Thread: Beginner Confusion With Soaps and Creams

When I first started wet shaving with a DE (I now use a straight exclusively) I was under the impression that you should match the soap to the scent…..

For example, I would use Tabac soap followed by Tabac cologne or aftershave or,

Proraso green cream followed by their green aftershave. There are many combinations. TOBS Lemon and lime followed by NO74 victorian lime, Col. Conk Bay Rum followed by Col Conk bay rum aftershave, the list is endless….

However I though I would try and clear up the confusion for the beginners as I was once….

I have discovered as I now have lots of soaps and matching scents, that certain soaps will go with any balm, Aftershave or cologne and now I find myself mixing and matching.

For example I love Proraso green, it certainly has a menthol kick and is great for shaving before going out, but is not great for bed time, I love TOBS Lavender at bed time but not to start the day.

So I though I would write this wee post to let the beginners know that It doesn't really matter which soap you use before what splash, aftershave or balm. Soaps all have differing characteristics, zingy wakey wakey sensations or a clean soapy smell or a calming aromatic sensation but you could use any before any scent in practice.

What Im trying to say is If I were starting out again I would spend my money on an all round soap, like Palmolive or Arko or MWF and spend my money on balms or scents to follow depending on the occasion which ranges from a day at the office or a night in with the wife, a night on the town, or just going to bed following my shave.

I think the most important thing with any soap or cream is its compatible with your skin. For example MWF drys my skin, it smells great but it doesn't suit me, Arko also smells great but its kinder to my skin. So of course I prefer Arko. The thing is soap scents don't last long at all, so if you want a longer lasting scent you need to follow it with something longer lasting….like an aftershave or cologne. Some balms and moisturisers smell great too, I rally like the Proraso sensitive skiing balm, it smells wonderful and hangs around for ages.

So now spend money on scents and colognes to wear. These for me give me the wow factor, a great shave with a clean smelling soap followed by a balm or moisturiser (if I need it) and then an aftershave splash or a cologne.

So what I'm saying is use any soap you like and mix it with any scent, but if your on a budget stick to a simple smelling, use anytime soap and follow it with your favourite splashes or colognes...

Of course you can end up with loads of soaps and smells and rotate them all, I'm just saying that if you want the long lasting Tabac smell you don't have to use the Tabac soap, the cologne is the important bit.


I hope that helps…. please feel free to disagree…..

I've spent a good bit of my disposable income on matching suds/scents (although not necessarily from the same manufacturer), but only recently did I realize that a good unscented shaving soap or cream opens the door to using any afterscent that one desires. I'm not going to toss my QED or TGQ soaps, my Salter's creams, or any of the others, but my brand-new tin of Simpsons "Luxury Shaving Cream" (unscented) opened the door to care-free use of Yatagan, Giorgio, and more.

To paraphrase what kevinred so eloquently said: the suds' for the skin, but the scent's for the Betty.

Smooth shaving!

With a few notable exceptions, most soap/cream scents disappear quickly after a couple rinses and alum application, which then allows for any AS of your choice to be used. But I do still like Tabac with Tabac, or Proraso with Proraso etc

Where you'll run into trouble is matching AS with cologne/Edt. Many AS's don't linger for long compared to a fine EdT, but many do last for quite some time and will likely clash with your desired fragrance of the day.

I personally like the fact that most shaving products have scents that fade quickly, it gives you the option to use something like, say, cella (great soap, great scent, but not an all day scent) and then follow it up with whatever else you choose from your regimen.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

With a few notable exceptions, most soap/cream scents disappear quickly after a couple rinses and alum application, which then allows for any AS of your choice to be used. But I do still like Tabac with Tabac, or Proraso with Proraso etc

Where you'll run into trouble is matching AS with cologne/Edt. Many AS's don't linger for long compared to a fine EdT, but many do last for quite some time and will likely clash with your desired fragrance of the day.

I tend not to use an AS and a EDT/Cologne together. For me its one or the other dependant on mood.