Help choosing cream instead of soap

[Heffaklump]

Hello!

I´ve been wet shaving for about 3 weeks and I´m still having trouble getting a good lather with my EJ aloe soap and a best badger brush. I know other ppl has had trouble with this soap. This is resulting in some pretty bad shaves with nicks, cuts and irritated skin. I feel that my lather is inadequate and it does not look as good as in any of the threads and videos I´ve watched. I´ve read all threads and watched all videos about how to make a good lather, but enough is enough. Now I´m switching to creams until I have the proper technique, then I might go back and try the soap. Right now I just want to focus on my shaving technique and not trying over and over just to get a good lather from my soap. I feel like I´ve tried everything but it still is not good enough.

Could you please help me chose a good shaving cream for me? I´m going to buy it from one of two places (Swedish online shops) www.guapo.se or www.gents.se
I have these brands to chose from EJ, Truefitt & Hill Shaving (from guapo.se) or TAoS and TABAC from the other place.

What I want is the best possible lather for a really smooth shave, which also has a nice sent. The aloe sent on my EJ soap is nice though...

Thank you in advance.

/Alex

 

[Hodari D.]

i would go with taylor of old bond street as it is a top notch cream at a great price. truefitt would also be a great choice.

 

[ackvil]

T&H Ultimate Comfort, D.R. Harris Almond Shave Cream, and Proraso are all good choices.

 

[gaj90027]

The EJ creams are great - loved the Aloe and Sea Buckthorne scents.

 

[Son]

Before ordering anything, just go out in a supermarket and get the cheapest shaving cream and try to see if you can manage to lather it.

I mean, Aloe Soap is not at all difficult to lather but if you have trouble doing it, you should make sure you can lather a cream as well.

Did you try to pour a teaspoon of hot water on the soap for a minute or two before leading it to brush? Do you lather in bowl or face lather? My guess is that you are either loading the soap poorly or trying to lather it with too much water. I would recommend loading it well and bowl lather. Just pour the water you put on soap into lathering bowl before loading the brush. Do you soak the brush and do you load the soap into soaked brush or you squeeze it before loading?

I just had a shave with Muehle variant of this soap this morning and, it lathered excellent, cushion was marvelous, all in all an excellent shave with 4 pass in a single load and there was plenty leftover lather, probably could have had two more passes.

If, at the end, you manage to properly lather some cheap Palmolive or whatever you have available locally, from creams I've seen on web pages you have mentioned I'd choose either T&H Ultimate Comfort, Acqua di Parma or EJ Sea Buckthorn cream.

But, again, I could bet it is human error if not able to get a proper lather from EJ Aloe Vera soap.

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Out of the choices you've presented I'd say T&H is your best bet, but I would personally stay away from the Ultimate Comfort. It isn't bad, but the other scents are far superior. EJ creams are also fantastic; you should try out the Sea Buckthorn.

 

[VT_Hokie]

T&H Ultimate Comfort. It has a nice light lavender scent that I can deal with, but it delivers a FAR superior shave than any of their other offerings. YMMV

 

[dklaiman]

I started out in January with Speick cream. It was really easy to lather. I used Kiss My Face today because I needed to go brushless. Even without a brush I had no difficulty building an nice lather. A decent size tube was under $5 at Whole Foods.

 

[dklaiman]

OK. This is why it pays to read the entire thread. I didn't see where you were posting from. WHole Foods is likely out of the picture. You should have no difficulty finding Speick, though.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Of the choices you listed, I think The Art of Shave cream is probably the most idiot proof - it practically lathers itself. Of course, it's probably the most expensive option, too.

 

[Drubbing]

TOBS Mr Taylor is a nice scented cream. Proraso is as cheap and good as it gets, should be easily available. T&H Ultimate I found to be excellent, but pricey just to dip in and try.

 

[demaro]

TOBS - they are all good , the favorite is avacodo. I have used avacodo , rose , and st james and loved using them, although I use soaps 99% of the time.

 

[JPDyson]

Start by going to your local Rite Aid and picking up a tube of Real Shaving Co's "Professional Lather" shaving cream. There's also a gel - steer clear. Get the cream - mine says "Moisturizing" but I know there's at least one more, so-called "Sensitive" - haven't tried it. This stuff is made by the same folks who make cream for the bigger brands, so it's a great start at a fraction of the cost (and no waiting for shipment). Not a bad scent, if uninspired. Or uninspiring Eh, just try it.

Or, get some Taylor of Old Bond Street cream. I've tried TOBS, Trumpers, and T&H - all three are EXCELLENT creams, but TOBS is noticeably easier to lather. Mr. Taylor's or Avocado are excellent scents to try as well.

I have no experience with your particular soap, but if you have trouble lathering these creams, you don't need to move on to other products - you'll need to camp out here and focus on technique. The two I recommended are exceedingly easy to work with, but this is still a step or two harder than using foam or gel.

 

[cymric]

T&H Ultimate Comfort. It has a nice light lavender scent that I can deal with, but it delivers a FAR superior shave than any of their other offerings. YMMV

It is also RIDICULOUSLY overpriced, as all T&H products, really. So don't get this, scent or no scent, until you've mastered lathering. You want something cheap for the first few dozens of experiments.

My suggestion: Bodyshop cream. It's bit cheaper that TOBS, but lathers and shaves equally easy. Ignore the fresh zesty cucumber fragrance for now. It's lathering you're after, not The Next Favourite Cream. More importantly, you can probably get it locally or semi-locally. There are other alternatives like J.M. Fraser, Nivea and Palmolive, but these might be harder to obtain.

Edit: Ah, you're (the OP) in Sweden. Then J.M. Fraser is out, and I strongly suggest you stay away from ordering T&H or Trumper simply because the price is prohibitive. As I said: Bodyshop cream is your best bet. I'm not familiar with what is supplied by Swedish stores (was there only once before I became a shave geek, and a week at a friend's place to boot), but Nivea and Palmolive should be around somewhere too. Perhaps Speick too.

 

[americanarmsdealer]

The only cream from your list that I've used is the T&H lavender. It worked great and gave me one of the best shaves I've yet experienced. You should try Erasmic if it's available to you. That's the only cream I've used consistently, and it provides an excellent shave every time. Good luck in your shaving ventures, and don't worry, it only gets better from here!

 

[VT_Hokie]

It is also RIDICULOUSLY overpriced, as all T&H products, really. So don't get this, scent or no scent, until you've mastered lathering. You want something cheap for the first few dozens of experiments.

My suggestion: Bodyshop cream. It's bit cheaper that TOBS, but lathers and shaves equally easy. Ignore the fresh zesty cucumber fragrance for now. It's lathering you're after, not The Next Favourite Cream. More importantly, you can probably get it locally or semi-locally. There are other alternatives like J.M. Fraser, Nivea and Palmolive, but these might be harder to obtain.

Edit: Ah, you're (the OP) in Sweden. Then J.M. Fraser is out, and I strongly suggest you stay away from ordering T&H or Trumper simply because the price is prohibitive. As I said: Bodyshop cream is your best bet. I'm not familiar with what is supplied by Swedish stores (was there only once before I became a shave geek, and a week at a friend's place to boot), but Nivea and Palmolive should be around somewhere too. Perhaps Speick too.

You realize that as a B&B Member that we get 20% off the entire T&H website, correct?

 

[wimbouman]

Proraso is a good cream to start with.

But do not forget about the soaps, get yourself a puck of MWF, Mama Bear, Prairie Creations or the one of the three T's to enjoy the shaving experience to the max!

 

[cymric]

You realize that as a B&B Member that we get 20% off the entire T&H website, correct?

Yes, but only in the US store. S&H from the US takes its toll too, and compared to a quick jog to the local supermarket or Bodyshop store he's still very much better off doing the latter. If I were to order a tub of Grafton (190 grams) I'd have to pay $33 (~€26) whereas a tub of Bodyshop (180 grams) is ~€13. If he is able to grab a tube of Nivea, Palmolive, or Speick the price drops to €3 to €4 per 100 to 125 grams.

T&H is nice for when you desire to see Naples and continue living.

 

[nilserik]

Hi, I got a good tip.

Visit http://www.vintagescent.com/ and buy the La Toja shaving creme for sensitive skin.

Since I'm from sweden aswell and I've ordered two times from Vintage scent I know it works, you get the orders fast and there is no customs. The shippin from Vintage scent is cheaper then gents or guapo.. The la toja creme is €7.95 with shipping.
It's a great creme, atleast for me. Was using L'occitane cade shaving soap before but since I bought this I never looked back. I'm using some Floid aftershave splash tho since I love the smell of it and how well it makes my skin feel. But I'm sure I could manage without from how well the la toja moistures.


Tho I haven't tried the ones you asked about but since how cheap it is from Vintage scent I think it's well worth a try.

 

[pauls51]

You cant go wrong with either TOBS or T&H.... But as others have suggested, for the smaller outlay, give Proraso a go!