$6 soap versus $18 soap?

[rodeo]

Newbie question here.
(For sake of discussion purposes, lets consider bare soap only, not containerized soaps)

I see shaving soaps listed for sale at low prices below $6 a refill and I see others such as made by Trumper at roughly three times that price or roughly $18 a refill.

Is there a difference in quality, ingredients or quality of the shave?

What about those offering home made soaps for sale at roughly $4 to $6 a refill? Are they trustworthy as far as quality and ingredients?

I guess what I'm asking is why should I buy the $18 soap over the $6 soap?

Looking to by my first soap ever to try it, and leaning towards a coconut.

 

[RichGem]

Newbie question here.
(For sake of discussion purposes, lets consider bare soap only, not containerized soaps)

I see shaving soaps listed for sale at low prices below $6 a refill and I see others such as made by Trumper at roughly three times that price or roughly $18 a refill.

Is there a difference in quality, ingredients or quality of the shave?

What about those offering home made soaps for sale at roughly $4 to $6 a refill? Are they trustworthy as far as quality and ingredients?

I guess what I'm asking is why should I buy the $18 soap over the $6 soap?

Looking to by my first soap ever to try it, and leaning towards a coconut.

It's a hard question to answer is some respects. Price is not necessarily indicative of quality or performance. Often you are "paying for a name." Mama Bear & Nana June soaps are fantastic and weigh in at around $7 (mama's come in a container). Arko stick is less than $3 in most places. THey all (and many others) perform like champs. OTOH, as you noted, the big brands can be much more expensive and may or may not perform better. Unfortunately, it can be a YMMV thing. You may love the scent of the pricey one but it doesn't perform well for you or vice versa. T&H unscented? I won't use it; it's a poor performer. T&H creams, I loved them when I used creams.

Some of this will be trial & error to see what you like, what works well for you, and of course, factor in the reviews of others, and how much you can or want to spend. But, IMHO, more expensive does not always equal better.

If you do end up with something you don't like or doesn't work well for you, chances are you can find someone on here to either sell it to or PIF it to.

Welcome to the board & ask lotsa questions. Happy shaving!

 

[matato]

From my experience, the more expensive soaps smell better and rinse away cleaner. I also feel like I get a closer shave with less irritation. I think the more expensive soaps are more likely to use "real" ingredients, such as a scent extracted from actual lavender flowers as opposed to a chemical concoction that someone thinks smells like lavender. However, there's probably less of a difference than the price justifies. An $18 soap won't neccessarily perform 300% better than a $6 soap. OTOH, if you're coming from canned stuff, this stuff lasts a whole lot longer. When it comes down to it, an $18 soap is really going to cost you pennies a day to use. I'd recommend comparing for yourself. Get the $6 soap. For about the same price you can order the Trumper's Sample Pack and give the more expensive stuff a try. Get both and you don't have to wonder!

 

[rodeo]

It's a hard question to answer is some respects. Price is not necessarily indicative of quality or performance. Often you are "paying for a name." Mama Bear & Nana June soaps are fantastic and weigh in at around $7 (mama's come in a container). Arko stick is less than $3 in most places. THey all (and many others) perform like champs. OTOH, as you noted, the big brands can be much more expensive and may or may not perform better. Unfortunately, it can be a YMMV thing. You may love the scent of the pricey one but it doesn't perform well for you or vice versa. T&H unscented? I won't use it; it's a poor performer. T&H creams, I loved them when I used creams.

Some of this will be trial & error to see what you like, what works well for you, and of course, factor in the reviews of others, and how much you can or want to spend. But, IMHO, more expensive does not always equal better.

If you do end up with something you don't like or doesn't work well for you, chances are you can find someone on here to either sell it to or PIF it to.

Welcome to the board & ask lotsa questions. Happy shaving!

Thanks for your input and welcome too. Funny you should mention Nana June as I just stumbled across her web store on ebay moments ago and was considering ordering a few soaps from her to try out. With your endorsement, I think I now will. I am a firm believer that you wind up paying more for fancy containers and brand names then you do for the actual product inside (most times anyway.) Anyway, I am quickly becomming addicted to this forum and have yet to receive my shaving kit that I only ordered yesterday. Can't wait to get started! Thanks again.

 

[matato]

Also, as you try different soaps, keep in mind that your skills are also going to be improving. I started with cheap stuff, upgraded and got better results. Recently I've gone back and tried the cheap stuff again, and found it's much better than I thought it was!

 

[RichGem]

Thanks for your input and welcome too. Funny you should mention Nana June as I just stumbled across her web store on ebay moments ago and was considering ordering a few soaps from her to try out. With your endorsement, I think I now will. I am a firm believer that you wind up paying more for fancy containers and brand names then you do for the actual product inside (most times anyway.) Anyway, I am quickly becomming addicted to this forum and have yet to receive my shaving kit that I only ordered yesterday. Can't wait to get started! Thanks again.

You're welcome & good luck!

ps: on the cheap side of things, you may want to stay away from Col Conk and Williams. Total garbage/underperformers in my book (tho some around here love them). Which is another way to say that sometimes you do get what you pay for & that's not always a good thing.

ps2: Nana June's coconut is nice, but slightly artificial smelling, but a good performer. Her lime-coconut is also nice with less of an artificial note. Also worth mentioning, all coconut scents, to my knowledge are fragrance oils (ie: not natural), so some will smell more artificial than others. It may take some investigating to find one you like. Mama Bear also has several coconut versions to try.

 

[rodeo]

From my experience, the more expensive soaps smell better and rinse away cleaner. I also feel like I get a closer shave with less irritation. I think the more expensive soaps are more likely to use "real" ingredients, such as a scent extracted from actual lavender flowers as opposed to a chemical concoction that someone thinks smells like lavender. However, there's probably less of a difference than the price justifies. An $18 soap won't neccessarily perform 300% better than a $6 soap. OTOH, if you're coming from canned stuff, this stuff lasts a whole lot longer. When it comes down to it, an $18 soap is really going to cost you pennies a day to use. I'd recommend comparing for yourself. Get the $6 soap. For about the same price you can order the Trumper's Sample Pack and give the more expensive stuff a try. Get both and you don't have to wonder!

Great advice, I'll have to look for the sample pack from Trumpler. I guess this is sort of like candles, there are good ones and cheap ones and the aroma is stronger on the expensive ones. I'll try a few from nana June and a Trumpler (maybe the sampler) and compare the results.

 

[Big Fella]

Pirate's Cove coconut is GREAT!!!

 

[rodeo]

P.S.
If anyone finds a link or source for a sampler pack of Trumplers, please let me know. I did a quick google search (as well as ebay) and turned up nothing.

 

[RichGem]

P.S.
If anyone finds a link or source for a sampler pack of Trumplers, please let me know. I did a quick google search (as well as ebay) and turned up nothing.

http://www.trumpers.com

then type "sample pack" into the search box and viola.

Note that prices are in British Pounds, NOT US Dollars.

 

[rodeo]

Pirate's Cove coconut is GREAT!!!

I just ordered two from them as well, coconut and bay rum / lime
(I'm a Pirate at heart!)

will compare Nana June to Pirate's Cove and to Trumpler too

----------

THANKS for that link Rich! I'll check out a sampler of Trumpler.

 

[SiBurning]

It's not easy to answer this question in an unbiased way. I tried to quantify the results from a [thread=130371]"Mass" shaving soap comparison[/thread].

There's definitely a correlation between price and quality. There seems to be a sweet spot in the $8-$16 range (per 100g, not per piece) where more people rate the soaps well. There are favorites at all prices, but outside this price range, the more expensive ones rate higher than average and the less expensive ones rate lower. Keep in mind that there's a natural price bias, where some people trade off a lower price even if it means giving up performance, and others won't even try the more expensive products.

One thing you want to be careful of is soaps that have been recently reformulated but are still highly rated based on the old formula.

 

[rodeo]

It's not easy to answer this question in an unbiased way. I tried to quantify the results from a [thread=130371]"Mass" shaving soap comparison[/thread].

There's definitely a correlation between price and quality. There seems to be a sweet spot in the $8-$16 range (per 100g, not per piece) where more people rate the soaps well. There are favorites at all prices, but outside this price range, the more expensive ones rate higher than average and the less expensive ones rate lower. Keep in mind that there's a natural price bias, where some people trade off a lower price even if it means giving up performance, and others won't even try the more expensive products.

One thing you want to be careful of is soaps that have been recently reformulated but are still highly rated based on the old formula.

Reading materials for my next business trip. Thanks! (and I will be reading it)

 

[BigHairyGuy]

You can't go wrong with Tabac. Easy to learn on, lasts forever, and a great baseline for later comparisons.

 

[rjt65]

newbie here - but bought 4 mama bears soaps Bonsai-, BAsil and lime,cedarwood & lemon , and mandarin ICE (mentholated) some other stuff fron her. Using for last 3 Mo.

1) small shops - I prefer supporting small businesses
2) handmade--- and all natural - Can you beat that?
3) 8$ or so per 40z. --- huh handmade and inexpensive--- IMP she could charge more.
3) search thread on mambears she is a gr8 well loved lady!
4) I love the prformance of these soaps-- i mix with little of my old Zirhs non lathering cream and what a superlather!!! They are gr8 without the cream as weell - and here shave sticks for travel i use are excellant...

love the mama bear!

I plan to order more from her...

 

[rodeo]

newbie here - but bought 4 mama bears soaps Bonsai-, BAsil and lime,cedarwood & lemon , and mandarin ICE (mentholated) some other stuff fron her. Using for last 3 Mo.

1) small shops - I prefer supporting small businesses
2) handmade--- and all natural - Can you beat that?
3) 8$ or so per 40z. --- huh handmade and inexpensive--- IMP she could charge more.
3) search thread on mambears she is a gr8 well loved lady!
4) I love the prformance of these soaps-- i mix with little of my old Zirhs non lathering cream and what a superlather!!! They are gr8 without the cream as weell - and here shave sticks for travel i use are excellant...

love the mama bear!

I plan to order more from her...

WOW!
I just took a look at the mama bears website and am thoroughly impressed!
I love the fact that the soaps come it a plastic travel tub for storage etc. I am not into paying for wooden or gift type boxes, yet I love the fact that it does come in a utility type container. I'll have to buy some soap from her as well to try but do like what I see including the holiday fragrances.

I can see this hobby is going to become addictive. My wife seems to collect watches and shirts (she cant buy enough for herself) so this may be my revenge. Never enough soaps, right? Then of course, I'll have to try a few brushes as well....

 

[The Last Chimney]

In my experience, there's just no relation between price and quality. My favorite soaps range from Ogallala to MWF, and my rejected list has everything from Williams to D.R. Harris on it.

 

[RF1963]

P.S.
If anyone finds a link or source for a sampler pack of Trumplers, please let me know. I did a quick google search (as well as ebay) and turned up nothing.

http://www.trumpers.com/

 

[Space]

I started with truefitt ultimate comfort and thought it was amazing but I really only had canned gel to compare it against. since then I've tried mama bears and prarie creation. Both are cheap and great. Now I don't ever use the truefitt stuff.

 

[ouch]

Hard, triple milled soaps last a very long time, so why not use the best? Harris and Trumper make great soaps, and AoS is fantastic. If you want to try glycerin soaps, QED's are knockouts.