soaps vs gillette king

if we were to compare proraso, tabac, and mitchell shave soaps to anything gillette has ever marketed, what would be the main differences between these two contenders? if we were to say that people who have pretty sensitive skin when shaving atg, which one of these two prevail? assuming that both have global reach because of the internet, which one would fare the best for people who skin experiences irritation when shaving against the grain?? why would these shave soaps be better than any gillette foam or gel assuming its for sensitive guys when shaving atg??

It’s soap so it works for some not for others but it’s not rocket science or treated as such. So what is it you really want to know? Can you shave with it? Yes. How many ways are you going to ask the same question ?

As far as I know Gillette never made a shaving soap, plenty of canned goo though, so you really can't compare anything.

Bob

The canned goo is mostly air and last time I looked it (air) didn't have many positive attributes for shaving.

“what would be the main differences between these two contenders?”

Water

The goal of shaving soap and cream is to moisten your beard to soften it, by keeping the water on your face from evaporating and to add some slickness.

God only knows what is in a can of foam, certainly not as much water as you can put in a mug of real lather, not to mention the chemicals.

Mitchells Wool Fat is very slick and lathers well, the trick is to keep adding hot water. Tabac and Poraso are also good, but there are tons of way better soaps and creams, either is better than canned, and a good place to start.

I’m sure every manufacturer of canned goo has come up with a list of check boxes for their product development. One of these is convenience. Goo in can must be fast. It must go on fast. It must come off fast. Everything else takes back seat to providing a fast “meh” shave.

Makers of real shaving soaps and creams also have a list of check boxes but if convenience is on the list, it’s much further down the list than at P&G HQ.

Typically, higher priced shaving soaps and creams have higher fat content (tallow, lanolin, stearic acid, plant-based oils &c) I suspect that the fat content is one of the bigger predictors of a soap’s performance. Often, the first ingredient in can o’goo is water- which is fine in as much as water does a great deal for preparing the face for shaving.- but as it happens, I generally have lots of water at home.