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Normally i avoid bar soap because of the sticky feeling that it leaves on my skin. Even dove does this sometimes. I want to use cake soap to mix w/cream, but I want a soap that is good for sensitive skin. I saw some on this site Shaving Soap
but I have no idea what is good. Any thoughts?
I just had a quick look at that site and to be honest the range of soap brands they have is pretty limited.
Of all those shown you could try EJ Aloe Vera soap or Tabac. Both are good but depending on just how sensitive your skin is, you may wish to look elsewhere.
By default, my suggested soap for any one with sensitive skin is Trumper's Rose. You don't need to add any cream to it as it is MUCH more moisturising than cream. This comes from someone with ultra sensitive skin and doesn't use bath soaps either!
You just need to try a good soap, any good soap. With a good soap mixing it with anything would not help and would only hurt the quality.
salazch,Quote:
Originally Posted by salazch
Perhaps you should take a look at either the Straight Razor Designs, Vintage Blades or Classic Shaving websites for soap or the following website:
Barclay Crocker, Inc.: Shave Soaps, Creams & Foam
Visit SRD and get some of their shave soaps, you won't be disappointed. They are among the best I've used....
That shave shop link which you posted stocked Prorasso. I started on this Italian soap, which is more like a cream actually, and still use it today among several other soaps including Cella which is also Italian.
It is an excellent product in all fields and you can not go wrong. Prorasso is also highly rated by some of the gentlemen here, no doubt some will chime in.
The pre shave is great too.
If your skin is very sensitive, you may want to consider going with something unscented for the time being. It's not necessary to create uberlather (soap + cream), but do as you wish. Personally, I'd just stick with a great soap and work on your lathering skills.
SRD sells an unscented base version of their glycerin soap. I don't have any experience with them myself, but if they're anything like QED's glycerin soaps, they should be excellent. Mitchell's Wool Fat is also a great triple-milled soap that's good for sensitive skin, albeit some have an allergy to lanolin.
Both are worth checking out...
Try van der hagen deluxe or glyceryn, It's good and it's cheap.
Superspot
TGQ and Mama Bear both have some great bath soaps. And both have large followings here...
You cant go wrong with Tabac. Lathers like a dream and at a great price! The only debate is over the scent, which is a bit like Marmite; You either love it or you hate it!
Otherwise, I really like Trumpers sandalwood soap.
EDIT: I just realised how that reads! Tabac doesnt smell like marmite..! Hehe! Tabac is a sort of old school barbershop scent, very slightly floral but not overpowering.
The marmite reference refers to a UK ad campaign for the spread. The slogan was "You either love it or hate it."
Hehe!
I'll say without a doubt from what I've tried Mitchell's Wool Fat is the best for my skin. HOWEVER, I feel like it would be a crappy first soap because it is a little finicky. Go with proraso. It is great and easy to use and cheap. However it has menthol, dunno if that will hurt your skin or not.
+3 on Tabac. The scent is not really that strong, it lathers great, moisturizes, provides a nice glide, and is inexpensive and lasts forever.
Probably the best and easiest to buy in person is not a soap, but a cream, CO Bigelow (ie. Proraso) from Bath and Body works.
Hey there! I'm a newb and I've only tried one shaving soap so far, but here's my experience...
My skin is fairly sensitive. It HATES some dyes and chemical-y fragrances. This is part of why I wound up using plain soap to shave for years - all that foam-in-a-can crap was just loaded with chemicals that made my skin burn. So I just used plain, unscented, white soap. Most of the fragrances in soaps these days just smells like a chemistry lab to me - maybe because I know what it's going to do to my skin.
I was lucky enough to try out Mama Bear's Chocolate Mousse as my first soap. I was a bit concerned about it being scented, but I had a look at the site and it has a very "home-made" feel to it, unlike most of the soaps/foams I tried, and it also smelled much more agreeable somehow, so I decided to go for it.
Holy cow. It's an entirely different animal.
My skin felt perfect afterwards, despite my ailing blade (long story short, I kinda killed it whilst stropping - it will be back any day now!). Soft, no burn, no redness.
Mama Bear's also lathered REALLY quickly and REALLY well, even on my first attempt, and despite my hard water. So that was another awesome aspect.
Basically, I love it all-around.
But I suspect this also has something to do with its intended purpose. It's relatively easy to make your own shaving soap (hard to master, but easy to start anyway). Most of the ingrediants are pretty simple things, and it's intended for your face - some of the most sensitive skin on your body.
So really, I suspect this is true of many brands of shaving soap. But, as I only have experience with Mama Bear, I can recommend that highly. I think there is a selection of "natural" scents, as well as unscented. Have a look.
I would be careful with the Fat. I know it's recommended for sensitive skins, but as the lanolin content is so high, it has made some people get a stinging sensation. I remember it went up my nose (sic) when I tried it and I got quite a stinging sensation, which meant I was left doing nose-gargles. Yes - I'm serious!Quote:
Originally Posted by khaos