Are soaps better then creams?

I am finding that as I progress both with the DE and the Straight that there is a noticeable difference between the cushion and glide I get with soaps and creams, namely that the soaps seem to always outperform the Creams.

So far for creams I've tried:
Trufitt and Hill:
1805
Grafton
Rose
Almond
Trafalgar

Castle & Forbes:
Lime

Art of Shaving:
Lavender
Sandalwood

Razorock:
Cacao

Poraso



For Soaps I have used

MWF (so far my favorite)

Tabac

TOBS Sandalwood

Casewell & Massey Eucalyptus



So far, I get a richer, creamier more cushioning lather with the soaps, is there some trick I am missing with the creams? Or is it just that soaps are more to my liking and I should just stick with it?

It will depend on your preferences, and may also vary based on your water, how you lather, the temp you lather at, your brush, etc. In general, a quality product is a quality product, and the rest depends on what you like.

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Originally Posted by holli4pirating

....In general, a quality product is a quality product, and the rest depends on what you like.

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Yes, that sounds about right. There are great performers in both soaps and creams.
Given the various factors given by Dylan, it would be hard to say one is any better than the other. IMHO anyways

Hmm, interesting, I am just curious why it seems I get better results from soaps, maybe I need to go on a lather practice frenzy and really experiment with the creams. I love the scents but they just shave like crap :(

I use distilled water so I get great lather with soap and creams. I like using both so for me there is no clear winner.

I'm not sure what you're doing wrong, but it's all personal preference and one is not really "better" than the other as they both have their pros and cons. Next week we may very well get a "Are creams better than soaps" thread posted, who knows?

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.

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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.

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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.

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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...

Yeah, I've had the same experience. Soaps are just more straightforward for me, although I do use creams on occasion.

I think it strange someone doesn't get good performance from creams, while doing so with.. soaps? Soap is troublesome for a beginner due to insufficient loading of the brush from the puck, but creams have the advantage for the unskilled/inexperienced in that you can visibly measure exactly how much is being used, be it face or bowl lathering. Soaps are the winners for me because they're more economical (I'm Jewish so it's an genetic susceptibility (don't drop pennies near me, it's not pretty!)).

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Originally Posted by AxelH

I think it strange someone doesn't get good performance from creams, while doing so with.. soaps? Soap is troublesome for a beginner due to insufficient loading of the brush from the puck, but creams have the advantage for the unskilled/inexperienced in that you can visibly measure exactly how much is being used, be it face or bowl lathering. Soaps are the winners for me because they're more economical (I'm Jewish so it's an genetic susceptibility (don't drop pennies near me, it's not pretty!)).

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For me it is water content. Creamier lather doesn't always mean slicker so the razor will glide across my face and shave off everything in its way comfortably. Soap is thinner and waterier for me.

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.
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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)
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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.

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Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

For me it is water content. Creamier lather doesn't always mean slicker so the razor will glide across my face and shave off everything in its way comfortably. Soap is thinner and waterier for me.

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I don't understand. You have the option of adding less water to a soap, so that it is not too thin and watery. I prefer my lathers (cream or soap-derived) with more water when using a straight compared to a safety razor. I recently used an SRD soap with more water than my other soaps, had to whip up over and over again, the lather kept developing stiffer than desired peaks so wound up adding more water again and again... was rewarded with a very slick, close shave. The lather did not dry much at all, great stable lather, but more hydrated than some other products. Each product has its own best water ratio, depending on technique, time on face, etc. If I hadn't been whipping with the brush so vigorously I might not have caught that it could sustain the addition of more water.

It took me a year and a half to master straight shaving and it was hard to focus on things other than the actual shaving. The big problem was getting rattled after cutting myself. I was so busy concentrating that I couldn't relax and shave. I guess I gravitated toward soaps that I guessed right the first time with regard to water-lather mix. Right now, typing this message with a well-executed BBS shave, I'm guessing that you're probably right. I'm still using the soaps that worked well for me back when I was having so much trouble.