Pros and cons of Soaps vs. Creams

Being new at the whole preping your face, taking your time, and not just getting my face wet and scraping the hair off with a dull mach3, I'm looking for what people advise when it comes to soap vs cream, and what the pros and cons of each are. I'm also curious how they both work? I know how the soap works because dad used to use it all the time but how exactly does the cream work? Does it lather also, do you have to squirt it in a dish first, do you need a brush with creams? These are some of the questions I have while starting to build my arsenal of pleasurable shaving equipment. Any info on the matter would be much appreciated.
Jarrod N. Monnin

They are both used in a similar fashion and produces basically the same lather when whipped up properly.
A cream are considered by many to be a bit easier to whip up to a good lather, but with some practice, most any quality soap or cream will do a very fine job.

You basically use the cream as you would use a soap.
Add some cream to a bowl or directly on your pre-soaked brush and start whipping up lather, adding small amounts of water at the time. You can build the lather in your bowl or directly on your face. Both ways work well.

A soap will last a really long time, creams are somewhat easier to use would be my short version of it!
The wiki contains this little article about it, it's a good read:)

Also, check out Mantic59's video's on youtube.
He has some very good one's explaining all this in detail!

Hello, Jarrod:

My friend Birnando covers everything perfectly. Well said.

I prefer soaps, but also use creams. I suggest trying one of each to enrich your wet shaving experience.

Regards,

Obie

In general: And I say that smiling because some people just like to be different :)

Soaps tend to give better Glide.

Creams tend to give better Cushion.

For some reason and I think maybe because soaps are actually a bit harder to lather I tend to start beginners with soaps, I figure they need to work it out... Also that slightly better glide might help just a tiny bit when beginning...

My personal opinion is that every Newb should start with a puck of Williams and work through it, because by the time your done with that first puck you will know how to lather anything :rofl2:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gssixgun

In general: And I say that smiling because some people just like to be different :)

Soaps tend to give better Glide.

Creams tend to give better Cushion.

For some reason and I think maybe because soaps are actually a bit harder to lather I tend to start beginners with soaps, I figure they need to work it out... Also that slightly better glide might help just a tiny bit when beginning...

My personal opinion is that every Newb should start with a puck of Williams and work through it, because by the time your done with that first puck you will know how to lather anything :rofl2:

---

seriously if you can get good lather out of Williams, you can get good lather out of a bucket of sand

I was going to plug the ease of CO bigelow as a cream for newbs, as to give you more time to learn you techniques without as much pain. I think if I had the cream when I had started I wouldn't have gotten so frustrated at a dried out cream or a watery mess due to improper portions. But as always, glen has a great point. If you want to learn how to get soaps down to a science and willing to take the time to build improper lather, and just power through the heartache we all go through as beginners with MWS it'd all be worth it in the long run. So +1 to glen, but I hope I may have shed some opposing light to the subject, as we all say and I'm sure glen will agree. It's all to personal taste, so explore and discover for yourself!

Soaps are considered more difficult because most people use badger brushes.
For those who use boar brushes like me, soaps are as easy as creams or even easier sometimes.

Slur brings up a good point. I've often wondered if one type of brush is better for soaps or creams. I have a badger brush that makes great lather with shaving cream. It also make good lather with my soap (Pre de Provence) but takes a lot longer. So you recommend that using a boar brush would make it easier / quicker to whip up good lather with a soap? Anyone else want to comment on their experience?

Excellent soaps and excellent creams both make for a very good shaving experience. As a rule of thumb, top drawer creams are more expensive per shave. Let's say a puck costs $40 USD. It will last the better part of 7 months with almost daily use while the same amount spent on a cream will last far less time. I am guessing here, but I would say about 6 weeks with daily use.

Take Care,
Richard

All excellent points, Glen brings up a good one about glide, Soaps in general tend to be thinner, offering more glide, and creams tend to be thicker, offering more cushion...You can face lather with a puck of soap, not really with creams. To appreciate creams, you really need some type of vessel to whip it around in.

I've heard the argument before that creams are so much faster to lather than soaps. IMO the lathering speed difference between soaps and creams is negligible; with experience it's very easy to get a fast lather from a soap. The difference would seem to be in the ease of lathering with a cream, as they have a more forgiving water ratio. Soaps take a more experienced eye because the water-to-soap ratio is harder to nail down.

Of course, this makes it sound a lot more complicated than it really is. Lathering becomes second nature fairly quickly, to the point where you don't think about it, you just do it.

The other question that always comes up is which is better - soap or cream? While some members may be firmly in one camp or the other, most will love (and have a rotation of) both. Personally I can never decide which one I prefer. I'll shave with my creams for a week or two straight, thinking that my soaps will have a hard time matching up, and then I'll use a fine soap and hit one out of the park....

Best regards,

Ryan

For a cheaper trial pick up a puck of VDH soap and a tube of CO Biglow and test them both. Neither are top of the line but both do a good job especially for the money and for a beginer

I agree with Slur on boar brushes for soaps. I have both boar and badger brushes, and use both creams and soaps, but lathering a soap seems faster and easier with a boar brush, especially the harder soaps.

This is not meant to be argumentative but my soap lather is not thinner than my cream lather. I am using some really great soaps and I bowl lather so that may make a difference. Whether I am using creams or soaps I make really thick lather so the differences, for me, are in the ingredients that are in the soaps and creams. The lather off an English Fern puck for instance is nothing short of fabulous. I know YMMV steps in here.

Later,
Richard

My 2 cents having just really clicked with soaps after three months is that a soap maybe feels more satisfying when you finally get the consistent lather "wins", i'e you make a good lather 9 times out of 10 and have figured out what how you did. Have some nice creams, but have kinda left the trumpers and Penhaligons to the side and am enjoying the standard creams that people overlook becayse they dont cost 20 quid a pop

Personally, I think soap is the classic way to do it. Cream is more a convenience. Is one better than the other? I don't think so in general.

I just think that a decent quality soap OR cream will lead to a great BBS shave. As has been said before on this thread, the more experience, the less it will mater, grab some shaving soap OR cream and start shaving, in a few month's you will have your own WELL earned opinion on the subject!!! And Above all else, have fun, that's what it's all about

"A round for the house and a BBS for ALL!!!"

tinkersd of SRP!!

I agree with tinersd. A decent quality shaving soap or shaving cream will result in a great shave.

That being said, if I had it to do over again I would opt for the following shaving kit: Omega Banded Boar shaving brush + Straight Razor Designs, Vintage Blades or Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap.

My reasons for choosing the above combination are: 1) economy--shaving soaps and boar brushes are more economical than creams and badger brushes; and 2) convenience--I have found it easier to make quick lather with a quality shaving soap than a quality shaving cream.

Just my 2 cents.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Personally, I think soap is the classic way to do it. Cream is more a convenience. Is one better than the other? I don't think so in general.

---

Creams also have stronger scents than soaps.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slur

Soaps are considered more difficult because most people use badger brushes.
For those who use boar brushes like me, soaps are as easy as creams or even easier sometimes.

---

+1 Up until not too long ago, I was strictly a soap guy. I have since dabbled a little with creams. Regardless, I'm strictly a boar brush user. Soaps and creams can both be face lathered but I think soaps are a bit better suited to face lathering. C.O. Bigelow and or TOBS Eton College are the two creams I've played with so far and highly recommend both. My next round will likely include TOBS Avocado.

Hmmmm I actually find soap easier and faster to lather up than cream, maybe it's because I use soap most of the time. I do like them both just find soap easier.

-dan-

Personnally, I don't find soaps to be harder to lather with badger than with boar. Nor is the lather from a soap thinner. Finally, creams can be face lathered as well as soaps. The differences do not lie between the product types (i.e. soap or cream), but rather between every existing product. They all have their particularities, regardless of their unlathered consistencies.

So what are the advantages? Variety. The opportunity to explore and develop your lathering technique.
The disadvantages? Some we don't like. There's always another one to try, so it's hard on the wallet.

Hard to generalise, I guess. I would like to add that IMHO it depends VERY MUCH on which soap and cream. Depending on soaps and creams, you'll probably find that some 'cream A' VS. 'cream B' or 'soap A' VS 'soap B' pairs differ much more than let's say 'soap X' VS 'cream X' pairs. If you get my drift here, since my monday morning phrasing (as usual) still suffers a bit from my weekend of debauchery.

I started with Williams (which is a great smelling $1.50 traditional soap available at most Rite Aids), but liked $2.00 VDH Deluxe (which is a glycerin & cocoa butter soap available at most Walmarts) and $7.00 Bigelow cream (which is rebranded Proraso available at Bath & Body works in most Malls) a whole lot better. I find I get less irritation with the VDH than with the cream, even though the cream lather is slightly thicker looking. My skin also feels more moisturized during the day with the soap. I think both the reduced irritation and moisturizing are due to the cocoa butter in the VDH, since I didn't get the same effect from Williams. I also liked the $8 SRD soap a lot. It made thicker lather than the VDH (about like the Bigelow cream), and resulted in less irritation (more glide ???) than the Bigelow cream - but not quite as much glide as the VDH, and not nearly as moisturizing (ie: I couldn't skip the lotion step after the shave (ie: I use Corn Huskers hand lotion (found at Walmart), which I hear has similar ingredients to Trumpers Skin Food). On the other hand, the SRD soap resists drying out at least 3-4 times better during the shave than VDH, which is a big advantage for a beginner.

ps: The secret to making easy lather with soap is to let a milimeter of water sit on top of it for a minute or two in order to soften it up. (Pour off the water before loading the brush). Softened soap lathers easily - even with a Silvertip badger brush.

pps: I think the reason I thought creams were easier when I was just starting, was because I wasn't getting enough soap onto the brush. By softening the soap, and swirling the brush 30 revolutions in the VDH, I get the same amount of lather as a 5/16" long string of the Bigelow cream. ie: Enough for 2 passes + touch-ups. Swirling the brush for 50 revolutions in the VDH gives me the same amount of lather as a 9/16" long string of cream. ie: Enough for 3 passes + touch-ups. With 50 swirls of VDH, the lather is also as thick as the lather I get from cream. For the SRD soap, you can reduce the number of swirls by 1/3 since it creates more volume of lather with less loading.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JohnG10

I started with Williams (which is a great smelling $1.50 traditional soap available at most Rite Aids), but liked $2.00 VDH Deluxe (which is a glycerin & cocoa butter soap available at most Walmarts) and $7.00 Bigelow cream (which is rebranded Proraso available at Bath & Body works in most Malls) a whole lot better. I find I get less irritation with the VDH than with the cream, even though the cream lather is slightly thicker looking. My skin also feels more moisturized during the day with the soap. I think both the reduced irritation and moisturizing are due to the cocoa butter in the VDH, since I didn't get the same effect from Williams. I also liked the $8 SRD soap a lot. It made thicker lather than the VDH (about like the Bigelow cream), and resulted in less irritation (more glide ???) than the Bigelow cream - but not quite as much glide as the VDH, and not nearly as moisturizing (ie: I couldn't skip the lotion step after the shave (ie: I use Corn Huskers hand lotion (found at Walmart), which I hear has similar ingredients to Trumpers Skin Food). On the other hand, the SRD soap resists drying out at least 3-4 times better during the shave than VDH, which is a big advantage for a beginner.

ps: The secret to making easy lather with soap is to let a milimeter of water sit on top of it for a minute or two in order to soften it up. (Pour off the water before loading the brush). Softened soap lathers easily - even with a Silvertip badger brush.

pps: I think the reason I thought creams were easier when I was just starting, was because I wasn't getting enough soap onto the brush. By softening the soap, and swirling the brush 30 revolutions in the VDH, I get the same amount of lather as a 5/16" long string of the Bigelow cream. ie: Enough for 2 passes + touch-ups. Swirling the brush for 50 revolutions in the VDH gives me the same amount of lather as a 9/16" long string of cream. ie: Enough for 3 passes + touch-ups. With 50 swirls of VDH, the lather is also as thick as the lather I get from cream. For the SRD soap, you can reduce the number of swirls by 1/3 since it creates more volume of lather with less loading.

---

JonhG I just took your advice and purchased the brush you recommended along with some not overly expensive soap. Thanks for the exacting advice, I'll let you know how I like them both when they get here friday. Can't wait for the weekend shave with new gear.

I believe that the reason creams are regarded as convenient is because the amount of time it take to get the initial product on the brush. While with cream you just dip or scoop, with soap you must swirl or smoosh, which take a little longer. The amount of water is also a factor for bowls and scuttles in comparison for the two. Cream requires more while soap less.

In terms of lather time, that factor is up to your skill and the brush you own, as both take the same amount of time.

Personally I prefer cream as it holds the scent more than it's soap counterpart.

I tried my first shave cream lastnight, C.O. Bigelow made by Proraso. I used about an 1 inch amount with a teaspoon of water and a wet badger brush in my scuttle and I had a nice lather in no time. I had an excellent shave from it being my first cream. I plan to rotate between soap and cream as well as the brands. That's just me.
Fun thing about this hobby is trying different brands and types! That's what it's all about, having a little fun with shaving. When I Mach 3 and canned foam shave, it was nothing but a boring mundane chore. Since I switched to straight razor and wet shaving, I enjoy straight razor/wet shaving and appreciate the results.

I also want to thank one of our Mentors, Obie for introducing me to Bigelow. It's great that I can get a great product locally! Thanks Obie!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slur

Soaps are considered more difficult because most people use badger brushes.
For those who use boar brushes like me, soaps are as easy as creams or even easier sometimes.

---

Interesting. I gather boar brushes are stiffer? I've read somewhere that for almost all other purposes boar brushes are considered king. I've recently upgraded from a cheap supermarket brush (no idea what the bristles are made of) to a Badger (Pure). I've not yet used soap, only Proraso cream. And before my awakening Palmolive. Why do you like boar and soap over badger and cream, if I may ask?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ryan82

I've heard the argument before that creams are so much faster to lather than soaps. IMO the lathering speed difference between soaps and creams is negligible; with experience it's very easy to get a fast lather from a soap. The difference would seem to be in the ease of lathering with a cream, as they have a more forgiving water ratio. Soaps take a more experienced eye because the water-to-soap ratio is harder to nail down.

---

Couldn't agree more with everything said by Ryan - as well as many others in this thread , not just the snippet quoted above: At the end of the day it's not so much soap versus cream that results in different lather, rather the more personal variables that go into the way you use each - water hardness, how you load your brush, type of bowl or mug (e.g. does it have a smooth or rough surface), your facial properties, is it tallow based or glycerin based, etc.

Once you nail down your technique for specific products and your personal set of variables I think you'll find very little difference between the lather from soap and cream and the most efficient way for you to achieve great lather from either.

For example, most people find bowl lathering to work better and quicker for creams. Perhaps it's because I have very thick, course facial hair (e.g. a personal variable (more agitation of the soap/cream?)), but for me face lathering always builds the lather much quicker than bowl lathering regardless of whether I use soap or cream - and I definitely see a tighter water-to-product ratio with soap regardless of how/where I build the lather. I also find it easier to load a silver tip off of a dry soap puck if it's tallow based and a wet puck if it's glycerin based. And, if built well, I find little different between a soap lather and a cream lather.

Like everything else in straight shaving - either will work great. But which one(s) you end up preferring more than others will depend upon how your personal techniques and gear (including your water) react with a given product's specific characteristics.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Malacoda

...but for me face lathering always builds the lather much quicker than bowl lathering...

---

Good point; normally I mix it in the bowl and sort of paint it on. I'm going to try initially mixing the cream in the bowl and then lathering on the face more tomorrow...

Like Slur, I'm in the badger/cream, boar/soap camp. I use equal amounts of both. I shave after I shower and when using a soap, I prewet the soap prior to the shower. It's very easy to whip up a lather with just about any soap with this method. Also, soaps are easier to lather if used every day since they stay more moist. Cream can be easily used even if it has sat for weeks.