Thread: Soap vs cream

I've been wet shaving for quite some time now so my DE game is down pat. However I'm making the switch to a strait and was wondering would using a soap instead of a cream make a difference in my straight razor shaves?

Thanks all!

I personally don't think so. What makes a difference to me, is on the quality of the soap or cream. Only difference I find is that the cream is easier to load and lather than the soap (and not always). That's my 2 cents! Double O

+1 Use whichever you prefer.

Nope - this is a personal preference. But which soaps and creams you prefer can be rooted in other factors, such as beard coarseness and water hardness. I started with soap, went to cream and am now back to soap. The key is knowing how to build a quality lather with each.

Soap, cream or croap won't matter...

However, two things I see different between my DE lather and str8 lather are the str8 lather needs to be just a touch wetter.. So it doesn't dry down by the time I make it to my neck. Some software simply doesn't cut it for str8's because it dries too quickly. Second thing is, and with this one YMMV, glycerin seems to help a lot. I have a dropper of glycerin and add a few drops when bowl lathering. Glycerin based software also helps. Lately, Kell's Original is getting a whole lot of time in rotation.

I used dial hand soap(3for a buck) to see how it affected my shave. Nada, nothing zilch. 2 pass and a little touch up bbs as always. Now I may not need my proraso, tobs or t&h but I want it! Splashing water between lathers helps as well as glycerin which was mentioned already. The blade (includes honing and stropping) and technique will get you through. Soaps or creams dont make or break a shave IMO.