Shaving Soap - Recommendation

I am extremely new to SR, and in the process of gearing up. I have most everything so far except for a soap or cream. Based on soap research i see Tabac and Baume.de mentioned a lot.

Being a newbie, I am sure that I will get feedback that I should start out lower end, or try several, but I am the type to buy one nice thing rather than several not as nice.

I have read cream is easier to use, but soap sounds more eclectic to the straight razor tradition. And I thought if I am going to try my hand at SRS and stropping, then I might as well try my hand at building lather from a soap.

Are Tabac and Baume.de the way to go?

Tabac is a regular in my soap rotation. It creates a nice lather with not a lot of effort. Some don't like the scent which has been compared to a 1970s cologne.
I believe Baume.be is a cream, although I haven't used it so can't say for sure.

There are many other excellent soaps out there. If you gave folks an idea of what price range you are working with and what scents you like it might help with recommendations.

If you want to see opinions on top rated soaps/creams read this 70 page thread http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...ps-creams.html . After that, when your head stops spinning from info overload, consider that that there is a huge variety of product out there and most will do an excellent job of making a fine lather "IF" you know how to make a lather.

Whatever soap you decide on just use it till you can create a decent lather rather than having several on hand to use. Each soap has it's own quirks and it is easier dealing with just one at a time. That said, I enjoy everything from Arko to MdC and get just as good a shave from either of those which are at either end of the cost spectrum. Out of the two you mentioned I have used Tabac and would not be without it in my soap rotation. It is easy to lather, makes a great lather if you do your part and not terribly expensive on amazon but the scent is a love it or hate it thing.

Bob

Great advice above. I use Stirling soaps and love the lather and slickness. There's also a wide variety of scents.

Soaps that I always have in my cabinet
are Tabac, LaToja, Volobra, Spieck, Arko, LEA, Musgo, others that are good but not always on my shopping list, Body Shop Macca Root, St James of London, Mitchells wool fat, MDC, and I could go on and on but I think that gives you a picture. Good soaps need not be expensive.

Welcome to the forum.

I personally would not rule out creams, they are generally easier to lather for beginners and there are some really nice ones out there.

I started out using creams, mostly Truefitt & Hill they perform really well and smell great.

More recently I have moved to soaps and am currently really enjoying a puck of Kent soap which is apparently the same as Mitchell's Wool Fat. This works really well for me.

I would advise that when you have decided what to plump for, maybe have a look on YouTube before you buy. There are some videos as to what various soaps lather like, or how easily they are or not to get good results from.

I bought a puck of Truefitt & Hill soap based on how good their creams were for me and got quite poor lather from it. Then I looked on YouTube and it seems others had similar issues too. It can depend on so many things, the type of water you have, your technique, what sort of brush you have.

I guess it all depends on what floats your boat really. If you like a nice scent then often creams tend to do that very well, whereas soaps tend to be less scent based. This of course is not always true and whilst you talk about sticking with one thing (which I have to say I do the same) you may find yourself wanting to have a go at others. The more you read on here the more things you want to try.

Bob's advice on sticking with a soap until you can get a good lather out of it is very sound. Then I have found that Bob's advice always is.

Enjoy.

A lot of good recommendations here! I have used Baume.be cream extensively and find it to be one of the best lathering agents available. A plus for the beginner is that it is extremely easy to get rich, thick lather from it each and every time. Good luck!

Tabac or baume.de lol these are verrrry different products !
Tabac ... works very well if you like the smell (I don't) but it's a bit middle of the road for me.
Baume.be (not .de by the way) is absolutely top tier, delicious warm smell, very easy to lather, very slick etc etc.

If you get the baume.be shaving cream do yourself the favour of also ordering the aftershave balm. Different smell, but imo the best aftershave balm out there. I haven't encountered something that works better.

All great feedback. Thanks everyone.

Has anyone tried this instead of the cream?

Yes, and it ended up as shower soap. Lather very similar to Geo. F. Trumper soaps - you can get a decent lather out of it, but it fades almost before you can put your brush down. The only thing the two have in common is the brand.

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.

Quote:

---

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).Attachment 250958