Help Me Choose Soap

[skiajl6297]

I am in a rut. The only soaps that consistently play nice with my sensitive skin are Mikes. I have had poor shaves from DRH Arlington compared with Mikes. Not a reactivity issue, but a slickness one and an after shave feel. I had a sensitivity to TOBS sandalwood cream. I have very sensitive skin. I tried Petal Pusher Soap, both scented and unscented, and it gave the burn that some have seen. I must be allergic to some thing in it. Interestingly the fragrance oil containing soap was much worse than the unscented for me, but I did experience minor tingling irritation from the unscented PPF line as well. My long winded way of asking, what's next. Clearly EO's are preferable, but something in PPF really doesn't vibe well with me. I can try unscented all day long, but I know I can tolerate and enjoy scented soaps, including Mikes Barbershop, Vetiver, Orange Pepper, Peppermint Rosemary, Pine and Cedarwood. So far without question, I am a tallow and lanolin loving guy. Love the stuff, but am open to suggestions.

Looking for a shaving soap that isn't overwhelmingly full of fragrance oils, one that seems pretty well tolerated for sensitive skin, one that provides a slick, thick lather cushion (face lather with Simpson Chubby 2 Best soap hog). Love supporting artisan producers but am not opposed to others. Top of my list are MWF and Tabac, although I understand that that latter is viewed as a bit polarizing in the scent department (ymmv). Any other suggestions or thoughts?

I am am spending way too much time thinking about soap, and yet I want it all. You never know what works for you until you try! Good day gentlemen. And as always, thank you.

 

[Niles]

If you haven't tried Cella or Proraso, I recommend those two.

 

[sgtd]

Strop Shoppe special edition w/tallow. There are some offerings that have lanolin, but the ones that do not have cocoa and shea butter. Another one, while not tallow, that may fit the bill is HTGAM Synergy. It's similar to PPF but I haven't heard of anyone suffering the burn that is associated with PPF.

 

[vickywally]

I also have very sensitive skin. My refuge is MWF. Best shaves when it comes to skin care for me. When another soap I try tears up my face - I come running back to MWF.

Assuming you don't have very hard water - I strongly recommend MWF. My only MWF regret is that I waited to try it for so long (based on all the bad lather stories).

 

[mctmatt]

Give Barrister and Mann a look.

 

[IMightBeWrong]

+1 on B&M. If you like Mike's, you're bound to like B&M as well.

I'd also try Petal Pusher Fancies and Synergy which has already been recommended as well.

LASS is worth a try also. It's got an extremely short ingredients list and it performs insanely well.

All of these are natural soaps with great ingredients.

 

[mwhitcraft]

You're on the right track with Tabac and MWF. You might also give Pre de Provence a try. Despite not having tallow or lanolin, it leaves my face feeling almost exactly how MWF does.

 

[oldtrout]

Haslinger Schafmilch.

 

[bemiller]

Strop Shoppe! Best product on the market.

 

[oldhickory]

For me, How to Grow a Mustache makes good soaps. I like the Cavendish scent the best. WM Neumann and Co is very good as well

 

[Boared]

+1 to the Haslinger (any type not just schafmilk), Synergy, and Mikes. Actually, everything in the previous quotes is pretty awesome. Sterling is also great stuff for the money. Also, don't forget about Valobra Stick/puck, that stuff is phenomenal.

 

[wheelhouse]

I'll put in another vote for the Barrister & Mann. If you like Mike's they seem very similar to me. I believe they both use a lot of the same ingredients.

 

[TonyJoe]

Check out the Speick shaving stick. I've got fairly sensitive and dry skin and Speick always left it feeling very soothed after a shave, especially combined with the Speick AS splash.

I'd also second the Barrister & Mann recommendation, although I've only used their unscented so I don't have experience with any of their fragrances.

 

[Francois_Dillinger]

Save some money and get either Cella or RazoRock (try their artisan line). MWF and Tabac are good, but why spend the money when you can get lather just as good, and better-smelling, from RR?

 

[Senshi]

I personally love the smell of Tabac, but like others have mentioned, it's polarizing. I think you should start with MWF because it has a nice clean scent and is very moisturizing on the skin. I think it might be better taking your sensitivity into consideration (provided you don't have a lanolin allergy)

Palmolive stick also smells very good and has a great lather. La Toja's scent is amazing but the salts in it may be irritating for you.

 

[Edinburgh]

La Toja's scent is amazing but the salts in it may be irritating for you.

I should think mineral salts would rather soothe the skin.

 

[Edinburgh]

You're on the right track with Tabac and MWF. You might also give Pre de Provence a try. Despite not having tallow or lanolin, it leaves my face feeling almost exactly how MWF does.

Michael, you are spot-on! Pré de Provence is one of the most underrated soaps. It's just fantastic and the corresponding balm (enriched with shea butter) is extremely soothing, especially in winter. All three of these soaps are outstanding performers and also perfect for winter in terms of their scent.

 

[Big_OC]

Another vote for B&M.

 

[Eely_Hovercraft]

+1 on the HTGAM Synergy soaps. They lather like crazy, and are really nice on the skin -- even better than the Proraso white in my experience. And if you buy an 8 oz. tin, it's a great value.

 

[fsturnz]

Another vote for RazoRock. They have a couple different lines...argan oil, tallow, etc. And I find their scents to be very mild compared to some of the more mass produced products.