Soap or Cream

[Bear]

What is people's take on it?

[steve]

It depends on preference. I use Colleen's soaps and creams and love both but I lean toward the cream for a couple of reasons. First, I made a scuttle to have warm lather and I can mix the cream right in the scuttle. Secondly, soap tends to dry slightly faster on my face than does cream.

[Scrapyard Ape]

What is people's take on it?

I used to be a strictly soap person until just a few months ago. I started using creams just as a change of pace and now I am about 50/50 between the two forms.

[JoshEarl]

I go back and forth as well. The cream I've tried, Proraso, seems a little thinner than my soaps. I like to build the lather on my face, and soaps are easier for this.

That said, starting a lather with a soap and then mixing in some cream produces a very slick, cushion-y lather that would be great for newbies. Learning to get a good lather can a little tricky at first, and this method gives you more room for error.

Good luck,
Josh

[FiReSTaRT]

I've go some good creams but soaps are just more convenient for me. Always in a dish, always ready to use instead of me having to squeeze them out

[xman]

For me it's definitely a cream preference. It's just gentler on my skin and a great cream is very moisturising. That said, a good soap like those Colleen makes are almost as good as the average cream in those respects.

X

[thebigspendur]

Real men use soaps-just kidding.

Its a preference thing. Personally I prefer soaps. I had never really warmed to creams and then I tried castle forbes and now I think its the best shaving prep out there.

[jscott]

i am a soap guy. love the enormous variety of scents. i also think that soaps gives a closer shave

creams are fine. i don't dislike them. i think that a cream gives a bit more cushion which can lead to easier learning less nicks when you start. but after you got your technique down, nothing beats a good quality soap.

you can make your soap lather just a rich and luxurious as creams. just load your brush with more soap before you start making your lather. also just a bit less water. you don't need a mound of left over lather, so make it thick and begin the infatuation with soaps

QED, mamabear, colleen all make top notch soaps.

~J

[mparker762]

Soap. Truefitt & Hill or Harris. Don't like creams, and don't like glycerine soaps. Different people differ on this topic, strangely enough.

[cudahogs]

I prefer soaps. To me, they are easier to use and there is much more variety as far as scents go. I have some creams also that I like to use once in a while, but soaps are much more nostalgic and easy to use. Just stay away from Colgate and Burts Bees shaving soaps and you should be fine.
-Fred