Shaving cream or soap?

I have tried Gilette and "Vergulde Hand" (Dutch brand) shaving soap with poor results: lots of skin burn and cuts and they cause a dry skin.
Then moved on to: Palmolive shaving cream with added lanolin for sensitive skin/heavy beard. I liked that but it is no longer for sale in the Netherlands. Have been using Palmolive regular shaving cream for a while. The stuff is not bad but the tubes are crap: after a while they start to leak....
Now I am using Gilette for sensitive skin but don't like it. You need an awful lot for a very poor lather.

Basically I would like to use a shaving soap rather than a cream because I like whipping up a lather but have up to now been disappointed by soaps.

Any suggestions?? I am interested in soap that does the job. The job is no more and no less than a comfortable shave. Lather IMHO serves only 2 purposes: to soften the hairs and to lubricate the skin. I am less interested in its scent because that is something you can correct w/ after-shave.

Any thoughts??

I get a nice lather from using creams and am more than satisfied. You should give it a try. You might like it. C'mon .. the first one's free. You've never had anything like this. You'll feel fantastic. :D

X - The Shaving Cream Pusher

So far I've only used the William Marvy soap (that comes with Tony's kits) and Prorarso. As of yet, no cremes.

The WM does an alright job. Seems to be able to produce a good fluffy lather, but half the time ends up a little to much on this thin side. Lubrication while shaving is again, alright. Basically I have no complaints, but nothing fantastic to say about soap either.

The Proraso I really like. It's a softer soap but I always can get a really nice lather out of it. Goes on well, lubricates nicely and stays moist long enough that I can really take my time. It also has menthol in it so I get that nice evaporative cooling effect. I kinda like the smell too, a little but minty, similar to vicks vaporub.

I also have a cake of the Williams shave soap that I haven't tried yet.

If you like soaps, don't mess around; get some soap made by either Harris or Truefitt & Hill. It's expensive, but lasts many (5-6) months so the price per shave is still very low.

I'm a soap man myself. I've tried the vulfix cream but thought the scent too chemically and artificial. My favorite soaps are the haslinger from shavmac and Geo Trumper soaps.

I was a die hard soap man, but on the road I use creams because it is so much easier.

I do get a better lather and scent from creams, but I feel more natural and comfortable using soaps. My grew up watching my dad use them and I started using them, so its probably more just habitual than anything.

I still wouldnt want to choose one or the other...it als depends on the scents. The scent of coconut for instance comes out much better in a cream than in a soap.

I like variety, so I use both.


Terry

Give the Tabac Soap a try. You can pick it up from Shavemac.

RT

While I'm not very experienced in soaps, I tried the one they sell at classicshaving for $5 or so. In my limited experience I think it's good.

Kees,

The Tabac is first rate. I love it. Since you are in the Netherlands, you might be able to find also Haslinger, Speick, Joris, Rivivage, D.R. Harris, Geo F. Trumper and maybe some Arko.

Nenad

Some of your decision between soaps and creams may come down to your brush. If you have a firm bristled brush, then soaps may be a better choice. If your brush is softer, then you may want to look at creams. Or join the club here and have many brushes, creams, soaps and we won't even talk about razors! Good luck and let us know what you've decided.
-Fred

I find soaps easier to use. For travelling, I have a cake of Cavendish Black in a plastic container with a screw-on lid that came from a hand cream. So far, I have been getting a great lather that was just the right consistency from Colleen's soaps. Tried a few others -- Wilkinson on the cheap side, C&E Sweet Almond cream and the Nomad soap on the pricier side, but they can't compare.

Give me cream anytime. Great lather easy to use.:)

When I ordered my Thuringer hone from Manufactum I had to order something else to get to 25 euros because they don't take orders for less. They happened to carry Proraso so I took that. Used it this morning. Liked the smell and coolness. The shave was really nice but the cooling effect of the menthol caused some "goosepimpling" of my skin. Due to that the razor grazed the skin in my neck a bit and left me with a slightly burning feeling in my neck all morning.
In the afternoon it had gone.

Anyone ever had a similar experience?

Not from proraso, but once I was using my tongue inside my cheek to pooch it out a bit, and accidently let my tongue get too far in front of the razor. Left a long scrape next to the corner of my mouth.

I feel this question about soap vs creams is like the everlong question of "which came first the chicken or the egg"

If you really want a shave that is pure luxury, try the Honeybee-Spa shea butter shaving soap. This stuff has all the attributes of a soap and cream with none of the negatives. It lathers great, provides an excellent and comfartable shave and leaves your face feeling really moist and fantastic afterwards. It is the beat of all the creams and soaps that I have tried. It can be fouind at: http://stores.ebay.com/Honeybee-Spa-Soaps

Bud

They only ship within USA so that disqualifies me.

I just read on another forum that they will hope to provide shipping to Europe in the very near future. You may inquire as to when by contacting Sue (the owner) via her web site. The soap is fantastic!

Bud

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kees

They only ship within USA so that disqualifies me.

---

Kees,

You may consider some of Colleen's soap.
I'm sure you have taken note of her thread
in Vendor's Corner.

Below is her email address. I believe she ships
overseas.

thegentlemensquarter@hotmail.com

She has some really nice soap. The Orange Patchouli
is outstanding.

Just a thought.....


Terry

I just got some of Colleen's shaving cream. I got the Orange Patchouli and the BayRum w/Sweet Orange. She also sent me samples of the matching aftershaves she is working on. They are just wonderful. I love the smell of both of them. The aftershaves I thought had a bit too much orange in them at first, but that was only on the initial application. They are just what I like. They are not too strong and over powering. They melow out after the sting of the alchohol wears off. My wife is pregnant and strong smells of anything make her want to barf. I could not go in the same room after I shaved using my crap aftershave. She loved the smell of Colleen's cream and aftershave, and she almost had to be right on top of me to smell them. My wife owns/operates an little store selling candles, crafts, antique hand-painted furnature, and other girly girly things. She sent Colleen an email wondering if she made womens bath products to start carrying them in her store. They are that good. :D

I sent Colleen an e-mail.

I've found with several soaps that seem to give poor lather, that if you add a drop of conditioner it makes a world of difference (a tip I got on here).

Also, after you've charged your brush with hot water, press it firmly into the soap, and while swirling vigorously slowly extract the brush. This works the lather faster Plus pulls the lather into the brush (a tip from a video that was mentioned on the yahoo forum for SRP).