Thread: Soap & Cream Rotation

I choose the soap depending on which cologne / aftershave I intend to wear.

I have a half dozen or so choices. I go for the one that suits my mood at that time, or if I have a hankering for a shave with a specific soap I reach for that one.

I've been straight shaving for ~ 2 yrs give or take. I have a bunch of shave creams and soaps I collected early on. While most them are much better than the canned goo I am finding I am ignoring some of them and focusing on what has a proven track record with me. I remember the senior members saying that it takes time to really know what is good, and I didn't believe them. Now I am part of their camp and still learning.

As for how I choose, I pick what works best and what I am in the mood for in a cologne, AS or shave cream/soap. Sometimes I feel adventurous and use some of the lesser performing stuff on hand. While it's a pleasant diversion I still find myself going back the the performers for the bulk of my shaves. While scent is the most obvious trait of a cream/soap, it is not where the rubber meets the road.

Ladies and gentlemen:

I rotate several soaps and creams. Here is the lineup:

Soaps: Truefitt & Hill, Provence Sante Verlaine, Mitchell's Wool Fat, Edwin Jagger Aloe, L'Occitain, Institute Karite, Pre de Province, Cyril Salter, Mama Bear, SRD unscented, and in my "dumpster" mug, Colonel Conk, VDH and Caswell-Massey.

Creams: Trumper's rose, Harris lavender, Pre de Provence, Institute Karite, Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort (unscented), Castle Forbes Lavender and Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet.

The three silver tip brushes — 1 Semogue and 2 Thater — go with cream. The rest, both badgers and boars, go with soaps, or sometimes soap spiked with Pre de Provence cream.

The rotation, for the most part, is organized. Then again, sometimes I go with what pleases me.

I must say, the cartridge-razor-canned-foam-world doesn't know what it's missing.

Regards,
Obie

I have only 8, two creams and six soaps. Its taking so long to use them up and I hope they last and don't go bad on me.

Soap: Mama Bear EO - Three types
Col Conk: Three types
VintageBlade Creams - Lavendar and Sandlewood.

I use one for about 5 shaves, then move on to the next.

Pabster

I've slowly built up a soap collection that makes me pause to think before each shave.

Used to be easy before but now I always wonder what soap to use for my shave.

As of right now I have:
c&e nomad sienna and sandalwood
muhel sandalwood and buckthorn
col conk bay rum
old spyce and absithne scented soaps by one of members here
dr Harris lavender
trumpers coconut
truffit and hill
l'occitane
and a puck of shave soap by a local store near my home.


So I've got a bit of a collecet and I'm trying to keep my sad in check and not order the tobs lavender also. There are a few others I have been eyeing but I'm trying to behave.

It's ok my bday is coming up soon

I rotate on a weekly basis, with Sunday being the ''turn-around'' day. I currently have at least 15 soaps and creams with no set schedule. I try to go back to the brands I haven't used in a while (by memory), but sometimes I do have to use The One I have my heart set on that particular moment

Right now I'm into über lather. I've gotten great results with both cheap soaps: Williams and Van der Hagen. I'm sticking with the VdH at the moment because it easily melts into the handled bowl I use for the soap.

I just used up my tube of Proraso cream and am alternating between my AOS Lavender for sensitive skin and a no-name brand I found in Whole Foods Market called Welenda. Both (along with the Proraso) make an outstanding über lather using five drops of glycerin and the Van der Hagen soap. (Off the point -- I just today discovered that adding a bit of Astroglide personal lubricant really improves the quality of my über lather!)

Right now I'm focused on developing my shaving technique so I'm more concerned with the mechanics of my lather than I am with its aesthetics.

A bit further down the road I anticipate exploring various scents to enhance my shaving Zen. At that time I'll experiment with trying various scented soaps and a wider variety of creams. First things first, though.
Namaste,
Morty -_-

Quick PS: the reason why I bought the no-name cream at Whole Foods was to see if it would fill in should I ever run out of "the good stuff" before its replacement arrives in the mail.

Mood - listen to the mood. Just like how I pick which music to listen to.

I actually only keep one soap at a time and use that until it's gone, I then will try something different and if I don't like it I'll give it to my uncle and get another one.

Right now I am on my fourth Tabac puck, great soap, it's one of my favorites. Another one that I repeatedly get is MWF as well as the Cella "puddy" type soap in the red container. But like I said, I only buy one at a time, it's less money that way and more money for hones!