Pre de Provence -- a short review

[brucered]

Well, I will give it one more shot tonight. I'll load my favorite badger brush for a full 2 minutes if that's what it takes. Or, should I use boar? I face lather only these days, but will use a bowl again if that is recommended. I'm willing to give it another fair shot. I have very soft water, with few minerals in it. So, lets see...

I spent an entire year 3017ing (link to my review earlier).

I could only get it to lather to my standards, with a synthetic. Face lather (as I always do) but it didn't take 2 minutes of loading. Loaded with a shaken out brush and added water slowly as needed, usually during the face lather process.

Once dialed in, it's a nice soap. Water hardness plays a huge role in how easy some soaps are to lather for people as well.

 

[bmiller3230]

It's also heavily scented, usage is higher and not as good a soap.

Use what you like.

It is certainly not more heavily scented than #63 nor bergamot & thyme, and is a better soap overall (in terms of quality of lather [think Greek yogurt like], and initial and residual slickness).

Cella is a croap, but if you are needing to load PdP for more than 30 to 45 seconds, I doubt usage is higher. I load croaps for 10, maybe 15 seconds, 20 max, depending on the weather and when I last used it

 

[bmiller3230]

I spend an entire year 3017ing (link to my review earlier).

I could only get it to lather to my standards, with a synthetic. Face lather (as I always do) but it didn't take 2 minutes of loading. Loaded with a shaken out brush and added water slowly as needed, usually during the face lather process.

Once dialed in, it's a nice soap. Water hardness plays a huge role in how easy some soaps are to lather for people as well.

I have a synthetic somewhere (and haven't used it in a long time), but prefer badger. Maybe that is the difference in the experiences posted here

 

[brucered]

It is certainly not more heavily scented than #63 nor bergamot & thyme, and is a better soap overall (in terms of quality of lather [think Greek yogurt like], and initial and residual slickness).

Cella is a croap, but if you are needing to load PdP for more than 30 to 45 seconds, I doubt usage is higher. I load croaps for 10, maybe 15 seconds, 20 max, depending on the weather and when I last used it

If you say so.

3017 a tub of Cella
Then 3017 a puck of PdP.

Report back with your findings. You may very well prefer Cella, many do. I don't think the usage will be up for debate.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Well, I will give it one more shot tonight. I'll load my favorite badger brush for a full 2 minutes if that's what it takes. Or, should I use boar? I face lather only these days, but will use a bowl again if that is recommended. I'm willing to give it another fair shot. I have very soft water, with few minerals in it. So, lets see...

It's likely there's several ways that would work all right. You may need to experiment a bit depending on your equipment. I personally like to use a large boar that is well soaked (Omega Jade). Remove excess water from the brush.

Note I like to take the soap out of the tin because it's a lot easier to load that way. Build an initial soap paste on the tips of the damp brush. It will take a few seconds for the soap to begin forming a paste. I probably load somewhere around 30 seconds, maybe a bit more if needed.

Start face lathering. Add water two or three times gradually. That gives me enogh lather for 2.5 to 3 passes. I like the lather to be somewhat thin, but not runny. More water gives more slickness up to a point.

 

[bmiller3230]

If you say so.

3017 a tub of Cella
Then 3017 a puck of PdP.

Report back with your findings. You may very well prefer Cella, many do. I don't think the usage will be up for debate.

I've never 3017'd anything. They are all in a big rotation--so, you might be right.

 

[bmiller3230]

Though, I could probably happily 3017 a tub of Cella if I had a need to (I don't)--not so much a puck of PdP...

 

[Swistak]

I did not expect my meager review to precipitate such a long conversation.

Take-away points for everyone:
PDP works very well (as well as any shaving soap or cream) once you learn how to use it right.

Take-away points for me:
The scent of 63 is very pleasant, but something about this soap mildly irritates my skin. I would like to try the Bergamot & Thyme scent but suspect that PDP base doesn't sit right with my skin's chemistry.

Possible discoveries:
La Chatelaine soap, reviewed here, appears to be a very similar formula to PDP. It comes in 4 different scents: Sandalwood, Bourbon Vanilla, Moroccan Mint, and Vetyver & Cedar. I would be interested if someone did a direct comparison. The soap was apparently available in grocery stores around Chicago, and is currently sold on La Chatelaine's website and the websites of several boutique-like shops and apothecaries.

@Marco has also said that La Maison Du Savon de Marseille is the same as PDP but made for the European market, with 2 different scent profiles. This is well established; PDP and LMDSM are the same soap base.

 

[sjblon]

If you say so.

3017 a tub of Cella
Then 3017 a puck of PdP.

Report back with your findings. You may very well prefer Cella, many do. I don't think the usage will be up for debate.

The use rates on these two soaps are outliers for me. My use rates for most soft soaps like Cella are around 1.0 g/shave, but Cella is only 0.67 g/shave. My use rates for most hard soaps are around 0.5 g/shave, but it is 0.63 g/shave for PDP. I'm not sure why I experienced what I did, but I was a bit surprised at how few shaves I got out of a PDP puck, considering its long-lasting reputation.

 

[NorthernSoul]

The use rates on these two soaps are outliers for me. My use rates for most soft soaps like Cella are around 1.0 g/shave, but Cella is only 0.67 g/shave. My use rates for most hard soaps are around 0.5 g/shave, but it is 0.63 g/shave for PDP. I'm not sure why I experienced what I did, but I was a bit surprised at how few shaves I got out of a PDP puck, considering its long-lasting reputation.

That would be an unusually low usage rate for Cella Red. People commonly report a 150g tub lasts them around 75 to 100 shaves. That would be closer to 1.5g to 2.0g per shave as a more typical figure.

I'd expect to get somewhere around 200-250 shaves from a 150g tin of PdP. That works out to 0.6g to 0.75g average per shave. Based on those rough estimates, I'd expect a puck of PdP to last around three times longer than a tub of Cella Red.

 

[Swistak]

I suspect many of us here on B&B are obsessed with maximizing: price/quantity ratio, slickness, cushion, etc.. Max Max Max.
Whether or not that's because we are typical men who are obsessed with stats (thinks sports, cars, and economics), or whether it's because some of us are a little OCD (I'll be the first to admit that this is definitely the case with me), I firmly believe that this numbers/comparison mentality obstructs our own personal enjoyment of shaving.

Reminds me of car enthusiast forums where members (typically men) are OBSESSED with hitting some mythical # when it comes to attaining and MAXIMIZING the horsepower of their car's engine. "My mustang is only at 400hp! I wish it were at 425 because that's where the magic starts to happen!" I'm sorry, what? This is nothing short of obsession---it's a mental pathology.

And read this: Who of us actually NEEDS to maximize the # of shaves we get from 1 soap? NONE OF US DO! To "save" $5 over the course of 6 months that we blow away in an instant at the McDonald's drive through? Seriously? We have got to be kidding ourselves here.

We either admit that we are obsessed with maximizing numbers for the sake of some fun achievement, or we admit that we are inordinately obsessed with something minute and pointless. Either we make light of it and admit that we do this just for fun (it's shaving after all), or we admit our strange obsession and take action against it.

Let's work on ourselves. Our coworkers, friends, family, wives and children will love us for it.

 

[1e4]

Reminds me of car enthusiast forums where members (typically men) are OBSESSED with hitting some mythical # when it comes to attaining and MAXIMIZING the horsepower of their car's engine.

Men’s hobby forums are all pretty much the exact same, only substitute the hobby.

 

[NorthernSoul]

I suspect many of us here on B&B are obsessed with maximizing: price/quantity ratio, slickness, cushion, etc.. Max Max Max....

Whether or not that's because we are typical men who are obsessed with stats (thinks sports, cars, and economics), or whether it's because some of us are a little OCD (I'll be the first to admit that this is definitely the case with me), I firmly believe that this numbers/comparison mentality obstructs our own personal enjoyment of shaving...

And read this: Who of us actually NEEDS to maximize the # of shaves we get from 1 soap? NONE OF US DO! To "save" $5 over the course of 6 months that we blow away in an instant at the McDonald's drive through? Seriously? We have got to be kidding ourselves here....

Let's work on ourselves. Our coworkers, friends, family, wives and children will love us for it.

You must not know very many engineers.

Numbers and facts, it's how we understand the world. Not always maximizing, it's about understanding things, knowing things...

We now return you to the Dr. Phil show.

 

[sjblon]

That would be an unusually low usage rate for Cella Red. People commonly report a 150g tub lasts them around 75 to 100 shaves. That would be closer to 1.5g to 2.0g per shave as a more typical figure.

I'd expect to get somewhere around 200-250 shaves from a 150g tin of PdP. That works out to 0.6g to 0.75g average per shave. Based on those rough estimates, I'd expect a puck of PdP to last around three times longer than a tub of Cella Red.

You may be right about the usage for many people. All I know is that face lathering using the same brush, I got 240 shaves from my puck of PDP 63 and 389 shaves from a 9 oz sample of Cella brick I finished. If I had used a couple of grams per shave, I would have had difficulty finding my face with the razor.

 

[The Coffee Bandit]

That would be an unusually low usage rate for Cella Red. People commonly report a 150g tub lasts them around 75 to 100 shaves. That would be closer to 1.5g to 2.0g per shave as a more typical figure.

I'd expect to get somewhere around 200-250 shaves from a 150g tin of PdP. That works out to 0.6g to 0.75g average per shave. Based on those rough estimates, I'd expect a puck of PdP to last around three times longer than a tub of Cella Red.

I probably got less than 40 uses from my 150g Cella tub, but I'm a head shaver, so.

 

[Swistak]

You must not know very many engineers.

Numbers and facts, it's how we understand the world. Not always maximizing, it's about understanding things, knowing things...

We now return you to the Dr. Phil show.

Hey! All I know is that I'd be sorely embarrassed if someone walked in on me while I was surfing on B&B! I speak for myself and acknowledge my quirks!

 

[Swistak]

Men’s hobby forums are all pretty much the exact same, only substitute the hobby.

I suspect this to be the case. Nothing wrong with it, to be sure. Just an oddity of the internet and the male disposition toward cataloguing information, and, often, obsessing over stats and results. Like all things, it depends on how you personally relate to it, either in a healthy or inordinate way.

 

[The Coffee Bandit]

I have a synthetic somewhere (and haven't used it in a long time), but prefer badger. Maybe that is the difference in the experiences posted here

May I ask which synthetic you have? If it's not a relatively modern one, a good synthetic goes a long way in making lather production faster and easier, while also needing less soap. If you're still in the exploration phase, I'd highly recommend having at least one *good* synthetic in your arsenal. Plus you can get some fantastic ones for, like, $16. Hell I've got some you can have, if you want.

Side note: If a soap just isn't doing what you need it to do, don't hesitate to move on, man. PDP is a decent soap, but doesn't offer anything a great many other soaps don't also offer.

 

[bmiller3230]

The use rates on these two soaps are outliers for me. My use rates for most soft soaps like Cella are around 1.0 g/shave, but Cella is only 0.67 g/shave. My use rates for most hard soaps are around 0.5 g/shave, but it is 0.63 g/shave for PDP. I'm not sure why I experienced what I did, but I was a bit surprised at how few shaves I got out of a PDP puck, considering its long-lasting reputation.

Those are interesting observations. And, I think it's great that someone is measuring these kinds of statistics. Were you blooming the hard puck?

 

[bmiller3230]

That would be an unusually low usage rate for Cella Red. People commonly report a 150g tub lasts them around 75 to 100 shaves. That would be closer to 1.5g to 2.0g per shave as a more typical figure.

I'd expect to get somewhere around 200-250 shaves from a 150g tin of PdP. That works out to 0.6g to 0.75g average per shave. Based on those rough estimates, I'd expect a puck of PdP to last around three times longer than a tub of Cella Red.

would that be dependent of how new it is (therefore water content and how soft it is)?

I tend to use a soap a few shaves then then go through others in the rotation, and when I come back to a croap, its dried out a bit, to the extent that I do a really slight bloom--meaning I just rinse the surface and pour the remaining water out, and leave it while the brush is soaking.

So, I have to think there is a lot of variability.