Thread: Shaving with Bar Soap & Goat's Milk Soap!

So, last year I got a bar of goat's milk soap and I believe it has really helped keep my face from breaking out. When it ran out I decided to stock up the next opportunity I had.

So, during my most recent trip to visit the Amish I purchased several bars of Patchouli and Eucalyptus scented soap (along with way too much sweet foods). I even got some patchouli scented lotion to try out.

After seeing a video of an old razor grinder shaving with bar soap I thought I would give it a try.





Using my badger brush I worked up a lather on the bar. Lather was thick but not super fluffy like a lot of true shaving soap. It certainly seemed to work well. I was happy with the results and liked the lotion as well. I'll be using it in the future. Next time I may try putting a small piece in my mug to lather.
If I had any scratches or irritation I would probably stick with an AS or ASL that had an alcohol or astringent in it to kill bacteria. This is just skin lotion.

Please share any experience you guys have shaving with bar soaps.

I have a bar of Gilchrist & Soames bath soap that I got on a cruise. I brought it home, ground it up and put it in a shave mug with some added vitamin E oil. It works great.

Originally Posted by bouschie

I have a bar of Gilchrist & Soames bath soap that I got on a cruise. I brought it home, ground it up and put it in a shave mug with some added vitamin E oil. It works great.

Cheese grater?

Several years ago I tried using a bar of ivory soap. First and last time for that routine. Abysmal does not even come close to describing the experience. It just may be a different story with the right bar of bath soap though.

Bob

Yes a cheese grater. Sorry should have said that. Then pressed it into mug after mixing in vitamin E oil. Topped off with a little water and let it harden.

I tried the bar soap once. Don't remember what one but I think it was a glycerin soap. Made lather but it faded quickly and it wasn't very slick. I had high hopes for it, but it was a no-go for me.

And Yes, Cheese Grater works well for grinding up soaps so you can pack it into a jar or cup. Just be sure to wash it well and don't let SWMBO catch ya.

using cartridge razors I went from shaving with gillette foam about once a week so I could have a couple days without razor burn to jergens plain bar soap, did wonders for shave irritation, I could shave twice a week.
from there I went to williams shave soap and a shaving brush, another reduction in shave irritation, may have just been better lather with the brush though, I can shave at night and only have a bit of razor burn in the morning if I don't shave too close, most of the time.

2b

Originally Posted by TwoBirds

using cartridge razors I went from shaving with gillette foam about once a week so I could have a couple days without razor burn to jergens plain bar soap, did wonders for shave irritation, I could shave twice a week.
from there I went to williams shave soap and a shaving brush, another reduction in shave irritation, may have just been better lather with the brush though, I can shave at night and only have a bit of razor burn in the morning if I don't shave too close, most of the time.

2b

Unless you have extremely sensitive skin you should not be getting razor burn with the frequency of shaving you are doing. There must be a number of things that you could improve on to help alleviate the irritation problem. One of the biggest things is using pressure on the razor. You really only should be guiding the razor around your face and letting the weight of the razor alone do the work. Using a cartridge razor you don't even have to worry about maintain the right angle on the blade as the head pivots to take care of that. The other big thing would be to learn what constitutes a good lather and how to make it. Even if you get a good shave soap, there are many, it is entirely possible to get subpar performance from it till you get the hang of making a good lather from it.

I found this vid very helpful wrt making a lather.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4zESTQWDuw

Bob

As Bob says. It sounds to me a preasure issue. That seems to be the biggest, of many, issues guys have causing irritation. Operator error as they say. Try just the weight of the blade and let it side over your skin. And with the spine just off your skin.

Maybe you do have sensitive skin. But only you will know this.

Interesting topic. I've often thought that lathering with a bar-style shaving soap might be good in the hand. Never gave thought to the possibility of lathering it on the sink counter, which would be more controlled. Have to clean the sink counter first, I suppose.