Thread: What is a good soap?

I'm looking for a good cake soap for making Uberlather. My first try was a basic "Delux shave soap" made by Van Der Hagen. Not too impressed. Poor lather, and feels sticky after washing it off.
I would like to try a soap with glycerin, but i have no idea what to try. I found lots of good soaps on straight razor designs, bestgroomingtools.com, and classicshaving.com. But I have no idea what to choose. Do you know of a specific soap that would be good?

Worship.

The Gentlemen's Quarter - Shaving, Bath and Body, Skincare, Home Fragrance, Brushes, Creams, Soaps

I looked at this link, but there is no Worship brand.

Originally Posted by salazch

I looked at this link, but there is no Worship brand.

Haha, he meant to worship the website, not a "worship" type soap.

TGQ makes some great soaps, and their creams are quite nice too...

I make my uberlather from Trumpers sandalwood soap and cream, plus a couple of drops of their sandalwood skin food.

Seems to work great!

Mama Bear has great soaps.
Tabac is ok too.

Sorry to derail the topic at hand for a moment, but why make "uberlather"? Is it superor in some way to just using a quality soap or cream, or is it another one of those "personal preference" things for people?

Anyways, in regards to soaps I just recently ordered the sample pack from SRD and have to say their soaps are top notch. I am loving the bulgarian rose but at 50.00 aI doubt you would want to go that road for an uberlather. FOr me personally, I really enjoy the blood orange scent as well.

Another place to check would be Odin's Edge Shaving goods. the website is hear... Site Disclaimer - Odins Edge Custom Shaving

James at Odin's Edge has a 5 year refined Goats Milk Sandalwood soap I have been using that I absolutely love. Very naturals and clean scent. Just right in my opinion. He is working on getting the site up and running but definitely drop him a message and he will get back to you very quickly, he is a great gentlemen to do business with. If you have trouble getting in touch with him just shoot me a PM as I have his e-mail.

His Username here is "Katanado" let him know I recommended you to him if you decide to drop him a message.

Cheers,

Josh

VERY nice question.
To me soap shouldn't get dry very fast . second while you shave you have feeling like it protects your skin from razor. razor just moves very smooth on your face.
i use Tabac.
I am sure a lot better ones out there but i haven't find yet.

First of all, notice that there are many opinions on this subject. After having tried some of the products mentioned here, I must tell you that you are setting yourself up for some disappointment. The reason being that usually people like soap A because they hate soap B and vice versa. This is not always true but it happens a lot. Instead, I am going to tell you as a user and a soapmaker what I look for in a shaving soap/cream. A good soap/cream: 1) contributes to beard and skin preparation by softening whiskers and lubricating the skin; 2) provides a well hydrated lather that does not dry out; 3)allows sufficient cushion and glide during the shave; 4) conditions your skin after the shave; 5) is economic; and 6) and has a pleasant scent. Needless to say, the products that excel in all of these areas can probably counted with the fingers of your hand. These products are typically expensive but well worth their price. Once you try these, you would probably not shave again with most of the cheap ones. Do not take me wrong, there are some inexpensive soap/creams that are very good, even if the scent or the conditioning is not the best.

One thing to be particularly aware of is the economy of the product. The price of the product only tells you half of the story. If you buy a soap that cost twice as much as another but gives you twice as many shaves or more, you are no saving by buying the inexpensive one..., it is that simple. I am not big into scents so unless the soap smells like rotten fish, turpentine, hippie, etc., I am usually happy. I prefer soaps that do not have a pronounced scent. Because I have sensitive skin, for me, what often tilts the scale is conditioning. If you do not have special requirements in that front, you will find more products that fit the bill and your budget.

Since you are only looking to make uberlather, you do not need a stand alone product but remember that some soaps do not go well with some creams, just keep that in mind when you select both the soap and the cream.

These are some I like: Mitchell's Wool Fat and Truefitt & Hill. If you are going for budget, Tabac is almost unbeatable. There are also many others that would fit the bill in that price range, Caswell Massey being one of my persoanl favs (that almost everyone else do not like). I have not found the first glycerin-based soap that I have been happy with so I would suggest to stay away from them, you already found VdH ;-).

Al raz.

Originally Posted by salazch

I'm looking for a good cake soap for making Uberlather. My first try was a basic "Delux shave soap" made by Van Der Hagen. Not too impressed. Poor lather, and feels sticky after washing it off.
I would like to try a soap with glycerin, but i have no idea what to try. I found lots of good soaps on straight razor designs, bestgroomingtools.com, and classicshaving.com. But I have no idea what to choose. Do you know of a specific soap that would be good?

You can make Uberlather with almost every quality soap or cream