Thread: Beginner Q: Soap vs Cream? Which is easier to lather?

Originally Posted by U2Bono269

picked up a tube of the real shaving co from rite aid. for $4 it was worth a try. i'll put a little dab in my soap lather tomorrow.

as for post-shave, I dab the bleeding areas with my styptic, then apply Gillette Aftershave gel for sensitive skin. I like it a lot, but I'm open to other things too.

I get more irritation when I shave after a shower, so I'm going to try a cold shave tomorrow before I jump in the shower to see how it goes.

I do a warm shave every now and then but a cold or cool shave is what I do most often. Feels good. Then I do cold water rinse, splash on a bit of the Thayers + Aloe Witch Hazel (I like the cucumber scent) which I purchase at my local GNC or Hippie store.
Then I massage in an asb of some sort. Usually Nivea (i bought a lot when it was on sale) or I will mix some of an after shave splash with some corn huskers lotion in my palms and rub that in.

Creams are definitely easier to start with but building a lather with (good) soap isn't hard at all.
I don't have much experience with the more traditional soaps yet but the SRD & Mama Bear soaps both lather up easily and have a lot of glycerin in them so your face should feel really nice when you're done.
For the creams my faves are palmolive, al's (member alraz) bomb's and TOBS. Al's is the best cream I've tried bit it doesn't seem to like my hard water so it takes some work to get it right but it's worth it.

U2,

Maybe after all is said, done, and tried, you are a beard person. If modern steels in triplet can't cope with your beard, it would seem that one, big, old fashioned straight would be challenged beyond its ability to cope with the apparent 12 gauge wire of your whiskers. Or stock up on barber hones and touch up your blade after each cheek and before the jowls. Best of luck.

ooh, I hope that's not the case. I can't stand facial hair, and neither can my wife. But in the few weeks since I've been trying to branch out and find more effective ways to shave, I've paid significantly more attention to my face and my beard. I know a lot of people say to have a hot shower to soften the stubble, and I can say that even after a long, hot soak the stubble feels just as prickly as it did when it was dry. I think the straight has the potential to get the job done, so here's hoping.

Try cold water. I use hot water every now and then but I find a cold water shave consistently gives me less irritation and a smoother shave. I've even read a few folks on here put an ice cube in their lather bowl to keep it cold. I just use cold water for my soak and lather and wipe the blade off with a cold wet washcloth.

I tried it with the mach 3 and there was no discernable difference. once I get a handful of straight shaves under my belt I'll try it with that.

An idea to try if your being frugal is to try the Palmolive or similar shave stick. The concept is to cut off a thin slice and press it into the bottom of your bowl or mug. Press hard, spread it out a little. Now use that for your lather making like you would with the expensive soaps. Rinse out the mug and save the rest of the pressed slice for the next shave. A stick will last you forever.

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

I'm of the opinion if you have to uberlather to get good results from a soap/cream, it goes to /dev/null. A soap or cream should be able to stand on its own.

Slartibartfast, is your name Andrej? (if not, i have a friend with a very similar sense of humor to yours. And I think he would approve of your avatar)

Negative. Name is Ben

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