I am near to being heart broken about Henkel's stupid decision to stop making La Toja shaving cream. I particularly like the performance of the Sensitive. Now, I find myself having to search for a replacement.
I started by being given a bar of Ach Brito Mogno (Not a cream, I know). I bought samples of Vitos Eucalyptus and LEA cream. I also bought a tube of Ach Brito Lavanda cream and a sample of Stirling Scot Pine Sheep (not a cream, I know). I also have a stick of Arko and a tub. I have the Speick stick but the reformulation is so bad it is not in consideration. These are the ones I have started with. I am trying to find something inexpensive, like La Toja, that still performs as good as La Toja. I have expensive soaps that are as good or better, but that is not what i am after. I want something excellent and cost effective.
I started by shaving two days with La Toja Sensitive shave cream as a base of comparison. I put Arko to the test. It was about what one would expect from Arko. There was decent, but not great cushion, and there was some slickness and some residual slickness. However, it was not as good as La Toja (I also have sticks of this). The smell is okay, but not great. it smells like old fashioned bath soap or detergent.
Then, I lathered up the Mogno. I might be able to roll some of this into a tube, but I pressed it into a round jar by cutting the corners of the square bar. I wet my brush as normal, shook it out three times, as usual, and loaded the brush. I moved to my face to build the lather. This stuff lathers really well. It came up quickly, rich and thick.
However, it wasn't as good a performer as the La Toja. The residual slickness just wasn't there, but there was good enough cushion. I don't care much for the smell. I don't hate it, but it is overall too strong for my taste.
On the next shave, I tried the Vitos Eucalyptus. This is a tallow soap with lanolin. I had high hopes for this one. It lathered up fast and thick. It seemed a little dry to me. I addd water but that didn't change my thinking that it looked too dry. I shaved and immediately hated it. This soap does not have enough cushion for a straight razor. It has almost no residual slickness. It was so bad that I washed it off and relathered with the LEA cream. That was immediately better though not as good as La Toja. I was so disappointed after having high hopes for a good tallow soap. My face on one side is a slight bit raw from shaving with Vitos before I washed it off. Arko is better.
That's where things stand, today. Tomorrow and the next day I will try the other two.
I started by being given a bar of Ach Brito Mogno (Not a cream, I know). I bought samples of Vitos Eucalyptus and LEA cream. I also bought a tube of Ach Brito Lavanda cream and a sample of Stirling Scot Pine Sheep (not a cream, I know). I also have a stick of Arko and a tub. I have the Speick stick but the reformulation is so bad it is not in consideration. These are the ones I have started with. I am trying to find something inexpensive, like La Toja, that still performs as good as La Toja. I have expensive soaps that are as good or better, but that is not what i am after. I want something excellent and cost effective.
I started by shaving two days with La Toja Sensitive shave cream as a base of comparison. I put Arko to the test. It was about what one would expect from Arko. There was decent, but not great cushion, and there was some slickness and some residual slickness. However, it was not as good as La Toja (I also have sticks of this). The smell is okay, but not great. it smells like old fashioned bath soap or detergent.
Then, I lathered up the Mogno. I might be able to roll some of this into a tube, but I pressed it into a round jar by cutting the corners of the square bar. I wet my brush as normal, shook it out three times, as usual, and loaded the brush. I moved to my face to build the lather. This stuff lathers really well. It came up quickly, rich and thick.
However, it wasn't as good a performer as the La Toja. The residual slickness just wasn't there, but there was good enough cushion. I don't care much for the smell. I don't hate it, but it is overall too strong for my taste.
On the next shave, I tried the Vitos Eucalyptus. This is a tallow soap with lanolin. I had high hopes for this one. It lathered up fast and thick. It seemed a little dry to me. I addd water but that didn't change my thinking that it looked too dry. I shaved and immediately hated it. This soap does not have enough cushion for a straight razor. It has almost no residual slickness. It was so bad that I washed it off and relathered with the LEA cream. That was immediately better though not as good as La Toja. I was so disappointed after having high hopes for a good tallow soap. My face on one side is a slight bit raw from shaving with Vitos before I washed it off. Arko is better.
That's where things stand, today. Tomorrow and the next day I will try the other two.
