Thread: Soap guide comparison

Hey all, I haven't really skimmed or searched to see if this has been done before. has anyone established a soap guide comparison?

If not I want to get input from everyone who's been shaving 10+ years on soaps they'd rate the best. I plan to get these soaps and shave with them to see what you're talking about. My plan is to set up a shaving soap guide with brands being rated from 1 to 10, 10 being best overall. I'll have subcategories, according to the input I receive such as lathering up (how well, etc.) lather retention, moisturizing/drying skin, slip (how well it helps/prevents razor from gliding across skin, etc.) etc.

I'm not really interested in smell as that's generally a personal preference I'm interested in performance.

If this hasn't been done before could I please get suggestions from some 10+ year shaving veterans on which soaps are 'best', how you would rate them from 1 to 10 over all, what subcategories you consider important and how you would rate each soap in each sub category?

I will then get a cake of each soap mentioned, shave with it for a week or 2 to get an idea of what you're talking about. These soap tests will be my "baseline". Then I plan to get samples of every soap out there and rate it accordingly.

The reason I'm doing this is because of some fellows here that use the DE's or Feathers (disposable blades) That swear up and down that a bar of dove or even dial essence soaps performs just as well as any cup soap out there.

So I decided to test it. However I want a baseline and some other soaps to compare them to.

Thanks for any and all input.

I'm sure you're aware of Colleen's complete line of products, therefore we should test at least two of them. Cavendish Black and one more.

Maybe this will help you? http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~vgable/sha...apreviews.html

Sorry if this site has been mentioned before.

Originally Posted by Abscissa

Maybe this will help you? http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~vgable/sha...apreviews.html

Sorry if this site has been mentioned before.

I just read this a couple of days ago. While I don't entirely agree with these assesments, I do have to say that a person with sensitive skin is a good candidate to write reviews. Thus far, there hasn't been a soap or a cream that has irritated my skin. Some aftershaves have, but no soaps or creams.
-Fred

You might want to take a look here.

Thanks X, I received a pm also on this. I'm checking it out.

Glen F

Xert, thanks for the great link and welcome to SRP

Glen

p.s. I was disapointed on the rating of Surrey, I really like it for the price it's hard to beat.

Originally Posted by gglockner

I was disappointed on the rating of Surrey, I really like it for the price it's hard to beat.

Three big things to consider when viewing those reviews:

1. The overall rating of an item is the average of every gent's rating. If only one fella has rated a product and didn't care for it, then...you get the idea.
2. To get a true read of a products value, don't look at the overall rating. Look at how the product measures up in each area. Also, a good review will include some text describing exactly what was good or bad about each trait.
3. For a while (and still to a small degree) there was some disagreement as to whether a product could be of "high quality" without being considered a "luxury" item. Again, read the comments on each product and look at scores in individual areas to really determine how a product ranks.

Don't get me wrong, I think their review system is fantastic and I have greatly enjoyed reading it and contributing to it.

Also, if you really like Surrey, who cares what others think. If it provides you with a close and enjoyable shave, then it provides you with a close and enjoyable shave.

I LOVE my Tabac, second my Proraso, then Taylor cream, The Body Shop cream...

Nenad

I've been loving my Valobra soft almond and my Valobra shave stick. Both great products, and somewhat of a bargain at $10 and $8 respectively. I think we'd see many more people using these if one of the shaving vendors sold the line.

I like Surrey Hypoallergenic a lot, for shave quality. It doesn't seem to last me very long (but who cares at that price), and the scent isn't the greatest.