Thread: Soaps vs. Creams

So do you like one better than the other? How come? Volume of suds? Lasting suds? Ease of making suds? Fragrances? Work better with your style of brush?

I actually like both which is why I prefer a brush with some body, but really am driven by the big suds that last and provide a great cushion for the shave. Robin recently turned me on to the Caraceni cream and I really like it alot. Castle Forbes cream also remains one of my favorites. I have a bunch of soaps I like and get a big kick out of just switching and trying different ones. There are glycerine and triple milled ones that I like and they also can make some big suds. Definite case of SAD.

Have fun,

Lynn

More often than not, I combine the two. I find that I get a richer, silkier, and longer lasting lather that way.

I was a soap guy until I got my hands on AlRaz's Bomb. Now my brush has shared custody.

I started shaving with williams and always did prefer it to canned goo or the rare occasions when I would use the goo. Then I discovered this site a little over a year ago..........

Now as a general rule I prefer soaps though I do often add a squirt of KMF to super lather them.

CF and The Bomb are exceptions to this general rule but I will admit there are creams that I have to try, and I'm not sure when I will. It almost doesn't seem fair when they are trying to match up with the above two.

If I had to guess a reason why I seem to prefer soaps I would say that it seems at least to me that I get more cushion from them.

Depends entirely on the soap.

Tallow soaps versus glycerin soaps have different results lather and lubricating wise on my skin. I like both, but tallow soaps tend to give better lather and even better lubrication/moisture to the skin.

Then there's the holy grail of soaps Mitchell's Woolfat, which has lanolin mmmm sweet sweet lanolin!! Hurray for MWF!!

Creams again, this depends entirely on the cream EO's versus FO's or combinations, if their is shea butter or coconut oil, etc... I like creams a lot, they tend to give a lot of moisture and lather very easily.

Soaps+Creams, now thats heavenly, but then there's the home run:

Soap+Cream+Glycerin.... hot damn amazing!!

Cheers
David

Originally Posted by sffone

More often than not, I combine the two. I find that I get a richer, silkier, and longer lasting lather that way.

+1 on that!! i use MWF loaded in the brush and then put my choice of cream in the scuttle and whip it good,that reminds me of a song back in the late 70's early 80's i think they had lampshades on their heads,just cant think of the bands name, just whip it,whip it good!

I like MWF too, but it tends to burn if my skin is irritated or sensitive, whereas the SRD brand or van der hagen wont. The Art of Shaving cream is wonderful by its self too. I like to combine the soap and cream.

I like combining soap, usually MWF because it has no scent, with a cream. I also like scented glycerin soap and about any quality triple milled I've tried so far.

I like uber lather, the soap gives the nice scent ,the cream lathers easier.
If I had to chose one, I'd go with cream, because I can't get very good lather from soap.

I guess it depends on my mood. If I want to face lather, I'll reach for a soap. If I want a rich scent, creams are usually the choice. I don't like to make uberlather, just because I feel dorky whenever I do it. One thing I like a lot about creams, I can always scoop out just a little and take it on the road or give my brother a sample. I guess I could whittle off a chunk of soap, but it's not the same.