Dove Men+Care 3 in 1

[Big Jim]

I decided to give this a spin. So far I'm not particularly impressed. My speculation is that it is intended for shower shaving. With a lot of effort I could get it to bowl lather. The lather I got using a brush while holding the soap bar was too heavy, didn't provide mush slickness, and clogged a razor that never clogs for me. It improved with bowl lathering but took a lot of effort and still was only marginal. The initial aroma was nice but didn't last. I didn't care for it as a shower soap either. I'm calling it a dud.

Interestingly enough another Proctor and Gamble product, Old Spice hand soap is a wonderful shaving soap even if it isn't advertised as such.

 

[Big Jim]

Maybe I'll try agai with a shot of Kiss My Face. Maybe I won't.

 

[APBinNCA]

I have been wondering about this for years, but never pulled the trigger to test it myself. Maybe they expect people to just rub the bar on their face and shave with a cartridge? Meaning mostly glide.

 

[BigJ]

Great review!! Thanks.

(Periodically, I had been tempted by this product.)

 

[Big Jim]

Looking again at the box the soap came in I realized that it is a Unilever product, not Proctor and Gamble. I'm not sure that it matters though.

 

[cryhavoc]

Thanks for taking time to do the review!

 

[nemo]

What is Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, the first ingredient?

edit:
OK, it's a surfactant/cleansing agent (detergent), And there is no glycerin.

Sodium lauroyl isethionate is a surfactant/detergent used as a cleansing agent and to help lather onto your skin. You'll find this in shampoos, body washes, facial care, and toothpastes. This chemical can irritate your skin depending on how sensitive your skin is, but for most people it shouldn't cause an issue.

 

[Lane101]

I decided to give this a spin. So far I'm not particularly impressed. My speculation is that it is intended for shower shaving. With a lot of effort I could get it to bowl lather. The lather I got using a brush while holding the soap bar was too heavy, didn't provide mush slickness, and clogged a razor that never clogs for me. It improved with bowl lathering but took a lot of effort and still was only marginal. The initial aroma was nice but didn't last. I didn't care for it as a shower soap either. I'm calling it a dud.

Interestingly enough another Proctor and Gamble product, Old Spice hand soap is a wonderful shaving soap even if it isn't advertised as such.



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Hi Big Jim, thank you for the above report. The Dove Men+Care produces amazingly thick lather may have some uses for those of us who blend.

My teenage son uses the Dove Men+Care soap so I decided to experiment with this a little after reading your report. Similar to your results, with a boar brush (this is a hard soap), it was easy to whip up lots of thick lather (palm lathered as this was just a test). Lather texture was similar to that I've achieved with Proraso (though Proraso loads faster and I use a softer synthetic brush). Slickness was good though not the best I've achieved from my blends and pure Williams shave soap. Before rinsing I threw a large dollop of the lather into my shave mug 5 hours ago and it has yet to dissipate at all. Just sits there drying out - a characteristic I've seen with other batches of thick lather. Overall not surprising given that, as Nemo pointed out above, the first ingredient is Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate (SLI), a foaming agent & surfactant. Note that SLI is considered as much milder/less of a possible irritant than the SLS and SLES we typically see in some soaps and shampoos.

Also recall a number of posts from Tallships (one quote below), Williams user since 1962, where he was happy with the results from mixing a puck of modern Williams with half bar of Dove soap (he melted the soaps in a double boiler to fully blend them). Per Tallships he found that the roughly 50/50 mix delivered great slick lather.

Big Jim, based on your test above, those from Tallships and my experimentation the Dove Men+Care is a useful ingredient for those of us who like to blend soaps. Will add some of this to my favorite Van Der Williams blend and see what it does. Right now I add a bit of Ivory to the Williams and Van Der Hagen. Since the # 2 & 3 Dove Men+Care ingredients are stearic acid and sodium tallowate I'll use this in place of the Ivory (20% added for its tallow based slickness) and see if the new blend delivers improved lather while maintaining slickness. May also play around with just cutting the Dove with some Ivory (for folks who run out of the now discontinued Williams) to see if Ivory can give it the desired boost in slickness without overly thinning the lather as the Williams has done for Tallships. Will post results, when available, on one of my prior soap blend threads.

The best Bath soap that I've tested to make a good lather by it self is Dove. I have found that mixing a half bar of Dove bath soap with a puck of New Williams Mug soap by shaving both, mixing together and pressing into a bowl. This mix makes a wonderful thick, slick, cushioning long lasting lather. The scents I've tried of Dove are Tangerine, Shea Butter and Cucumber. What the New Williams or Dove lacks as a Shave Soap alone, makes up to make a great shave soap by mixing together.

 

[geneaut]

Whipped up some of this today. It looks gloopy because I finish building my lather on my face so I start out with it a little unstructured in the lather bowl. I had a really nice shave with this today. Close, comfortable, and no mishaps. For $1.25 at the Dollar Tree, this is just a ridiculous bargain. I think this is going to be my Scout Camp or quick travel soap since it can be multipurpose.

 

[jmd]

I recently gave this a try inspired by b&b. It was fine. Personally, I'd probably keep looking if I was committed to finding an all in one bar/shave soap.

 

[Tallships]

Ive been using Dove Men+Care, Skin Defence (the orange one) for the past month and am very impressed, I like to shave and press this soap into a nice bowl and build my lather right on the puck and get fantastic results. I get a long lasting, thick, slick lather every time, even the scent has a sweet note to it. This soap stays on my shelf along with Cella, Vito's and Arko (also bowl pressed). This Dove even beat my mix of Williams/Dove (Tangerine or Cucumber scent).

 

[ynggrsshppr]

Ive been using Dove Men+Care, Skin Defence (the orange one) for the past month and am very impressed, I like to shave and press this soap into a nice bowl and build my lather right on the puck and get fantastic results. I get a long lasting, thick, slick lather every time, even the scent has a sweet note to it. This soap stays on my shelf along with Cella, Vito's and Arko (also bowl pressed). This Dove even beat my mix of Williams/Dove (Tangerine or Cucumber scent).

Sounds good to me. I'll try and find some this weekend. How does it compare to Arko? That's the only one I have any experience with out of the few you mentioned.

 

[Tallships]

Sounds good to me. I'll try and find some this weekend. How does it compare to Arko? That's the only one I have any experience with out of the few you mentioned.

About the same as Arko puck only different scent . Good idea to shave and press into a bowl , easier than trying to lather off the bar

 

[ynggrsshppr]

Bought a 6 pack of the Dove sage scented variety and gave it a whirl. I couldn't get it to lather quite as nice as a proper shave soap or cream, but the results were on par with proper shaving products.

I've used plain old bars of laundry soap for shaving up until I discovered shaving soaps and creams. The final results aren't terribly different, but the shave products are certainly more luxurious and enjoyable to use!

 

[Tallships]

I've been using Dove Orange 3 in 1 shave soap ( shaved & pressed into a ceramic bowl) for a few months now and am loving this soap. Lathers fast with a thick long lasting, slick, hydrating lather. As with most Dove soaps it leaves your face feeling moisturized but personally I take an extra minute for a total rinse. Only drawback it's not Tallow based lol

 

[Lane101]

I've been using Dove Orange 3 in 1 shave soap ( shaved & pressed into a ceramic bowl) for a few months now and am loving this soap. Lathers fast with a thick long lasting, slick, hydrating lather. As with most Dove soaps it leaves your face feeling moisturized but personally I take an extra minute for a total rinse. Only drawback it's not Tallow based lol

Yes, Dove Men+Care easily generates lots of thick lather. I've made it a regular component of my soap blends as a superlathering ingredient with great results. Just a small amount, roughly 15% of the total, significantly improves the lather lathering ease and quality.

 

[Lane101]

Bought a 6 pack of the Dove sage scented variety and gave it a whirl. I couldn't get it to lather quite as nice as a proper shave soap or cream, but the results were on par with proper shaving products.

I've used plain old bars of laundry soap for shaving up until I discovered shaving soaps and creams. The final results aren't terribly different, but the shave products are certainly more luxurious and enjoyable to use!

What brand of laundry soap did you use? Some of us tried Zote, it's basically a big chunk of saponified tallow, and while very slick the lather dissipates and the strong citronella smell is a challenge. Even in a blend, while performance was great, couldn't get past the citronella.

 

[Dobric]

IME Dove soap melts to fast
For good lather you need just a little amount of that soap
It's good idea for travel
Not big fan, but it's better than regular soap

 

[Big Jim]

Yes, Dove Men+Care easily generates lots of thick lather. I've made it a regular component of my soap blends as a superlathering ingredient with great results. Just a small amount, roughly 15% of the total, significantly improves the lather lathering ease and quality.

The 12 pack I bought must have been duds. For me it doesn't remotely provide a lather suitable for shaving no matter how I have tried to whip it up, hand lather, brush on the bar, or with a lather bowl. I'm glad others have found it useful but it's a dud for me.

 

[Lane101]

The 12 pack I bought must have been duds. For me it doesn't remotely provide a lather suitable for shaving no matter how I have tried to whip it up, hand lather, brush on the bar, or with a lather bowl. I'm glad others have found it useful but it's a dud for me.

Hi Big Jim, It could be the formulation change. I've been using Dove Men+Care bars in my blends that are a 2-3 years old and still have tallow in the ingredients. They are only labeled for face and body, not for shaving like the newer 3 in 1 formulation.

The newer 3 in 1 formulation no longer contains tallow. Also in my case I'm just using it as a superlathering agent in a blend at roughly 15% of the total mix so have other components to provide slickness. Also they shrunk the bars from 4 oz. to 3.75 oz. Sounds like multiple elements of shrinkflation including smaller size and possibly cheaper ingredients combined with marketing that extends the product from a 2 in 1 to a 3 in 1 that includes shaving to convince the consumer that the new version is a superior product. Hmmmm?

Once my son breaks into the new formulation package I'll do a test lather to see if it's different from the older version.