Thread: Van Hagen Shaving Soap

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

VDH works o.k. My biggest complaint was that it dried out my face. The lather is no where as good as some of the slightly more expensive soaps.

When you factor in how long a puck of VDH lasts compared to tabac or mwf, it probably is not any cheaper.

Slarty, old buddy... which VDH soap dried out your face? I have the deluxe version and the shea butter is on par with pre de provence for moisturizing. I don't seem to be using it up very quickly, either. I know it's soft but loading it into my little Tweezerman brush isn't making much of a dent. I don't like the floral hand soapy smell, though. I don't use it consecutively because of the triethanolomine (yuck!).

I forget how long my puck of VDH has been in my scuttle, I like it but I would like to try other shaving soaps. I once used Williams but that dried out quickly so I replaced it with VDH.

VDH soaps are great. They are cheap and work very well. I love the fact that they can be found locally too.

'Tried it for the first time this wk. As most others have found - 'not bad. Only shortcoming for me was that after a stroke, the skin dried very quickly, such that any delay in a follow-up stroke would likely find dry skin. Fine for the dollar, but Provence Sante is heaven, and SRD now carries Cella. (the sound in the background is my wallet screaming)

VDH is my go to soap. Always produces a thick lather with decent lubrication and stays viable for each pass. And, for a buck and a half, you can't beat the price.

VDH Deluxe is my everyday soap. I bought a 12-pack so I ended up paying about $2.50 a puck, and I easily get about 2 months of shaves, everyday, 2-3 passes. The Deluxe makes a very rich lather that really lasts. I found Mitchell's Wool Fat dried quickly on my face, but the VDH Deluxe really holds up. It also lathers up pretty quickly without a lot of effort or special technique. I put the brush in the mug and run hot-hot tap water in the mug and it soaks while I rub some pre-shave oil on. I pour out the water, shake the brush and whip up a nice lather.

I also like that it melts very nicely in the micro-wave. When I travel, I have a very light old "tin cup" that I can melt a puck, or a half-puck, of soap into and it's ready to travel.

Admittedly, there is no exotic factor, no cool-factor from foreign-sounding names and such…but it's a no-drama 'get-er-done' soap.

Originally Posted by pinklather

'Tried it for the first time this wk. As most others have found - 'not bad. Only shortcoming for me was that after a stroke, the skin dried very quickly, such that any delay in a follow-up stroke would likely find dry skin. Fine for the dollar, but Provence Sante is heaven, and SRD now carries Cella. (the sound in the background is my wallet screaming)

I am having the same problem as you. This morning I added a bit more water than usual and it was still drying out quickly. I need to review my pre-shave prep. I know my razor is freshly stropped and sharp. I'm still learning and I am working on my technique. In the mirror, I can see the dead skin flakes rise up off the surface and there still is the hesitation on the razor especially when I go ATG. Or maybe today was just one of those "bad shave days;" no nicks or cuts, just plenty of skips. I got some variables to consider and I think it may be the VDH along with being new at this, and I might have slacked off on my pre-shave prep ritual.

I recently bought vdh for a test run and find it is a great inexpensive soap. I'd been using a glycerin face soap in an uber lather, but find vdh an easier go. I guess I'll have to try one of those more expensive soaps someday, but for now, vdh gets 'er done.

Out of the three i have tried, it is my favorite. I have used the normal skin/ normal beard and the dry skin/thick beard and the dry skin thick beard doesn't dry out as bad.

I put mine in a mug and melted it so that it was a little easier to load a brush. Next time I shave I'm going to give uberlather a try.