Thread: Soap Vs. Cream

As I start to develop more confidence in my shaving ability I am playing around more with the different soaps/creams I've collected over the years before taking the plunge and getting the razor.

Right now I have Williams (not yet tried), Prorazo for soap and Derby (menthol) and some body shop brand for cream. I must say so far the Prorazo shave soap is my favorite I find it holds it's moisture longer and is really smooth and I love the smell.

Wondering what other member's opinions are on soap vs cream and what their absolute favorite (if that's possible cause I think I've switched a few times in the short time I've been into this). I have a healthy supply of creams and soaps so it'll be some time before I get to experiment with something new but I am always curious.

Every one has their own opinion, but Proaso is generally considered a pretty good soap. A few of the more popular ones would be: Cella, Castle Forbes (creams), Tabac, DR Harris (soaps and creams), TOBS (soaps and Creams), MWF. In shave sticks, Arko, Palmolive, and Valobra have a lot of fans.

There are plenty of other great ( and popular) soaps and creams, and they tend to be a very personal sort of preference.

P.S. try a superlather with the Williams and Derby ( loading the brush with Williams, then adding the derby to a bowl and lathering, so that your lather has some of each), the two go together well, and the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

I am still pretty new to this, but I have some SRD unscented soap, and some C.O. Bigelow cream. At first, I liked the SRD soap better, because I could get a thicker fluffier lather, and the C.O. Bigelow seemed to dry out more quickly and make my face a little sticky. Now that I have my moisture contents down, I prefer the C.O. Bigelow. slick shave, great smell, and I love the cooling eucalyptus.

I've tried to pick a favourite. Repeatedly. Failed every time; the bottom line is I just love so many different ones in both soap or cream variety, I'm doomed to have drawers full of them both for decades to come. I do very much like the new Proraso, I have yet to try the White and Green varieties in the new formula but have a feeling they will be quality products. Sadly, I'll miss the Aloe & Green Tea

I find it hard to pick a fav soap or cream as I use both equally but some of my favs are
Soap: Martin de candre , la toja, Palmolive , Arko, razorock xxx,mikes natural soap, mwf
Creams; Spencer and Devon, lavanda, arko cream, fitjar, acca kappa

Just to get ya started

Becoming more of a cream fan. Started off with MWF and TABAC, but the creams TO ME are easier get the consistancy I prefer. I tried pretty hard not to like Proraso (green tub)...the menthol blast really set me off at first. But I confess, it's grown on me quite a bit, and with warmer temps coming, it's the choice de' jour more often than not, even over some fabulous T&H offerings. The Trumpers Spanish Leather last night was outstanding as well... in fact I've not heard one bad comment about Trumpers line.

Sample packs are your friend.

The only soap I have is Williams the rest are creams. I second Sargon's suggestion to use Williams as part of making a superlather. I do that every day and it works well with all the creams that I have.

Bob

I have so many different soaps and creams. I have tried many and have sold many. I have to choose soap for my favourite over creams. I am not sure why this is, A few things that come to mind is that soap pucks last months longer than tubes of creams. And I like the consistency of soaps better than creams. I started out with soaps and will stick with them for the rest of my life most likely great thread though, I love reading everyones opinions..

Originally Posted by BobH

The only soap I have is Williams the rest are creams. I second Sargon's suggestion to use Williams as part of making a superlather. I do that every day and it works well with all the creams that I have.

Bob

I tried this today and WOW!!! I only wished I had more time as I was doing a 1 pass shave before work but I wanted to venture and try a 2 or 3 pass (not yet attempted) the shave felt so good. You got me hooked sir, well done.

Glad it worked for you. I have the advantage of being retired so a 3 pass shave is my everyday routine. I also add a few drops of glycerine and a drop of lanolin to the mix. There usually is more than enough lather for the 3 passes. I am going to try using an Arko shave stick in place of the Williams and see what happens. Just got the Arko today.

Bob