Van Der Hagen - Select Shaving Soap

A good shaving soap, at a good price. It gives a good lather with more than adequate slickness.

I added Old Spice cologne to my puck to give it a little scent.

Its soap like this that makes me question why Id ever want to pay more that $2 for a cake of any other soap. For $2 at any rite-aid i can pick up a great smelling, easy to lather and very slick soap. I have tried all 3 vdh soaps, and noticed this one actually smells a tad better than the other 2. They are all pretty much equal performers, so i almost always go for the select.

I have lots of other soaps/creams, but man, when i use this stuff it always makes me wonder why i paid more for my other stuff!

Worst lather I have experienced. I used both a stiff boar brush and a boar that has softened considerably and was unable to produce enough lather for a second pass. The lather was decidedly NOT rich or creamy, but only soapy.

This was my first lathering soap for my SE shave. I had the lathering learning curve to go through, but once passed the curve this soap lathered very well. It is slick enough to get a good shave with it and a SE and DE razors.

I like the subtle scent. I have no trouble working up a good lather and have experienced no razor drag or skipping. I have very sensitive skin on my neck, and this soap has caused no irritation there. The lather does seem to dry a bit quickly, but that hasn't been a problem. For the price (just under 2 bucks at Rite-Aid), I think it does a great job.

This is my least favorite of the VDH soaps. That being said, it's still a pretty good soap. I can get a decent lather out of it, I just don't find it as slick as the VDH Glycerin soap, or as luxurious as the Deluxe. It's great for the price. I gave it a 4 on scent because it's scent is very light and has no lasting power whatsoever.

For $2 at the nearby Rite Aid, I have a hypo-allergenic soap that has virtually no scent, and what little there is just smells 'clean'.

Nice lather with virtually no effort - a dozen swirls at the top of the plastic container with my BBE2 generates enough for two passes. Smooth & 'cushiony'.

Maybe a touch drying.

Won't replace my HBS or Proraso (you'll have to wrest those from my cold, dead hands), but earns a place in the rotation. I like this soap.

Forget Williams -- this is the gold standard for a good budget soap.

I think Select is better than Deluxe. It is softer and has more glycerin. It also has a similar scent, but is stronger with notes of vanilla, rosemary, lemon, and sandalwood.

I tried VdH Select and just couldn't get into it. I prefer creamy lather, and Select struck me as oily. I get better lather with Williams, but I agree that Select is more moisturizing than Williams. It sounds like VdH Deluxe will be more to my liking, so I'll eventually try that.

I didn't submit my rating because all I have in comparison is Williams. I like this stuff a lot better. It lathers very well and it really does smell like grey flannel. The williams felt a bit harsh on my face but this stuff feels a lot better (although it does start to tingle after a couple minutes). The lather lasts a long time too (at least in my experience ).

I love the smell of this stuff. Some people hate it, I think it's just fantastic. VDH is great to use as a superlather combo. By itself it's nothing special. But man there is just something about the scent. YMMV!

I cant believe no one has reviewed this soap yet. This is the fourth soap I have tried and I have to say I am pretty impressed. It lathers up very nicely with little effort. You dont need to have a good technique to get a good shave out of this soap. Excellent soap with a price to match. Can be found at many eckerds and rite aids for around 2.00 a puck. Also it melts in the microwave so you can pour it to fit into your mug. I think that this soap is ideal for beginners and is a much better "bargain" than Williams. Has a slight scent of the cologne Grey Flannel which goes away when you rinse it off. Very slick and lubricating.