I've done it also. The results IMO were miserable. For me, it's only if there isn't anything else on the planet. Viscosity is completely different along with slickness. I can say this though, I'd rather use Olive Oil to shave than hand or body soap. Was used for centuries and can get really close shaves IMO.
Using Body Soap as a Shave Soap?
- Thread starter CCMphysician
- Start date
I've use Dove Sensitive skin soap before and it worked very well. Just rubbed it on my face and lathered with a boar brush. Nice slickness, no irritation and it didn't dry my skin out like Arko tends to do. Overall I was impressed
I tried this today with Yardley English Lavender. It has Sodium Tallowate as the main ingredient, so I figured why not. My Whipped Dog synth brush, whipped up a great looking lather in no time. But, when I applied it to the skin, it collapsed just as quick. It still felt slick so I gave it a go anyway. It actually worked pretty well, hard to tell where I had already shaved though, kind of like shaving with just oil. Two passes and some cleanup got me as close to BBS as I can usually get with no issues irritation. It really left my skin felling great too. It's not going to replace my other soaps, but I will probably try it a few more times.
I use Yardley as part of super lather. It adds the tallow that my creams lack. Works great. Adds a lot of slickness.
Using it as part of a super lather sounds like a great idea. Sometimes I add Cremo to VDH Deluxe and it really bumps it up, perhaps I'll try it.
I added a little Cremo to it this morning. It might have made it a little more stable, but not much. Still got a very nice DFS from it. It's certainly usable at any rate.
I sometimes try to shave with body soap just to see if I could use the soap in a pinch. The best one I've found so far was Grandpa's Pine Tar soap. I'd give it a 5/10. Nothing something I'd want to shave with on a regular basis, but if found myself without a proper shave soap it'd do.
Try it with a cream that lathers.
I would, but I don't have any creams that lather, maybe someday.
i've tried AOS sandalwood body bar as well as Mysore sandalwood bath round bar, which are both excellent bath bars, as shave soaps.
Both are "ok" but really not nearly as protective or slick, as traditional shave soaps.
Just my experience.
Naturally, YMMV!
Both are "ok" but really not nearly as protective or slick, as traditional shave soaps.
Just my experience.
Naturally, YMMV!
Always used to shave with ordinary soap without issue,i am now having a horrible time with top shelf
soaps making my face sore,never had problems with bog standard Palmolive,i am not sure what this whole soap thing is all about,marketing that gets to you.
If you find Royal Swedish- tallba pine body soap from victoria give it a go.
It is a glycerine body soap with a strong incense and green pine scent similar to sir irisch moos.
It is the only bath soap that has a lasting lather.
It is easy to lather and with plenty of slickness.
The only downside-if you can say so- is that the lather is not the thickest available.
If you find this soap grab a puck!
It is a glycerine body soap with a strong incense and green pine scent similar to sir irisch moos.
It is the only bath soap that has a lasting lather.
It is easy to lather and with plenty of slickness.
The only downside-if you can say so- is that the lather is not the thickest available.
If you find this soap grab a puck!
I wouldn't do it….although I have used MWF as a bath soap….that turned out ok.
I used to do that a lot using disposables. I just put the soap scraps into the mug and lathered away. I wasn't too concerned with shave quality in those days. Switching to liquid body wash was one of the factors that led me back to DE shaving. I had to go out and buy actual shaving soap again, then a new brush, etc.
If it helps, I went from canned foam, to canned gel, to squeeze tube gel, and finally just used the same soap that I wash with. I found that as long as I refreshed the soap reasonably regularly, and paid attention, I got a decent shave with no nicks. People talk about lather, slickness, body, the interstitial ether, but what it comes down to is simply putting enough of SOMETHING lubricating on your face to be able to run the razor along your skin with minimal damage.
The big down side of using bath soap, like SafeGuard or Irish Spring, is that they tend to be drying in the time you have to leave it on your face. The upside? Your face is clean, and you didn't have to fight with any other products. (I didn't use a brush, either. I didn't have one for most of that time, because they were NOT readily available. )
The big down side of using bath soap, like SafeGuard or Irish Spring, is that they tend to be drying in the time you have to leave it on your face. The upside? Your face is clean, and you didn't have to fight with any other products. (I didn't use a brush, either. I didn't have one for most of that time, because they were NOT readily available. )
An older coworker, now retired, would melt down Ivory soap and add olive oil to it. That was his shaving soap. I didn't ask how much oil to use.
Exactly. If you have the best tallow & lanolin shaving soap, use it. If you just have a bar of Ivory, use that. Nothing but hot water? Use that. Cold water? You can still get a decent shave, just won't be any fun. I think I've done all of these. Not gonna try dry shaving. But I assure you, the best shaving soaps really are by far the best experience.
I've used Dove and Ivory for shaving, just to see whether or not it would work. Both worked well enough to get through the shave, provided that I renewed the lather frequently. But neither one worked well enough for me to want to use it on a regular basis.
Try the soap i mention and you mught chabge your opinion about using bath soaps for shaving!!!
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