Cream/soap and closeness of the shave

[NiOOH]

I have experienced that some creams/soaps just don't give me as close of a shave as others. The strange thing is that it is not correlated with a properties like cushion and slickness. For instance, despite that Palmolive Classic cream is not as slick as say, The Body Shop Maca Root or Kent/MWF soap, I could never get this very last bit of closeness shaving with the Palmolive as with the two others. Not bashing the Palmolive (great cream), just giving an example. I've seen this with other creams or soaps too, regardless of the price and lather quality.
Have you noticed this? If yes, what is the cream/soap that gives you the closest shave and why do you think it is so?

 

[CANES]

Interesting. Don't really know the answer. I've always thought of closeness having to do with cushion. Too much lather and the shave isn't as close as a thin or runny lather for me. An easy example would be comparing a Gillette Foamy shave to shaving after a face wash with Dove soap. The Dove lather would be super slick and very wet. The Foamy wouldn't be slick at all and fairly dry. 10 times out of 10 the Dove would provide a closer shave for me.

So, taking cushion and slickness out of the equation, I kind of doubt the ingredients of the cream would matter in the regard to closeness, but I may be wrong. As someone who reads up a lot on soap making, I've seen numerous posts on those boards about adding clays to shaving soaps (say Bentonite). Half are for it and the other half are against it- saying it will dull or gum up the razor. Maybe there is something to the ingredients when you find that the shave isn't as close.

The only other thing to consider would be user error and not having the right angle for closeness for that particular brand? If it happens enough to notice with that particular brand, it becomes the creams fault? I just don't know.

Hopefully, somebody else will chime in with their experiences. I'm curious to hear other opinions.

 

[RayClem]

How many shaving passes are you doing?

I have a tough beard and sensitive skin. The only way I can get a BBS shave without irritation is to use four passes: WTG, XTG, ATG, and then a 4th clean up pass using a combination of XTG and ATG buffing strokes with a mild razor and super sharp blades like Nacet and BIC Chrome Platinum.

Your soap and cream might have some influence on the closeness of your shave, but your shaving technique and procedure is going to be far more important. A superb soap that will protect your skin from irritation will allow you to get a super close shave.

 

[tjsgarden]

I think there are many factors in play.
The razor, blade, prep and technique all play a part. Optimizing the hydration and density of a particular soap is a key component

 

[Eben Stone]

Absolutely agree. I drink The Body Shop Maca Root kool aid. It gives the closest shave of all the soaps I've tried. It holds more water and doesn't get bubbles.

 

[CCS]

I'm not sure I've experienced what the OP is posting about unless I had the wrong proportions of soap to water. I just used Wool Fat with a T&H silvertip brush and a razor I'm not fond of (Jagger DE89) with a Derby blade. I had to load more soap early on but even with the Jagger and Derby, I ended up with a perfect shave save for one nick (my fault). I'm very OCD when it comes to BBS shaves. If I don't get it right initially, I have to go back later and touch it up. I do multiple passes and buffing to get to where I want it. But I've been doing this for so long, I don't get much, if any, irritation though I do nick myself now and then.

Of what the OP mentioned, all I've used other than MWF is the Palmolive stick but it's been ages since I shaved with it.

 

[NiOOH]

Thanks for the replies everyone!
I've been DE shaving for over 10 years now, so it has become pretty much a daily routine for me. I don't have problems with lathering or shaving technique, nothing to complain. I just noticed that, all else being equal, some soaps/creams "shave" a touch closer than others.