Modern vs Old School

[Barrington Stanley]

With all the modern... vit E, Q10, hyrlonic horse semen, whatever's on the go, how does this compare to shaving 50 years ago, maybe?

The amounts of vit E in a product as an example is pretty shy, soo I make my own with shop bought capsules.
But tallow, lanolin are age old and work!?
50 year ago my dad shaved with a L2 Super Adjustable with plain soap, the soap was as as I've just bought nos!!!!

 

[thombrogan]

Very glad you found your shave-capable bath soap (Dial works really well, too, but it smells like Dial…).

Keep on enjoying the good life!

 

[dotKomo]

A lot of old timers used Ivory soap for shaving. Obviously, Williams was around a long time as was Colgate.

It kind of puts things in perspective when we contemplate what men used so long ago.

That said, I do appreciate ingredients that help the skin during and post shave. It adds a little extra to my less than average, old man looks.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Well, fifty years ago was the early 1970s. The Trac II had been introduced along with shaving gel in the can. Younger people might use those. Older folks would be using DE razors, a few used injectors. The modern man probably used shaving cream in a can like Colgate, Noxzema, Foamy, etc. Old timers used mug soaps or soaps like Ivory. A minority used electrics. Aftershave, if used, would be something that came in a big bottle from the drugstore like Aqua Velva or Old Spice. Others like Brut or English Leather were there, too.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Here are a few of my soaps, the Yardley examples work very well as shave soaps and are I think far superior to modern Yardley soaps. I could happily squash either Yardley into a mug and use it as my only shave soap. That said I have so much of the genuine shave soap that I just use them in the shower.

 

[KW Driver]

I’ve shaved off modern Ivory soap to try it and it works fine. Provided the same lather as non-tallow Williams with a whole lotta less work for it.

Old school, 60+ year old tallow bath soaps probably work exceptionally well. Add lanolin or others, even better I assume.

 

[lancre]

I’ve shaved off modern Ivory soap to try it and it works fine. Provided the same lather as non-tallow Williams with a whole lotta less work for it.

I'm not aware of any non-tallow Williams. The last formulation of WMS still had Sodium Tallowate listed as the second most common ingredient, so it didn't have quite as much tallow as earlier versions, but it still had tallow.

 

[KW Driver]

I'm not aware of any non-tallow Williams. The last formulation of WMS still had Sodium Tallowate listed as the second most common ingredient, so it didn't have quite as much tallow as earlier versions, but it still had tallow.View attachment 1686275

Ok, and stipulated. But still. It wasn’t great.

 

[lancre]

We'll have to agree to disagree. I've used more WMS for more shaves than any other soap. It's the one I learned on.

 

[musicman1951]

Being an old guy, I try hard not to get too romantic about the "old days." In his younger days my grandfather had an outhouse (in NY winters), heated with wood and didn't have shaving soap that was particularly good for his skin. I'm happy to use the magic dial on the wall that gives me the heat I like, indoor plumbing and good soap. I admire his tenacity, but I don't long for his supplies.

 

[sjblon]

Product developers have always tried to add "features" to products, often by adding ingredients with purported benefits in small amounts so they appear on the label. About 100 years ago, Lysol sold a shaving cream containing the Lysol antiseptic ingredients. Ads claimed,
"Contains the necessary proportion of the antiseptic ingredients of Lysol Disinfectant to render the razor, strop, cup, and brush antiseptically clean, guard tiny cuts from infection, and give an antiseptic shave."

They also claimed it would guard skin health. Different, yet not too different, from the claims surrounding the pixie dusts put in today's products.

 

[SalS]

I use a bit of new and a bit of redesigned old. Henson ++ and Jack Black Beard Lube.