac that comes in the dish with the lid, which had a great dark and spicy smell...another day. I gave the Cella a test run and man do I love this stuff! Seems to moisturize pretty well, and man is it a smooth operator!

I also picked up some Dovo strop compound (the red and black set). I made a miniature paddle with some felt and a scrap of pine, and found that the red (2-4 micron) was setting me back from where I was getting with the translucent, but the black compound which I read is supposed to be similar to Chromium Oxide gave me a noticeably smoother and sharper edge. Very happy!

Glad to see that you found something that works for you. With the paste the DOVO black is a finishing paste similar to a 12k hone and does give a very nice edge like you have found. I like the edge off Dovo black a lot. Chromium oxide is a step up from Dovo black and at .5 micron is similar to a 50k hone.

Originally Posted by TheZ

Mornin' folks,

I am currently using Williams soap which I have loved for years, but being new to the straight razor my shaves are taking a while, and having the soap on my face that long is making it feel tight and a little dry afterward. I also tried a sample of the SRD "Opus X" soap, which smells wonderful, but leaves me in more or less the same shape. For reference I am using alcohol based aftershaves, Old Spice and Dominica Bay Rum.
. . .
.

FWIW --

Two suggestions:

1. Quit using alcohol-based aftershaves. Find an 'after-shave balm', or use almond oil, or olive oil, or a "skin moisturizer", or Vaseline "Intensive Care Lotion" instead.

2. Before lathering your face, rub some hair conditioner on it. That may add (or keep in) some of the skin moisture that the soap is removing.

Neither of these is guaranteed to work -- but they're cheap to try.

Charles

I use Vaseline for Men after every shower and every shave. It is very inexpensive and cures any problem with dry skin. I use it several times a day during the winter also since the air is so dry.