Differences between soaps/creams for a newbie

[nik232]

Hello all!

I am new in traditional shaving and I have a question about the differences of the various soaps/creams. The question is more general that's why I put it under general discussion.

I have been shaving for two months using the following: Rockwell 6C, perma sharp, a cheap mensu boar brush, and for lather I have tried erasmic cream, erasmic soap, TOBS cedarwood, Wilkinson's blue shaving soap. I also use glycerin soap as pre-shave. I have tried to fix razor and blade trying to improve on my technique.

Interestingly enough I had tried a few different blades at the very beginning and I didn't see any differences, which I suppose that it is due to my very poor technique. I haven't tried more blades recently (hopefully now my technique is better than the first days). In my shaves I still have irritation, however, it is manageable. Compared to before where I was using cartridges the irritation is way smaller. However, my technique is still not that good and I can't get the same quality of final result that I was getting with cartridges.

Now the main question is about the soaps/creams. First I was prudent enough to read the wikis in this website and I never had any problem in getting good lather. However, I can't see much of a difference in performance between e.g. TOBS and say erasmic cream, despite the very big difference in price. I grant that TOBS smells better and the lather seems better and it seems to be slicker, however, I don't get less irritation in comparison to erasmic soap or cream.

I suppose the reason is that my technique is still very poor and needs to be improved. I am wondering when other shavers started being able to distinguish among creams/soaps of different quality. In addition, I have a very oily skin and I am wondering whether this plays a role in the choice of cream/soap.

Thank you very much for your time for reading my post, I really appreciate it.

Kind regards,

Nick

 

[emwolf]

I think there are more differences in price than performance in many cases with soaps and creams. For me, I've found it takes a bit longer to lather soap than cream, but that soap has a longer shelf life than cream.

 

[borwish]

I've got to agree with emwolf above. My experience has been mainly that creams are slightly easier to lather and soaps last longer and are cheaper per use.

The law of diminishing returns is very strong in many areas including wet shaving. More expensive and "Better" products are most likely better, but not by huge amounts. Cheap Arko is popular for a reason.

I wonder if you are using too mild of a plate on the 6c which is leading you to do too many passes/strokes and giving you irritation.

 

[njpaddy]

Don't get discouraged. Enjoy the journey. I had been shaving with electric, injector and carts for 45 years before switching to DE. I thought it would be a no brainer, but it was a long learning curve for me. I took finding what works, and what didn't, as a challenge. I had well water and my biggest problem was a good lather. I never had much consistency bowl lathering creams. It wasn't until I began face lathering soaps, with a decent brush, that it clicked. Keep at it. Once you dial in what works for you, you won't look back.

 

[SydneyShaver]

Agreed with all of the above. At the end of the day, if it is something that has to be lathered with a brush, the chances are it is not only 'usable' but good. There are good and bad creams and good and bad soaps. I personally prefer creams to soaps and I don't really miss anything performance wise. Its all personal preference. I think lathering properly took the longest amount of time for me. It was always either too watery or too dry in the beginning. Also I firmly believe that you need to give time for your skin to heal and get used to wetshaving. Just do a one pass shave every other day for 2 weeks with cold water, make sure you're getting a good lather each time and I think it'll make a big difference.

 

[hairless wonder]

There are good and bad creams and good and bad soaps.

Definitely agree with this. Also, it should be noted some soaps will perform better for some people but nit for others--and vice versa. Shaving is very much a YMMV thing, thanks in no small part to the variation in tools, water, and skin-beard type combinations.

I have found a number if affordable soaps and creams that work well for me and a few that don't work as well (including some forum favorites). I'd be willing yo bet this is how things go for most folks in the forum. If you can find a soap/cream that works well for you, more power to you. If you haven't found them, yet, enjoy the hunt. That's part of the fun of the hobby, IMHO. Of course, YMMV.

 

[sugardaddy]

TOBS is not that great of a performer, imo. It's main strength is in nice scents, and then, like Harley Davidson, you're paying more for the name.

 

[hairless wonder]

TOBS is not that great of a performer, imo. It's main strength is in nice scents, and then, like Harley Davidson, you're paying more for the name.

I love the TOBS sandalwood soap. The key is to bloom the soap (until the bloom water turns filmy) before loading the soap on the brush. Just make sure you dump the bloom water before loading the brush. Oh, also, I happen to like to add some of the bloom water back gradually to make my lather.

 

[Medivh]

I personally like soap sticks (like Arko) and creams more than pucks, because I find them easy to work with without the need to use a bowl. About the performance, I think it's all subjective. Soaps have more popularity, since almost no artisan is making creams. Soaps are also considered by default as more premium and have more scent options compared to creams, but that doesn't mean that they are better. Both have their pros and cons and in the end it's all about personal preference more than anything else. The only way to know for sure is to try from everything and then use what works for you best.

 

[sugardaddy]

Actually ... think it does mean that soaps are better. At least in terms of performance, that's really kind of a objective standard ... slickness.

It's not like fragrance where your scent evaluation of something is purely subjective.

I think for a vast majority of cases a croap or hard soap is going to be more luxurious and creamy while having a higher amount of slickness... When compared to most creams.

But the good news is, that if creams work better for you, due to other, likely subjective factors, like perceived convenience, ease of loading, scent choice, brand name, etc, then you're going to be just fine because many of them still give very nice slickness and provide enjoyable shaves.

I could be wrong here. But that's the way i see it.

 

[Fletchtj]

Welcome aboard Nick. I have only a few more months of experience more than you but can offer this: there is no magical soap, cream, brush, blade or razor. They can all make improvements but it is you and your practice over time that will make a huge difference. If you are looking to improve your soap or cream experience here is a link below you should read. It is a great starting point.

Cheers

Foolproof Lather Method (TM) - any soap - any brush​

• Thread starterJCinPA

 

[Mempho]

For me creams and soaps perform the same. I like both but I usually use soaps. I think soaps last longer.

 

[nik232]

Thank you all for your feedback and the comments! I have read them carefully and there is a lot of very useful information there.

To pick up on some of them:

TOBS is not that great of a performer,

That's useful to know. For some reason I thought that TOBS is a good performing cream. I am more interested in slickness than fragrance.
Is there anything that is well known for that?

I wonder if you are using too mild of a plate on the 6c which is leading you to do too many passes/strokes and giving you irritation.

I am using plates 4 for the first pass and 2 for the 2nd (and if I do a 3rd) pass. I should try other combinations as well.

Cheap Arko is popular for a reason.

I haven't used Arko yet, but I will try sometime.

Also the comment about blooming TOBS is very useful. I tend to take some with a spoon and leather it with the brush on a bowl.

Despite the irritation that I get with the DE shaver it is still much less to what I had with the cartridges and besides with DE it is overall much cheaper. As I said in terms of face fair removal the cartridge was performing better, but with more irritation. So overall even now I feel much better with the DE and I expect that I will improve a lot in the future.

I keep reading posts from this forum and they are really helpful. It is amazing how eager you are all to share good experience and help new people learn! thank you!

Nick

 

[hairless wonder]

Thank you all for your feedback and the comments! I have read them carefully and there is a lot of very useful information there.

To pick up on some of them:


That's useful to know. For some reason I thought that TOBS is a good performing cream. I am more interested in slickness than fragrance.
Is there anything that is well known for that?

I am using plates 4 for the first pass and 2 for the 2nd (and if I do a 3rd) pass. I should try other combinations as well.

I haven't used Arko yet, but I will try sometime.

Also the comment about blooming TOBS is very useful. I tend to take some with a spoon and leather it with the brush on a bowl.

Despite the irritation that I get with the DE shaver it is still much less to what I had with the cartridges and besides with DE it is overall much cheaper. As I said in terms of face fair removal the cartridge was performing better, but with more irritation. So overall even now I feel much better with the DE and I expect that I will improve a lot in the future.

I keep reading posts from this forum and they are really helpful. It is amazing how eager you are all to share good experience and help new people learn! thank you!

Nick

Just to clarify, my blooming comment was specifically with respect to the soap--not the cream. I've never used the TOBS cream. I have only ever used (and really like) the TOBS Sandalwood triple milled hard soaps.

That said, I have bloomed other creams in water before. It may have been unnecessary, but it never seemed to hurt my lather. If you want to try blooming the cream, go ahead, but I doubt it'll provide any additional benefit to your lather.

 

[JCinPA]

@nik232 Um, don't make bank on the one negative comment about TOBS in this thread. This business is very much a YMMV (your mileage may vary, meaning you'll likely have a different experience than others) business, but TOBS creams are very highly regarded around here.

I would not question sugardaddy's experience, that is his experience, and nobody can argue with him about it. However, you did not get much "information" about TOBS from his comment, except he's not fond of it. The majority of users here who use creams think very highly of TOBS creams. Be careful about extrapolating from one man's opinion. Including mine. You should see for yourself.

However, with two messages here, I would suggest you do not take any comment by any member here as gospel. Read a lot, survey lots of opinions, and try stuff that speaks to you before drawing any conclusions. Sugardaddy's comment was absolute truth for him. It's also absolute truth that the majority of members here have a different view of TOBS. Be careful about treating everything you read here as gospel.

About whether you get irritation or not, do not lay that all at the feet of the manufacturer, it is due strictly to your face and the ingredients. The one thing it has nothing to do with is the brand of product. Some have a reaction to lanolin. That does not mean Mitchell's Wool Fat makes a bad soap (or any other soap maker). It means your face does not like it. I love Noble Otter soaps, but they have bentonite clay in them. One member mentioned he thought he had a reaction to bentonite clay, which he bemoaned because he liked the performance and the scent. One of the most highly regarded soaps on the planet is Cella, yet some people seem to react to the almond scent. Not many, but enough to make my point about YMMV.

At your stage, don't take anything you read as gospel. And I would respectfully submit all you learned from Sugardaddy's comment is that he doesn't think highly of TOBS, which I will not and cannot argue with. But you learned absolutely nothing about Tobs creams, generally, from that comment, I respectfully submit. Keep reading, keep trying new stuff, and have fun. You may, in fact, not end up liking many TOBS creams, but I'd hate to see you derailed from an iconic brand because of one user's opinion. Form your own. You may not like them or you may become a fan, you just don't know.

Welcome, though! And great shaves!

P.S. Oh, one thing I will state as a categorical, you should not equate price with quality or performance. You learned that with Erasmic cream. The relationship between price and performance or "quality" is basically random. There is no relationship whatsoever. You'll find world-beating products at all points on the price continuum.

 

[JCinPA]

PLEASE NOTE: None of the above was aimed at Sugardaddy's opinion or comment! His experience is his own. It was in response to your reaction to it, "thanks for the information about TOBS creams, that's helpful." or something to that effect. His opinion is valid. I'm suggesting you generalizing from it is not. That's all.

Look at most blade reviews around here. As has been pointed out, any one blade thread will bring out dozens of folks who think it's like shaving with the lid of a tin can and dozens more who think it's the second coming of razor blades. TOBS are great shaving creams, according to most members here. That doesn't mean you need to like them. You just need to form your opinion on your own. You need not like it because most do, and you should not dismiss it because a few don't. That was my point.

 

[BigJ]

Soaps, creams, sticks, ‘croaps’ (soft soaps that fit between the ‘hard’ soaps and creams): all are worth a try IMO! I suggest you visit the soap and cream forums to see what others are using, then pick a few.

The main thing is to ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

 

[Adam18]

Soaps, creams, sticks, ‘croaps’ (soft soaps that fit between the ‘hard’ soaps and creams): all are worth a try IMO! I suggest you visit the soap and cream forums to see what others are using, then pick a few.

The main thing is to ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

Yes indeed !

 

[dotKomo]

TOBS is a good product, IMO. Others may have different opinions, of course YMMV.

As far as the irritation you are experience, technique definitely plays a role. A sharp, smooth blade, correct blade angle, and using no pressure makes a huge difference.

Finally, you didn't share your post shave routine. Using an alum block not only seals micro cuts but also can highlight where your over-shaving (the stinging will let you know!). Using a good post shave balm will also provide good moisturization to your face.

All good advice here. Enjoy the experience!

 

[andromeda673]

Soaps are hard or harder, they are pucks, plain and simple, Arko, Williams, Proraso, Colonel Conk etc.

Creams, croaps, etc pretty much covers the rest of the products out there, you've pretty much covered everything else that's out there to be honest. Enjoy the journey, and make sure you use everything you buy.