Folks, this is my first post to Badger and Blade and it will be a rant. So like a lot of you, I watch youtube videos of "Westshavers" a lot. Recently, I took the dive and bought several shaving soaps based on reviews I saw on youtube. You know how it is: "OH the smell, it's so lovely" "Oh the notes, I cant get enough of the smell" "This shaving cream is the greatest" and on and on and on. So based on these reviews, I bought several shave soaps. Upon receiving them this week, I can say that they are nowhere near what these "Wetshaving" Youtubers described. The smell on most of them are so god awful, I can't believe I spent my hard earned money on them. My wife is my ultimate scent approver, and she made it clear that if I use any of these she would make me sleep in the garage. I will not name the companies or the names of the soaps I purchased because I don't want to trash any small company. However, I feel so gullible. Of course these guys swoon over every new soap they get. They are getting them for free!!!! I hate to use the word shill, but that is my opinion. I will never buy anything without getting a sample from this point going forward. I have come to the conclusion that these Youtubers are never going to give you an honest opinion because they don't want to stop the flow of free stuff for their channels. Am I the only one who feels like this? Anybody else get burned by a soap or aftershave that was heaped praise on, only to find out that it was trash? I know I will get death threats for posting this, but I had to get this off my chest. I am so upset I dropped all this money. The smells were so bad, I never used them! Still in the original packaging. Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.
A rant about Youtubers . . . .
- Thread starter Kmelki
- Start date
I don't understand the appeal of watching some random dude shave, but apparently many do...
Anyways, youtube is a business platform. It exists solely to sell ads. YOU are the product. The people that make videos are doing it to make money too. You really shouldn't be shocked that people will tell you what you want to hear in order to get you to open your wallet.
If you want an honest assessment of a shaving product, search these boards. There are lots of terrific reviews written by people that are motivated solely by the desire to help others. Personally, that's where I put my trust.
Oh, and welcome!
Anyways, youtube is a business platform. It exists solely to sell ads. YOU are the product. The people that make videos are doing it to make money too. You really shouldn't be shocked that people will tell you what you want to hear in order to get you to open your wallet.
If you want an honest assessment of a shaving product, search these boards. There are lots of terrific reviews written by people that are motivated solely by the desire to help others. Personally, that's where I put my trust.
Oh, and welcome!
I used to watch a lot of shaving videos, and a few times I considered some of their advice about products, but so far I haven't been burned. I don't really watch any shaving videos anymore. Kinda lost interest.
Stick around for a while. Once you exceed the required number of posts, you can try selling the "stinky" soaps in the B.S.T.
Stick around for a while. Once you exceed the required number of posts, you can try selling the "stinky" soaps in the B.S.T.
The one thing about all things shaving is YMMV. What smells great to someone may stink to the next guy.
However, like said above, these guys could be asked to promote the products, whether it sucks or not.
I also think it may be beneficial to name the products. Maybe someone here can suggest something better, we can know if we need to stay away, etc etc. And maybe someone here can help rectify the situation a little.
Sucks to spend money on a full tub to find out you hate the scent though. Hopefully you find what you're looking for soon, there's umpteen brands of quality products to sift through.
However, like said above, these guys could be asked to promote the products, whether it sucks or not.
I also think it may be beneficial to name the products. Maybe someone here can suggest something better, we can know if we need to stay away, etc etc. And maybe someone here can help rectify the situation a little.
Sucks to spend money on a full tub to find out you hate the scent though. Hopefully you find what you're looking for soon, there's umpteen brands of quality products to sift through.
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks for the welcome gentleman. Sorry my first post sounded harsh. I have been using a brush and shaving soap for a few months now. I do use cartridges, but I am awaiting my first Safety Razor from Blackland. The new ERA razor with standard plates 3 and 4. Hopefully it is a winner. And you all are right, going to scour these message boards before I make any future purchases.
I mostly watch guys who use vintage razors and therefore don't get a lot of free stuff. These aren't big channels, by the way. I like old razors and that is the attraction. For advice on soap, I notice what comes up often on forums such as this one. If a lot of guys use it then it's worth a try.
Welcome to Badger and Blade!
Welcome to Badger and Blade!
Welcome to B&B. Hopefully all you wasted was a few bucks on soaps and not hundreds and hundreds on DEs and straights (+strops and hones). I come to my trusted sources here to get ideas on what to use. BTW finding out stuff you DON'T like can be just as useful as finding out what stuff you do like.
Last edited:
You should always do your research and ask people who you can trust before taking the word of a stranger. I really enjoy watching a few shaving channels myself from time to time, but as nice and as friendly as they sound and look, I don't trust them one bit.
You can learn a lot of things from some Youtubers, like how to fix or clean your razor or what to avoid when buying a vintage razor or used straight razor for instance and a lot more, but taking their word on a random product (especially if it's expensive) is not a good idea. There are some folks doing the same thing on the shaving forums as well, but I digress.
If you want to try a new soap, just buy a sample and save your trouble and money in case you don't like it. The other thing is that the ''artisan'' soaps are relatively new ''phenomenon'' and while I don't mind having more and more shaving products available and promoting and feeding of our insane addiction against the canned goo and the cartridges, some folks don't really care about making a good product and they are just hopping on the shaving train to make some quick and easy money, by trying to convince people that a more expensive soap will help you get closer and better shave even if you're not as skilled or that you're using the wrong razor or blade.
Just use common sense and spend some time watching what the majority of the shavers use, like and dislike and you will have a better understanding of how things work and for the most part learn how to spot the bs from the truth and save yourself lots of money in the process.
You can learn a lot of things from some Youtubers, like how to fix or clean your razor or what to avoid when buying a vintage razor or used straight razor for instance and a lot more, but taking their word on a random product (especially if it's expensive) is not a good idea. There are some folks doing the same thing on the shaving forums as well, but I digress.
If you want to try a new soap, just buy a sample and save your trouble and money in case you don't like it. The other thing is that the ''artisan'' soaps are relatively new ''phenomenon'' and while I don't mind having more and more shaving products available and promoting and feeding of our insane addiction against the canned goo and the cartridges, some folks don't really care about making a good product and they are just hopping on the shaving train to make some quick and easy money, by trying to convince people that a more expensive soap will help you get closer and better shave even if you're not as skilled or that you're using the wrong razor or blade.
Just use common sense and spend some time watching what the majority of the shavers use, like and dislike and you will have a better understanding of how things work and for the most part learn how to spot the bs from the truth and save yourself lots of money in the process.
Last edited:
You can't trust youtube for product recommendations. All those guys are getting kickbacks or doing it for praise.
Welcome to B&B. Me personally, I watched one guy shave, one time, when I started. That was enough. Even with that said, You can tell those who are looking for stardom and those who just wanna help people shave better. In my experience, the former's numbers greatly outpace the latter's.
Scent is very subjective and I am very fussy on that subject myself. I've spent a ton over the years buying online and not liking 95% of what I bought but I live in a rural area with little to no shaving products locally so it's been my only real option. If you can go to a store and sniff before you buy its always a plus. I never trust reviews from Youtube, members here provide better feedback but that still wont help scent wise only performance wise...
Only partially quoting your sentence because the soaps weren’t crap — just found out certain ingredients don’t get along with me.
So glad we’re all able to experience stellar levels of luxury and it can be as thrifty or spendy as one wants and it all involves blades.
The only reason i watched youtube was for new products as they always seem to get freebies firstI don't understand the appeal of watching some random dude shave, but apparently many do...
Anyways, youtube is a business platform. It exists solely to sell ads. YOU are the product. The people that make videos are doing it to make money too. You really shouldn't be shocked that people will tell you what you want to hear in order to get you to open your wallet.
If you want an honest assessment of a shaving product, search these boards. There are lots of terrific reviews written by people that are motivated solely by the desire to help others. Personally, that's where I put my trust.
Oh, and welcome!
Just get a basic soap smelling soap like Arko, Williams or Palmolive cream they are great soaps and cheap. The scented soaps are only on your face for five minutes so what difference does a scent make anyway. Performance is the only thing that really matters and Performance doesn’t cost squat. If you want a good smell, buy an aftershave you like.
- Thread starter
- #15
This is a very good forum with a great bunch of guys. We all have our peculiarities so just have fun and get to know us. No question is stupid but replies can vary so just jump in and Welcome.
Things that make you go hmmmm. A youtube shaver that puts out three videos a week. Each video gets a maybe a thousand views a week and he likes everything he puts on his video.
There's shaving on YouTube?
I used to watch Geo's videos on YouTube a few years ago, and I found them pretty reliable for choosing razors and blades. However, I do not trust any one person's nose, so my soaps have been brought purely based on reviews from members of this forum.
A 5-10 minute video from someone who does a clean shave could be really useful, especially if you need to nail down a shaving technique with an unfamiliar razor, but I wouldn't recommend it for choosing a soap, cream or aftershave.
A 5-10 minute video from someone who does a clean shave could be really useful, especially if you need to nail down a shaving technique with an unfamiliar razor, but I wouldn't recommend it for choosing a soap, cream or aftershave.
There are some genuine guys out there that just put out videos once in a while for fun.
It's unfortunate though that the platform has allowed companies like Global Shave Club or Naked Armor or whatever to get a bunch of sales. Now THAT's shilling junk.
It's unfortunate though that the platform has allowed companies like Global Shave Club or Naked Armor or whatever to get a bunch of sales. Now THAT's shilling junk.
Similar threads
