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Cheapest Good Soaps/Creams from Around the World

Dear fellow shavers,

This is a topic that gets touched on here and there, though I didn't find any threads dedicated to specifically what would be considered the most cost friendly soaps and creams from around the world. If there is already an identical thread that I didn't find via the search bar, forgive me. I would love to hear about what there is out there, and let's put a hard cap on price of AT MOST the equivalent to $5 (~4.50€, ~4£) for one "unit" (whether that's a puck of hard soap or a tube of cream), although even cheaper is better.

I anticipate that a lot of you would say Palmolive cream/sticks, Proraso creams and soaps, Williams Mug Soap, Arko, Nivea, Ingram's (for those of you in the UK), La Toja (for those of you in Spain), and Godrej (for those of you in India), so I'll get those out of the way right off the bat so we can focus on ones not discussed quite as often.

For example, our friend @malocchio has posted loads of products from far flung places, and I recall many of them being dirt cheap and him saying that they perform well, so cool products in that vein would be welcome!

So let me know what you've got where you are, how much it costs locally, how it smells, how well it works, etc! :001_302:
 
Interesting post, I'd be happy to see the budget everyday shaving items from around the world.
So here is what we have in Hungary, it's our Figaro lathering shave cream. It was always been here. Lot of us have memories of our grandfathers shaving with this cream.
Very clean, generic soapy smell which I like. Reminds me of my childhood actually you know, it's what my grandparents bathroom smelled like. Clean and soapy.
Performance wise I put it over Proraso mostly because I can get very quickly and easily a perfect thick lather with very small air bubbles. Also can take a bit more water and basically that is what I look for in a good cream or soap. It is still thick and cushiony while being well hydrated and slick at the same time.
And it's around 2 bucks kinda. And a matching aftershave is available too.

It is what it is really, not a post shave artisan champion but a clean, good performing cream for everyday use at a really affordable price that has some nostalgia factor (for me at least) as well.
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Edwin Jagger, or Mühle go for about fiver in pounds cheaper by three-puck. And it's a very good soap.
Razor Master from Finland is definitely above board, fiver in euro if bought by three-puck.
I know Haslinger is sold for about five pounds a puck, never tried it myself but plenty of diehard fans here.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Wilkinson Sword blue bowl is less than £3, and Erasmic cream can be had as low as £1. I've used both, and they're both perfectly fine for DE shaving.
 
I've gotten a few creams at Indian grocery stores in my area. Yardley, Dettol, and one other - the name escapes me at the moment. I've found Godrej, too. They're all pretty good but not as good as Arko, Palmolive, or Williams at that price point.

It's too bad the US Palmolive cream is no longer made. That was a top-notch performer.
 
Toma is correct, Hungarian creams are excellent , although not easy to find. Super-Max ( no relation to blades ) Derby Lux , and my favorite ,
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CAOLA Chlorophyll are all top notch nicely priced creams...
 
I can attest to the excellent value and performance of Figaro. I buy it from a seller on ebay - it's top-notch cream, I always make sure to have it on hand.

There are several other great creams that are under $5, although shipping usually pushes the per-unit cost up a bit - Ach Brito's Lavanda, LEA, Speick are all in my stockpile at this price range. Omega has a few cheap offerings, but I can't attest to their quality. Williams Expert Ice Blue cream is very reasonable and comes in a huge tube if you like Mentholated creams.

Van Der Hagen hard soaps are a good value for the money, as are Arko and Derby sticks.
 
Palmolive stick - 50p
Palmolive cream - £1.50
Ingrams cream - £1.50
Erasmic cream - £2 (soap about the same)
Boots cream - £1 (on sale)
WS bowl - £2

All of them are decent enough to use.
 
Kilo of Cella shave soap $37.00 lasted over 2 years if using exclusively= $1.54 per month, just started on another Kilo.

I used to love Williams soap back when I started shaving in the 60's but since they changed the formula I recently started mixing a Williams puck ($!.49) and 1/2 bar of Dove Bath soap ($ $0.55). So far made 3 soaps mixing Williams with Dove Cucumber, Shea Butter or Tangerine, they made a great long lasting, slick, hydrating, nice aroma, rich lather. So for a little over $2 I have some great soaps. Along with the kilo of Cella, I won't have to buy soap for a long time.
 
Kilo of Cella shave soap $37.00 lasted over 2 years if using exclusively= $1.54 per month, just started on another Kilo.

I used to love Williams soap back when I started shaving in the 60's but since they changed the formula I recently started mixing a Williams puck ($!.49) and 1/2 bar of Dove Bath soap ($ $0.55). So far made 3 soaps mixing Williams with Dove Cucumber, Shea Butter or Tangerine, they made a great long lasting, slick, hydrating, nice aroma, rich lather. So for a little over $2 I have some great soaps. Along with the kilo of Cella, I won't have to buy soap for a long time.

Tough to beat the cost/ounce of Cella by the kilo!! :a29:

Arko definitely belongs on this list (another soap that delivers great performance for the $)!!
 
Sold on Arko. A few days ago a friend gave me a stick of Arko, I wasn't going to use it because I'm not wild about stick lathering. But I shaved the stick into a bowl and pressed it down smooth (easy enough) I then proceeded to build a lather (after soaking brush of coarse) and WOW what a lather, slick, hydrating, smooth and feels good on the face, I'll say it has a strong lemony aroma, not really a bad scent considering the fantastic lather it created.
I was going to finish using a bowl of VDH soap but it went into the draw instead and Arko replaced it.
 
Does Tabac qualify as a cheapie?
I'd say that Tabac would be about the most expensive soap to still qualify for this "cheap" thread. :001_tt2:
At least here in Germany, I believe it might be more expensive back in the US.
Used Tabac for my shave this morning, such a wonderful soap with such a wonderful scent. :001_tt1:
 
I have been sneaking my son's Derby Shave Soap & its not bad at all. Cushion & glide is A-1 for me & post shave is fair in that it does not dry out my face like some of the top guns out there do.
 
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