Thread: soap or cream for the dry months

very new to this, have tried the williams mug soap, skin dried out a little, also picked up some head slick cream which seemed better and have also bought some nivea balm. i think i will need to upgrade the cream and balm for the winter season as my house is extremely dry, i burn coal in the living room to heat the house and it gets extremely dry, also get wind burnt thru the winter from ice fishing. whats the best moisturizer for a balm, i was happy with the products i bought from the shaving shop (razor, paddle strop, and preshave oil) and was going to buy caswell-massey cream from them but if theres something that would be better for moisture retention i would like to know. thanks. whats a good aftershave balm as well

I find Williams is one of the soaps I have to rinse out well with warm water before the cold water rinse. I can't really recommend any one thing, pretty much everything works better for me (yet I still use the Williams since I have so much and sometimes like the cheap lemoniness of it).

My experience with Calwell Massey was a bad one. It was tough for me to get a good stiff lather with, and this seemed to be the consensus around this forum as well. I'd say for the cold months, either soaps or creams will work. Creams have a reputation for moisturizing properties, but I've recently been using Kent soap (rebranded Mitchell's wool fat) that has lanolin in it. This stuff sometimes has a learning curve for building lather, but if you can do it with your Williams, I doubt you'll have a problem with the Kent/Mitchells. The Lanolin is really an amazing moisturizer, and leaves my face feeling like aftershave is almost unnecessary. Check out Kentbrushes ebay store, or simply search for Kent shaving soap on ebay. The wooden bowl it comes in is rather cheesy. The soap however, is fantastic.

Cheers,
Landis

I don't think your lather-maker of choice doesn't really make the difference for dry skin. When I get dry skin I use a good moisturizer like Neutragena face creme at bedtime. I also use a good balm aftershave rather than my alcohol based ones. My favorite is from The Arizona Goat Milk Soap Company but I just checked their website and they don't appear to make it anymore

I guess I'm in the same boat as you if you find anything really good let me know

Try picking up the Van Der Hagen shaving soap for sensitive skin. It's pinkish and it has lanolin and shea butter in it. It won't dry your skin out.

While Caswell-Massey sandalwood did produce very good lather for me (you can have it either stiff or runny) I think it irritated my skin and I got sick of the scent. I still hate sandalwood because of it. The C-M almond oil (pre-shave) was also irritating my skin and I hated it too...

For your issues: I'd shave with pretty much whatever, but would follow it up with L'Occitane CADE ASB. This thing is pretty heavy, I would think exactly the ticket for your needs

And there's always whale blubber, isn't this what the locals use

Cheers
Ivo

thanks for all the info, looks like maybe experiment with a couple of soaps, and definatly get a heavey balm

Originally Posted by fishlessman

thanks for all the info, looks like maybe experiment with a couple of soaps, and definatly get a heavey balm

can't believe you're passing on the blubber

just kidding, of course. But seriously, I think if it was used for so long - it must work very well. If I were going ice fishing - I'd probably try it, as well as bring some serious amounts of vodka

You can probably ask L`Occitane store clerk for a sample - the tube is like $30, and if you don't like / tolerate it that would suck

Good luck
Ivo

i always bring the Dr. McGillicutty’s peppermint scnapps with me, gives your breath the same feeling as crest first thing in the morning. ill be trying the L`Occitane