Thread: Replenishing soaps & creams cost

also.. am i wrong in thinking that you can use any natural glycerin or tallow based soap found in health food stores?.. my local hippiemart has a huge variety of natural soaps with great scents like lavender and oatmeal and they only run 2 dollars a piece.

Originally Posted by vthomlinson

also.. am i wrong in thinking that you can use any natural glycerin or tallow based soap found in health food stores?.. my local hippiemart has a huge variety of natural soaps with great scents like lavender and oatmeal and they only run 2 dollars a piece.

Thing is these don't work like specialty shaving soap. Shaving soaps can have special additives that make them better for shaving with. Even if they are of the same ingredients as face soaps they are usually formulated to have a thicker lather or a slicker base than you would really want in a face or bath bar.

I've seen shaving soaps for $3 or less per bar from smaller makers up to $20 plus for the same size puck. Either way they tend to last months.

I was a die hard Williams ($1.99 at the drugstore) soap guy for 15 years before I discovered the good stuff. I still like Williams better then Van Der hagen (you couldn't pay me to use that) but there are few soaps out there that don't beat Williams on at least two of the many criteria you could judge shave soap by.

Specialty soaps from smaller makers are more than worth the bucks.

all in all this seems like its going to be quiet pricy. I'm really close to ordering one though. Im trying to weigh out the options.

I don't think it has to be that pricey. If you don't have a nearby store that sells the Proraso, you can get it from Amazon. Mama Bear has a lot of soaps in the $9-$10 range. I personally like creams, and have both expensive (Castle and Forbes) and less expensive (our own CarrieM's). I like both a lot.

If you aren't equipped with a brush yet, I don't think you can go wrong with the Tweezerman. It's around $15, but is a reasonable quality badger hair. You could do far worse than to buy a Tweezerman brush and a cake of Col. Conk's Bay Rum soap from Amazon, and you'd only be out about $20.

Fred

A nice, big puck of Tabac from FragranceX costs $11 delivered to your door, worldwide. Some people don't love the scent as much as others do, but it lathers very well, and it's a good value for the money in terms of how long it will last.

(Oops, I should mention that FREE is the coupon code for the free shipping.)

hippiemart sells olive oil soaps which don't lather well at all.

Originally Posted by aznaod7

all in all this seems like its going to be quiet pricy. I'm really close to ordering one though. Im trying to weigh out the options.

Pricey is a relative term. A cake of high quality soap can be had for as little as USD 10. That cake will last much longer than 10 cans of foam, but will perform a lot better. Add a USD 5 brush, and you are in business already. So, no, I do not think this will be pricey, you will actually save a lot of money.

While you are still looking, go here: Shaving Soaps/Shaving Creams Reviews - Straight Razor Place Forums. There are a number of reasonably cheap soaps and creams in there as well. I consider every product I reviewed with more than 70% totally sufficient to get a great shave, and that is quite a number of products, among them at least two that are below USD 10. [Edit] Check this out: http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...ing-cream.html. I consider it a hidden gem, and more than worthy competitor for van der Hagen and Williams.

Regards,
Robin

I`ve found Mitchells wool fat soap, lasts a good 6 months or so of daily shaving and costs £5

A puck of shaving soap can run anywhere from $3.50 to $13.95 at many internet outlets.

I agree with many of the previous posts...The high-end price range soaps may seem expensive at first, but consider that shaving soaps usually last for months, and if properly maintained, can last for close to a year. The price per shave is only pennies.

IMHO the last thing you should do is try to cut corners when choosing a shaving soap. It is one of several important factors that determines the quality of the shave you will receive from your razor. You may think you are saving money at first, but in the long-run you will end up spending more to upgrade in the future.

Just my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Pricey is a relative term. A cake of high quality soap can be had for as little as USD 10. That cake will last much longer than 10 cans of foam, but will perform a lot better. Add a USD 5 brush, and you are in business already. So, no, I do not think this will be pricey, you will actually save a lot of money.

+1 with Robin. This is exactly what I was saying. The upfront cost seems high, especially when compared to a $2 can of Gillette foam. But a puck will still be going strong in the time it would take to go through several cans of Gillette crap, and the luxurious lather they create is second to none.