Thread: Cella Shave soap.

Picked some up from TGN a month ago, and haven't even made a dent in it. love how it whips up. It's my go to now, which is bad because I've got some local soaps I'm supposed to be testing, but I can't not use my Cella.

I have been alternating Cella and Martin De Candre. Given that the MDC was approx $60 for 200 grams and the Cella is $35 for 5 times that amount I have been trying unsuccessfully to convince myself that there is something I like better about the MDC.

Just got my shave on!

I soaked my Badger brush in hot water while I was in the shower. Got out, and started to whip up. I have to face lather because i havent yet gotten myself a good bowl(My girlfriends mother has a PERFECT specimen, but i dare not use it!) Lather was GREAT! Smooth, creamy and my DE merkur 180 more than floated over my face! Great shave! Cant go wrong for the price point! Hell Ive gotten less for more for $13! And It shipped to my house in 2 days(Thank you Amazon).

Highly recommend!

Originally Posted by jchad20

Should i be adding a mini fridge to my shave den?

It is a good idea to store tallow based in the fridge. Tallow (as well as oils and fat) can go rancid in a pretty short time in case you keep them at high temperatures. However, you should never freeze any soap or cream containing fat or oil. Keeping a tallow based soap in a fridge is always a good idea and ensures a longer life to it. A temperature of 8-12 °C it is a good choice.

Originally Posted by jchad20

I soaked my Badger brush in hot water while I was in the shower. Got out, and started to whip up. I have to face lather because i havent yet gotten myself a good bowl(My girlfriends mother has a PERFECT specimen, but i dare not use it!) Lather was GREAT! Smooth, creamy and my DE merkur 180 more than floated over my face! Great shave! Cant go wrong for the price point! Hell Ive gotten less for more for $13! And It shipped to my house in 2 days(Thank you Amazon).

Highly recommend!

Cella is the history of Italian shaving soaps. It has been the main competitor of the glorious P.160 and it is a soap specifically produced for professional barbers. Still today, Cella is very popular among barbers and it has always been an excellent cream.
Here in Italy it is also sold at a very competitive and cheap price. I bought one kilo few days ago at 10.70 euros and this is the average price you pay for that quantity in most of the shops. As for the tub, it is a little more expensive if compared to the kilo pack: the tub (150g) is usually sold at about 4-5 euros.
However, Cella is always and highly recommended! With a tiny quantity of cream and the right amount of water, you always get a luxurious cream which can be hardly compared to others.

While the scent of Cella isn't my all time favorite (i do think it's pleasant though) I could easily use it as my only shave soap if that was all that was available. Whether I was using carts, a DE or now straights I have never gotten less than a great, comfortable shave with Cella.

Cella seems like the type of soap my great-grandfather would likely have purchased in his day. It's as old school as you can probably get.


Marty E.

Gentlemen,

Cella is a fine shaving soap. I like the almond scented one. I don't particularly care for the menthol. Then again, I don't care for menthol soaps, period. Anyway, Cella is among an elite groups of soaps that should have a place in every shave den. The others are Mitchell's Wool Fat, Tabac, Klar Kabinett, Mama Bear and D.R. Harris. An underrated one, in my estimation, is Portus Cale from Portugal, which is really good stuff. That is in addition to the great ones: Martin de Candre, Czech & Speak and Klar Seifert.

I have a tub of Cella (almond) and although I use it, the fragrance is way too strong for me.
The marzipan smell reminds me of old fashioned wedding cake. A bit too sickly sweet.

I just picked up the perfect shave bowl from Marshalls for like $3, and let me tell you! The lather was GREAT!(In my unexperienced opinion)



I dont know if this is considered good lather, or the worst lather anyone has ever seen. All I know is it worked, and it worked well!

Love this stuff! I have some MWF and a few arko sticks on the way! Cant wait to try and mix it with the MWF!

Originally Posted by jchad20

I just picked up the perfect shave bowl from Marshalls for like $3, and let me tell you! The lather was GREAT!(In my unexperienced opinion)

Is the inside of that bowl just a little rough to the touch (not perfectly smooth)? I've been thinking that my bowl might build better lather if the inside wasn't quite so smooth; if that one works pretty well, I might just have to swing by Marshalls and get one (esp. for that price)!