Thread: 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

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

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.