Valobra Shaving Cream

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In these days I am in Milan and I finally had the time to visit a shop which is very popular in Italy and known for selling shaving equipment. It was such a long time since I bought Valoba shaving cream, so I finally found it in this shop and bought the two of them. You probably know Valobra is one of the revered soap maker here in Italy, making excellent shaving cream. It is not very easy to find them - at least, not in my city - but if you happen to be in northern Italy it is easier to get. Valobra Shaving Creams are also available in many e-commerce sites, as far as I can
The guy at the shop was also very kind in giving me three samples of shaving creams: Geo F. Trumper Rose Shaving Cream, Geo F. Trumper Coconut Oil Shaving Cream and Forester Xpec Original Shaving Cream. I will try them all, although the catch of the day was of course the two Valobra creams, the classic almond scent and menthol scent.
I will post later about these creams as soon as I will use them for shaving. For the moment, here it is the INCI (list of ingredients) for Valobra Shaving Cream:

aqua, potassium cocoate, potassium palmitate, potassium stearate, glycerin, palmitic acid, sodium cocoate, stearic acid, sodium palmitate, sodium stearate, cocos nucifera, parfum

As you can see, these shaving creams are made with asolutely natural products, that is, the kind of shaving cream I like the most.

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Virgilio Valobra Crema di Sapone da Barba Purissima alla Mandorla
(Virgilio Valobra Extra Pure Shaving Soap Cream Almond Scent)

Producer: Virgilio Valobra, Genoa, Italy

Type: Soft Shaving Cream.

INCI (List of Ingredients): aqua, potassium cocoate, potassium palmitate, potassium stearate, glycerin, palmitic acid, sodium cocoate, stearic acid, sodium palmitate, sodium stearate, cocos nucifera, parfum

Excellent ingredients, all of vegetable origin, no chemical or synthetic elements. Score: 10

Pakage: Cardboard box. The cream is molded in a bar and wrapped in paper and nylon film. As the cream is very soft, being wrapped in paper and nylon film it makes things pretty uneasy to manage and to keep. Score: 4

Quantity: 150g (5.2oz)

Smell: Almond, quite strong but not excessive, very Italian barber's style. Score: 9

Lather: Easily makes an abundant, rich, creamy, stable and long lasting lather. With just a peanut size quantity of cream it has been possible to get very abundant lather, more than enough for my usual three passes. Excellent water retention. The lather is creamy and wet. Score: 10

Shaving: The sensation on the skin is simply wonderful. Creamy and wet, with an abundant and very stable lather, remaining wet during all the pass, no sign of dried lather. The razor easily slides, no skin irritation, leaving the skin very smooth and soft. Score: 10

Conclusion: An excellent shaving cream, very effective and velvety. No skin irritation, at the end of three passes it seems you do not need any post or after shave treatment, leaving a smooth skin and pleasing fresh and clean sensation. Although the package may look like "traditional" and "old fashioned", the very soft consistency of the cream wrapped on nylon film makes quite uneasy to keep it for a long time because of the repetitive unwrapping and re-wrapping. It is probably better to transfer the soap on a bowl. Score: 8

razorguy,

I agree with your assessment. Valobra is one of the best.

It is recommended, however, that the bar be placed in a shaving mug or bowl, where it can be pressed to fit; something that is not hard to do since it is so soft. That's what I do.

Then you don't have to keep unwrapping and rewrapping it.

I concur, have been using valobra almond for months now. A perfect shaving soap!

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Originally Posted by jhenry

It is recommended, however, that the bar be placed in a shaving mug or bowl, where it can be pressed to fit; something that is not hard to do since it is so soft. That's what I do.

Then you don't have to keep unwrapping and rewrapping it.

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Yes, of course, this is necessary. My review is only based on what the producer provides with the soap and to make a comfortable use of it you need to put the bar n a bowl. This means you must have a spare bowl at hand and this is not always possible. Besides that, in my opinion, this is one of the very best shaving soaps around.

Unpacking Valobra Soap

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Virgilio Valobra Crema di Sapone da Barba Purissima al Mentolo
(Virgilio Valobra Extra Pure Shaving Soap Cream Menthol Scent)

Producer: Virgilio Valobra, Genoa, Italy

Type: Soft Shaving Cream.

Quantity: 150g (5.2oz)

All the good things I wrote about the almond scent shaving cream is absolutely confirmed for this one. The scent of this soap is as good as the other one with a fresher sensation on the skin, very pleasing. Maybe the menthol scent is more a summer shaving cream, however a great soap for every season, just like the almond scent one.

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Originally Posted by razorguy

In these days I am in Milan and I finally had the time to visit a shop which is very popular in Italy

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Which is the shop you describe rasorguy?

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Originally Posted by Slur

Which is the shop you describe rasorguy?

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It is Coltelleria Lorenzi, Corso Magenta, 1 - Milan

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Originally Posted by razorguy

It is Coltelleria Lorenzi, Corso Magenta, 1 - Milan

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The best shop in via Montenapoleone :tu

Is there another one in via Magenta?

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Originally Posted by Slur

The best shop in via Montenapoleone :tu

Is there another one in via Magenta?

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The Lorenzi family actually has three shops in Milan: Via Montenapoleone, Corso Magenta and Via Landolfo. They are all relatives and descendants of the same ancestor who moved to Milan in the beginning of the 1900s and started a cutlery business there. The family origins are from Trento (Italy) and they have a long history in cutlery.

After seeing your posts, I had to have some of the menthol for the coming summer months here. It should arrive Friday. I can't wait...lol

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Originally Posted by JoeSomebody

After seeing your posts, I had to have some of the menthol for the coming summer months here. It should arrive Friday. I can't wait...lol

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Wow! This is a great news! :tu
The menthol soap is wonderful and I am sure you will be very happy with its fresh sensation on the skin. However I must admit I also love the almond scent soap and it is very hard to make a decision, that's why I bought both. :)
I hope you will contribute to this thread with your comments and opinions about Valobra shaving cream.

I received the menthol and shaved with it Saturday, Sunday and today. I really like the performance of this soap and the subtle menthol. But the soap really doesn't have much scent. Does the almond have more fragrance?

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Originally Posted by JoeSomebody

I received the menthol and shaved with it Saturday, Sunday and today. I really like the performance of this soap and the subtle menthol. But the soap really doesn't have much scent. Does the almond have more fragrance?

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Joe, the almond fragrance is mild and far from overpowering. It's just right. I might add, much of it fades during lathering, or is it that the nose becomes accustomed to it? Valobra is a good soap overall, although I place it in the second or third tier of fine soaps. It lathers well, but it dries a wee bit quicker than I like, leaving a chalky texture on my Hollywood face. I also don't rate it high for cushion, but the glide is good. Still, Valobra is a soap worth experiencing.

The fragrance of both is pretty good to me, becoming lighter when you mount the lather. In my opinion the are just right, compared to other soaps with a fragrance sometimes being too strong.
As for the almond scent, Valobra's is not as strong as Cella or P.160, which is even stronger in this regard.
In my opinion, the performance of Valobra is very good if not excellent and, in my case, it never dries up. In my experience, most of the times it is just a matter of how much water you use for mounting the lather. Valobra does not take that much, but however it takes - and can hold - quite a lot.

I have tried them both and according to my opinion Valobra almond is much better in terms of fragrance. It is actually cherry and almond and that makes it much better than most almond soaps.

On the other hand Valobra menthol is not that great as a fragrance. Note that consciously or subconsciously all of us wet shavers will compare every menthol soap with the greatest of all, the Prposaso green tub. And in comparison with Proraso scent and fresh feeling, Valobra and others cannot compete.


However, I repeat, Valobra is my favorite shaving soap. :rock:

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Originally Posted by Slur

Note that consciously or subconsciously all of us wet shavers will compare every menthol soap the greatest of all, the Prposaso green tub. And in comparison with Proraso scent and fresh feeling, Valobra and others cannot compete.

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We should notice Proraso also contains eucalyptus, therefore having a more balsamic fragrance.

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Originally Posted by Slur

However, I repeat, Valobra is my favorite shaving soap. :rock:

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Sure! It is also one of my favorite ones!

Thanks for the comments guys. I tend to agree with Obie as far as the cushion, but if your razor is sharp, that lack of cushion allows for a super close shave. I have an old gray beard and it doesn't seem to soften the hair as much, other than that I haven't experienced it drying out either.

After reading these posts I just had to order one of each, Almond and Menthol :rock:

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Originally Posted by Sunbird

After reading these posts I just had to order one of each, Almond and Menthol :rock:

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Good job! :tu

Hi razorguy, everytime I see one of your posts reminds me of when I studied Italian in 1975 at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia! I lived on Via Garibaldi with fantastic views of the historic town out of my bedroom window. Lucky man.

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Originally Posted by Sunbird

Hi razorguy, everytime I see one of your posts reminds me of when I studied Italian in 1975 at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia! I lived on Via Garibaldi with fantastic views of the historic town out of my bedroom window. Lucky man.

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This is absolutely amazing! After all, this is a small world! So nice to hear you lived in my beloved city and, in particular in Via (it actually is "Corso") Garibaldi, in one of the most suggestive historical and typical places of my city, called "Borgo Sant'Angelo". We have always welcomed everyone in this city, in particular students of the "Università per Stranieri", coming to my city since 1300s.
Have you ever come back to Perugia since the time you were a student? I guess you know in this city lives and work the most incredible and talented maker of straight razor: Mastro Livi, a real artist in cutlery who was very popular even before the times you lived in Perugia. Since 1975 so many things have changed here and you should consider to come back and see yourself. :) I guess I should consider you a "honorary citizen of Perugia"! :)

I'm a firm fan of proraso green. The classic English creams (Geo F. Trumper etc) simply didn't work for me and were expensive to boot so for about 10 years I've been using the stuff from the green tub and been extremely satisfied with the lather I could whip up and the way it behaved on my skin: doesn't dry too fast, ggod volume, good cushioning, just slick enough...good shaves. This thread stimulated me to get a block of Valobra which I then cut a slice of that was placed in an aluminium tin. It's just perfect for that. The almond scent is heavenly (if you're an almond fan of course): strong but not totally overpowering and it either wears off quite fast when applied or my nose gets desensitized to it. Lather formation in the tub is very easy with my el cheapo 10 year old omega boar's hair brush. The lather is thick and luxurious with good volume and lubrication. I did find the volume reduces a bit after application and it also dries out quicker than my proraso green so technically that one's still number 1 in my book except for the olfactory component, there Valobra wins easily. On balance I find it a very good/versatile soap/cream and I'll continue using it. Much better and less expensive than the aforementioned english stuff.

Thanks to the OP and other posters for enlightening me!

xenophon,
we all are here to be enlightened: sharing comments and opinions is always a remarkable resource for all of us.
I am glad you tried Valobra classic (almond scent) and found it interesting. I too have and use Proraso green tub, which I consider to be better than the one sold in tube.
Proraso is a very good soap, but, in my opinion, Valobra is superior. As for the lather drying up, Valobra hardly dries up, at least for me. I guess it is just a matter of water and the quantity you use for mounting it. In my opinion, Proraso dries up more easily than Valobra.

I've been using the Valobra Mentolo for a while now and it's just a great performer with a pleasing scent. It has just the right amount "chill" to it--I've never really been into the menthol face freeze. That little block of soap goes a long way too--I've been using it for well over a year.

But honestly, my favorite soap in the universe is another Valobra product--the Shave stick which I slice up and press into a container like a puck. Thats the best product I've ever used for shaving---what a lather!!!

Valobra is dynamite!!

all the best,

Marty E.

Great assessment on the Valobra cream! I really enjoy mine and you've inspired me to break it out today. I keep mine in a plastic container that used to house a Mama Bear's soap.

i have a box of Valobra Mentolo enroute.....it was on sale for ten bux shipped from an online store and i had to pull the trigger.

hope i like it!

I hope you will! It would be interesting to hear your opinion when you try it.

well i tried the valobra mentolo. i cant believe how soft it is. the way it got shipped in a box...i thought it would be a firmer soap...its almost like a cream. i squeezed some out into a bowl and lathered away.
the menthol was mild and the lather was full. as far as the scent...it smelled kinda raw-material scented. i only thought it was ok and will not be rebuying it when finished. i like the MdC waaay better.

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Originally Posted by jmsodpc

i like the MdC waaay better.

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With MdC you mean Martin de Candre? Unfortunately I had not the chance to try it but I would really like to do that. Sooner or later...

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Originally Posted by jmsodpc

. . . . as far as the scent...it smelled kinda raw-material scented. i only thought it was ok and will not be rebuying it when finished. i like the MdC waaay better.

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This has been my experience also. It didn't have any notable fragrance other than the raw materials. I also have other products that I like better. It is for this reason that I am looking forward to the new-product reviews of the new Valobra soaps that are going to be released any time now. The hard soap stick also has a great lather but a very mild soap scent that is just so-so.