Proraso used to be the underdog that could take on all comers and win 95% of the time, 100% of the time in summer!The only soaps/creams in my 20 or so arsenal that could beat it by a small margin are MWF and SMN.
Proraso used to stand out from the crowd with its great refreshing, cooling and clean feeling. Now it just falls into the middle ground, sure the performance is there but it’s not better, just different to the old one. Standing in a light summer breeze after a shave with the old Proraso was one of the little joys in life, that has gone and now we have a boring cream that wants to be a soft soap appealing to the sensitive type. Old Proraso was much more refreshing!
Old Proraso had that punch in the face menthol, eucalyptus, cool, fresh feel that the new one lacks completely. Sure you can just smell the menthol and a little eucalyptus in the new one and when lathering (different to the old smell btw) but that’s where it ends. When the shave is over it’s just another soap/cream, Proraso doesn’t distinguish itself from the crowd anymore!
The lather itself is soft, fluffy and slightly airy, is cleaned off the face way too easily with a razor pass (where the old was hard to wipe off with the pass of the razor) feels thin/light when face lathering, doesn’t hold water on the face like the old one used to, feels more like a cream and isn’t so forgiving like the old one with water ratio (not that I use a lot of water), in other words it breaks down much quicker. FYI, I put a little water on soap for 10 min, soak brush for at least 10 min, squeeze and shake out water, throw water from soap, load for 40-60sec, wet face, face lather and dip tips lightly maybe 2-4 times to build lather. Also the new Proraso isn’t as confidence inspiring in the cushioning department as the old one, sure it has the slip but not the cushion and it’s more a cream slip than a soap one. Because the lather is light I feel like I have to tread more carefully with the blade. Even when loading the brush it feels more light and airy and this was an early sign for me that things didn’t change for the better. The shave itself has become much less satisfying! If I can’t dig in with the blade to a certain extent (I’m not talking 3000ft of pressure) and have to be careful all the time then the shave is less satisfying.
On the packaging, sure it looks fancy but is that what Proraso is or was or wants to be? I feel Proraso after comments on this site and others like it’s cheap and has sodium laurel sulphate made Proraso think they had to change and with that change have ruined one of the best soaps ever made. What about the 95% of people who never had a problem and didn’t think Proraso as cheap (price wise maybe but that hasn’t changed) but high quality and a soap that stood out from the crowd for a good price. SLS in Proraso must have been so low because it used to give me great after skin care or sls doesn’t matter? I’m sure those people who complained about sls in Proraso would find something wrong with most soaps instead of learning to lather properly and enjoy the old Proraso for what it was. I used to have issues with soaps before I learned to lather properly, MWF being one of them and blamed possibly lanolin when it was my lathering all the time, now no soap in my arsenal gives me dramas where before just the smell would make my face turn red! Even if they just changed the packaging to what it is now and not the ingredients I think Proraso is still being a bit pretentious? I thought the old packaging was very cool retro in a kind of way and very understated. The new label looks fancy and not something very historical at all and would feel out of place in an antiquated picture. The packaging sort of makes it feel more expensive so you expect something that after the shave doesn’t happen which makes it a bit of a letdown. Only in aftershave skin care does the new one still carry over the traits although in a different way.
Is it just the taking out of the parabens and sls that has made it feel vastly different, I’m no chemist but I think they’ve done more than just mentioned?
What Proraso should have done is keep the old green soap as is, the new green formula should have been the new white soap for the sensitive types with a slightly different scent with maybe less menthol and brought out a red with lanolin, then Proraso would have all the bases covered. To mess around with a classic is like BMW screwing up the 3 series sedan.
I don’t understand people who have reviewed the new Proraso soap claiming it hasn’t changed much, I couldn’t disagree more. My favourite is only a shadow of its former self prancing around in a nice jacket, take the jacket off and it’s just another boring cream pretending be a soap. It just doesn’t stand out anymore. Doesn’t even feel Italian anymore, there’s no flair except the packaging. Proraso used to be the little Alfa with a Ferrari engine under the bonnet that could keep up with the Bmw’s, Mercs and Astons and even beat them, now it’s trying to be a Ferrari, but instead is just a replica without the engine and it’s a replica with a 40kw boring Toyota hybrid of an engine!
Will people be talking about whole Proraso line up like they used to be, I think not. First time I used the old Proraso soap I went wow, cool, fresh, clean, Italian, great scent (new one lacks the depth), great aftershave skin care at a fair price. There’s definitely no wow in the new one! It pains me greatly to say all this and I just hope this great brand doesn’t fade into mediocrity. Just look how highly regarded the whole Proraso line up was around the world and like the old saying goes, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it!
Kenno slams his fist on the table and shouts out, “bring back the old Proraso”.
Mama mia, I just hope they keep their hands off Santa Maria Novella.
Proraso used to stand out from the crowd with its great refreshing, cooling and clean feeling. Now it just falls into the middle ground, sure the performance is there but it’s not better, just different to the old one. Standing in a light summer breeze after a shave with the old Proraso was one of the little joys in life, that has gone and now we have a boring cream that wants to be a soft soap appealing to the sensitive type. Old Proraso was much more refreshing!
Old Proraso had that punch in the face menthol, eucalyptus, cool, fresh feel that the new one lacks completely. Sure you can just smell the menthol and a little eucalyptus in the new one and when lathering (different to the old smell btw) but that’s where it ends. When the shave is over it’s just another soap/cream, Proraso doesn’t distinguish itself from the crowd anymore!
The lather itself is soft, fluffy and slightly airy, is cleaned off the face way too easily with a razor pass (where the old was hard to wipe off with the pass of the razor) feels thin/light when face lathering, doesn’t hold water on the face like the old one used to, feels more like a cream and isn’t so forgiving like the old one with water ratio (not that I use a lot of water), in other words it breaks down much quicker. FYI, I put a little water on soap for 10 min, soak brush for at least 10 min, squeeze and shake out water, throw water from soap, load for 40-60sec, wet face, face lather and dip tips lightly maybe 2-4 times to build lather. Also the new Proraso isn’t as confidence inspiring in the cushioning department as the old one, sure it has the slip but not the cushion and it’s more a cream slip than a soap one. Because the lather is light I feel like I have to tread more carefully with the blade. Even when loading the brush it feels more light and airy and this was an early sign for me that things didn’t change for the better. The shave itself has become much less satisfying! If I can’t dig in with the blade to a certain extent (I’m not talking 3000ft of pressure) and have to be careful all the time then the shave is less satisfying.
On the packaging, sure it looks fancy but is that what Proraso is or was or wants to be? I feel Proraso after comments on this site and others like it’s cheap and has sodium laurel sulphate made Proraso think they had to change and with that change have ruined one of the best soaps ever made. What about the 95% of people who never had a problem and didn’t think Proraso as cheap (price wise maybe but that hasn’t changed) but high quality and a soap that stood out from the crowd for a good price. SLS in Proraso must have been so low because it used to give me great after skin care or sls doesn’t matter? I’m sure those people who complained about sls in Proraso would find something wrong with most soaps instead of learning to lather properly and enjoy the old Proraso for what it was. I used to have issues with soaps before I learned to lather properly, MWF being one of them and blamed possibly lanolin when it was my lathering all the time, now no soap in my arsenal gives me dramas where before just the smell would make my face turn red! Even if they just changed the packaging to what it is now and not the ingredients I think Proraso is still being a bit pretentious? I thought the old packaging was very cool retro in a kind of way and very understated. The new label looks fancy and not something very historical at all and would feel out of place in an antiquated picture. The packaging sort of makes it feel more expensive so you expect something that after the shave doesn’t happen which makes it a bit of a letdown. Only in aftershave skin care does the new one still carry over the traits although in a different way.
Is it just the taking out of the parabens and sls that has made it feel vastly different, I’m no chemist but I think they’ve done more than just mentioned?
What Proraso should have done is keep the old green soap as is, the new green formula should have been the new white soap for the sensitive types with a slightly different scent with maybe less menthol and brought out a red with lanolin, then Proraso would have all the bases covered. To mess around with a classic is like BMW screwing up the 3 series sedan.
I don’t understand people who have reviewed the new Proraso soap claiming it hasn’t changed much, I couldn’t disagree more. My favourite is only a shadow of its former self prancing around in a nice jacket, take the jacket off and it’s just another boring cream pretending be a soap. It just doesn’t stand out anymore. Doesn’t even feel Italian anymore, there’s no flair except the packaging. Proraso used to be the little Alfa with a Ferrari engine under the bonnet that could keep up with the Bmw’s, Mercs and Astons and even beat them, now it’s trying to be a Ferrari, but instead is just a replica without the engine and it’s a replica with a 40kw boring Toyota hybrid of an engine!
Will people be talking about whole Proraso line up like they used to be, I think not. First time I used the old Proraso soap I went wow, cool, fresh, clean, Italian, great scent (new one lacks the depth), great aftershave skin care at a fair price. There’s definitely no wow in the new one! It pains me greatly to say all this and I just hope this great brand doesn’t fade into mediocrity. Just look how highly regarded the whole Proraso line up was around the world and like the old saying goes, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it!
Kenno slams his fist on the table and shouts out, “bring back the old Proraso”.
Mama mia, I just hope they keep their hands off Santa Maria Novella.
Last edited:
