For me the canned lather works, not more, not less. Nevertheless, I stopped using it quite a while ago, as I didn’t like the amount of waste. I travel with a soap and a brush and face lather, which works well. I don’t miss the canned lather.
I picked up an anniversary can of Barbasol at the grocery one day just to have the can. Out of curiosity, I used it and have begun using it regularly. As far as the shave results go, it performs just as well as the big dogs and I don’t even have to bother whipping up a lather. I know it is soap heresy but that is my experience.
I wet my face, squirt some foam onto a damp brush, apply the lather and use the brush to work in more water just like face lathering.I bought some Barbasol for traveling and again I can’t get excited. It’s to dry for me and I have to use my fingers to apply. That’s too messy for my OCD. How do you get it moist enough?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had a can that I had purchased before I started wet shaving. I decided to use it up and I had the same experience.
I wet my face, squirt some foam onto a damp brush, apply the lather and use the brush to work in more water just like face lathering.
To be honest I never paid much attention to the ability of local water to generate lather, until now. I just assumed the water in Scotland to be fine as I never had issues with shampoo, body wash and shaving soaps.it makes me wonder whether the water itself is a huge factor
To be honest I never paid much attention to the ability of local water to generate lather, until now. I just assumed the water in Scotland to be fine as I never had issues with shampoo, body wash and shaving soaps.
In the past two weeks I went for a ten day family visit in South Africa. I packed my Feather AC and my tub of TOB, because I didn't want to pack valuable razors and strops and risk damage or things disappearing out of my checked luggage, as sometimes happens at Johannesburg Airport.
The first day there I bought Prep, it's a pre-shave cream that I used many years ago, and I decided to try it again. Wow! What a difference, The AC shaved better than I have ever experienced in Scotland, and I suspected it was the Prep that made the difference. Usually I get about four comfortable shaves from a Feather Professional blade, but at the end of my visit I had 9 shaves and it was still shaving fine.
Back in Scotland I tried the exact same method, and was sorely disappointed. The shave is just not anywhere near the same. The only variable is the water.
Can it be that softer water leads to better soap performance, but also allows the beard to be much softer resulting in a more comfortable shave and therefore is not so hard on the edge of the blade?
Can it also explain the fact that I find Prorasso ok, but not great, and you find it excellent?
I think it definitely makes a big difference.
I found both to be exceptional and even like the Tabac scent. Unfortunately, after a year or so the Tabac started to cause my face to itch as did the AS and cologne. A real heartbreaker. I now use creams mostly but continue the occasional use of Haslimger Schafmilch and MWF.Stubborn by nature, once I have made up my mind about something, it takes a lot to change it.
I have been "real" shaving for about two years and one of the first shaving soaps I tried was Tabac. It worked well, but I was not overly impressed because I had nothing to compare it to.
It's only after trying some of the other popular brands that I realised it was something special, and nothing really came close to the performance of Tabac. I love the smell, but I do understand that it may be the main reason why there is any debate about whether Tabac is the best mass-produced shaving soap. I was convinced that I would not find anything that rivals it's performance, but I was getting a bit bored shaving with the same soap month after month.
About two weeks ago, I ordered Taylor of Old Bond Street and Haslinger Sandalwood to mix things up a bit.
To be honest I was a bit disappointed when I opened the parcel and what I thought was a sample turned out to be the Haslinger puck! The way I like to lather is to stick a puck in a shaving mug, soak my brush, shake off excess water, load my brush and face lather adjusting the water by dipping my brush if required.
Initial impressions were good, not much of a scent, easy to lather, good slickness and nice after shave feel. I have learned that a single shave is not a good way to give a fair opinion so I have used it the past week on a daily basis. It just keeps on getting better! I don't bloom, I use a damp brush to load straight of the dry puck and then start the face lather. This stuff just explodes into luxurious, rich, stable lather.
Tried it with my straight razors, and my Fatib Piccolo, both gave amazing results.
From a price point, it's almost double the price of Tabac, considering it's half the size of a replacement Tabac puck.
Am I prepared to say it's performance is actually better than Tabac?
Not yet, like I say, it's not easy to change my mind, but maybe later. All I am prepared to say at this point, is that it at least pushed Cella down from second position to third on my list.
The puck lasts “bigger” than it looks. You should give their Schafmilch a try. Scent is mild but quite lovely.I have been using only the Haslinger since the start of December. I didn't count exactly, but I am more than 60 shaves into the puck, and I would guess that there are at least 20+ shaves left in it.
I think using my normal face lather, two pass shaves I will eventually get between 80 and 100 shaves out of the puck that I initially thought was a sample. That's great value for money for a top class shaving soap!
I used only the Haslinger for the last couple of months for a few reasons:
Here is my personal opinion:
- Really wanted to test it with all my straights, shavettes and DE razors to compare it's performance.
- Wanted to form a firm opinion whether I like it or not.
- Wanted to know how long it will last.
- I don't want to accumulate vast quantities of soap, so I am going to use what I have before trying something different.
Performance-wise it is excellent, as good if not better than my favorite Tabac. Just about lathers itself, smooth slick creamy lather, stable, and good after shave feel.
However...... I really think it lacks in one of the important aspects.
The smell, or lack of it. I chose the sandalwood and initially there was somewhat of a fragrance, but that soon disappeared. After a few weeks I noticed a distinct ammonia smell coming from my lather. Thought my brush was the culprit because I didn't let it dry properly between shaves, but no, it was the soap. It was sort of the smell you get from a ripe cheese, which isn't bad, on cheese, but I don't want to shave with it. That came and went throughout the life of the puck and I can't really explain it.
Summary: Great performing soap, but lacks character. I can recommend it to anyone starting out because it is basically fool-proof. Would I buy it again? Maybe, but life is too short and there are many other soaps I would like to try first.
Price, scent and performance of Tabac is difficult if not impossible to beat.
Im so happy with tabac and haslinger, that one future plan isbto keep 2 soaps, and just buy refills for tabac stick and haslinger.
Tabac scemt is so strong, that cant use it every day, but i still like it, so its good to have haslinger scafmilk as another soap.
Price, scent and performance of Tabac is difficult if not impossible to beat.
Price, scent and performance of Tabac is difficult if not impossible to beat.
This one is very good comparedTabac
Slickness A-
Latherability B+
Post C
Overall - B
Haslinger
Slickness B+
Latherability A-
Post B
Overall - B+