Choosing My First "Big Boy" Soap: A Mini-Diary

[.Damon.]

First, I want to give a plug for Gary of Gary's Sample Shop. He's got a large stock of samples to choose from, is very responsive, and ships quickly. For anyone, especially newbies, unsure about what product they want to commit to, Gary is a great resource. Now, on with the show.

I've been dorking around with cheaper soaps for a while: VdH Deluxe, Conk Lime, and so on. I bought my first luxury cream (TOBS Avocado, awesome), but have never quite settled on a good soap. I ordered 4 samples from Gary:

1. Cella
2. DR Harris Arlington
3. Mitchell's Wool Fat
4. Tabac

I'm going to mash each sample into my VdH green bowl (hey, it's useful for something!) and use them until I run out of the sample. For lack of a better order, I'm going to use each one in alphabetical order.

The hardware will remain constant: Omega Pro 49 (still breaking it in), Red Tip, Personna Meds, Green VdH Bowl.
As I work on each soap, I'll learn about the product, how to best lather it, what I love, and what I hate. At the end, I'll have a great idea about what soap I'm going to buy in full size. Enjoy?

 

[cxg231]

Cool idea! Look forward to your impressions!

 

[7 O Menthol]

Garry's shop and service are indeed perfect for any newbie to experience some great products.

 

[InHotWater]

Great idea, using the same shaving equipment. This way you can see the real differences in these soaps, and decide which one(s) perform best for you.

 

[.Damon.]

Had my first shave with Cella today. Are we sure this soap is legal? This is way too easy to lather! It's like cheating.

I gently swirled (not whipped) the brush over the soap while my sink filled with water. It didn't look like there was enough soap loaded to even do one pass. I then face lathered and got enough pillowy cushion for 4 passes? I did a 3 pass shave, no irritation, near BBS. The scent does die down a bit on your face compared to the bowl.

Amazing soap..

 

[vferdman]

Had my first shave with Cella today. Are we sure this soap is legal? This is way too easy to lather! It's like cheating.

I gently swirled (not whipped) the brush over the soap while my sink filled with water. It didn't look like there was enough soap loaded to even do one pass. I then face lathered and got enough pillowy cushion for 4 passes? I did a 3 pass shave, no irritation, near BBS. The scent does die down a bit on your face compared to the bowl.

Amazing soap..

It's too bad you started with Cella. After that you may be very difficult to impress. The other three soaps you got are heavy hitters, awesome soaps, but Cella so far is my touchstone for a tub/puck type soap. Arko is a touchstone stick. You can buy a more expensive soap, you can buy a fancier smelling soap, but it's hard to buy a better performing soap. Everything about Cella is good for me. Lather, scent (the fact that it's light is greatly appreciated), skin care after the shave. If you do not have a reaction to it (some do), you may be hooked. For me it's between Cella and Arko. The rest is just fooling around. I've tried a few soaps, but so far can not find a better in either category. YMMV, of course.

 

[the_edski]

I wish you luck on your quest! Can't go wrong with any of these!

 

[Jasontheperson]

I appreciate your usage of the Scientific Method. I have a feeling Tobac is going to come out on top though.

 

[NexlevMM]

Sub'd! This is gonna be great for the guys looking to buy up on better soaps, like myself!!

 

[Mako72]

I still miss the Cella shaves, but I never could get past the scent. But a better lathering soap would be hard to find.



Jay

 

[global_dev]

those are all very nice.. hard to mess them up...

btw i use the vdh bowl to "face" lather, in that, it allows me to add water in a specific way and incorporate air without blowing out the lather in volume... it's been far superior for me than a cappucino mug, small cereal bowl, scuttle or just plain face lathering.

 

[.Damon.]

After 3 weeks, I'm done with the Cella sample.

Final Conclusions on Cella: This is a fantastic, super soap. The lather was amazing, and the scent was mild and pleasant. It loads on the brush great, it lathers easily, and provides great protection during the shave. At $9 a tub, this is a steal.

Next Up: DR Harris Arlington

 

[Alt-Cream]

Thanks for mentioning Gary's Sample Shop! I spent hours the other night searching for recommended vendors and visiting their sites but found none that offered sample size soaps and creams.

I just joined the forum so I can learn about brush lathering (currently using pressurized gel). The quantity and variety of soaps and creams available is wonderful, but also quite overwhelming. Gary's service sounds like the perfect solution to help newbs looking to take their first step.

Looking forward to the rest of your diary entries.

 

[lt114]

If you like the Cella, I suggest you get the 1K brick. You can get it for about $34 at Italian Barber.

 

[.Damon.]

Had my first Arlington shave this morning. Easy to lather, but thicker than Cella. The scent is more dominant than Cella in lather form with a good amount of citrus in the nose.

I left my boar a little drier than Cella. I gave it one good shake before loading. I also let the water drip from the brush onto the top of soap to soften it up a bit.

Overall, a great first shave.

 

[syngent]

imho the DRH will whip cella everyday of the week in my den, i was never all that fond of cella's scent or performance, is does lather well, but found its protection good and post shave okay,..
Btw damon, if you like the soft soap but prefer the scent of DRH, RR XXX is a very close scent

 

[.Damon.]

After 2 weeks (but only 5 shaves), the DRH is done.

Final Conclusions on DRH: This soap does not agree with my face; I break out when using it. I took a break from it for a few days and used VdH deluxe, and then came back. While loading the lather, the sample separated from the bottom of my bowl and... that was it. Terrible last lather, too thin, wouldn't mash back into the bowl right, and had to throw the soap out. I wanted to like it... oh well.

Next Up: Mitchell's Wool Fat

 

[insomniac]

What is a "big boy" soap?

 

[.Damon.]

What is a "big boy" soap?

My tongue-in-cheek way of labeling luxury soaps versus, say, VdH or Conk. Don't get me wrong, though, I am a HUGE VDH deluxe honk.

 

[strop]

Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of Arlington.

That said, I think it's very difficult to get the feel of a hard soap from a small sample of shavings. The scent is the biggest thing. Soft soaps lend themselves much better to small samples than hard soaps. Before giving up on ANY hard soap you really need to use the puck for a while and be able to load it sufficiently. I understand your sensitivity so am not suggesting an Arlington puck, but just as a general rec for trying hard soaps.