The Van Der Hagen Society

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Greetings to One & All:
Come join and show your appreciation for one of the best (and in my opinion under-rated, [but gaining ground], and a 'wee-bit' overlooked), soaps around...VDH!

Q. The purpose?

A. To create a 'sounding board' for VDH users and Society members.

Q. The 'either/and/or' requirement to join?

a) Tell others your thoughts about which soap(s) you use, the good (and bad...if any), things about this soap and why you using it.

b) You can post a pic of your VDH lather and tools.

c) You can post tips, hints and/or 'tricks of the lather trade' so the other members can learn from your experience about this wonderful soap.

I'll go first. In the past, I was a Deluxe man until I tried the Luxury (scented), and

...what a difference!!!
I found the Luxury far out-shinned the Deluxe (which was then my 'go-to' soap), in terms of lather, lubrication, cushion, glide and scent.

Quality: Rating 10

These very light white color pucks are 2 ¾ inches in diameter across, 1 inch in depth and weigh approximately 3 ½ ounces each (much bigger than the Deluxe [by 1oz in weigh]). "These hypoallergenic shave soaps are produced one small batch at a time using a unique kettle process. Each shave soap contains over 10% glycerin as well as emollient shea, mango & cocoa butter to help soften the beard and improve razor glide for a close, comfortable shave that leaves skin feeling soft and smooth".

The three butters produces an incredible lather and each puck is made with high quality ingredients...no harsh chemicals to irritate my face.

Scent: Rating: 8

Faint 'fresh' and floral scent.

Lather: Rating 10

Wow!!! This Soap really generates a lot of incredible lather and this lather is nice and thick. Water retention of this Soap is wonderful and this soap produces a rich, lightly scented and dense 'stiff peak' lather. Here is my drying test (got this idea from Scotto's past post), I lather my face and leave it on for at least 10 minutes and "hey, hey, hey", no problem with the lather drying out on my face.

Efficacy: Rating 10

Throughout the shave, the lather provided a lot of cushion and glide. I just have to say that this is the best shaving soap that I've ever tried.

This Soap lathers so easy and quickly and seems like it never dries out. I find that I get a much closer shave and a better lather with Luxury's vs. Deluxe's. Also, this soap creates a slick lather which 'glides' my Merkur Razors (23C & 38C using Voskhod blades), over my skin with hardly any nicks!

Moisturizing: Rating 9

Again, no drying of my face at all. Skin felt smooth and hydrated and after my shave, I feel very 'pampered'. I really this Soap (what a change from using Deluxe), and my face is softer and smoother.

Also, I add 10 drops of glycerin per puck (and about 10 drops of Clubman Citrus Musk [fortified with Royal Lymes]), before I melt it (nuke), for 'Überlather', extra lubrication, cushion, glide and scent .

Read More: http://badgerandblade.com/reviews/sh...product=196305

“Happiness is the [shaving soap]...that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart”. Mort Walker
PS 'Spread the Word around the Horn' and add 'Member of the Van Der Hagan (VDH), Society' in your signature line!

 

[aar0n]

I still need to break in my badger brush a bit more. So far I would say the VDH boar brush (contained in the cheapest kit), has probably been the best value item since it literally cost almost nothing. Very soft and lathers well. Eventually I will probably look in to their other product lines. I'm a big fan of proraso, but VDH soap can definitely compete!

This site is contributing to a possible problem! Now I feel the need to try the VDH luxury.

 

[Jarick]

In this for sure!

I started wet shaving last year and VDH Deluxe was my first soap. Bounced around to a few others and went back for more Deluxe. Then ordered some Glycerin. Last week got a puck of Luxury. Really looking forward to that one.

I haven't used any of the fancy soaps yet, at least not in appreciable quantities. But I can't think of a better first soap than VDH. Cheap, plentiful, readily available. Learn to make a nice lather with this stuff before splurging on the fancy stuff. Great for breaking in brushes too.

Here's my VDH Deluxe and Glyercin milled into an Old Spice mug, along with my VDH mug:



Some lather pictures of the lowly VDH:

 

[Jarick]

My VDH methods:

Bowl lathering, use a wetter brush, swirl the soap until you load the brush and get a bit of nice, slightly wet lather. Then dump into the bowl and whip the lather until it's just right. If it's too sticky, add a bit of water. If it's too wet, dump out some of the lather, re-load the brush, and go back to the bowl.

Face lathering, use a bit drier brush, swirl the soap until the brush is loaded, then go to the face. Wet the tips of the brush a bit and go back to the face and then again between passes.

 

[GUYGARR]

I bought the cheap bowl and brush set and later the delux badger set . The cheap boar brush is very soft and is my go to .I soaked it in listeryne for a few hours to get the funk out . The soap is pretty good but is now for traveling . Face lathering has made the bowl almost useless , except to soak the brush .

 

[Eric83]

Just melted my VDH Deluxe in to my Old Spice mug, I just could not get it to dry and hold in place since I bought it a few day's. Melting it for 25 seconds and letting it cool down was just the ticket... I don't think I lost any scent and I will find out how it shaves tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Augustiner]

I love vdH deluxe shave soap. I used the glycerin version about 5 years ago but don't really remember the experience and how it shaved. Deluxe absolutely performs out of it's price range. I've been tempted to try the luxury shave soap but don't have a need to since I get a perfect shave from the deluxe. World-class protection.

My lathering technique: Don't soak the puck. Load a wet (but not dripping-wet) brush on the puck. Face lather. Dip the tips once in water during the initial lathering if needed. Overall, vdH deluxe is a "thirsty" soap so air on the side of wetter with the amount of water.

 

[SteveWY]

I'm not sure if I'm in for the society at the moment but I may lurk awhile and join in if I get back to the VDH. I got started out with a VDH Deluxe set that I got a s a gift a few years ago. I frequently will gift or PIF VDH and recommend it as a "Best Puck for the Puck" choice. I could probably use only VDH and shave for life. Great performance, consistent, easy to lather and for $2! Lately I got into a serious case of SSAD and have about 10-12 soaps on hand. I don't see that I will bump any of the top performers I have for a long while to get back to VDH. that said, I will likely still gift and PIF it and if I ever get stranded on a trip w/o my soap that will be what I go for.

 

[Mr5x5]

The Deluxe is a great soap and if I ever run out of Mama Bear , I could shave with VDH Deluxe the rest of my life and be content. I've never tried the luxury.

 

[nycalling]

Count me in as a society member! I love my VDH soap. It's absolutely my go to, stock soap, smells clean, lathers great. Granted this only goes for the Luxury soap, but still...

I also have the same VDH cup and brush, and my brush works like a champ.

 

[nymtber]

VDH fan here, the only soap I have. I'm honestly a cream guy, KMF or Proraso/CO Bigelow, but VDH soap works very well. Walmart near me stopped selling it, I should have stocked up while it was $1.59/puck!

 

[Jarick]

Starting the VDH Luxury today, which I will attempt to give the 3017 treatment properly for the first time.

I put the puck in a 99 cent glass dish because I am tired of the restricted loading of using a mug, even a short one like the Old Spice. And the clanging. It only took three 10-second bursts in microwave to melt the puck to fit the dish perfectly.

Scent is stronger than Deluxe but similarly clean and "soapy" plus a bit of a floral smell on top. To me it's nicer and less dull but I like both soapy and floral scents. The puck is hard but seems to have high water content and a milky color.

Using a squeezed WD Silvertip 24mm, the soap loaded very quickly in the dish. Within a few seconds there was thick proto lather, and maybe 15-20 seconds to bring it to the face. First application was thick like frosting, so thinned with some water. I've been using sticks and creams lately so it wasn't quite as hydrated but still very good. Not sure if it's product or technique though.

Using my LORDet razor and a Feather, two WTG passes and touchup, I had a DFS all around. Just a bit of irritation, not sure if it's the product or the blade, as I had a near BBS yesterday. I'll go back to an Astra this week and see how that goes.

Afterwards I applied some witch hazel with glycerin and my face feels simultaneously a bit dry and a bit sticky. Maybe I'll try either straight witch hazel or a balm tomorrow.

Rinsing out the bowl, it looked like it had been used, so my gut tells me you'll get a similar number of shaves to Deluxe, probably in the 50-60 range?

 

[Jarick]

Friday with the Luxury soap. Spent a couple days with a silvertip, a couple days with a synthetic, and now the B&B essential boar. Lather for the first pass:



Soap has been good so far. Nice balance of slickness and cushion, although it seems to lean towards slickness. I'm feeling the sharper blades a bit more so will swap back to a smoother blade.

Using straight aftershave all week, skin feels great.

 

[Mrhill75]

Count me in as a society member! I really like all the VDH products I've used so far.

 

[clk]

I am in. I have been using VDH DeLux on in rotation for years, and I always get a great shave with it. I have never been let down by VDH.

 

[JSB33]

Count me in as well. New but completely satisfied with both the deluxe and the luxury VDH soaps. Super happy with the performance, even more so with the price. It fits in very well with the money saving aspect of wet shaving and D/E use.
I know there are tons of fantastic shave soaps on the market but for me, I don't see a need to dip my toes in that water because I happily landed in this little pond called VDH.

 

[ylekot]

I guess I will head to the local Walgreens or mart and get started!!!

 

[duderubble]

I like to mix it with Bigelow menthol, Menthol still comes through and you get the best of both worlds. It's a very good soap for mixing with creams.

 

[JSB33]

VDH Luxury and a dab of Cremo is lather heaven for me.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Awesome stories, ideas, 'methodologies', comments and all other accolades thus far...'keep 'em coming' VDH users!

“Happiness is the [shaving soap]...that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart”. Mort Walker