Thread: Van Der Hagen Part Deux

Anyway I'm still waiting on my first razor to be cleaned and honed, I brought a cheap boar brush and a puck of vdh deluxe soap to work, I work days before coming home. Any way at work I soaked my brush and the new puck of soap for about 6 minutes and then squeezed the water from the brush and gave it a firm shake. I went to work loading the brush a good minute to minute and a half, since I was at work I made lather in my hand or should I say tried. I had a constant struggle trying to keep the soap on my face, wasn't lasting long at all. I tried changing what variables I could control. More water, less water more whips of the brush I even tried face lathering. I got a thin layer on my face each pass. Is it that hard to hand lather with a brush, I know I've gotten better results from a bowl. Of course I'm still very green at this. Thoughts?

van der hagen is a good inexpensive soap. i face lather with the soap, it takes a little time and more than a few applications to the face, but, eventually i get a nice creamy lather that is nicely slick and protective. check out the link below on face lathering mitchells wool fat soap it will help with the van der hagen.

Mitchell's Wool Fat Shaving Soap

VDH is actually a pretty good soap, especially for the cost.

I like the VDH glycerin and the MWF both for sensitive skin. I even add 5 or 6 drops of glycerin to the MWF and get a fuller lather. But then we are all different and have to try a lot of things til we find what works for each of us.

Explore, knowledge is under every obstacle in our paths.

Originally Posted by jbtusa

VDH is actually a pretty good soap, especially for the cost.

I have a tube of c.o bigelow which I started with. But I want to make a puck of vdh or williams work lol. I think vdh has a good milky/creme scent

I know VDH has at least 5 different soaps:

1. Deluxe
2. Select
3. Glycerine
4. Luxury
5. Luxury Unscented

Personally, I use the Luxury (with scent) and have great results. In fact, it's the soap I started with and use the most frequently. It may seem a bit lacking at first, but over time the puck softens so that I get consistently thick, creamy lather. Also, I will sometimes add a few drops of glycerine and vitamin E oil to my lather as well. It's my go to soap when I'm testing a new (as in acquired, not manufactured) or freshly honed blade, as well as post shave products (after shaving with a known good shaver). This helps me eliminate things that irritate my skin to one or two variables, which can be further reduced on the next shave.

Another plus is that the drug store nearest me (Walgreens) keeps this soap in stock. It makes my mail carrier a lot less creeped out.

*Edit: One more thing... try to find a tin or container with a tight fitting lid for this soap. I use an old shisha (hookah tobacco) tin and I think the lid helps lock in the moisture from when you wet the puck. Mine softened up drastically once I did this.

I've noticed with both the VDH and C.O Bigelow that I'll make lather in a bowl but it seems to lather more on my face. I must not be lathering long enough in the bowl before transferring to my face.