A New Convert To The Church of Cella

[Mainecanefan]

Last week, I was jonesing for some shaving stuff. It had been like 6 weeks since my last order of stuff. So I was perusing Bullgoose's site and decided that I needed to add some Cella to my soap rotation (along with 100 Astra Superiors). Hey, for $11, how could I go wrong. And, wow, I clearly made a great choice. This is the soap (let the is it a soap or cream debate begin) that is now seriously making me reconsider my triple milled fanaticism.

The lather is tremendous, but not explosive. I can barely feel the blade gliding over my face. My face feels moisturized after the first pass and, by the time I'm finished, I clearly don't need a balm. Hell, the lather is so protective, I haven't used my alum block at all. What's interesting is that I have found that I am sensitive to almond scented creams/soaps (which leads to the question- Well why the hell did you buy Cella Jared since it smells like almonds?), but the scent and the additives are clearly different. This isn't a sweet almond scent. Definitely a bitter almond and it does take some time to get used to. My face has not shown any sensitivity to Cella. But the scent is a small thing to deal with when the shave that ensues is outstanding. You will be faceturbating for hours after using this.

I could be in for a real problem. I've got a cabinet of DR Harris pucks, a Cade puck and some other delights. It's going to test of fortitude to want to stop using the Cella for a couple of days and use my "bread and butter soaps".

Thanks B&B, just when I think I'm in my little comfort zone, I get tempted to try a new product and BAM, comfort zone be damned and my shaving world tilts off of its axis. My rave is done, back to faceturbating.

 

[mretzloff]

(let the is it a soap or cream debate begin)

I don't think there is a debate. It clearly says "Crema Da Barbe" on the front- it's a cream.

 

[Mainecanefan]

Ahhh, but if you pop the top, you'll wonder whether it's a soft soap (ala Proraso in a tub) or a hard cream.

 

[BroJohn]

Sounds like it's almost as good as the Arko stick.

-- John Gehman

 

[mretzloff]

Ahhh, but if you pop the top, you'll wonder whether it's a soft soap (ala Proraso in a tub) or a hard cream.

Ya, but that's like saying a Cadillac CTS-V is a Corvette because it has a detuned Corvette engine under the hood.

 

[galopede]

Matters not whether it's a softish soap or a hard cream, it's the best in my book!

I bought a 100gm lump a while back in a CONUK group buy and I think that if I could only have one soap/cream, Cella would be the one.

Also having the soft consistency is great for fitting it into containers!

Gareth

 

[Etalex]

Cella is a fantastic soap/cream indeed. If it came in a scent similar to Cade or TOBS Avocado, or even lavender, I would stop using all other soaps and creams. One thing I like in particular is its short list of traditional ingredients. It doesn't need parabens or anything like that.

Alex

 

[JohnnyGringo]

Cella is a fantastic product-that's why it remains a constant in my rotation!

 

[professorchaos]

How on God's green Earth do you get this stuff to work? I load the brush, add a little water to the bowl and the stuff explodes into thin, foamy lather. Doesn't matter how much or how little water I use. Makes MWF seem as easy to lather as Musgo Real. What is the secret?!?

 

[DunEdinRanger]

Of course, you now have enabled a whole bunch of people to try this stuff.

 

[DirtyDave]

Oh, goodness, now I will have to go out and get some of this stuff, recession be damned.

 

[Mainecanefan]

Of course, you now have enabled a whole bunch of people to try this stuff.

Isn't that what we are all charged with here? Aren't we really just a giant group of enablers? I figured it was my turn to spark others' ADs after all of the times my ADs were fired out of control by others. Hey, at least this is cheap addition to the collection at $11.00. But you know you're not going to be able to order just Cella and nothing else.

 

[galopede]

How on God's green Earth do you get this stuff to work? I load the brush, add a little water to the bowl and the stuff explodes into thin, foamy lather. Doesn't matter how much or how little water I use. Makes MWF seem as easy to lather as Musgo Real. What is the secret?!?

Never tried it in a bowl. I dumped my bowl years ago and went back to face lathering as my father taught me forty odd years ago! It's an excellent face lathering soap.

MWF is another great face latherer.

Free yourself from the bowls...

Gareth

 

[Bertilak]

Free yourself from the bowls...

Throw away those crutches and ... LATHER!

I gave up on a bowl as an unnecessary complication long ago.

I now use it to toss in my straight after using it to remember it needs stropping. I keep pre-stropped razors in a different container -- a big mug.

I also gave up on a brush stand for the same reason but haven't found an alternative use for it yet.

 

[professorchaos]

Never tried it in a bowl. I dumped my bowl years ago and went back to face lathering as my father taught me forty odd years ago! It's an excellent face lathering soap.

MWF is another great face latherer.

Free yourself from the bowls...

Gareth

Thank you! I will try it that was this week.

 

[rbaloha]

How on God's green Earth do you get this stuff to work? I load the brush, add a little water to the bowl and the stuff explodes into thin, foamy lather. Doesn't matter how much or how little water I use. Makes MWF seem as easy to lather as Musgo Real. What is the secret?!?

It does take time to learn the lather. Soaking the cella prior to the shower and a stiff boar is something to consider. Also Cella works better with continual usage.

 

[Bertilak]

It does take time to learn the lather. Soaking the cella prior to the shower and a stiff boar is something to consider. Also Cella works better with continual usage.

True.

If I have set it aside for a time while using other soaps in my rotation it tends to form a bit of a skin on top. I just use the brush to get rid of it, rinse the brush, then back to business.

 

[cymric]

How do I lather Cella? Go at it with a moist brush, load for a while, then transfer to a bowl and begin building., adding drips of water when necessary. It takes somewhat longer than what I am accostumed to---and the lather stays thin at first---but eventually it transforms into a thick and very dense foam. Basically do all the things which should work with MWF, but did not because of improper geographical lattitude, knotted ley lines, as well as lunar and Venusian influence.

As for Cella itself: I find its lather is a tad too thick for me. More problematic is that my skin swells up a little (high pH?) thereby 'protecting' the hairs. So at the end of a shave the skin feels soft and smooth, but once I rinse with cold water lots of stubble reappears. This is a bit annoying, and I haven't found a way out of this situation yet. The next time I shave with Cella I'm going to try a cold water rinse between the 2nd and 3rd pass in order to get the hairs to protrude again. I haven't read reports of other people experiencing this particular problem, though.

 

[professorchaos]

How do I lather Cella? Go at it with a moist brush, load for a while, then transfer to a bowl and begin building., adding drips of water when necessary. It takes somewhat longer than what I am accostumed to---and the lather stays thin at first---but eventually it transforms into a thick and very dense foam. Basically do all the things which should work with MWF, but did not because of improper geographical lattitude, knotted ley lines, as well as lunar and Venusian influence.

As for Cella itself: I find its lather is a tad too thick for me. More problematic is that my skin swells up a little (high pH?) thereby 'protecting' the hairs. So at the end of a shave the skin feels soft and smooth, but once I rinse with cold water lots of stubble reappears. This is a bit annoying, and I haven't found a way out of this situation yet. The next time I shave with Cella I'm going to try a cold water rinse between the 2nd and 3rd pass in order to get the hairs to protrude again. I haven't read reports of other people experiencing this particular problem, though.

Interesting. I lather all soaps the same way, including MWF. Cella just refuses to bend to my will. I'll also try loading the brush more. Perhaps lunar tidal forces affect my bathroom in general, and the Cella within in particular, adversely.

 

[Bertilak]

Interesting. I lather all soaps the same way, including MWF. Cella just refuses to bend to my will. I'll also try loading the brush more. Perhaps lunar tidal forces affect my bathroom in general, and the Cella within in particular, adversely.

Did you click your heels three times and "There's no soap like Cella. There's no soap like Cella..."?

Better be quick. The flying MWF monkeys are on the way!