Why are traditional soaps/creams better than canned creams?

Hi everyone,

It seems like everyone here uses traditional shaving cream, soaps, etc to shave with. I see tons and tons of wonderful reviews of great products. Everything from Castle Forbes to Mama Bear Soaps to Williams Soap.

My question, what is the advantage of these soaps/creams over canned/aerosol shaving cream? I haven't seen any information regarding advantages other than name calling like "canned goo" or "canned crap".

Don't get me wrong, I can't imagine a homemade/specialty product being simply par with mass production, but I want more concrete information as to why everyone hates it. I know straight shaving is better than cartridge shaving, and I hear concrete reasons as to why, but not why traditional creams and soap are better than canned.

As you can tell, I have not had the chance to try any traditional products yet, and I'm looking for a good reason to spend money on a brush and other products.

Thanks, and I hope that made sense.

-Jon

I am one of Colleens many fans here(The Gentlemans Quarter) her soaps, smell great, feel great, leave no noticable residue, great lubricity between blade and skin, and prepares whiskers for their inevitable demise. I havent tried a lot of whats available out there, but I just cant imagine anything better!

I think the easiest way to make a comparison would be to look up some reviews of the canned stuffs. I still look over at B&B for rewiews, and here is an example of a review: Gillette Hydrating Gel - Badger & Blade (I hope linking to over there is alright).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

I am one of Colleens many fans here(The Gentlemans Quarter) her soaps, smell great, feel great, leave no noticable residue, great lubricity between blade and skin, and prepares whiskers for their inevitable demise. I havent tried a lot of whats available out there, but I just cant imagine anything better!

---

Thanks but I'm looking for reasons why soaps like that are considered superior to canned creams.

Ah, for a comparison, you could look through the reviews of some of the highend soaps and creams.

I think in general, you will find that the higher end soaps and creams are more moisturizing, provide a nice cushion, are slick, smell nice, form long lasting lathers, etc.

Lather has two main purposes in shaving, hydration and lubrication but ideally you also want to avoid anything which irritates or dries out the skin.

Hydration softens hair making it easier to cut thus reducing pulling and the need for force. Lubrication helps the blade slide easily over the skin reducing razor burn and nicks. These properties are particularly important for shaving with a straight.

Obviously for hydration you want as much water as possible in the mix and for lubrication you want plenty of slippery ingredients.

Companies which make canned foam try to meet these criteria as fully as possible but they have major problems to overcome. Just the fact that the ingredients have to go into a pressurised can and produce an instant lather means very little water can be included (so hydration is relatively poor). There must be a propellant in the can to force the lather out and make it foam - nowadays this is most likely butane which is not good for your skin. In order to foam properly they have to include strong foaming agents like lauryl sulphate (a known skin irritant). And so on . . .

Soaps and creams which are lathered using a brush don't have the same limitations. The lather can contain much more water because the water is added at point of use. There's no need for propellants and the foaming agents can be milder and non-irritant. They can contain more lubricants such as glycerin and oils without negatively impacting their ability to produce lasting lather so you get better lubrication.

Horses for courses as they say and I guess it's all subjective in the end but nearly everybody who tries making a lather with a brush eventually decides it's better.

In summary - canned goo is rubbish.

DING! Give the man a prize. He hit the nail on the head.

X

The main reason I dislike canned crap is that it is cold. I spend all that time prepping my face, opening the pores, softening the whiskers, I don't want to negate all that just before the blade touches my face.

I switched to brush and soap in '73 or '74 and have used it exclusively since, except when I went out of town. A can of goo was easier to carry than my mug and brush. I hated every shave and couldn't wait to get back home. Now I know better and intend to buy a travel brush and tube of creme for travel.

Comparing canned instant foam to brush and soap/creme is like comparing instant coffee to fresh brewed. One is for someone who wants to check it off his list and the other is for someone who wants to savor the experience.

Dave

While I prefer traditional mug soaps, I don't think that they are always better than canned shaving cream. Sometimes, when traveling, a mug and brush has been impractical for me and I've packed a can of Barbasol instead. The Barbasol worked great. This is definitely a YMMV area.

Scott

trewornan said it all. I would only offer the comparison of choosing between powdered eggs or the real thing, Spam versus filet mignon. To me the high quality Simpsons, Rooney or Plisson HMW combined with a fine soap or cream is one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole process.

please don't diss hamburgers.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by loueedacat

please don't diss hamburgers.

---

:gaah: I edited the post....... hope you ain't partial to Spam :D

I love spam!

YouTube - Monty Python - Spam

and dislike canned goo... mainly because of the high moisturization level of the traditional shaving cream, the scent and the feeling on my skin when lathered on my face with a brush.

Let me say the first time I shaved with a str8 I used foam from a can. The results were less than ideal. I started using a brush and soap or cream very soon after and found a big difference. That was the last time I used canned foam. In addition a cake of soap lasts a lot longer than a can of foam.

The traditional art of shaving with soaps/creams and a brush is to lather and lubricate, but also to help the hair lift off the face for an easier shave. The moisture and lubrication in the soaps/creams used with the brush does a much more effective job of this that the canned shave creams/gels.

I'd like to add one thing: "rinseability"

The canned stuff is made particulary for those razors with ´many,many, MANY...(and so on and so forth) blades, witch means lesser space betwen blades, so the lather-whisker-dead skin mixture must be easy to rinse of with water, thus making it less lubricant,less "rich", and prone to dissolve more easily when in contact with water.

Did ANYONE get the point of that??:hmmm:

Almost me neither, I have it in my head, but translating that to english was almost too much!!

A little edit: My point with this is: The traditional soaps/creams are better especially when used with a straight or DE, but when used with a multiblade thingy not so good. When using (hypothetically, of course!) multiblade canned might be better from a rinse p.o.w, but not from a lubricant/hydratin p.o.w.

Best regards

Clas

I ditched the canned stuff more than a decade before getting a straight. The main reason for me, price. At that time I could buy a cheap brush, a mug, and a puck of soap for the same cost and from the same store as I got my can of stuff ( and the "stuff" was usually on sale, I wasn't brand loyal). That brush still worked after 15 years when I got a nicer one and I still have that mug. So for simply the amount of money saved It is worth it to switch.

Now my "gourmet" soaps cost as much or a little more than they can of stuff, but they do last longer, and other have described the advantages of those.

Like Scott I have taken a can of Barbasol on trips since switching, and it did work about as well as my cheapest soap, at three times the cost. It took up more room in my luggage. It also isn't allowed on an airplane any more so now I take a puck of soap in a baggie. Airplane safe, and cheap enough that if TSA has a bad day and gets ****y about it Its easy enough to ditch.


If you want an excuse to spend the money on a brush and mug. Here you go: you can still get the cheap ones with a puck of Williams for roughly the same cost as another can of stuff!! There is no monetary reason not to try it, if you have a hard time with it, get some advice, learn to make better lather. I garantee that by the time you finish your first puck you will begin saving for a better brush and running out for more soap, not a can of goo.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cako72

I'd like to add one thing: "rinseability"

The canned stuff is made particulary for those razors with ´many,many, MANY...(and so on and so forth) blades, witch means lesser space betwen blades, so the lather-whisker-dead skin mixture must be easy to rinse of with water, thus making it less lubricant,less "rich", and prone to dissolve more easily when in contact with water.

Did ANYONE get the point of that??:hmmm:

Almost me neither, I have it in my head, but translating that to english was almost too much!!

Best regards

Clas

---

I definitely got that point,but even with that rinsability,those blades were constantly clogged up with me and I swear I would get cuts from the whiskers stuck between the blades and turned so they stick out.Talk about ideas that are way out there!Off topic,sorry.I think the brush and bowl lather just adds to the experience as a whole.Once you try warm lather combined with the scents traditional soaps and creams manage to emanate,you will understand.Maybe the scents is a large part of it.

Another, lesser-known fact about canned goo is that canned goo is, from a user viewpoint, fraud: whatever the can says it contains, it does contain. However, you will never be able to get all of it OUT OF the can! The manufacturers do this on purpose so you have to buy more goo sooner.

With a bowl / bar of soap or a pot of cream, you get to use 100% of what you paid for. :)

Thanks a bunch for all the answers everyone, my question seems to be thoroughly taken care of :)

I agree with all of the reasons previously given in favor of soap and brush. I used canned stuff for several years, tried soap and a brush on just a whim and noted a difference right away in the closeness of the shave, cost and longevity of the product.

One thing not mentioned so far that I also noticed was that the blade lasted much longer with the use of soap as opposed to the can. I would get 4 or 5 shaves per Mach II blade using the can; using the brush I would get at least two months on a Mach II. Before I went with a straight I was using a Schick Quattro IV and got 16 months out of the last blade and it was still going strong.

Well I just used some Proraso for my very first straight shave, then again for a multiblade shave. WOW what a difference! It feels GREAT with a multiblade compared to canned stuff!:rock:

For me it's the satisfaction of doing it myself. Using a can, mass produced in a cold factory is very impersonal! There's the joy of seeing the foam start to form on the brush and soap, then lathering it on your face, the foam YOU just created! It makes the shaving experience, whenever you do it, a personal experience each and every time. Sort of like driving a manual shift versus an automatic. You have a hand in what you do!:nj

I think most men at some point find themselves in posession of a cheap synthetic brush, e.g. as a Christmas present. They decide to try it out so they pick up the nearest bar of soap, whisk the brush around on it and apply it to the face. Not surprisingly the result is prety poor and they conclude that canned foam is much better.

So manufacturers of canned foam have it easy. They can produce really poor products because their target buyers have low expectations to start with. All Joe Public wants is something that puffs up nicely and shows them where they have shaved already.

I have never enjoyed applying canned foam and never got a great shave from it. I learned a long time ago that shaving oil works better (especially if you put aloe vera gel on top to prevent clogging.)

I haven't tried any canned foam since I tried a badger brush and good shaving cream. Maybe - just maybe - if I apply some of the lessons I've learned about good prep before I use canned foam I could get a decent shave.

But let me bounce your question right back at you - what reason is there for me to try canned foam again?

I think that rrp1501 have pinpointed one of my major reasons of using a straight, that is: It's up to me.
It's up to me to:

Keep the razor shaving sharp
Lather up real good
Evolve my shaving technic, eg. angel, pressure and motion of the razor.

Plus I think a straight razor is not only a tool to remove hair, it's also a fine piece of "practical art".

Sorry, slightly of topic...


Best regards

Clas

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by honedright

While I prefer traditional mug soaps, I don't think that they are always better than canned shaving cream. Sometimes, when traveling, a mug and brush has been impractical for me and I've packed a can of Barbasol instead. The Barbasol worked great. This is definitely a YMMV area.

Scott

---

I hear this reason all the time for using cream. I think the only reason would be availability. If you lose your luggage and cannot get anything else, like a stick of Williams and a $3 boar brush from Wal-mart.

Other than that I carry this stuff. Smaller than a can and VERY slick. I don't use it with a brush. I am not sure it's even meant to since I can't get lather like that.

Pre de Provence Shave Cream [SC-PRE-001] - $15.50 : West Coast Shaving, Double Edge Blade Sampler Packs

There are also the various sustainability/environmental arguments against the need for metal/plastic casing and hydrocarbon propellants...

The difference between the canned goo and a quality soap or cream is like the difference between real butter and those butter substitutes (qualitatively - never mind the health stuff). Try one, and then try the other. Which is better? I think it's no contest.

Jordan

I think one of the biggest differences is that the canned stuff uses a lot of chemicals (most notable the propellants that help it squirt from the can and foam up), whereas the real shaving cream doesn't need that junk, and is thus gentler on the skin. I use a nice shaving cream that I buy in a little tub from TheBodyShop. It works great, smells great, and last a LOT longer than the canned goop. Definitely NO comparison what-so-ever!

Dave

I agree with what's been said, especially with regards to hydration and lubrication.

However, let's not forget about scent and exfoliation. Applying a lather with a brush as opposed to your hands with canned lather, helps straighten the whiskers for a closer shave, as well as naturally exfoliating your face i.e. cleaning pores and wiping away dead skin.

And the scents! I find that most canned shaving cream smells very anonymous, very generic, and very similar. They smell like deodorant to me. Compare that to things like avacado, lavender, sandalwood, lemon, almond, and so on, and there's really a big difference.

The only reason I see for the canned crap is if you're using Mach3's or similar, then the sensitive gel is actually a lot easier to get a nice shave with. With real lather, you do need to pay attention to what you're doing since you don't have the same play as with the canned gel. Still, I wouldn't go back to gels without being forced.

I use Tabac shaving soap and it's WAY smoother than any canned goo I've used. Even my Mach3 can get BBS shaves with no pressure on the skin at all using Tabac soap. With the canned goo you need a lot of pressure which is horrible on the skin.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stuggi

The only reason I see for the canned crap is if you're using Mach3's or similar, then the sensitive gel is actually a lot easier to get a nice shave with. With real lather, you do need to pay attention to what you're doing since you don't have the same play as with the canned gel. Still, I wouldn't go back to gels without being forced.

---

Not true, I've used Mach3 with Tabac and the Tabac is vastly superior to the Mach3 Gel.

the first time i used a real soap/brush i never looked back, i ended up taking the remaining can of goo and did some experiments with it (nothing fun happend but it used up a slow afternoon nicely), suffice to say my opinion on the usefulness of a can of goo is for experimenting with to kill time not for any shave related purposes. and if any one can find some sort of interesting experiment invovling cans of goo let me know cuz i still have a full one kicking around LOL.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cotdt

I use Tabac shaving soap and it's WAY smoother than any canned goo I've used. Even my Mach3 can get BBS shaves with no pressure on the skin at all using Tabac soap. With the canned goo you need a lot of pressure which is horrible on the skin.



Not true, I've used Mach3 with Tabac and the Tabac is vastly superior to the Mach3 Gel.

---

Did you every try the sensitive gel? Still, I do say it better to use soap than gel, but the gel gives you a good shave without hassle, if you use a soap then you really need to pay attention to what you're doing.