Muhle soap or cream?

[Tonikallinn]

Title says all. Does anyone know which one performs better? I would like cream, to have an option of faster shaving. But if the soaps perform better, i'd just get the soap

-Scent
-Slickness
-Ease of use
-How long does it last

Anyone tried both?? Sale going on today )

 

[cvac]

The Muhle and EJ soaps and creams used to be largely the same w/r/t to base used. I don't know if that's still the case.

I have killed 90% a puck of EJ and still have a Muhle soap in reserve. I suggest you check other threads on these soaps as they have been discussed extensively.

I would NOT necessarily suggest them to a beginner because they can take some work to load and lather due to the hard, waxy texture. An experienced person should have no problem with them though, and they are very decent soaps. They probably wouldn't make my top 5, but there isn't anything wrong with them at all and I found them enjoyable to use.

The creams will be much easier for anyone (especially a beginner) to lather. Should work fine also.

Due to the weight of the soaps and creams they will not last quite as long as a larger puck or tube but should be okay value wise.

 

[Tonikallinn]

The Muhle and EJ soaps and creams used to be largely the same w/r/t to base used. I don't know if that's still the case.

I have killed 90% a puck of EJ and still have a Muhle soap in reserve. I suggest you check other threads on these soaps as they have been discussed extensively.

I would NOT necessarily suggest them to a beginner because they can take some work to load and lather due to the hard, waxy texture. An experienced person should have no problem with them though, and they are very decent soaps. They probably wouldn't make my top 5, but there isn't anything wrong with them at all and I found them enjoyable to use.

The creams will be much easier for anyone (especially a beginner) to lather. Should work fine also.

Due to the weight of the soaps and creams they will not last quite as long as a larger puck or tube but should be okay value wise.

I saw the price for the creams, and that was enough for me to choose the hard soap instead. The tube was like 7 bucks more, and from my understanding, the cream doesnt ''expand'' a lot. Probably a lot quicker to finish the cream.

Bought a 3 pack of Sandalwood, Buckthorn and Aloe Vera. Hope it will be a good performer, one of two notable brands available here in my country. The other being Proraso (Proraso croap has been very 50/50 so far for me)

And from what i've seen, Muhle and EJ have the same supplier for soaps, and some razors, too. At least the R89/EJ89

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Not long ago, I finished one of the Jagger mug soaps. Aloe Vera. So far as I am aware, they're the same as Muhle in a different box. I do have a Muhle soap too, because Sea Buckthorn is no longer available under the Jagger branding. I have a Jagger Lime and Pomegranate in reserve too.

It was slow to load for the first few shaves, as hard soaps often are, but then it performed admirably. A good reliable no frills mug soap. I havent tried the creams, as they seem quite spendy compared to other options.

 

[Happy Jack]

I don't have any experience of the Muhle products but generally I find no difference between a soap and a cream except the cream is easier to lather. I can get a perfectly good shave with either.

When I travel and weight is important I pack a small tube of shaving cream.

 

[cvac]

I saw the price for the creams, and that was enough for me to choose the hard soap instead. The tube was like 7 bucks more, and from my understanding, the cream doesnt ''expand'' a lot. Probably a lot quicker to finish the cream.

Bought a 3 pack of Sandalwood, Buckthorn and Aloe Vera. Hope it will be a good performer, one of two notable brands available here in my country. The other being Proraso (Proraso croap has been very 50/50 so far for me)

And from what i've seen, Muhle and EJ have the same supplier for soaps, and some razors, too. At least the R89/EJ89

The Sea Buckthorn and Aloe Vera both smell great IMHO. Wouldn't mind trying aftershave splashes of them both at some point. I don't care for their interpretation of Sandalwood as much, but from memory it was not bad.

If you do have trouble lathering the soap, one thing you can try is growing out your facial hair for 2-3 days, then aggressively rubbing the puck on your face like a shave stick, then lathering up.

One issue I had is that the Aloe soap I had in the little plastic container would spin around in circles as it's undersized for the container it came with. I ended up chopping up the soap into tiny pieces and mashed it into the plastic bowl to make it easier to deal with.

My other one came in a wood bowl and doesn't have that problem.

Note these aren't any sort of standardized pucks so if you got them as refills with no container you may have to grate or chop them up to get them to fit whatever container you have. Do not attempt to melt them in the microwave. They are hard milled pucks and that won't work - you'll just ruin them.

Anyway, good luck.

 

[WetShaveVet]

Agree, they're good. Maybe the soaps are a little more work but not much.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

One issue I had is that the Aloe soap I had in the little plastic container would spin around in circles as it's undersized for the container it came with. I ended up chopping up the soap into tiny pieces and mashed it into the plastic bowl to make it easier to deal with.

I use a pewter soap dish, and that had the same problem. I simply turned the puck upside down. Problem solved.

 

[cvac]

I use a pewter soap dish, and that had the same problem. I simply turned the puck upside down. Problem solved.

Pretty sure I tried that with the plastic travel container. No dice, had to chop it up.

 

[Trollky]

I really like the Muhle Aloe Vera puck. Even with a soft badger it is easy to load the brush and once applied to the face I only need to add water 2 or 3 times to build a nice lather. Paired with the Grapefruit & Mint aftershave it is a great combo.

 

[JAHE]

Having to decide between the puck and the cream my vote goes to the cream. Very easy to lather, the scents are nice. A little dollop is all it takes for a three pass shave.

 

[Brutus]

Title says all. Does anyone know which one performs better? I would like cream, to have an option of faster shaving. But if the soaps perform better, i'd just get the soap

-Scent
-Slickness
-Ease of use
-How long does it last

Anyone tried both?? Sale going on today )

To answer your questions; I only can speak for the four soaps as, given a choice, I tend to prefer shaving soaps over creams.

A few years back, they used to be pretty average and I did not re-stock when I had used them up.
When Mühle had a sale recently, I picked up the soaps again including the newly introduced Grapefruit & Mint variety. Their Sea Buckthorn is also fairly unique and is IMO the main attraction in their range, Sandalwood is pleasant, as is Aloe Vera, and their Mint & Grapefruit is quite refreshing

Compared to a few years ago, Mühle shaving soaps seem to have improved, now I rate them as “good” but not quite top tier.
Scents are pleasant, but like many European shaving products fairly light.
Slickness is good, sufficient for the job, but not outstanding.
The soaps are easy to lather, which is helped by the cleverly designed porcelain bowl that Mühle offers with the soaps. That also explains the unusual grooves at the bottom of the puck.
I can’t say how long they last, as I rotate among several soaps and don’t keep track. Every shaver also has his own technique (e.g. I load my brush at least twice during a shave and never felt the need to stretch a single load over an entire shave.) and the soap pucks are relatively small. It is a hard soap though, so it seems to me they are on par with similarly sized the Haslinger pucks.


Hope this helps…


B.