My preference for creams

[Leo501]

I'm in my 5th month of DE/wet shaving and have 7 soap products (1 stick, 2 creams, 4 soaps/croaps).

It's now clear to me that creams are at the top of the performance list for me- Proraso Green and Geo F Trumper Spanish Leather.

Anyone else share my preference for creams over soaps/croaps/sticks (this might be a biased group LOL)?

With 2 tubes, I'll have to try cream in the tubs. I'll definitely be buying more GFT. And future Proraso purchases will be in the tube. What else should I try? Open to old school and new artisans, but only creams for brushes.

 

[ackvil]

I used creams most of the time for many years. However, when I bought some quality badger brushes my soaps began to have the most favorite status.

 

[IMightBeWrong]

Soaps sometimes dry my skin out even in spite of using a moisturizer. Good creams are often less drying for me. This is a generalization, though. There are some great soaps too.

 

[karacha]

If you like creams, you will probably enjoy ToBS offerings.

 

[MntnMan62]

I'm in my 5th month of DE/wet shaving and have 7 soap products (1 stick, 2 creams, 4 soaps/croaps).

It's now clear to me that creams are at the top of the performance list for me- Proraso Green and Geo F Trumper Spanish Leather.

Anyone else share my preference for creams over soaps/croaps/sticks (this might be a biased group LOL)?

With 2 tubes, I'll have to try cream in the tubs. I'll definitely be buying more GFT. And future Proraso purchases will be in the tube. What else should I try? Open to old school and new artisans, but only creams for brushes.

Interesting. When I first started shaving with a double edge, brush and good software I basically only used creams. The reason for this was I felt the process of working up a good lather from a soap seemed daunting to me. So I built up a nice collection of creams. Lots of TOBS, Proraso and Musgo Real. Then I decided I'd try a soap. And once I saw how relatively easy it was to work up a nice lather with soap, I then went on a buying spree of soaps. Now, I have to say that after 4 years at this hobby I prefer the performance of soaps. I just find them to be slicker and have better post shave feel. I still use creams but I really love my soaps. I don't see any difference between creams in a tubs and tubes. Same stuff as far as I'm concerned. And with all my creams in tubs I use a small spoon to scoop out what I need for each shave. I won't load a cream onto a brush from the tub like I do with soaps because I dont' want to introduce more water than there already is. I open the tub, scoop out an almond sized dollop and recover the tub. For soaps I load from the tub and then let the soap sit for 24 hours uncovered to dry out before putting the cover back on to put away until it is used next.

As for what you should try, I suggest Musgo Real. It is one of my favorite creams. The scents are awesome. I much prefer Musgo Real, any scent, over the four normal Proraso creams. And TOBS is great and reasonably priced. My favorite scents are Sandalwood, Almond, Grapefruit, Eton College.

 

[StAnger667]

Palmolive cream.

 

[ajkel64]

Some of our esteemed Vendors on the forum sell creams. Captain’s Choice sells some creams and soaps in small sample packs. Ideal for trying them to see if you like them. Have a look in the Vendor Forum and see what you think.

 

[steveclarkus]

I use both soaps and creams but lean toward creams. Palmolive Classic seems about as good as any and it is quite inexpensive as well.

 

[Mar1978]

The Proraso green is one of my top performing creams as well.

 

[redrako]

Like Jim (Ackvil), I've largely moved on from creams to soaps. Having said that there are numerous excellent shave creams. Many folks have mentioned TOBS, others in that category would be D.R. Harris, Geo. F Trumper. In the budget category, any LEA creams, Palmolive, Nivea or Speick are all terrific creams. If you like Proraso, Proraso Blue is terrific. In the esoteric category, I like Bulgarian Kapo (available on Flea Bay).

 

[Aldwyn]

Like a lot of folks, I started off with creams but moved to soaps as the years went by. There days, its all soap save one stallwort that I absolutly love: La Toja. I use it here at home a lot, and is the the stuff I take with me when I travel. Dirt cheap, smells awesome, and just the perfect cream!

 

[Borderboss]

I've always used creams over the years and never felt the need to look at soaps. I use TOBS and T&H in tubs primarily, with the occasional tube of something that catches my eye from time to time.

 

[Demolition]

Currently, I have a mix of soaps (Tabac, Arko, Proraso, Omega, Williams) and creams (Nivea Sensitive, Nivea Regular, Gillette Pure, LEA Classic, Pacific Shaving Company) in the medicine cabinet. Over time, I've gravitated towards the cheapest examples in either camp: Nivea Sensitive and Williams.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd lean towards the Nivea Sensitive cream. I just get better results with it than anything else in my stable.

 

[dan86]

I started DE shaving and trying out superior shaving products in 2013 and creams still have the edge for me. However, I have found some excellent soaps and croaps over the last 2-3 years in particular that I now use more frequently than creams in my collection, which I used to use several times a month.

You mentioned buying more GF Trumper creams. Could I recommend the violet if you can get hold of it? For one thing look at this colour:

It’s a really nice scent too.

I echo @MntnMan62’s suggestion of Musgo Real. I’ve only tried the Oakmoss one so far but it’s an intriguing scent - I find it quite refreshing - and you only need a small amount to get a lot of lather.

For the same reasons I’d also recommend trying Cyril R Salter creams, which often don’t get as many nods as TOBS. Salter’s scent range isn’t as wide but they have some interesting ones, particularly the French Vetiver. Personally I prefer Salter’s Indian Sandalwood to TOBS - both fine creams but the Salter Sandalwood scent is more to my taste. I’ve yet to compare TOBS Peppermint to Salter’s Fresh Mint cream, which came first, but Salter’s Fresh Mint is great for the summer months. I used to use Original Source mint shaving gel and didn’t think I’d ever find a shaving product I’d prefer: Salter’s Fresh Mint managed to blow it out of the water for me. The Wild Rose cream in the range smells almost exactly like a rose in my Mother’s garden.

D R Harris creams are also worth a try.

 

[Scrape&Splash]

It's a tad pricey, but Truefitt & Hill West Indian Lime is a sublime shaving cream. If you like fresh citrus, it's as good as it gets.

West Indian Limes Shaving Cream Tube

Our glycerin-based shaving creams are an excellent way to achieve an incredibly close, yet comfortable shave. Although not required, we recommend using one of our badger haired shaving brushes for the optimal shaving experience. Scent: A refreshing, effervescent and zesty fragrance, in which...

www.truefittandhill.com

Or my standby - the one - the only - Palmolive shave cream & a thanks to PaulH for turning me on to it:

 

[Roy]

Try the pastes from Meißner. Great and unusual scents and extremely nice for sensitive skin. A joy to use, bowl or face.

 

[RookieGuy]

I've tried a couple different soaps and they all 3 dried my face horribly. And it's not just my shaving areas either. If I take a shower using a bar of soap, I'd better run to some lotion as soon as I dry off or it's bad times for Rookie. So it's been creams for me.

As far as creams, the 2 I've used have both been good for different reasons. Art of Shaving unscented is great because it lathers from a hard stare and stern words. My second biggest complaint (#1 being price) is that when it gets in my beard it does not want to wash out. Bayberry Coast Bay Rum cream is my daily favorite. Love love love the scent (more cinnamon than clove). It doesn't lather as quickly as AoS, but that's a bit like saying my Dodge Charger doesn't get to 60 as fast as my Kawasaki Ninja.

But I'd recommend anything you can get in a sample. If you like the way it feels, then you're chasing scents. PIFs and trades are another good way. Once the April GRUME is over, that's my plan.

 

[dan86]

It's a tad pricey, but Truefitt & Hill West Indian Lime is a sublime shaving cream. If you like fresh citrus, it's as good as it gets.

West Indian Limes Shaving Cream Tube

Our glycerin-based shaving creams are an excellent way to achieve an incredibly close, yet comfortable shave. Although not required, we recommend using one of our badger haired shaving brushes for the optimal shaving experience. Scent: A refreshing, effervescent and zesty fragrance, in which...

www.truefittandhill.com

Or my standby - the one - the only - Palmolive shave cream & a thanks to PaulH for turning me on to it:

They’re both great creams. The Truefitt & Hill West Indian Limes is the closest I’ve smelled to a real lime although it does also remind me of lime cordial.

I’d already bought a number of Palmolive Classic creams as they were easily obtainable in supermarkets for bargain prices, but then I saw Mr H using the Palmolive menthol cream in a video and had to try it: in my opinion the menthol is even nicer than the Classic with palm extract.

 

[chinmusic82]

I’ve used and completed several T&H creams. They were all excellent. Very expensive for me though and for that reason only I perhaps will not buy them again. The West Indian limes is one of the best lime scented creams made in my opinion too.

Plenty of great choices given already OP. I’ll add that there are many creams made from all over the world that you can slowly try. But for artisan cream/ soft soap I would stick with USA, UK and Italian made products.

Have fun

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I use TOBS Creams exclusively. I have a puck of MWF that I’m going to try some week, but I keep putting it off.