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What's better soap or cream? I've noticed a lot of talk on soaps and very little talk on creams. I'm a real newbee to str8 and would like some real feedback on the benefits of both and why one vs the other. Also what brands of both people would suggest. I will have my first str8 shave after i determine which way to go and hope to have a good experience. :lurk:
Hello Omajack,
This is certainly not a new topic here, and I'll be willing to bet that you will not be able to get a definitive answer from most members. Soaps/creams are probably the most subjective aspect of wetshaving, so asking which one is the best is like asking what's the best razor, or what's the best music etc. You'll get many different answers.
Most of us who have used many products will appreciate them for what they are, be that a cream or a soap. Preference may change on a daily basis. But if I had to throw out a couple favourite brands of mine....
Soaps: Tabac, Mitchell Wool Fat, Trumpers, Xpec
Creams: Castle Forbes, Domenico Caraceni, DR Harris
+1 to what Ryan said, The both of us have had this discussion many times...You ask ten members, you'll get ten different answers. There have been survey's done here.....Basically:
Soaps are thinner, and give you more feedback when you shave.
Creams tend to be thicker, and offer more cushion...YMMV (your mileage may vary)
I like all the one's Ryan mentioned plus Truefitt and Hill 1805, and Tobs Avacado....for creams...and add any of the SRD soaps, especially the Bulgarian Rose Otto...it's awesome....
what about price? are creams more expensive or soaps, what lasts longer?
I don't think you can compare anything about soaps vs creams because there are so many of each. This is epecially true for price. There are cheap and expensive of both.
I have some soaps and some creams, and I like both. I choose what to use for any given choice based on what scent I want for that day and whether I want to face lather or use my lather bowl.
In my experience creams are better for me because the water here is slightly hard. In hard water creams tend to lather better. One thing that has been suggested in another thread is to use very hot water when lathering soap with hard water. That tends to work well but when I am either too lazy to boil the kettle or shaving at the gym the cream works best for me.
Omajack,
Creams, soaps etc - they are all lather producing products.
You choose by their performance for you, not by their product type :)
That is why most people have a mix of creams, soaps and other products in their shave kit.
Have fun !
Best regards
Russ
i tend to enjoy soaps more because they seem to create less of a mess than i do with creams.. also.. soaps tend to make me shave more cautiously than i do wtih some of the really thick creams.
creams on the other hand have much better scents than soaps.
Both are good and its really down to personal preference as to what you go for.
Soaps: Tabac, MWF, Trumpers, TOBS, Mama Bear...
Creams: Castle Forbes, Trumpers again, CarrieM's creams, Penhaligons...
There are myriad of each out there and what you go for really is down to your personal tastes and choices.
+1 to all of the above,A puck of soap will last longer, Like 18 months or more!! Most soap users, facelather rather than whip up soap in a scuttle.And creams are thicker and are whipped up in a scuttle. And some people load their brush with puck soap and put a little cream in the scuttle and make a ton of suds (like me). So buy a puck of MWF and get a Tube of Tebac cream and tell me what you think!!!!
I believe that this is what you really should be asking :hmmm:
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...
+1.Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
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.
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by richmondesi
For me, Tabac performs only slightly better than Williams and it doesn't smell nearly as good.
According to their website, the nearest one is 125.8 miles from my location.Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
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 :shrug:
-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.
As I'm still relatively new to straight razor shaving, could someone clearly define the terms "glide" and "cushion"?Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
Glide is the slickness of a soap, almost like if you imagine adding oil to the lather to provide lubrication and... well... glide! :)
Cushion is a little harder to define but the easiest way to think of it is that soap lathers tend to be a little thinner and have less volume, whereas cream tends to deliver more volume of a thicker consistency. Its that thicker consistency that gives the extra cushion.
Of course you can combine the two with a drop or two of glycerine to make uberlather and have the best of both worlds! :D Check out Glens uberlather lesson in the Wiki linked in my sig line.
Have fun!