Thread: Suggested Soap for a First Time Buyer

Hello everyone,

Im looking into getting my first straight razor set in the near future, and am currently looking into the brand of shaving soap to get, and was looking for any suggestions. I was originally thinking about going with Trumpers Sandalwood, however, I have herd from other places that users have found it to be a little difficult to work with. As a beginner, im looking for something that will create a nice thick lather fairly easily, and from a personal standpoint, my skin tends to be on the drier side, and i get razor bumps pretty easily (one of the reasons why i am looking into the switch to a straight razor) so i would prefer something that will address that. At this point i think i might just go with an SRD soap and go from there.

Thanks,
Tyler

This is just my personal opinion here, but I wouldn't get too carried away with the first puck of soap you choose to buy, if you haven't made lather with a soap and brush before. For about a dollar you can get a puck of Williams mug shave soap and learn how to make a good lather with that. After you have that down, you can make lather with any shave soap, and you'll more likely than not have learned to appreciate the qualities in the more expensive bars of soap. Van Der Hagen also makes a perfectly decent shave soap for about $2. You'll probably benefit the most from starting out with these soaps and a little trial and error until you get it right. If, however, you're not a total cheapskate like me, I would suggest Proaso shave soap in the green tub, around $10 - this soap for me sets the baseline for judging all other shave soaps. It lathers instantly and effortlessly and for the amount that comes in the tub, is a pretty good deal. I've found that just going from a Mach 3 to a straight razor eliminated the ingrown hairs and irritation on my neck area, rather than a certain kind of shave soap. Again, as with just about anything you'll read on here, this is just my opinion. Good luck!

There are many ways to look at this. You can do what most of us did and start with Williams and use it thinking it's a great soap and then later on find out there is much better or you can just buy the much better to begin with. No soap is really difficult to get a lather with. Once you learn to lather it's really nothing maybe 30 seconds or so longer. The English soaps are great soaps like Trumpers and Harris or the creams like Castle Forbes or Mitchells Wool Fat Soap. If you read through the threads you will learn.

Of course if you are a minimalistic kind of guy you might find Williams and Van Der Hagen to be all you really need.

There is just a lot to choose from at all price levels. It's all up to you.

Just buy something and learn to shave!

Any of the "premium" soaps is way better than "good enough". I rotate through Tabac, Mitchell's Wool Fat, and Proraso (both cream and soap). They all make good lather.

If there's a local Body Shop, and you like the smell of their Macca Root shave cream, it's very good as well.

Charles

When I started I got a start up set from Classic Shaving. It came with a free puck of soap. It has been good to learn on. I would suggest just getting a basic soap so that you can learn.

I disagree with go with Williams, it is cheap but not the best and not easy to lather successfully in your first few tries. I would go with the highest quality soap you can buy ( read, not necessarily expensive).
Tabac, Cella, Proraso, Castle Forbe cream are some of the most slick and reliable soaps to lather with, that I have used. Some are more costly than others but all of them will give you good shaves.
Tabac has the scent of tabaco flower ( not tabaco), Cella is almond, Proraso is menthol and Castle Forbe comes in three scents lime, sandlewood and another that scapes my mind at the moment.
Start with a good slick soap or cream that is easily lather and you would have one less thing to worry about learning how to straight shave. Double O

Get whatever smells good and matches your face's properties (sensitive, dry, oily, etc). Don't worry too much about the brand for now as sooner or later, you're going to end up with enough soap to be able to shave your great grandchildren with!!

Yes, im planning on getting my first set from SRD and it comes with their own brand of soap. I guess ill start there and see if it addresses my sensitive, on the dry side, skin and go from there. Im thinking about spending the few extra dollars to upgrade tp their Sandalwood. Anyone here got any thoughts on SRD sandalwood?

Originally Posted by Tylerman

Yes, im planning on getting my first set from SRD and it comes with their own brand of soap. I guess ill start there and see if it addresses my sensitive, on the dry side, skin and go from there. Im thinking about spending the few extra dollars to upgrade tp their Sandalwood. Anyone here got any thoughts on SRD sandalwood?

That is a smart decision! Can't go wrong with SRD stuff. The scent, someone can tell you they like it others will hate it, it is a very subjective thing. Also for the sensitive skin, one person may be sensitive to a particular EO (essential oil) and you may not be. The best advice I can tell you is to try to get samples of different soaps and see for yourself. Double O

For dry or sensitive skin, I would definitely recommend that you go for a Palmolive Shave Stick or something mildly similar. At the price these go for this side of the pond, you're mad NOT to get one!