Thread: Are soaps better then creams?

This is a great question. I use both soaps and creams.

I have not yet settled that question after two decades of use.

My experience is that there is a wide range of great and poor performance from several vendors.

Some cheap ones work great and some very expensive ones are a major rip off.

I love them both for different reasons and continue to use both soaps and creams.

The Van der Hagen soaps are solid performers. I favor the luxury unscented.

I have Proraso, Muhle and Edwin Jagger creams right now and I like them all.

I will never stop trying some new soap or cream just to keep expanding my experience.

Good luck and don't ever settle for one brand of soap or cream.

You would simply be depriving yourself of some of the finer points of the wet shaving journey.

Creams are not better than soaps, and soaps are not better than creams.
Soap or cream is a matter of personal preference, but to get best performance from either you need quality product as well as proper lathering technique.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Creams are not better than soaps, and soaps are not better than creams.
Soap or cream is a matter of personal preference, but to get best performance from either you need quality product as well as proper lathering technique.

I couldn't agree more with mainaman.

The only advantage of soaps over creams is that there may be a cost saving over time if one uses shaving soaps because in my experience they seem to last longer than creams.

When I first started straight razor shaving I read The art of the Straight Razor Shave by Christopher Moss. In that he said "Shaving creams for application with a brush are the Rolls Royces of the shaving world." so I initially bought creams rather than soaps. They've worked so well for me I haven't yet branched into soaps much. I know one thing is certain, I know a few really crap soaps but I don't know any really crap creams...

In my honest opinion....yes they are just me though

McGyver, as you see - its a preference thing. Even the stereotypes of the differences have enough exceptions to make them ineffective.

Obie talks to God about suds. I pay close attention to threads where he posts. One of the more economical winners he's recommended is 'Provence Sante' (not Pre de Provence - though that's not bad). 'Best single product soap I've used so far. If you want to explore more, consider the 'uber' recipes which combine soap w/ a cream - usually w/ the addition of a few drops of liquid glycerine.

Its probably the powerful element of scent that makes this topic so variable. My sense of smell isn't the greatest, so its easier for me to focus on the performance of the suds, rather than be carried away by some heavenly scent.
.
Most recent uber delight for me was Glen's finding:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...er-recipe.html

This is the only lather I've tried that clearly beats Provence Sante. The soap is cheap - the price of Conk (3.50). Its not bad, but not great by itself. The cream, I've never used by itself, but find its a powerful aid to any soap thats not quite rich enough. 'Takes only a few swirls of the brush to do its job. 'Probably used 20 times, and it would be hard to detect any reduction in the volume of the cream in the container. Too much cream kills the loft of the lather. This particular combination may well be the most economical I've tried. (Are you listening Axel? 'Loved your line about economical. Thx for the good humor & good will)
.
Best recent soap was a kind gift from a great guy & active duty serviceman in Italy: Vitos. 'A soft soap that came in a couple lb brick ( I love it!). 'Not quite up to Provence Sante, but a solid 2nd. Scent is odd, and not a fav. but doesn't last much beyond the shave. I don't notice it at all during the shave, and I'd bet they have other scents. 'Very happy with this one. 'Better w/ 5 drops of glycerine. Better still w/ glycerine and 4 swirls of the cream mentioned above.

Enjoy your exploration, McGyver.