Thread: What's better soap or cream?

I believe that this is what you really should be asking

In general and I emphasize that word Soaps tend to have a bit better glide and Creams tend to have better cushion..

Most place in the US are close enough to a large Mall and the mall will have "The Body Shop" in there.. Try their Maca Root shave cream..

Soaps can also be found locally from VDH to Col Conk...

You already have many of the best listed above, but these will allow you to get you hands on some ASAP and they are rather inexpensive to boot...


Keep reading too because lather can be very simple as Face lathering off a soap or very luxurious like Uberlather in a scuttle, the choice is yours...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

In general and I emphasize that word Soaps tend to have a bit better glide and Creams tend to have better cushion..

Try Maca Root shave cream....

+1.

The options are limitless. After trying almost everything available through the years, I have found myself using the traditional soaps (P160, D.R. Harris, Cade, Proraso, PdP etc.) more. As far as creams, the Polish and European creams (Lider, Godreg, Figaro, Arko etc.) are excellent. Mama Bears soaps are great but some of the scents overlap. The Olde Barbarshop, Frankinsence & whatever, Hinoki Wood and Magnetism for Men have a common fragrance that make them too similar IMO. This aside, they are great soaps.

Both have their place. I use both of them, add glycerine to each, and it is hard to tell the difference. Water here is hard, so I sometimes use distilled H2O. Try both and see what you like best, badger for cream and bristle for soap.

I hate Tabac, and I find it to be among the most over-hyped products on the market. The reason it has such a cult following is absolutely beyond me.

Don't Flame me, Bro!

Soaps:
Well, there just aren't as many great ones as there used to be...
Art of Shaving
Czech & Speake
I also love Mitchell's Wool Fat

If you want shave sticks:
Valobra
Palmolive
Speick

these are among the best performers, IMHO, and 3 of the 5 are valobra based soaps (AoS, C&S, and obviously Valobra)

Creams:
Penhaligon's
Castle Forbes
Domenico Caraceni 1913
St. James of London - Cedarwood & Clarysage

These are all very good options. Of course there are others. No disrespect intended to anyone else, but I personally have no use for mixing creams with soap and glycerin or any other products to make a quality lather. If I can't get greatness from a single product, I don't bother with it (a possible exception is Creed soaps with AoS unscented cream because the scent of Creed is unreal).

I like soap.

Originally Posted by richmondesi

I hate Tabac, and I find it to be among the most over-hyped products on the market. The reason it has such a cult following is absolutely beyond me.

+1

For me, Tabac performs only slightly better than Williams and it doesn't smell nearly as good.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Most place in the US are close enough to a large Mall and the mall will have "The Body Shop" in there.. Try their Maca Root shave cream..

According to their website, the nearest one is 125.8 miles from my location.
I guess farmers aren't their target market...

For my personal experience, I found a bigger difference/benefit when I started using a preshave oil (T&H) then when I experimented with soaps and creams. The preshave oil really made the blade glide across my skin, and left me feeling softer after the shave. If you are just starting out (I started about 3 months ago) I would recommend investing in a good bottle of preshave oil (or make your own, recipes are everywhere).

i just started using creams (used to be a soap guy) i have tried samples of creams before but actually ordered some creams a week or so ago and i love them, i seem to get a thicker lather from the creams but im sure i will be going back and forth between the two cause i dont think one is actually better or worse than the other, i love them both

-dan-

That is like asking "what's better blondes or brunettes". To answer this question you must decide for your self. Personally I prefer soaps, I find them to be less messy and more convienient than creams and I also find them to be more fun, more Old School!

I prefer soaps in that you really dont hear much on the premesis of cheap, meaning inexpensive, creams while a puck of williams in only a buck at the local pharmacy. I do have this to say tho, williams specificly says MUG soap on the side with MUG in bold letters. This is because if you try to mix it in a bowl, it will be so hard to do do to the fact williams takes long to build and creates very watery bubbly stuff right before its prime. At least this is why i feel most people cant get williams to work. But anyhow back to the topic at hand, I like soaps because they last longer, they are cheap, and making the later is more fun.