Thread: Is there really a difference?

Originally Posted by stax

Boar brushes instead of Badger you mean?

I thought saying backbone and no backbone was simpler and more accurate, I'm no expert but I did read somewhere that the characteristics of Boar and Badger was largely correct but that sometimes they go against the norm? and then there's synthetics... I just thought it was easier for everyone if I just used backbone as a marker so it can be related to specific brushes as opposed to boar and badger... a soft brush is a soft brush IMO, but I do see your point

regards Alex

Originally Posted by Birnando

Oh yes, there are lots more to a good soap or cream than lathering easy and smelling good

There are cushion, glide and conditioning of skin.

Some are slicker than others, which will provide for a smoother glide of the razor across the skin.
Then there are the soaps or creams that will provide great cushion, in the sense that it provides a barrier between the skin and the blade itself.

In addition to those, there's also the ability to soften the whiskers of course.
Getting water to penetrate and soften the whiskers in other words.

Some soaps will provide all those things in various degrees.

Martin de Candre, Xpec, Castle Forbes and Mitchell's wool fat seems to be some of the better one's out there, IMHO.

Add Edwin Jagger (at least the creams) and St. James of London to that list. Both take loads of water, provide excellent cushion and their moisturising qualities are really good. The scents are great too, clean, fresh and still full of character.

Most tallow-based soaps I've used provide excellent cushion and glide, and at least decent moisturising, depending on the soap. In my experience P.160 outperforms Mitchell's Wool Fat, but only slightly. A cheap alternative to the more expensive tallow soaps is the Palmolive stick, its performance is on par with Mitchell's Wool Fat, I just like Mitchell's scent slightly better. I'm still looking to try out the Wilkinson stick which contains tallow, lanolin, glycerin and coconut oil and is very affordable.

In my experience melt-and-pour glycerin-based soaps provide less protection and less moisturising, but that might be me.

The way I see it, in terms of lather and other qualities there is not a difference between creams and soaps per se. I have some soaps that outperform some of my creams and vice versa; there are good and less good products in both categories. I have good products, which I use every now and then for variation and I have really good products which I use much more often. I don't feel like pampering myself once a week and using okay products the rest of the time, I enjoy using high quality stuff whenever I get the chance.

Otherwise I might as well use a Gillette Fusion during the week with canned gel, balanced out by an Edwin Jagger cream whipped to a lather with my silvertip Thäter using a Heljestrand on Sundays. I rather do the later four times a week (as I don't shave everyday).

My face has definitely shown preferences. Palmolive burns me and Speick stings. Arko just doesn't give me cushion or glide to slip whiskers away without nicks.

MWF and Institut Karite allow me to XTG slick as a whistle without irritation or blood and Tabac comes close. I haven't tried any creams as I really don't see an advantage. It would appear a cream is a diluted soap but I am a beginner and ignorant of much.

To muddy the waters further, cream vs soap isnt' really binary, so much as a continuum. On one end are hard soaps like Williams, DR Harris, and MWF, on the other are creams like Kiss My face, TOBS, and Proraso. Here's where it gets messy. In-between those are what are called soft soaps, which can vary from almost hard, but can be reshaped with enough force ( Arko) to the soft, putty like Razorock XXX.

In general, creams have stronger scents, and are easier to load, while soaps give a bit more value for your money, but have a lighter scent and take a bit of work, especially in hard water. Both can make a great lather and give an exceptional shave, however.

Hopefully that made things a little clearer.

Originally Posted by Sargon

To muddy the waters further, cream vs soap isnt' really binary, so much as a continuum. On one end are hard soaps like Williams, DR Harris, and MWF, on the other are creams like Kiss My face, TOBS, and Proraso. Here's where it gets messy. In-between those are what are called soft soaps, which can vary from almost hard, but can be reshaped with enough force ( Arko) to the soft, putty like Razorock XXX.

In general, creams have stronger scents, and are easier to load, while soaps give a bit more value for your money, but have a lighter scent and take a bit of work, especially in hard water. Both can make a great lather and give an exceptional shave, however.

Hopefully that made things a little clearer.

thanks this makes perfect sense for someone like me just still learing.

will hard soaps last a little longer vs soft soaps lasting a little less?

Ahhh, The wonderful world of Soaps and Creams. I guess I prefer Shave Creams, whipped up in a scuttle. I like lot's of lather. Some creams that never disappoint are:
Castle Forbes, Truefitt and Hill, TOBS, Xpec, Spencer and Devon and Razorock. There's lot's more.
Soaps, Martin De Candre, (pricey, but good) DR Harris, Awesome soap, Mitchells wool fat, (works best for face lathering IMO) and Tabac.

Good Artisan soaps: SRD, any scent, love the Sandalwood. Mama Bears...(is she still around?) Queen Charlotte soaps. Be careful of any shave soap made with Goat's milk. I've found most to be disappointing in the lather dept.

I'm not sure about the hard vs soft, of lot of this is based on how you use it, or we like to say, YMMV....

I also agree with Birnando's assessment. Personally I only use creams. Tried soaps several years ago and never fancied them.