in praise of the oft forgotten provence sante

[drandall]

had a tremendous shave with provence sante soap tonight.

the more i use this stuff, the more i've come to respect it. it has a light hard-to-offend scent, makes great lather and is incredibly mild and moisturizing.

best of all, at $10 a puck, it's half the price of many high-end soaps. i know this may be blasphemy, but i recently got a puck of harris arlington and while my technique may be partly to blame...i get better results easier with the sante.

for those who haven't tried it, you really should. it's an under-discussed gem

 

[The National Razor]

I'm planning to get this, along with the Green Tea Aftershave and cologne, this payday

Also probably going to pick up some DR Harris Arlington to try as well

 

[Phog Allen]

Hello drandall. I couldn't agree more. Provence Sante is fully the equal of, and in some instances the better of, a good many of our traditional, tallow soaps. It provides some of the best face conditioning I have experienced with a shave lather. I am not much on the scent as it come from package. However, after a few months of sitting in the open it mellows a lot and loses the over sweet, perfume nose I get from it. I went ahead and bought it in the red ware bowl and don't regret the purchase at all. A unique and elegantly understated addition to the toiletry locker. This soap is one of the best.

Regards, Todd

 

[thunderball]

Hear! Hear! Good call drandall. This stuff is under-the-radar amazingness. It sits proudly on my bathroom counter and gets used at least once a week. All praise the Provence Sante!

 

[Cuttingboard]

I remember when I first began DE shaving and someone on this board suggested that I begin with Provence Sante. I love PS but use it mostly during the winter because of the shea butter. I love this soap and its one of the best bang for your buck soaps on the market.

 

[Dennis]

It is next on my to-finish-off list. The IK is down to but a sliver now and the PS will go into the cup next. I will use it until it is done (couple months I guess) then onto my next refill I have. Trying to pare down the collection and see what is worth re-ordering.

 

[cymric]

I agree with the general sentiment of this thread. A hassle-free soap which despite its vegetal nature puts many tallow-based soaps to shame. The only thing which I don't like is the perfume-y fragrance which is somehow... grandmotherly... of sorts. I much prefer the subdued tones of Pré de Provence (at least in the older formulation without shea butter apparent in the ingredient list, yes, this exists); I don't know the IdK-fragrance but should try it one of these days.

In my limited experience shea butter seems to be an ingredient which improves vegetal soaps from merely good to excellent. I doubt the special components of shea butter which cannot be saponified (a few % in pure shea fat) will lead to a noticable increase in skin care properties, though. Shea is a mixture of fats and oils like tallow, but 'heavier' in the sense that the carbon chains are a bit longer. It should make the lather somewhat 'fatter' and heavier.

 

[Sabre]

I really like PS SS, that I have 4 and I also have 3 IK's to try. I have the cologne and AS. I have the PS SC but it's not for me .

French Shea Butter soaps are just

I would love to try Martin de Candre and Pre de Provence, but they are a bit
expensive. I have a Durance, and a Lothantique and a French Artisanal soap in the pipeline.

 

[bladebuff]

By chance this was the first shaving soap I bought and I still like it to this day.
Great shaving properties, good scent and exemplary skin care.

 

[andrew98]

I'm planning to get this, along with the Green Tea Aftershave and cologne, this payday

Also probably going to pick up some DR Harris Arlington to try as well

Good choices, especially on the Green Tea aftershave and cologne. That's the only aftershave I use and the cologne is in my top 3. Enjoy.

-Andy

 

[andrew98]

I really like PS SS, that I have 4 and I also have 3 IK's to try. I have the cologne and AS. I have the PS SC but it's not for me .

French Shea Butter soaps are just

I would love to try Martin de Candre and Pre de Provence, but they are a bit
expensive. I have a Durance, and a Lothantique and a French Artisanal soap in the pipeline.

Pre de Provence is actually a great value. It's a 150 gram puck. I also thought shavingessentials.net sold it for about $13 or $14. I actually prefer the fragrance of PdP over PS, but that's just me.

eShave's mandarin is another favorite of mine, and it doesn't get much attention on B&B. It's made in Provence, by the way. West Coast Shaving sells it (and PdP). Hope that enabl, er, helps.

-Andy

 

[mbrooks]

This stuff is great, but I think my face doesn't like it. I've used it for the last three shaves, and the last two have left my face hot and red in some places.

I hope I'm wrong; I've never read about it setting anyone's face on fire so I'm hoping it's just bacteria on the blade or something. To be fair, there are several things that could be the problem, and in the next few days I'm going to be eliminating the possibilities and hope I come up with something other than an allergy. Gave the razor an alcohol bath today, but it could also be something in the water (which has been tasting funny) or just a bad blade. Hoping I don't have to get rid of this stuff.

 

[Austin]

It's an excellent soap that gets little mention. Another one that comes to mind is Institut Karite.

 

[Cuttingboard]

In my limited experience shea butter seems to be an ingredient which improves vegetal soaps from merely good to excellent. I doubt the special components of shea butter which cannot be saponified (a few % in pure shea fat) will lead to a noticable increase in skin care properties, though. Shea is a mixture of fats and oils like tallow, but 'heavier' in the sense that the carbon chains are a bit longer. It should make the lather somewhat 'fatter' and heavier.

I really like to use shea butter soaps during the winter, it seems to protect my skin from cold wind while moisturizing.

 

[rm71]

Agreed and $10 for a puck is a good price.

 

[thunderball]

It's an excellent soap that gets little mention. Another one that comes to mind is Institut Karite.

Another little secret I've been meaning to try.

 

[Obsessed]

Provence Sante doesn't contain lanolin, does it? I think IK does, so I can't use it.

 

[The National Razor]

Provence Sante doesn't contain lanolin, does it? I think IK does, so I can't use it.

Wow, IK has both shea butter and lanolin? That's going above and beyond

 

[cymric]

IdK contains isopropyl lanolate, which basically means that any free-floating fatty acid molecule in 'natural' lanolin has been made to react with isopropyl alcohol. This increases the waxy nature of the product, and probably makes it more stable against degradation too. Those unfortunate enough to respond to lanolin will very likely disagree with isopropyl lanolate as well.

But a soap containing both lanolin and shea butter... yes, that's double whammy for sure. *Makes a note to obtain a puck sometime in the future.*

 

[cymric]

I really like to use shea butter soaps during the winter, it seems to protect my skin from cold wind while moisturizing.

Personally, I don't buy the moisturising aspect, not really, in any case. The non-saponifiable components are what should provide the skin care properties, and those are present in amounts well below 1% of the shaving puck. Factor in that only a thin layer of lather actually comes into contact with the skin, and you understand why I think it's a bit of a stretch.

I think that Provence Santé is simply very mild on the skin, providing excellent glide and cushion, with any humectant qualities originating in the glycerin of its formulation.