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Cella Vs Cella, what I believe

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
The most asked question regarding Cella is certainly this: “How to compare Cella, Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima with Cella, Crema da Barba all’Olio di Mandorla?”, or “Are these two products just the same, with different consistency?”. My friends, among Italian Master Barbers and most experienced wet shavers, there is an open debate on the subject. What is 100% sure is that these two soaps share exactly the same ingredients list, as follows:

Cocos Nucifera Oil, Tallow, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxyde, Sodium Hydroxide, Aqua, Potassium Carbonate, Parfum.

There are in Italy some Master Barbers and wet shavers who think that these two great soaps are exactly the same, since, as just stated above, they have exactly the same ingredients. And, furthermore, these shavers seem to get equal results with both products. However, the vast majority of Master Barbers and wet shavers in Italy (me included) believe that Cella, Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima and Cella, Crema da Barba all’Olio di Mandorla are not the same soap. Yes, they are surely very, very similar, but not perfectly the same. Cella, Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima is, in my opinion, a slightly superior product compared to Cella, Crema da Barba all’Olio di Mandorla. The kilo brick in fact, compared to the red bowl, seems to give a somehow better lather and, therefore, a somehow better shave. Moisturizing properties and overall skin care are, again, slightly better when shaving with the kilo brick. Why? What I do believe is that, although the ingredients listed are always those, the proportions of these ingredients are different in the two soaps. Does Cella, Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima have more tallow in its formulation? Or a higher concentration of coconut oil? Maybe, I really have no answer here. And these questions have never been cleared up, not even by the company. That said, I absolutely do not want to underrate Cella, Crema da Barba all’Olio di Mandorla, which is a super, super, super soap. And, for those with no experience with Cella, the small red bowl is also a more economic way for testing this Italian gem. But if you ask long time users of Cella to choose just one, the vast majority of them will certainly pick Cella, Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima.

P.S. Cella is unquestionably the finest soap of the great Italian barbershop tradition. And always my number 1 choice. I admit that I’m devoted to this fantastic soap also for family reasons, as written in my review “Cella, Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima”. But I can also proudly say that, although I added many other excellent soaps to my rotation over the years, none of them is comparable to this Italian marvel for lather, quality and performance. Or, if you prefer, Cella, Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima is, in my opinion, the very best shaving soap available anywhere. Time. Period.
 
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Bravo Marco!

Thanks for this brief discussion concerning the two Cellas. Yesterday, after receiving a sample of Cella Extra Extra Purissima, I noticed a visual difference between the sample and my red jar of all'olio di mandorla. As a result, I began wondering about possible differences between the two, and voila! this morning I awake to find some answers. For me today it will be the Purissima, my Duke 2, and my new DE89L.

Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo, Marco!

Matthew
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
Bravo Marco!

Thanks for this brief discussion concerning the two Cellas. Yesterday, after receiving a sample of Cella Extra Extra Purissima, I noticed a visual difference between the sample and my red jar of all'olio di mandorla. As a result, I began wondering about possible differences between the two, and voila! this morning I awake to find some answers. For me today it will be the Purissima, my Duke 2, and my new DE89L.

Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo, Marco!

Matthew

Matthew, thank you very much. I got many, many PMs on this subject and this morning I also found a poll by Mod Ouch regarding Cella. So, I thought it was useful to write down what I know and what I believe.

P.S. Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo anche a te, amico mio. Your Italian seems amazing, where did you study it?
 
Cella , Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima is beyond doubt, the best performing soap on the market in my opinion as well. Used my new Muhle R41 for the first time this morning, and because it's my first open comb razor, I thought being more aggressive than my beloved EJ89L, I needed this fantastic soap to protect me. And you know what? Fantastic shave with no cuts!! I was probably being over cautious with the razor, but Cella provides so much cushion, it has to be experienced to be believed. Cella, Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima Rocks!:thumbup::thumbup:

David
 
If inquiring mind really want to know... I know someone that is friends with "the Dotto" at Nicki Chini. I can try to get some answers but I can't make any guarantees.
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
If inquiring mind really want to know... I know someone that is friends with "the Dotto" at Nicki Chini. I can try to get some answers but I can't make any guarantees.

Joe, should you be able to get an "official" answer, please let me know. I've investigated for a long time, but with no results.

P.S. Whatever the company will say, I'll always prefer the kilo brick over the red bowl. And I certainly won't be the only one...
 
Marco, this may be a silly question. I believe I have seen it answered elsewhere, but how do you manage your 1 kilo brick. ie, do you cut off a hunk and store it in a mug or bowl, do you grate it, melt it, or is it soft enough just to mold into a container for use, and keep the brick covered in plastic wrap. Inquiring minds want to know.

Jeff
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
Marco, this may be a silly question. I believe I have seen it answered elsewhere, but how do you manage your 1 kilo brick. ie, do you cut off a hunk and store it in a mug or bowl, do you grate it, melt it, or is it soft enough just to mold into a container for use, and keep the brick covered in plastic wrap. Inquiring minds want to know.

Jeff

Jeff, give a look at my thread here "How to safely store P.160 and Cella kilo bricks" -
 
Joe, should you be able to get an "official" answer, please let me know. I've investigated for a long time, but with no results.

P.S. Whatever the company will say, I'll always prefer the kilo brick over the red bowl. And I certainly won't be the only one...

Alchemy is an amazing thing and there might be something at work with the two different Cella offerings. When I first heard the discussion of a difference, my initial thought was... maybe the different packaging somehow allows the formula to cure differently. I know with Aleppo-style soap, air curing drastically changes the quality and performance, even when comparing a 6-month cure to a 9-month cure.
 
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Marco - thanks for this. I really appreciate your love of Cella, as it is my favorite soap as well. I've only had the 'red tub' version, however, and will soon be purchasing the kilo brick of it. Looking forward to seeing if there is a difference. If it's better than the red tub my head might explode... :001_tt1:
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
Yes. Like me with P.160, I prefer the Morbido over the Duro; in that case, same ingredients, slightly different proportions. Alchemy is an amazing thing and there might be something at work with the two different Cella offerings.

Regarding P.160, I also prefer the Morbido over the Duro. And regarding Valobra, Crema di Sapone Purissima, I prefer the Menthol over the Almond. In this case same ingredients and same proportions. The only difference is the scent!
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
Marco - thanks for this. I really appreciate your love of Cella, as it is my favorite soap as well. I've only had the 'red tub' version, however, and will soon be purchasing the kilo brick of it. Looking forward to seeing if there is a difference. If it's better than the red tub my head might explode... :001_tt1:

Thank you, Andrew. And let me know your thoughts on the two Cella versions, as soon as you'll have tested them both.
 
Marco - thanks for this. I really appreciate your love of Cella, as it is my favorite soap as well. I've only had the 'red tub' version, however, and will soon be purchasing the kilo brick of it. Looking forward to seeing if there is a difference. If it's better than the red tub my head might explode... :001_tt1:

I am pretty much thinking the same thing. Thanks for the input Marco.
 
Really? Think I'll still stick with da Barba all’Olio di Mandorla, fantastic soap but I don't really dig the scent too much.
 
I'm really surprised to Potassium Carbonate in the soap.... If the ingredients are the same but the soap is different it could be different proportions, but if they are cured differently then you're going to see a difference there as well.

Do they put a production date of batch # on the soaps? It would be interesting to test the brick at 6 months and the bowl at 9 months since the bowl is not going to be able to cure as well because its enclosed. Fascinating discussion and I look forward to see what you come up with.... :thumbup1:
 
Thanks Marco for your posts regarding Cella. Your intelligent and well thought out posts led me to finally try Cella. I bought the red tub as I wasn't ready to commit to a 1kg block of a soap I had not tried.

I received it today and opened it up to use for my shave today. First impression was that it had the texture and smell of play-doh. Not an unpleasant smell by any means but nothing special if scent is the most important thing for you, it isn't for me. So I soaked my Omega 31064 while I showered, shook it out and swirled it on the soap a few times. It didn't appear to be picking up a lot of soap but I face lather so not a big deal to add more. I put the brush to my face and proceeded to lather. All I can say is "WOW", the brush was definitely loaded up. Added some water and produced tons of thick rich lather in no time. The lather was cushioning, slick, and all around fantastic. Had a wondeful, nearly BBS 3 pass shave using my 37C with a Shark SC blade. When I was done I easily had enough lather for 2 more passes if they had been needed, and this is with a 3 week old Boar Brush that isn't completely broken in yet.

First impressions is that this is a great soap that produces wonderful lather very easily and it appears that a little goes a long way. I can see why this recieves all the attention on the forum that it does and is definitely finding a place in my shave den.
 
Marco,

You have commented many times that soaps such as Cella and P.160 are the soaps of choice for the great Italian master barbers.

Could you comment more on other traditions of the great Italian master barbers?

Hot towel before the shave?
Pre shave cream?
Badger or boar brush?
Aftershave? What type (brand)
Talc?

Thanks Marco. Since cella and P.160 are my favorites, I'd like to learn what the Italian masters barbers are doing.
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
Marco,

You have commented many times that soaps such as Cella and P.160 are the soaps of choice for the great Italian master barbers.

Could you comment more on other traditions of the great Italian master barbers?

Hot towel before the shave?
Pre shave cream?
Badger or boar brush?
Aftershave? What type (brand)
Talc?

Thanks Marco. Since cella and P.160 are my favorites, I'd like to learn what the Italian masters barbers are doing.

My friend, thank you for your kind words of appreciation. And, of course, I can tell you what Master Barbers do here. A traditional wet shave often starts with a hot towel treatment, in Italiain called "panno caldo". Master Barbers from south Italy are particularly devoted to this classic and effective way to proceed. After that, some barbers apply a pre-shave cream, some do not. Generally Proraso pre/post is applied when using Proraso cream or soap. As you know the Proraso pre/post is sold in the large 500 ml bowl specifically for professional use. Another great barbershop pre-shave treament seen many times is the Floid Sandolor, a wonderful shaving gel indeed. Regarding soaps, P.160 was certainly the most loved and, since no longer produced, it will be replaced soon. Maybe with Susan Darnell Vitos? Many are talking about the similarities of these two fantastic tallow based soaps: scent, latherability, quality and performance seem to confim. Furthermore Vitos has been introduced almost exclusively for barbershop use. Regarding brushes, definitely boars. Omega boar brushes reign supreme and the 48 model is the workhorse. Aftershaves are the great splashes of our tradition: Floid Genuine, Floid Blue (my favourite) and Proraso. Some Old School Master Barbers also use the Alum Block, which was very, very popular among Italian wet shavers several decades ago.
 
Marco,

Another beautiful post. Thanks so much for sharing these great traditions.

I think I have to put a shave from a geniune Master Italian barber on my bucket list.
 
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