Thread: Replenishing soaps & creams cost

Hi I am looking into straight razors, I was thikning when you need to buy new soaps and creams can you find them in regular stores like wal-mart or only purchase them on speacilty sites online? Also how long does a soap bar last ususally and how much is a new one? Im not looking for any thing fancy, just the basic kind of thing.

Thank you

It really varies, dependant on how often you shave, how much soap you use each time and how big the soap was to start with.

When I started all I had was a puck of Trumpers soap (about £17 including the wooden container) and that lasted me about 9 months of daily shaving. I got some Tabac at Christmas that I use pretty often and I've barely made a mark on it since then, and my CF Lime cream is barely depleted as well. But then I have other soaps (about 10 all in) that I use as well now, so that will make a difference to my usage of individual products.

I believe you can get some cheaper Palmolive shave sticks from supermarkets for a few dollars, though I'm not sure how long they would last.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Hello, Aznaod7:

Stuart has a good idea. Also try Van der Hagen soap, available at Walmart. It's an okay soap, inexpensive, and will last a while.

Regards,
Obie

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.

You will discover that most people buy soaps and creams because they want them not because they need them. In other words, most people have more than one soap or cream at any given time.

It is hard to answer how long a product lasts because it depends on many factors including: 1) the quality of the product; 2) frequency of use; 3) quality of water; and 4) individual technique.

If you go to Walmart of pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS, etc... you are confined to a few brands like Williams and Van der Hagen, that are the most basic soaps you can buy, they sell for about $1 to $2. They do their job, nothing fancy or particularly good. You will also find some shave creams, typically brushless or foamless that are not all that great for shaving with a straight, although some people have used them. You can also find Kiss my Face creams for around $7.

If you have a mall nearby, the situation gets a little better: you may find C. O. BIbelow at the Bath and Body works about $5 to $10 depending on the size. This cream is made by an Italian manufacturer, Proraso. You may also find a Body Shop store that sells a Maca root Shave Cream that has some followers. You may even find a Crabtree & Evelyn that carries 3 or so lines of soaps and creams: Nomad, Sandalwood, West Indies Limes and Sienna. Soaps go for $18 and the creams start at $16. All these products perform much better than what you find at the supermarket or local pharmacy.

If you live in a larger city or are lucky enough to live in a "special town" (one with a large community of people from certain nationalities or a the headquarters of an online store) or you may find specialty stores that carry even better product than these like the ones mentioned by Stubear. It is not common to find these stores.

Your best bet is online and the universe is practically unlimited. You can find every cream and soap available and all sorts of qualities and price ranges. Prices again range from a few $ to $50 or $100 for a puck of soap or a tub of shaving cream, usually between $20 to $50 for most of them. Some vendors like Amazon offer free shipping. You will find that the old saying "you get what you pay for" is usually true for shaving soaps and creams. There is a large gap in performance when you go from the entry level to a high end product and the word value becomes extremely important. These high end products also last for a long time. For some people dedicated to wet shaving, it is worthwhile spending the extra money for a higher quality product.

Al raz.

Originally Posted by aznaod7

Hi I am looking into straight razors, I was thikning when you need to buy new soaps and creams can you find them in regular stores like wal-mart or only purchase them on speacilty sites online? Also how long does a soap bar last ususally and how much is a new one? Im not looking for any thing fancy, just the basic kind of thing.

Thank you

Originally Posted by Alraz

You will discover that most people buy soaps and creams because they want them not because they need them. In other words, most people have more than one soap or cream at any given time.

Wow, truer words were never spoken. In the nearly 2 years that I have been using a brush and proper soaps I have accumulated many pucks, none of which are even close to finished. With luxury shaving products, like soaps from fine European traditions, the upfront cost seems high at first until you consider the comfort they afford and the fact that they last forever. So many soaps to try, so short is life.

But my wife would kill me if she found me ordering more!

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.)