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How much for soap?

What's the most $ you are willing to pay for soap?

  • As cheap as possible

  • Under $10

  • Under $20

  • Under $30

  • Sky is the limit


Results are only viewable after voting.
Yeah, it's hard to say which has been greater as a percentage of final price: soap cost inflation or razor cost inflation. I considered the Futur insanely expensive a few years ago. Same with Martin de Candre. Now they seem like no big deal.
 
While prices have indeed risen beyond inflation, so have our variety and breadth choices and often the quality of goods.

Who would have thought 7 or so years ago we would see $100 all stainless steel adjustable razors? I similarly recall when the only artisan soaps were melt and pour glycerin pucks, and we were thankful to have them.
 
So many variables...$20 for 4oz? $20 for 5.5 oz? 4 oz of a triple milled soap should last far longer than 4oz of a croap...I personally am shooting for no more than $5/oz, but I'd be flexible in some cases if need be.
 
From a long-term perspective I see it as a good thing. More products that improve quality of mens lifestyle and even health. Prices creeping up means there's demand and growing interest. Those workers at the Russian PPI factory are thinking WTH is going on. :D
 
I guess I'm like most of you...under $20 and at this point for me it's just Stirling. I like TOBS but the Stirling works just as well, is less expensive and has as much variety as you could want.

They are seem to "work" for me so it's largely about the scent and price. I'm just not that curious anymore about soap/creme that I haven't tried. I wouldn't be happy with Proraso and Cello forever. I tried those, they were acceptable but no refills were considered.
 
After years of wet shaving, I know now that even an expensive soap is less per shave than the toilet paper I use a day. So you know, I'm ok with an expensive soap so long as it provides the shave I'm looking for. I've moved from under $15.00 soaps to sky is the limit. My face deserves it just as much as my rump does. :001_smile
 
So many variables...$20 for 4oz? $20 for 5.5 oz? 4 oz of a triple milled soap should last far longer than 4oz of a croap...I personally am shooting for no more than $5/oz, but I'd be flexible in some cases if need be.

No one warned me that wet shaving involved so much math.. ;)
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
When I started buying Colgate and Williams the price must have been under a dollar. That was nearly 50 years ago! Gee, what an old geezer.

It wasn't easy to transition to soaps that now sell for $10 to $20. More than that strikes me as excessive. So, yeah, guess $20 is my limit.
Your memory must be as bad as mine. Fifty years ago, Williams and Colgate and Old Spice were well under a dollar. Lol. I have Tabac, MWF and Schafmilch in my rotation but use Arko most frequently. Scent is not a serious consideration for me as it only lasts until I slap on aftershave. Performance is the driver and all four perform perfectly well when it comes to shaving.
 
$20 or below as much as possible. Over $30 is just too much.

Actually over $25 is the limit when I start being too nitpicky about a soap. I need to see and understand why the asking price was that high.
 
For me, it's difficult to draw the definitive line; I like $1 Williams, $3 Palmolive, and several other soaps under $15, but I also think that some soaps are special and the higher price is ok (ie, PCN, DG, etc. but they do need to be special).
 
I know I'm a minority, maybe a minority of one in B&B, but my current limit is 3 pucks of Williams for $6.60. I don't see a need to buy anything else. I'm not looking for "as cheap as possible." Williams works for me, and I'm sticking with it. I do have a tub of Arko. The performance is good, but I don't like scents.
 
I do have a tub of Arko. The performance is good, but I don't like scents.

You don't like scents, but you don't mind Arko? :a47:

I never understood the Arko love. I find it a very drying, mediocre soap that smells like urinal cake. Ironically, however, it's one of the few soaps that doesn't irritate me or cause an allergic reaction.

Of course, as with all things wet shaving, YMMV.
 
Most I paid was for DRH Arlington. Might be only the second time I went above 20.
Still prefer Mystic Water at under 12 a pop.
 
Well, I've done a jar of MdC, soo...

I don't see spending over $20 for a soap or cream anytime soon, though I do like the look of the Boellis soap coffrets.
 
Most I paid was for DRH Arlington. Might be only the second time I went above 20.
Still prefer Mystic Water at under 12 a pop.

But the DR Harris presumably included the nice wooden bowl that could be used with most soap pucks. DR Harris refills are available below $20.

Also, Arlington is great stuff, and was undeniably the top of the top shelf before the explosion of artisan soaps over the last few years.
 
Would anyone here buy $20+ shaving soap in a store if they never joined a shaving forum/community?

Someone who isn't super rich or into fragrances as a hobby will still buy an expensive fragrance to treat himself and think nothing of it.
 
For me, $4 an ounce is my limit unless it's a triple milled soap. Some of these soap makers are charging pretty high prices for a 4 oz puck that doesn't look like it will last longer than less expensive ones.
 
It would depend on the store and my expectations.

For example, The Art of Shaving is a now old dedicated men's grooming shop and their soaps were always expensive (but excellent, particularly when made by Valobra). Similarly, I would expect both high prices and outstanding quality from shops like Trufitt & Hill or DR Harris. (It's a shame only GFT, TOBS and T&H soaps are not what they sued to be)

I would not spend $20 for a shaving soap at somewhere like Target unless I knew precisely what I was looking for (and, ironically, Target now carries brands like Art of Shaving).
 
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