Soaps vs. creams

Still new to straight razors. Have tried both soaps and creams. Seem to be able to get a much better lather with cream. Is that normal or am I doing something wrong? Should there be a difference in the lather?

I'm pretty darn new to this as well, or at least the Straight Razor portion, I've been using a brush for a few years now. But I can say IMO that depending on what product and quality your using they can both be great. I have found a few creams that were great and a few that were horrible, having to keep using more and more just to get a simple lather, the same with soaps. I am learning more and more that is part of the adventure that is SR shaving. So many amazing products to try, good and bad, and until you try it well never know. Lucky for us there are SOOOOO many people on this forum that have tried many of them and can give their thumbs up or down.
Christian

Yea, some of the harder soaps can be a little harder to get to lather well. I think it pretty much boils down to adjusting your technique to what the soap likes and that is assuming you have good soft water not the hard variety.

Bob

With creams all the hard work has already been done for you. With soap you have to figure outhow much water and twirling to use. Making lather is another skill. Using cream is kind of like using a feather disposable instead of a straight so you don't have to learn to hone or strop.

Right? Har har.

I like both but I mainly use soap.

Cream is nice and luxurious. Soap seems to fit the straight razor style a bit more for me. Plus I get a great lather.

Some soaps like proraso, are a cross. They lather like cream but get used like a soap.

Michael

Creams usually give you more lather, or more cushion. Soaps allow you to feel the razor more, less cushion, more glide. You'll find through trial and error which works best for you. Your brush even plays a role in lather making.

There are some great soaps our there, DR Harris, SRD, and Martin De Candre come to mind. Of course MWF and Tabac.

Shave Creams would be Xpec, Castle Forbes and Truefitt and Hill.

Xpec is a real high end shave cream. Good stuff if you have the bux.

Creams are a lot easier to lather at first, especially if you have hard water, but a quality soap will make at least as good a lather as a cream, so, starting out I would say creams or soft soaps are a good place to start, but once you are comfortable with them, you may find some hard soaps that you really enjoy.

I use both. Creams are much easier to get to lather and they lather up faster for me. If I'm in a bit of a rush, I will grab a cream. However, there is something about the soaps that I enjoy more. I dunno maybe it's the challenge or something. So I find creams easier but I enjoy using soaps more. My two cents.

Like Fords vs Chevys or Fenders vs Gibsons, this question is always good for some lively conversation. Like the last couple of posters have said, I think creams are easier to learn with for 2 reasons. You can see how much cream you're starting with. With soaps you've got to estimate how much you've loaded. Another reason is if you get carried away with the water, I find it's easier to add more cream than it is to add more soap. That said, I use both, depending on what mood I'm in. I really don't think one is superior to the other.

I think the real key is recognizing that you must transfer the soap or cream to the brush. That sounds a little silly because with creams this is very easy, but once you figure out how to get the soaps from the container or puck on to the brush it becomes simply a determination of which suds you like the best.

Have fun.

If you're using good quality products, I've found most of the difference is in learning to load the brush. When I started, I didn't like the soaps, but I was trying to load with way too much water. I used creams for quite awhile and still used too much water, but it was easier to compensate with more cream. Now, I'm a soap fan and the creams are just sitting.

Start with a soaked brush and shake the loose water out of it. If you're loading soap it helps to put a dribble of water on the puck a few minutes before you're ready to load, don't drown it. To save more typing, here's a link to Lynn loading both soap and cream in 2 different videos.

YouTube

:gl:

Howard :)

Different soaps require different things. load time, more water, start with brush a little less wet, ETC...

What soap is giving you issues? Chances are one of us has mastered that soap and can tell you the particulars of that soap.

Lynn really hit the nail on the head. You have to get the soap on the brush and the harder the soap the longer it takes.

Just describe what you are doing and with what. We can help...