Soap or cream?

**SlickWillyTFCF** · 07-19-2009, 01:39 AM

I have two TOBS creams and just got a small tub of Leatherneck cream from TGQ in the mail today. The scents are amazing. I havent tried any soaps aside from that horrible Williams trash and one called Greenbriar from Caswell-Massey, which was quite a while ago, so I have a few questions.
Do you gents have a particular reason that you prefer one over the other, and which do you think tends to have a longer lasting fragrance, soap or cream?

**Alraz** · 07-19-2009, 02:17 AM

The choice of soap or cream is a matter of personal preference, there are good commercial examples of both. When selecting a soap or a cream it is important to make the selection based on performance rather than the scent. Often people disregard the performance of the soap or cream and make selections based solely on the scent. This, in my opinion, should be avoided. Because of the way that soaps and creams are made, it is easier to produce creams with higher levels of fragrance than soaps. However, this is not always the case. How lasting a cent is often depends on the nature (strength) of the oils used. Whether you use a soap or a cream, it is important to build lather of the proper consistency to obtain a good shave. Lathering is a skill, which is often overlooked among wet shavers. This process is pretty much the same whether you use soap or cream, you may want to check the wiki for references: Category:Lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki. This process can be divided into 3 stages:

1) loading the brush; 2) building the lather; and 3) hydrating the lather. It is important to pay careful attention to each stage.

When lathering, the most important thing is to be sure of finding the peak of the soap/cream (the point where no more lather can be produced). Both dry (before reaching the peak) and too wet (over the peak) lather can be problematic. Dry lather looks similar to cake frosting and can easily be detected by passing your brush over. If the brush leaves grooves, the lather is too dry. Lather has been obtained with too much water (past the peak) vanishes almost immediately after it touches the skin and can appear dry. These are very common problems among new and seasoned users. There is a good section in the wiki about lathering, if you have not done so already, a visit is in order:

Category:Lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Also, I think this that you may find this video useful:

YouTube - How To Build And Apply Traditional Shaving Lather

**SlickWillyTFCF** · 07-19-2009, 03:21 AM

thanks for the info AR. i've got the lather making part down pat.

i suppose maybe what i'm looking for is info on a combination of soap/cream and aftershave. post-shave, should there be enough of a scent from the lather to last for a while or must i use and aftershave or cologne for that? for instance, i like the smell of the Leatherneck cream and i get a close shave with it too. i tried it about 45 minutes ago. but TGQ doesnt have a Leatherneck aftershave that I could find. should the lather by itself leave enough of a scent on the skin to last for a while?

**bevansmw** · 07-19-2009, 01:46 PM

I started out preferring creams and used a scuttle, but then ventured off into soaps and haven't really looked back to creams. I still have two creams, both Castle Forbes (limes & lavender) but rarely use them now.

I tend to prefer Mama bear's soaps and also have been using Institut de Karite soap (not sure on spelling) which is my favorite. I lather on the face now and get better lather out of soaps now than I ever did with creams. Parted with my scuttles a while back and just face lather now.

I don't really care much for the scents though some smell really good, my preference is on the lather produced and I've found I get much better lather out of the soaps mentioned than most of the creams I've tried (TOBS, T&H, TGQ, CF, Proraso). Institut de karite is awesome, I grated it into a small glass bowl and it produces amazing lather.

**cubed1** · 07-19-2009, 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by SlickWillyTFCF

Do you gents have a particular reason that you prefer one over the other, and which do you think tends to have a longer lasting fragrance, soap or cream?

Why not both? I made my first Uber Lather yesterday and WOW! all the slickness and cushion I could handle in a really hydrating densely packed lather. I think this maybe my new routine. I have some simple glycerin soap and used the portland general store's whisky shaving jelly which I think was supposed to be a gel but mine arrived too watery but the scent is AWESOME; anyway, i dipped my brush tips in the jelly and lathered up the soap and it worked like a charm. I haven't used much of the fancy stuff but i love my unscented soap because i can make it smell like anything - just a drop of an EO before lathering is all it takes.

Cheers!

**RichZ** · 07-20-2009, 04:51 PM

I use both cream and soap depending on my mood. Both are good... As for the scent I am not sure probable depends on the product itself. My favorite is Castle Forbes Lime cream.

**dward** · 07-24-2009, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by cubed1

Why not both?

I use both. TGQ for soaps, and T&H, Lavanda, and C-F creams. Kind of hard to call C-F a cream though. It's more like a hard cream, or soft soap.

**PA23-250** · 07-26-2009, 01:08 AM

Agreed on the CF lime--that stuff is amazing. And you need so little of it, so it's not actually as expensive as it may 1st appear.

Thread: Soap or cream?

LinkBack

Thread Tools

Display

Soap or cream?

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Alraz For This Useful Post:

The Following User Says Thank You to bevansmw For This Useful Post:

Posting Permissions