New shaving soap question

[aja1732]

Hey all,

I got into DE shaving about 8 months ago with a old Gilette Tech, with Jack Blake shaving cream and AoS brush that works great. However I've been getting bored of the same old thing, so I am looking at a soap to use to provide a new experience and change things up. The only thing is I have no idea where to start with the different fragrances, name brands etc etc. The current cream does a fantastic job with lathering and giving close smooth shaves, so something just as good if not better. When it comes to the smell, well when I look at all the almond, lavender and other fragrances I'm not sure what I am really going to get out of it as in what marzipan or other will truly smell like. So any advice to start on a good soap? Price really doesn't have a bearing on what I get but I would rather not spend a crazy amount of money, if you know what I mean.


Thanks in advance!

 

[noahpictures]

I value performance over scent so here are my suggestions:

Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF) neutral, mild soapy scent with great performance (slick, protective performance)
Tabac (soap or shave stick) masculine scent (leather, tobacco...) great performance as above
Mike's Natural Shaving Soaps (bars or pucks in metal tins) great performance with many awesome scents. And Made in the USA by B&B's own.

Those are my top three performing soaps.

 

[jmsodpc]

I almost have the same list.

Mwf
Mike's
Dr Harris

 

[Black Adder]

I agree with the Mitchell's. Tabac is good, too.

You might want to give the Italian classics a go. Proraso, Cella, and Valobra are all excellent soft soaps that lather like crazy, are very slick, and give a real "Old School" cachet to your shave. They seem to last a long time, and usually aren't very expensive. They've never disappointed me.

Don

 

[david1201]

Pick up some samples from Mike's and from Mystic Water. Razorock croaps are amazing too!

 

[Tannhauser]

The top two affordable soaps I would most recommend are Tabac and Cella. Some people, for whatever reasons these unfortunate souls claim, do not like the smell of Tabac, so that could be an issue for you.

 

[aja1732]

First off I want to thank everybody for their helpful replies. I decided to go a little crazy and get a couple different options:

Razorock Cacao, Classic, and Don Marco.

Also got some MWF based on everybody's comments.

And then decided what good are new soaps without a new razor with blades to test them. So I bought a Razorock TTO Mirror Pole finish and some Astra blades since I'm currently using cheap Walgreens blades, that do surprisingly well IMO.

Again thank you everybody for your recommendations and I will continue to lurk around and find more to buy in the coming months I'm sure!

 

[JerYnkFan]

I've been using Razorock Cacao shaving cream soap and just got in Fresco. You'll are going love it. SO easy to lather.

 

[attime6]

Mike's Natural Soaps (I have the Barbershop which has a very "clean" smell to it.)
Arko (Dirt cheap and easy to lather)
Mitchell's Wool Fat (A truly amazing soap)
Proraso (A must have for any wet shaver IMO)

 

[HisDukeNess]

I've used a couple that were mentioned and they are top performers, but my soap of choice (based on scent) is a local soap shop. Great hand made soap with so many scents made with top notch essential oils. it took some time to learn how to get a good lather from it. it isn't a "shaving soap" per-say, But I got it down now tho. I probably won't use any other soap again.
I guess what I'm saying is you can always go with the no brainers, MWF, poraso, tabac, ect... But see if you can find a local shop and give it a try...

 

[aja1732]

I would but Indianapolis unfortunately doesn't have very many, if any at all, places that even cater to this particular type of activity. I would totally love to get in on some of that action.

 

[HisDukeNess]

Well if you wanna check them out then Oregon Soap Shoppe.
http://oregonsoapshoppe.com/
The lady that owns the store is awesome... She also has shave mugs that you may have to call about... don't know if she has them on line. My mug is in lavender, and I also shave with the square bars too...
It's a face lather soap. Keep your shave brush damp but not wet, keep your face wet to produce the lather...

 

[aja1732]

So the soaps themselves are normal soaps just shop made, and you found how to lather with them well enough to shave? They have tons of scents and prices look solid. Might just have try them out as well. Thanks for link!

 

[HisDukeNess]

I shower with it, wash my hair with it, and shave with it... No problem.
My scent of choice is lavender, King Kong, and sandalwood

 

[aja1732]

I've been using Razorock Cacao shaving cream soap and just got in Fresco. You'll are going love it. SO easy to lather.

Have you tried the Fresco yet? I was torn in between the classic and fresco. Also what does the cacao truly smell like?