I love the scent but I don't really like the lather very well.
I wish somebody would dupe this scent in a much better soap base. I know they probably won't, because I'm one of the few people that actually likes the scent.
BigD's Van der Hagen Deluxe Shave Soap Review
- Thread starter BigD
- Start date
I wish somebody would dupe this scent in a much better soap base. I know they probably won't, because I'm one of the few people that actually likes the scent.
Get a bottle of Grey Flannel cologne. It's really inexpensive. I've read that they actually used to just add the cologne itself to the soap back when the company was new. Not sure if they still do it exactly that way or not, but that's still its scent.
Oh, I'm aware of Grey Flannel and have worn it in the past. I really like it. It's a bit pungent right out of the bottle but within about 15 minutes it begins to smell divine.
What I was wishing was that some artisan would make a Grey Flannel scented shaving soap.
I shaved with some C&E Almond today that's years old (stored in a fridge off and on when not in use),it has absorbed so much water it's more like soft soap... and all I can say is there is no comparison in terms of lather quality.
Unlike BigD, I have never gotten a really satisfactory lather out of Van Der Hagen's products. It doesn't behave like soap or cream, or anything else I'd want to shave with. It's slick but it provides almost no cushion and the blade feel is crazy.
If I use less water to try to thicken it up, it simply doesn't generate any lather.
No wonder I was so frustrated by the idea of using shave soaps. The only time I got something approaching good lather with VDH was with a synthetic brush and very hard lathering, and that's simply not something you should have to do. Lathering soap is not rocket science. I've gotten better shave lathers with bar soap. Maybe this works OK if you are using a cartridge shaver like a Sensor or Mach 3, where the blades ride up and down on a suspension and are flexible, but if you are using a DE or SE with a stiff blade, your skin needs more protection than what the soap offers.
The scent is good... all VDH's scents are classy, there's no barbershop cliches at work here and they are obviously trying to market to an upscale demographic, which makes the actual performance of their products disappointing.
Last edited:
To each his own, I guess. Both VDH deluxe and luxury provide plenty of cushion for me to shave with a DE, and blade feel isn't an issue. I'm struggling to relate to the idea that the lather is unusable because I just have not experienced that. But that's why there's more than one product on the market. People have to use what's right for them.
What's strange is that I managed to get Col. Conk Amber to lather. However, something about this soap doesn't agree with my skin, it was extremely drying, and there was still alot of blade feel and little cushion. But it was more workable and produced a decent shave.
I think I have certain expectations because my skin is sensitive.
Some people here seem to love lather that I would find unacceptable. I am also willing to settle for less close shaves if it means less irritation. I also don't think "weepers" should be a normal part of my shaves (I never cut myself with carts: I'm always surprised by guys that think that should be a normal part of shaving. If that is a normal expectation, then there's some kind of reality distortion field going on. Unless you have skin irregularities, a good shaver should not let you just randomly cut yourself).
Last edited:
I dunno. I can whip up lather with either VDH soap and shave myself with my Slim without feeling the blade. I actually didn't think that was particularly unusual. Maybe it is. I only shave my own face, not anyone else's.
But I also agree that regular blood loss absolutely should not be a thing, and it's time to try new gear if it happens often. The only times I ever draw blood are operator error, and I haven't even been using a DE for all that long.
Seems it's on their site, new packaging, maybe a slightly tweaked formula?
www.vanderhagen.com
I started wet shaving with this soap, back in 2010. I go back to it on occasion and have 2 new pucks I bought years back... Shaved with it the other day, and it performs just as well as my very beloved Stirling soap. I'll still use both, I like variety
Deluxe Shave Soap – Van Der Hagen
www.vanderhagen.com
I started wet shaving with this soap, back in 2010. I go back to it on occasion and have 2 new pucks I bought years back... Shaved with it the other day, and it performs just as well as my very beloved Stirling soap. I'll still use both, I like variety
I had some better luck with VDH Glycerin recently. I found an old shave stick full of it and just melted it down and poured it in a ramacan. It's slightly easier to lather.
After experimenting with Cremo, I think I understand what VDH is supposed to do when it lathers, and it's not all that like tallow or coconut/palm based soaps. I don't think the lather is supposed to have much cushion, but it's suppossed to be very slick. That sort of shave might not be everybody's cup of tea, depending on their equipment and what they are used to. I remember in the past, I liked this soap better with a Sensor, which is alot more forgiving of pressure.
With a thin cushion like that, you really need a precision shaving instrument with even blade gap and a smooth blade and so on, if you want an irritation free shave. But that type of shave product is capable of delivering a closer shave with much fewer passes. It just won't be very forgiving.
Last edited:
Similar threads
