newbie question AOS soaps vs others?

[seanfhaynes]

I'm almost to the end of my art of shaving soap and I am wondering if they are worth the price. What is a good quality alternative to try?
is there better product out there? or should I just stick to what works?

Edit: I really don't mind the price if if there is something in the same price range that I might like better.

I have heard that they use the essential oils and that may make it better... is that true?

 

[pdillon]

Spend some time looking around this forum and you will have no shortage of soaps to try. Generally, AOS is thought of as top notch. Did you enjoy it? If you tell others what you like/dislike about it, they might be able to make specific recommendations.

Essential oils (as opposed to fragrance oils) refers to how they perfume the soap. I think it only makes a difference for the scent and essential oils tend to cause less irritation/allergic reactions. I don't think it makes a difference for soap performance, but I could be wrong about.

 

[Teddyboy]

There is absolutely no need to spend $50 on a great soap. The following are widely accepted on BB as being top notch products for less money. For example:

1] Mike's Natural Soaps - $11
2] RazoRock - most about $6-10, some higher. Checkout, Classic, Fresco, S. Maria, or R-160.
3] Simpsons Luxury Shaving Cream - $25
4] Mama Bears - about $12
5] Mystic Water - about $12
6] Speick Shaving Stick - $6
7] Cella - $12 for red tub

AOS is a great place to start--now have some fun and save some buckaroos.

 

[Rattray]

Mitchells Wool Fat Soap and I Coloniali Soap

 

[PMT]

There is absolutely no need to spend $50 on a great soap. The following are widely accepted on BB as being top notch products for less money. For example:

1] Mike's Natural Soaps - $11
2] RazoRock - most about $6-10, some higher. Checkout, Classic, Fresco, S. Maria, or R-160.
3] Simpsons Luxury Shaving Cream - $25
4] Mama Bears - about $12
5] Mystic Water - about $12
6] Speick Shaving Stick - $6
7] Cella - $12 for red tub

AOS is a great place to start--now have some fun and save some buckaroos.

+1 on Mike's, I too ran out of my VDH starter and now use Mike's coconut, may stick with it as I love all things Hawaii!

 

[Neffarious]

La Toja Shaving Soap

Tabac shaving soap

under $10 for a stick and 15 for a puck.

 

[blzrfn]

I think before anybody can help point you in the right direction you should tell us what you liked or didn't like about the AOS soap. Others that have similar experiences to yours could then tell you what they have tried that worked better. If you are truly happy with AOS and don't mind the price then buy a refill.

Without this information you will just have another thread where everybody just lists their favorite soaps (try RazoRock and Queen Charlotte!)

 

[Dusty1]

Ahh, no cabinet would be complete without Tabac! Great classic soap.

 

[seanfhaynes]

I think before anybody can help point you in the right direction you should tell us what you liked or didn't like about the AOS soap. Others that have similar experiences to yours could then tell you what they have tried that worked better. If you are truly happy with AOS and don't mind the price then buy a refill.

Without this information you will just have another thread where everybody just lists their favorite soaps (try RazoRock and Queen Charlotte!)

Thank you everyone for your input... The AOS soap being my first (and only) soap that I have tried I'm not exactly sure what I liked/don't like about it .... the lavender scent is mild/soapy smelling but that's about my only complaint. I think I'll give a few soaps from this list a try and see what I like and don't like and go from there. I just didn't want to get something that is known to be sub par ....

so I guess the question should be more like what soaps should I stay away from? I'm looking for something that is going to be comparable or better than the AOS for sensitive skin and a good lavender scent

 

[Galengwath]

D.R. Harris is certainly worth a look. Wonderfully performing soaps with much better fragrances, IMO, than AOS.

 

[mekler]

If you want to try out different soaps I suggest placing an order with Garry, that way you don't need to shell out a bunch of money.

 

[mdevine]

I've tried about twenty different soaps, and I'm finally getting near the bottom of about half of them. This weekend, I decided to reorder a couple of pucks of my best performers. I ended up getting a puck of AoS Lavender and a puck of AoS Sandalwood. My total cost for the two refill pucks, including shipping, was $41. Given how long they last, I feel they are worth that. I don't think I can justify paying the full retail cost of $30/puck. I find that its combination of a dense, slick lather makes it the best performer of those soaps that are still available. I personally don't like soft soaps and glycerine based soaps as well as the other hard soaps. For half the price of AoS, Mike's and Tabac perform nearly as we'll. Several shave sticks are very good products and true bargains. You can pick up sticks of Arko, Palmolive, Speick and La Toja for around what it costs for a single AoS puck. I think that this is a way to try a handful of excellent soaps. If money is no object, D.R.Harris and Martin de Candre are outstanding, but for me, AoS still edges them out.

Mike

 

[Jefebadskin]

I'd buy AoS as your go to if you like the lavender, then buy everything lavender scented to experiment.

 

[texaninkc]

I was introduced to wet-shaving when I stopped by an AOS store at the mall in Arlington VA. I used AOS products for about 2 years before I came upon B&B. I was a one-product guy and at the time very happy with what I was getting from AOS products. Once on B&B I was exposed to many different products available. Being the hoarder that I am I was picking things up left and right. Some I liked and kept, the ones I didn't I've sold or in the process of potentially selling. I like to boast that I have 62 soaps in my rotation but half are backups and half of that are of unique brands. If money is not an issue, the experiment is definitely a lot of fun. I enjoy figuring out what I like. And perhaps it's because I've had more experience with AOS products over others, but AOS is definitely in my top 4 soaps because it has great performance. As you'll learn through reading, this is all very subjective. Ultimately, there really is only one way to find out what you think is best and if YOU could justify it's cost: trying it yourself. I love AOS, think it's better than a lot of the other stuff I've tried (Yardley, P160, MdC are only three I prefer more than this), and would buy a refill puck because I think it's that good.

If you already have a bowl, the refill pucks at 26 a piece aren't bad at all. If you don't have a bowl, there are plenty of ideas for making things into shaving bowls. Good luck as you continue your search, but you've started out with some of the best stuff around.

 

[mlmartinet]

I started with the AoS cream and I loved it but not the price so I went back to canned goo. Then on a whim I bought some VDH deluxe and I love it. Not much smell to it that is what I did miss about the AoS but a quick splash of Pinaud in the morning and I am over it.

 

[lt114]

I'll take AoS, or its brother C&S, over just about anything else.

 

[Go West Young Man]

I think AoS is one of the best soaps available.
I also think paying full price for it is a bad idea, since soaps that are 90% as good sell for 50% as much.
Get on their mailing list for coupons, at $10 off it becomes a whole different equation!

 

[takeshi]

I'm almost to the end of my art of shaving soap and I am wondering if they are worth the price. What is a good quality alternative to try?
is there better product out there? or should I just stick to what works?

You need to try what's out there to answer your question. What's worth it or good is subjective/YMMV (on any topic -- not just soaps or wetshaving). Even if another person thinks soap X is worth it and good that doesn't mean that you will. Even if you find other people that like AOS that doesn't mean that you'll like the same soaps that they will. For example, AOS is among my favorites with DR Harris and MDC but you'll find plenty think one or more of those three are not worth it for varying reasons.

Enjoy the journey and trying things out. It's all part of the experience.

so I guess the question should be more like what soaps should I stay away from?

Again, subjective. Without your feedback we can't even attempt to answer this. As stated above, we need to know what you like and what you don't like about the soaps you've used to make recommendations for you. Favorites and what to avoid are determined based on your first hand experiences with the options.

Nothing here is one-size-fits-all. It's why YMMV comes up so much. You can try the typical tactic of going with the popular options but keep in mind that popular and best for you are two entirely different things.

 

[jjgold]

Sandalwood is intoxicating.

 

[Foyle]

I have a puck of the Lemon and I really like it, but I like Proraso just as much if not better. Proraso costs about $10 a tub. There are plenty of other great performing soaps for less money, but if you like AOS I see no reason not to keep using it.