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I don't think the classics like Tabac and Cella can compete with the new higher quality artisan soaps. The artisans are "disrupting" the market like Netflix knocked off the traditional tv networks and cable tv.
Shaving soaps ranked by performance
- Thread starter raiden
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What an insular little bubble we enthusiasts live in.
I don’t think Tabac and Cella have anything to fear from Wholly Kaw and Grooming Dept.
Sure we, the internet warrior grade shaving enthusiasts may get all excited about a great artisan soap with unreal slickness, pillowy cushion, lather for days, and a post shave feel so nice the soap could double as a moisturizer. However we are radically outnumbered but the millions of men who just want to shave their beards and get on with their day. For the Everyman who still appreciates a soap lather, Arko, Tabac, and even TOBS aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
First off, I tend not to trust the YouTube reviewers. Why? Because they are doing this for some other reason than just to help people. Be it free stuff from makers or attention and notoriety. Some just like watching themselves talk. You should know that they all have an agenda. Listing an email address plus six social media sites as ways to contact (self promote) should tell you something.
Assuming that it's all legit and good intentions and all of that. So tell me, how are the numbers computed? Is there a formula that is used or does he just say, "hmm 96"? I suspect the latter.
I've done testing for soap several manufacturers and it takes me weeks to fully assess a soap. The process begins with me using a lesser performing soap for a week to ten days to get my face back to a baseline. I then use the test soap for around three weeks straight noting the changes to my skin as well as the experience lathering and shaving with it. Some side by side shaves with the very best soaps I've tried as well. It's quite a process but until I do this I can't tell exactly how a soap will compare. In testing soaps, these guys must be a hell of a lot better at it than I am. Because from just one use they can tell everything about a soap. For me, that's absolutely impossible.
Assuming that it's all legit and good intentions and all of that. So tell me, how are the numbers computed? Is there a formula that is used or does he just say, "hmm 96"? I suspect the latter.
I've done testing for soap several manufacturers and it takes me weeks to fully assess a soap. The process begins with me using a lesser performing soap for a week to ten days to get my face back to a baseline. I then use the test soap for around three weeks straight noting the changes to my skin as well as the experience lathering and shaving with it. Some side by side shaves with the very best soaps I've tried as well. It's quite a process but until I do this I can't tell exactly how a soap will compare. In testing soaps, these guys must be a hell of a lot better at it than I am. Because from just one use they can tell everything about a soap. For me, that's absolutely impossible.
I like Ruds, but as many have stated he has no empirical chart with which he uses to grade. It's all "seat of the pants" and I think he gives wayyyyyyy too much weight to post shave feel. He is a good judge of scents however IMO.
I've watched a lot of Rud's videos. I mostly watch as a form of entertainment, because he doesn't take 15 minutes to review a soap. There are a lot of shaving soap reviewers on YouTube, and a majority of them are bad. He's not perfect by any means...sounds like he's about to fall asleep the whole time and not a whole lot of enthusiasm. Also, most of in the info in the video is found on the manufacturer's website. Still, I think his ranking of artisans is pretty accurate, and like to get a "normal" person's description of a scent, for which he does a pretty good job.
I understand your hesitations in trusting reviewers but I put my contact info in my videos so people can message me in private. I've had zero artisan's reach out to me thru YouTube. However I've had a few reach out to me on Instagram. A few subscribers have reached out to me with questions though on YouTube.
But YouTubers could never do what you do to truly test a soap. What I do is usually use a soap for 4 to 5 shaves in a row and pay attention to all the categories and judge from there.
If I did 3 to 4 weeks of one soap people would lose interest. I do appreciate how you truly test a soap though.
I agree with what is being said about post shave when doing a review. It's not all that important to me unless it's super drying that a balm can't even turn it around. (Like Martin De Candre). Though if the post shave is good I view it as a positive and will mention it.
I can get good shaves out of almost anything and the more different soaps I use the more I realize they all roughly perform the same. Some are thirstier and all that but once you dial in how to use it is all technique from there.
IMO I think this is very subjective , however extremely helpful for any newbie trying to find a good soap . I appreciate his efforts and reviews and it def. helped me pick out some really nice soaps to try out !!
It’s good to figure these things out for one’s self, but lists like this (when honest) can help point people looking for recommendations a bit, however subjective.
I happen to disagree with much of the rankings though.
I happen to disagree with much of the rankings though.
I'm too tired to list specifics but I've tried some of the things on that list and several that were not. I did what I'm going to guess many did and see where the stuff they use and like was positioned on the list. I was surprised to see that FA was towards the bottom of the list. Optically it could be inferred that it's a "poor performer" because "Hey, close to the bottom", but it's a solid solid performer and well scented. I scanned to see if there was anything obvious above it on the list, but I'm unfamiliar with the vast majority of that list so I really can't make a coherent argument to say "the list is wrong".
The most that I could meaningfully infer from it is, if a soap is on there, it's probably good. Beyond that, to me, it's value is that it might be interesting to see where one person stacks things up.
The most that I could meaningfully infer from it is, if a soap is on there, it's probably good. Beyond that, to me, it's value is that it might be interesting to see where one person stacks things up.
I could not disagree more. He know NOTHING about scents. He always just lists/reads off the notes that the artisan lists on their own website. Totally useless when it comes to complex scents like APR/Eufros/DG etc because they never actually smell like the notes listed. This is where some real experience with fragrance would be helpful. Now...he may have good taste naturally and pick winners...but none of what he does is reliable enough to choose a scent on...YMMV.
Yep. No classics mentioned.
Judging a shave soap is inherently subjective.
I see a lot of replies in this thread asking him to make a scoring system or have a way of getting empirical evidence, but even if he did that, it would just be a way to assign a number or a value to something that, underneath all that, would still be a "seat of the pants" subjective idea. You can't make the inherently subjective into objective just by assigning numbers.
As for scents, people's noses interpret scents so differently, even among members of the same family, that it seems to me that beyond listing the scent notes, the only thing that might be helpful is if the reviewer could compare the scent with known scents, either of other soaps or of colognes, or whatever. "It smells a lot like XYZ cologne," or "It's a lot like Mike's Barbershop, but less sweet" is a lot more helpful than descriptions that lack comparators, IMO.
YMMV.
You have to be able to line yourself up with reviewers or they are useless. If you're looking to chose your soaps based off a single review then your doing it wrong. If you watch enough of these guys and you use the same soaps yourself then you can get a feel for what they like in a soap and if they like the same attributes as you then you can get a fairly good idea if you're going to like the soap or not.... to me that is useful. The more reviewers you can get a read on the more useful it will be for you.
Looks like I really need to try some B&M soap
I actually agree with most of his ratings on that list based off what I've tried.
The only one I don't agree with is Eufros. It should be much higher on the list.
I actually agree with most of his ratings on that list based off what I've tried.
The only one I don't agree with is Eufros. It should be much higher on the list.
I watch shaving reviews for entertainment, ideas for new things to try and for enabling my AD splurges. Ruds does a great job across the board. I'm just not taking this soap/razor/blade/etc performance thing too seriously. I find that most of the things I try work well enough for me. Technique trumps everything.
Since I don't use any aftershave, just a cold water rinse, I place a lot of importance on post-shave feel above all else. Some of the best lathering soaps I've tried, like Tabac and Palmolive for example, are below par in this key area for me. While Proraso doesn't have the same slickness as the above two, the post-shave is better. I've also found that almost every soap I've tried has a lather-consistency sweet spot. From Proraso to MWF, a little tweaking here and there will get them close enough to shave with. I've also found the razor/blade combo makes a huge difference and is as equally important as the soap. So when reading lists of any sort, I check the post-shave column first as that's the one that ultimately matters, for me anyway.
Since I use a separate mosturiser and possibly a sunscreen, I don't want my shave soap to have much post-shave feel. I just want a nicely cushoned shave. Not knowing how much of Ruds number is based on how much oil it leaves on his face makes his numbers useless to me. I find B&M excelsior has much more post-shave feel than I want. It almost makes me think I need to wash my face again and apply toner to help clean it off.
You're the first person I've heard say this. Very interesting! What do you use as a moisturizer?
Some basic info about soaps: clicky.
"Note that all claims about 'nourishing', mild, hydrating, and other fancy wordings that would suggest that soaps are good for your skin are B.S. A soap is a detergent that dissolves skin oils and fats, not replenishes them. Adding fats and oils only ensures that some of the soap is used to solubilize these oils and is not available to dissolve your skin's fats. Besides, soap is alkaline, which is at least not good for your skin. Emollients impart a creamy 'feel' to any product smeared on your skin, but don't have any other physiologial property. Glycerin and some other polyols may be absorbed by your skin, and by their hygroscopic action retain some water in your skin, thereby counteracting the drying action of the soap, but overall, the soap will still dry out your skin to a certain extent. So, all these additives don't make a soap GOOD for your skin, only possibly less BAD."
"Note that all claims about 'nourishing', mild, hydrating, and other fancy wordings that would suggest that soaps are good for your skin are B.S. A soap is a detergent that dissolves skin oils and fats, not replenishes them. Adding fats and oils only ensures that some of the soap is used to solubilize these oils and is not available to dissolve your skin's fats. Besides, soap is alkaline, which is at least not good for your skin. Emollients impart a creamy 'feel' to any product smeared on your skin, but don't have any other physiologial property. Glycerin and some other polyols may be absorbed by your skin, and by their hygroscopic action retain some water in your skin, thereby counteracting the drying action of the soap, but overall, the soap will still dry out your skin to a certain extent. So, all these additives don't make a soap GOOD for your skin, only possibly less BAD."
If you use a decent aftershave, post-shave feel is one of the least important characteristics of a soap (same with scent)
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