Thread: Shaving Soap - Recommendation

I tried it as well. Top notch as far as skin care is concerned (it's a glycerin soap), but difficult to build a decent lather with. You definitely want to try the cream instead.

Originally Posted by sqzbxr

The only thing the two have in common is the brand.

And the scent

I often read "price notwithstanding"; but, it is a real consideration for many of us -- if not in dollars-and-cents, then in principle. With that in mind, I recommend shaving soap, rather than shaving cream(*), to one who is a newcomer to the wet-shaving world. Why? Because it's so easy to use too much shaving cream, which is not the case with shaving soap.

Which shaving soap(s)? My favorite manufacturers are two in number: QED (whose house brand is not -- in variety, not quality -- what it once was), and TGQ.

Smooth shaving!


(*) The emphasis is on soft shaving creams -- the majority -- rather than hard ones (Castle Forbes' is a fine example of the latter)

Bit the bullet and ordered Baume.be shaving CREAM and the aftershave balm.

I also ordered a EJ DB89 for trimming my beard in the winter. I figured what the hell.

Now that you are set then with a quality cream I'd suggest practice raising a lather with it before doing your first shave. Plenty of tutorials on the net to choose from to get a good idea of what the lather should look and feel like and also how to make it. Good luck

Bob

With the Baume.be cream, just a little on moistened brush tips is all that's needed for a three-pass shave. I suggest that you use a bowl or scuttle when learning (as opposed to face lathering) because it's easier to see what you're doing while learning to get the ratio of water to cream just right.

i have a great many of those top/second tier soaps in my cabinet but i always seem to go back to Saponificio Varesino most frequently. i get a ton of lather - even with my terrible hard water - and the slickness it leaves behind even after the first pass of lather is wiped away is excellent.

I would recommend buying samples at a few dollars each and trying them. I have wasted some money on a soap that performed poorly or smelled horrid to me. It's much easier to swallow a $4 flop than a $30-60 one. Baume.be is excellent, so you did good ordering it, just be sparing with it! A little goes a long way. Also realize that just because a soap/cream is expensive doesn't mean it is the best for YOU. I have some "cheap" soaps that are just as good as the expensive ones in my opinion.

When you do get a hard soap, spend some time reading and watching videos on how to lather. I thought I knew months ago, now I look back and realize I didn't. Heck, I still might not know what I'm doing. Just don't give up on one you can't get to lather well, come back to it later.

If you were to do a wide sampling of recommended soaps, Tabac would get a lot of mention. I love it.

Tabac and Mitchell's Wool Fat are my staple soaps, I find MWF gives a great slick creamy lather, Tabac being similar but with a slightly airier consistency. Some say MWF is hard to use but I have never experienced this, perhaps because I got my teething issues with lathering out of the way before I bought my first puck. I find MWF works well with a boar brush (Semogue 1470 my best).