Bar Hand Soap for Shaving. Any Recommendations?

[geneaut]

I was in a hurry this morning so I skipped shaving but went ahead last night and bowl lathered up one of my Ivory bars as a test. I ended up with a lather that reminded me a lot of what I get with Williams when I don't load enough soap on the brush. Kind of an airy and quickly dispersing foam. I think if I treated it the way I treat Williams and aim for more of a paste as opposed to a lather it would work.

I am still aiming to try this as a shave soap but may push it to the weekend when I have time to not rush the experiment.

 

[Halfblade]

If I'm limited to just using a plain bar of soap to shave with,
then my favorite is Dove Purely Pampering Shea Butter.

Amazon.com

Lots of stearic acid in that one. I'd expect a good bit of lubricity from the stearic acid content.

 

[Halfblade]

The ingredients are: Sodium Tallowate,

Yup. Tallow soaps should work, & well.

 

[RayClem]

I was in a hurry this morning so I skipped shaving but went ahead last night and bowl lathered up one of my Ivory bars as a test. I ended up with a lather that reminded me a lot of what I get with Williams when I don't load enough soap on the brush. Kind of an airy and quickly dispersing foam. I think if I treated it the way I treat Williams and aim for more of a paste as opposed to a lather it would work.

I am still aiming to try this as a shave soap but may push it to the weekend when I have time to not rush the experiment.

Your comparison between Ivory and Williams is well founded. The soap now called Ivory is a descendent of a soap called Ivorene, developed by Williams Soap Co. When Williams decided they wanted to focus on shaving soaps, they sold the formula for Ivorene to P&G. The name was changed to ivory Soap and somewhere along the line they accidentally made a batch of soap with extra air which allowed the soap to float. They decided to use that accident as a marketing gimmick.

 

[geneaut]

Your comparison between Ivory and Williams is well founded. The soap now called Ivory is a descendent of a soap called Ivorene, developed by Williams Soap Co. When Williams decided they wanted to focus on shaving soaps, they sold the formula for Ivorene to P&G. The name was changed to ivory Soap and somewhere along the line they accidentally made a batch of soap with extra air which allowed the soap to float. They decided to use that accident as a marketing gimmick.

Interesting. That might explain a lot about both products LOL.

I tried to face lather using it as a shave stick today and it would never quite come together suitably so I washed it off and used a real shave soap. Some of the safety gear I have to wear at work doesn't appreciate a bad shave so I wasn't willing to take a chance. If I had been shaving with a Bic disposable or the like I would have gone for it.

In related news, I had a really nice shave today with the other soap, but I wonder if basically lathering up twice helped soften my whiskers an extra bit to help that.

 

[bobbycheetah]

Three low cost bar soaps that lather up good for shaving that I bought at Dollar Tree are Pears Transparent Glycerin Soap, Yardley London Shea Buttermilk soap and Shugar Soapworks Oatmeal + Coconut Plant based scented soap.

A more expensive soap that lathers up good that I bought at CVS pharmacy is CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar.

I regularly use CeraVe and Pears soaps for my pre-shave routine to help soften and moisturize my beard stubble.

I'm gonna check my local Dollar Store for those. Thanks for the tip!

 

[McBlade]

Any soap should be slippery enough to lubricate the skin but if you just rub soap on your face it will dry out before you've finished the shave. That's why you need a lather.

Not many ordinary soaps will hold a lather. Pears is the only one I know.

Arko is better though

 

[JoWolf]

I don't know a lot about soaps. I need your advice.

I have tough whiskers, hard water, and I brush lather. I've used dedicated shaving soaps and like them, but I would like to experiment a bit with a regular bar soap for shaving. I have used Dove bar soap for shaving, and had surprisingly good results.

Today I was in a "health-oriented alternative super market" and purchased a bar of Kirk's coconut oil castile soap and a bar of One with Nature Shave and Shower soap. I plan to use them for shaving experimentation in a few days. If they don't work out, I will use them for bathing and showering.

I would value your comments, and any recommendations for using bar soap for shaving.

You can also shave without soap. Any soap will improve that shave. Entry level soaps Vito’s, Poraso etc., the most common used globally are good shaves. Their lack of pre shave and post shave qualities are apparent if you move to a mid range soap. MWF, Tabac etc. The artisan and luxury soaps up the game again and you can now usually loose most of the pre and post shave products, you needed with the entry level Your shaves now have the possibility of achieving a luxurious shave experience. Not possible with entry level products. My fourth SV shave after using Vito’s exclusively for one year there is a difference comparison is difficult. Ferrari and Fiat are both Italian. Vito’s and Saponificio Varesino are both Italian. I’ll never know what a Ferrari drives like. I do know what Saponificio Varesino shaves like. I recently did a review.

Post in thread 'GC.68OC, GOLD GRANDE, YAQI CHROME MELLON - A JOURNEY'
GC.68OC, GOLD GRANDE, YAQI CHROME MELLON - A JOURNEY - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/gc-68oc-gold-grande-yaqi-chrome-mellon-a-journey.585819/post-11458599

 

[bobbycheetah]

You can also shave without soap. Any soap will improve that shave. Entry level soaps Vito’s, Poraso etc., the most common used globally are good shaves. Their lack of pre shave and post shave qualities are apparent if you move to a mid range soap. MWF, Tabac etc. The artisan and luxury soaps up the game again and you can now usually loose most of the pre and post shave products, you needed with the entry level Your shaves now have the possibility of achieving a luxurious shave experience. Not possible with entry level products. My fourth SV shave after using Vito’s exclusively for one year there is a difference comparison is difficult. Ferrari and Fiat are both Italian. Vito’s and Saponificio Varesino are both Italian. I’ll never know what a Ferrari drives like. I do know what Saponificio Varesino shaves like. I recently did a review.

Post in thread 'GC.68OC, GOLD GRANDE, YAQI CHROME MELLON - A JOURNEY'
GC.68OC, GOLD GRANDE, YAQI CHROME MELLON - A JOURNEY - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/gc-68oc-gold-grande-yaqi-chrome-mellon-a-journey.585819/post-11458599

Is Proraso considered entry level? I didn't realize that. Almost done with the tube I have. What is recommended as the next level up? That I can (hopefully) find in local store, and in creme format?

 

[JoWolf]

Is Proraso considered entry level? I didn't realize that. Almost done with the tube I have. What is recommended as the next level up? That I can (hopefully) find in local store, and in creme format?

Please accept MHO. If by price and performance you would accept MWF & Tabac as mid level soaps I have Proraso directly below them. I would not argue with any that said Proraso to be a better performer. The same products or tools in different hands often achieve different results. All shave products are subjective to the user’s success and results with the product. There are many we can try.

Shave cream is not the same animal as shave soap. I used luxury creams and a silvertip badger for decades as a cart shaver. A very luxurious shave. Again that would be my opinion.

There are many excellent creams you can try. Sadly a good percentage of them are on-line exclusively.

 

[Barbarian80]

For a bar soap, i feel Yardley and Dove would give you the best shave. Can get pretty rich comfortable lathers with either. Proper shave prep would be paramount if using bar soap.

 

[Dominic]

Might dry you face out. Perhaps not this.

 

[Atlantic59]

Whole Foods Market has a 100% Glycerin Soap in four or five different scents as well as unscented. Under $2 per bar.

 

[shavefan]

I recently shaved with my bar of PdP No63 bath soap. It wasn't bad. Very creamy and quite slick.

+1 on a glycerine based bar soap.

 

[mozartman]

You can also shave without soap. Any soap will improve that shave. Entry level soaps Vito’s, Poraso etc., the most common used globally are good shaves. Their lack of pre shave and post shave qualities are apparent if you move to a mid range soap. MWF, Tabac etc. The artisan and luxury soaps up the game again and you can now usually loose most of the pre and post shave products, you needed with the entry level Your shaves now have the possibility of achieving a luxurious shave experience. Not possible with entry level products. My fourth SV shave after using Vito’s exclusively for one year there is a difference comparison is difficult. Ferrari and Fiat are both Italian. Vito’s and Saponificio Varesino are both Italian. I’ll never know what a Ferrari drives like. I do know what Saponificio Varesino shaves like. I recently did a review.

Post in thread 'GC.68OC, GOLD GRANDE, YAQI CHROME MELLON - A JOURNEY'
GC.68OC, GOLD GRANDE, YAQI CHROME MELLON - A JOURNEY - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/gc-68oc-gold-grande-yaqi-chrome-mellon-a-journey.585819/post-11458599

Yes, although it isn't a major sacrifice to use a post shave product. Proraso "white" (sensitive skin) was my mainstay for years, together with their aftershave balm. But when the price I had to pay for it nearly doubled, it no longer cost significantly less than Tabac or Haslinger.

 

[Aalglatt]

Very interesting thread. I just tried lathering a Dove Beauty bar today to compare it with MWF. I've also tried Williams. I think I have soft water because I never have any problem getting any soap to lather. The problem with all hard soaps I've tried is that it takes very little water to go from a pasty consistency to a foamy lather. I've heard people say that MWF is a thirsty soap, but I find it to be the exact opposite and it performs no better than the Dove Beauty bar - unless I'm doing something wrong. I load the heck out of the soap and then face lather it. I use a damp brush (synthetic or badger) and keep painting it across my face until it gets pasty again and then add maybe a 1/4 teaspoon of water to make the final lather which is slick but not very creamy and cushioning. Any more water and the lather gets all foamy and light.

A very different experience from my current favorite soaps, Cella, Stirling, and Mike's Natural. They are very easy to use and create very creamy, slick lathers. They tolerate more water without becoming foamy. To be honest, I can't see what all the fuss is about MWF.

 

[Ron R]

Fendrihan Canada sells this great soap, this stuff is milled 7 times so it is rock hard and should last. This company form Portugal has been making soap for over 1 hundred years.

 

[kingfisher]

I second the suggestion for Medimix. Amazing bar soap.
Another shower soap that makes a great lather that I think would work well for shaving is Hugo Naturals, if they are still in business.

 

[geneaut]

Was at the Dollar Tree and picked up a bar of the Dove Men+Care. I’ve already successfully used some of the Yardley’s they carry as shave soaps.

Anyway I used the Dove today. It made a dense lather that sat close to the face. It had a decent amount of slickness and I did three passes and a little touch up without injury. Cushion was a little less than a typical shave product but that doesn’t surprise me. The lather stayed dense and wet long enough for me to take my usual time doing passes, and adding a little water on the brush for the last pass didn’t make it disappear so that was nice.

Post shave feel was slightly drier than my usual products but it was by no means worrisome. My skin felt fine and I didn’t bother to slap a balm on just used an AS splash.

Scent was modern soapy. Nice without being memorable.

Final verdict - probably could use everyday if I needed to, and for a $1 bar of face/bath soap it exceeded my expectations. That said I’ll not be replacing my regular products with this. If I was traveling and needed to save space or I had forgotten my regular product this might be an option and I am confident it would handle the job well. Slickness was adequate without being exceptional, and even though it made a dense and lasting lather the cushion was low. Post shave feel was adequate, but certainly not up to artisan soap standards. Punched above its price point and provided a safe and adequate end product so I can’t complain.

** that said a similarly priced Arko or Derby stick pretty much would run a ring around this. That said I think this would give Williams a decent run for its money, and I’ve used Williams for many years.

 

[Allosh]

I was in a hurry this morning so I skipped shaving but went ahead last night and bowl lathered up one of my Ivory bars as a test. I ended up with a lather that reminded me a lot of what I get with Williams when I don't load enough soap on the brush. Kind of an airy and quickly dispersing foam. I think if I treated it the way I treat Williams and aim for more of a paste as opposed to a lather it would work.

I am still aiming to try this as a shave soap but may push it to the weekend when I have time to not rush the experiment.

Very interesting thread. I just tried lathering a Dove Beauty bar today to compare it with MWF. I've also tried Williams. I think I have soft water because I never have any problem getting any soap to lather. The problem with all hard soaps I've tried is that it takes very little water to go from a pasty consistency to a foamy lather. I've heard people say that MWF is a thirsty soap, but I find it to be the exact opposite and it performs no better than the Dove Beauty bar - unless I'm doing something wrong. I load the heck out of the soap and then face lather it. I use a damp brush (synthetic or badger) and keep painting it across my face until it gets pasty again and then add maybe a 1/4 teaspoon of water to make the final lather which is slick but not very creamy and cushioning. Any more water and the lather gets all foamy and light.

A very different experience from my current favorite soaps, Cella, Stirling, and Mike's Natural. They are very easy to use and create very creamy, slick lathers. They tolerate more water without becoming foamy. To be honest, I can't see what all the fuss is about MWF.

I cut up some Dove soap ends and “melted” them