Soap trouble

For now, I think the only soap that doesn't give my sensitive skin any trouble is Tabac. Luckily I love the smell, too.

I have tried several outlandish no-name sticks, Burt's bees, Crabtree & Evelyn Nomad, and QEDman Bergamot. Caswell-Massey santalwood shave cream was tingly too... It's not that I can't take it, but why do I need to irritate my skin if I can avoid it?

Looking for recommendations to try other mild soaps. I have heard that some people have had adverse reactions to Mama Bear's soaps, so probably not a good idea for me. Anyone here with super-sensitive skin using Coleen's soaps? I am also open to trying the "high-end" soaps, if recommended by someone with sensitive skin. I know everybody can have a different reaction, but this is the best approach for me right now - unless I can buy a collection of various samples?

Thanks
Ivo

I can't speak for the sensitivity issue as I'm a Williams and Palmolive guy,
but over on one of the wetshave forums, Badger & Blade, one of the members
(Scotto) offers 10 ML samples of various creams....6 for $19 or so including
shipping.
http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2251

Perhaps someone here can let you know what might be some good
choices for you, or drop Scotto a note and ask him.

He also has colone samplers available as well, and combines the two into a
"gentleman's starter set"- 6 creams of your choice, plus 6 scents, all for $30

Right now he has the following creams:

List Updated 9/3/06

Taylors
Almond.
Avocado
Lavender
Rose
Mr. Taylor
St. James
Lemon & Lime

Trumper
Coconut
Violet
Limes Out indefinitely.
Sandalwood Out indefinitely
Rose Out indefinitely
Almond

T&H
Almond - Out indefinitely
1805
Rose - Out for now
Sandalwood - running low, ask before ordering
West Indian Limes
Trafalgar
Grafton
Lavender - on the way

C&E
Sandalwood
Nomad

Vulfix
Sandalwood

Arran Aromatics
Vetiver

D. R. Harris
Almond
Arlington - ask before ordering

AOS
Lavender
Lemon

Nancy Boy
Signature shave cream

Salter
Mint
Citrus
Vetiver
Rose
Sandalwood

Proraso
Green Tube

Coates
Lime
Tea Tree

Provence Sante
Green Tea

Omega (similar to Proraso)

Castle Forbes
Lavender - luxury tax involved - PM me before ordering
Lime - luxury tax involved - PM me before ordering

Barbasol
Brushless - intense lilac aroma

Kiss My Face Moisture Shave
Vanilla Earth
Lavender Shea

Green Pond (Harris)
Sandalwood

I'll probably try this - thank you for the tip.

I like the hard soaps, but if most of them irritate my skin I might switch to creams (if the creams prove any less irritating)

Cheers
Ivo

I've never had particularly sensitive skin, but I've never heard any sensitivity complaints about either the T&H soap or Harris soaps. They're not *that* expensive if you buy a refill, it's the wooden bowl that jacks up the price, and they shave beautifully and last for 5-6 months.

I hear a lot more sensitivity complaints about creams, since they're more heavily scented. Some makers do have special "sensitive skin" formulations, however.

My experience with soap:

I also have fairly sensitive skin, and after a few bad shaves, I just banished my Taylor's lavender to the shower. Although it lathers easily and is somewhat slick, it stings me a bit and as soon as it's rinsed, I find it very drying. Plus, it smells very green, not a sweet lavender at all. But I wouldn't mind the more masculine scent if it weren't so harsh on my skin. In fact, I showered with it today and found that it had a drying effect on my entire body! I had to lather up afterwards with Colleen's bay rum bath soap to smooth my skin again. So now I'm not sure what to do with it. Put it in the guest bathroom perhaps so other people can dry their hands out? Bad.

Trumper's Violet is very good for my face, lathers pretty well, smells nice but subtle, and is gentle. I look forward to using it. Next on my list (once I finish what I have) will probably be to try other Trumper's soaps and perhaps creams.

So far the best soap for me has been Art of Shaving lavender. I want to move beyond this brand and embrace the old English labels that AoS is trying to emulate, but I just can't! This soap is really soothing, smells great, and lathers well. It is more "buttery" than most of the other soaps, so if you like that, you might enjoy it.

I got a cake of Colleen's violet soap this weekend. I was waiting for a place to put it, but now that I've dumped the Taylor's out of its wooden bowl, Colleen's now has a place to go. It smells similar to the Trumper's violet, and if it's anything like her bath bars, I imagine it will be quite slick. I'll shave with it tomorrow and let you know how it was.

Russell,

I'll be looking forward to your review!
Thanks
Ivo

Try the Surrey hypoalergenic. It's readily available, inexpensive, and developed for people with sensitive skin.


Added in edit -- Here's a link to the stuff. And another. I've never bought from that vendor though. It's available locally here at Wallgreens.

You might try the haslinger soaps sold by shavemac. They have a few specifically for sensitive skin. They are all herbal based.

why does everyone forget the wonderfull shave soap from : www.thearizonagoatmilksoapcompany.com ? That stuff is amazing. I have really sensative skin (can hardly take ANY of the mammabear soaps) but I love this stuff. Good matching aftershave balm as well.

Ivo, try some of Colleen's soaps (anything BUT Cavendish Black). They are very gentle (with that one exception) and smell great. Cavendish Black smells great but it will tingle sensitive skin. I know that b/c I also have sensitive skin, but I love the CB scent too much and the tingle is only during the shave. IMO her products are superior to C&E stuff especially since the lather stays rich and moist longer.

I can relate to your problem as I battled skin irritation for many years, I don't know if my skin is hypersensitive or not but it is tender and in contrast I also develop extremely hard stubble. I have tried the whole spectrum of products from foams to gels, soap and creams. Lately as I returned to the brush and bowl I have been using a combination off products to make my lather. As a base I'm using an inexpensive shaving puck like the Williams. While making the lather I squirt a bit of Nivea sensitive face wash in the bowl followed by a dab of cream like Clinique cream shave or "Shave" from American Crew. See I noticed that soap on its own is too light and then to dry the skin, the cream is too thick and doesn't hold water so well. So why not mix the both. The Nivea cleaner left a slimy residue after wash but while combined with the other two it helps to create a moisture rich and silky lather. Since there is minimal fragrance, only the one from the soap it keeps the mixture fairly inert and mild for the skin. Try, it might work for you you might even have the stuff in you cabinets from your previous trials. :cool:

A really fantastic soap is the Honeybee-Spa shaving soap. It can be found at http://stores.ebay.com/Honeybee-Spa-Soaps. I have sensitive skin and have had no problem with the scented soaps. However, there is an unscented version available for those that are sensitive to the various fragrances. The Honeybee soap is the best I have found in the way of soaps or creams. It provides a remarkable shave and leaves your face feeling really moist and great. Shaving with this soap is pure luxury.

Sotogusto: WOW, this is quite a recipe! Thanks.

Many thanks to all others who responded, I am building a table of suggestion and I will be trying them gradually. It does seem that unscented may be the way to go... but I sure love scented foam :hmmm:

Cheers
Ivo

how come noone has mentioned Nancyboy? their cream has top notch properties - lubricating, lasting lather, easy/soft on my skin. all which are great for people with sensitive skin.

they don't have different scents(just 1), they aren't cheap (but not more expensive then other higher end products), and they don't have the name recognition of a T&H or Taylors etc etc. for those reason i think people overlook them when trying to experience different scents, manufacturers, mistique of shaving, however one should try it.

anyways. its very nice, the tub is large and im sure people will give ya sample trades if you wanted to try. its a top notch cream to shave with.


~J

ps. i got the AOS lavendar recently, cream comes out of the tube kinda hard, takes really hot water and some pushing to get it broken up and evenly distributed on the brush while making lather. scent is very mild when using lather but strong when you smell the tube. its not bad but not super elite either.

QED grapefruit / peppermint does me nicely for a soap. but i gotta use a bit more soap on the brush before making the lather to get a good thick lather from it.