Proraso sapone (green) review

[shavefan]

I like the soap but much prefer their shaving cream and it's been a staple in my den for years so a big fan of the brand. You know the old saying... 1000 Italian barbers can't be wrong! LOL

I find the cream a bit nicer than the soaps, but their Single Blade line is heads and shoulders above. Not an insignificant step up imo.

 

[mata_66]

Proraso green was commercialized to be the cheap workhorse soap for the average Italian shaver. Being cheap, it was never meant to be used in "stingy" mode. Load it like you hate it. Think of it as the italian equivalent of the american "Williams". Who cares how much Williams he will use in his shave? Nobody. The same should be applied to Proraso.

Disclaimer: I am Italian too and I agree 100%, as long as you pay below 2 euros for the tub as we do in Italy.
At the retail price, Proraso Green is good enough to have around, especially if you live abroad and for those 20 minutes you want to feel like home. In fact, I have the whole tubs flag (green/white/red) plus a good amount of red and blue tubes.

But when you have to drop $10 (US price) there's a change of perspective and that raises the expectations bar.
Seriously, do I need to add another $13 for the pre-shave balm to get a decent slickness and enjoy the "two-step Proraso experience"?
I mean, for $ 12 I can get Stirling goodness. Or, if you really want Proraso, just get the giant 12oz "single blade line" bag. That is an excellent cream, I would even say better than TOBS.

 

[shavefan]

I wish all my favorite shave soaps were around the $3 mark.

 

[Billy T.]

I get mine for 3,50 euros

 

[Macfrommichigan]

OP, what brush? For me, a synthetic can sometimes turn a meh soap great.

 

[mata_66]

Proraso Green must be lathered with a big a** pro boar brush!! It's the law!!





I'm joking of course




Well, sort of

 

[John Rose]

Slickness: 3/10, this is one of the categories that really let the proraso down, its slickness was absolutely terrible, at first i thought maybe i didnt add enough water but after each pass i added more to the bowl with exactly the same result.

Residual slickness: 1/10, absolutely appalling. Terrible slickness after completing a pass, the worst ive seen from any soap or cream so far, bear in mind i tested two different brushes with this soap so its definitely not the brush. I used to get better residual slickness from nivea gels back when i started de shaving, so thats saying something.

That's how I would rate it too.
I don't see why it's so popular.

Scent: 7/10, a beautiful eucalyptus/ menthol scent, absolutely gorgeous, my only complaint is it is a bit muted after lathering.

I have to disagree there. I find it too overpowering.
My solution to both of those problems (slickness, scent) is to add some Gillette Pure cream.
The combined scent is less in-your-face (so to speak) and more complex.

 

[DCP]

A good soap shouldn't need a pre shave to get a relatively decent result. Every other soap ive ever used now totalling about 12 different manufacturers in total, have had a minimum of double the slickness.

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I used Proraso pretty much exclusively for 5 years before I knew any better. Once I used Tabac I knew I wouldn't ever use Proraso again.

Now I've used soaps from Grooming Department, Declaration Grooming, Haslinger, etc. I still have many more soaps to try.

I say all that to say that I agree with your assessment of Proraso. I don't dislike it but I'll never used it again. Too many great soaps out there.

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[Theodore]

I recently finished a tub of green. I got good enough shaves with it, but found it consistently finicky to make truly slick (yes, even with the proraso green preshave).

Love the scent, but I don’t see myself buying another tub.

 

[CLM54]

I have no concept of the stickiness. Perhaps I’m doing something wrong. I do shower after I shave, so maybe I thoroughly rinse it off?


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Hi Scott,
perhaps showering before the shave would improve the final result, regardless of the soap used.

 

[matthewoli98]

OP, what brush? For me, a synthetic can sometimes turn a meh soap great.

I used two brushes, a synthetic and a Wilkinson sword classic shave premium edition which is a boar brush.

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[matthewoli98]

Disclaimer: I am italian and the proraso green is also nicknamed "national green" in wetshaving circles and i have used it exclusively in the 80s, so i could be accused of bias.

However, allow me to suggest that you load more. I load 40-60 seconds from the Proraso tub. Of course the question is "how many swirls are there in a second" and that's hard to answer and the same goes for water hardness and how much the brush is wet.

But, 20 seconds seems to me too little. And if your brush is very dry, it's definitely too little. If you don't load enough, this will make the lather dissipate and you won't feel slickness either.

So, try to load more and tell us if something changes. Proraso is used by italian barbers and if they can use it, so should you. The red is slicker. The white is more tricky about the water. If you have problems with the green, with the white you will have most likely a disaster.

This said, i agree that in the same price range, there are slicker creams out there and not just a few, but many. And it pains me to say so. And with much less or no white residue, which is also an annoying Proraso "trait". But, there is no logical reason that you should get so bad results, unless you are doing something wrong. And that something, might be that you load insufficiently.

Proraso green was commercialized to be the cheap workhorse soap for the average Italian shaver. Being cheap, it was never meant to be used in "stingy" mode. Load it like you hate it. Think of it as the italian equivalent of the american "Williams". Who cares how much Williams he will use in his shave? Nobody. The same should be applied to Proraso.

20 seconds of loading is generally more than enough for all my other soaps, but ill give it a try. If i figure out a way to make it work for me i have no problem changing the review, this was just my experience so far

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[matthewoli98]

You can't beat it at that price point. Sure 20$ artisan soaps are better. Good scent, good lather, sufficient slickness. A classic. But if you have a soap recommendation at around the same price point I am open to it.

Arko sticks, South African reitzer.

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[matthewoli98]

Disclaimer: I am Italian too and I agree 100%, as long as you pay below 2 euros for the tub as we do in Italy.
At the retail price, Proraso Green is good enough to have around, especially if you live abroad and for those 20 minutes you want to feel like home. In fact, I have the whole tubs flag (green/white/red) plus a good amount of red and blue tubes.

But when you have to drop $10 (US price) there's a change of perspective and that raises the expectations bar.
Seriously, do I need to add another $13 for the pre-shave balm to get a decent slickness and enjoy the "two-step Proraso experience"?
I mean, for $ 12 I can get Stirling goodness. Or, if you really want Proraso, just get the giant 12oz "single blade line" bag. That is an excellent cream, I would even say better than TOBS.

Exactly, i wasnt trying to bash Italian products, in fact the fatip piccolo is my all time favourite razor, and people are getting tired of the continuous praise i give it.

Here in South Africa we have exceptional value for money artisan soaps with better performance, so for me id rather use those.

Id love to try their other lines of products for sure though!

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[matthewoli98]

I used Proraso pretty much exclusively for 5 years before I knew any better. Once I used Tabac I knew I wouldn't ever use Proraso again.

Now I've used soaps from Grooming Department, Declaration Grooming, Haslinger, etc. I still have many more soaps to try.

I say all that to say that I agree with your assessment of Proraso. I don't dislike it but I'll never used it again. Too many great soaps out there.

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I completely agree, i have tons of other soaps luckily for me, have you tried Col Conk?

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[albsat]

I have merged the green and white version in a bowl. Crazy idea but I am enjoying it. Less menthol and good lather. Proraso is good. There are some videos of Italian barber making lather out of it. I can't replicate that, but it is something to watch I think.

 

[Boar Fighter]

Disclaimer: I am Italian too and I agree 100%, as long as you pay below 2 euros for the tub as we do in Italy.
At the retail price, Proraso Green is good enough to have around, especially if you live abroad and for those 20 minutes you want to feel like home. In fact, I have the whole tubs flag (green/white/red) plus a good amount of red and blue tubes.

But when you have to drop $10 (US price) there's a change of perspective and that raises the expectations bar.
Seriously, do I need to add another $13 for the pre-shave balm to get a decent slickness and enjoy the "two-step Proraso experience"?
I mean, for $ 12 I can get Stirling goodness. Or, if you really want Proraso, just get the giant 12oz "single blade line" bag. That is an excellent cream, I would even say better than TOBS.

I agree... I wouldn't pay $10 for the simple Proraso either, other than out of nostalgia.

20 seconds of loading is generally more than enough for all my other soaps, but ill give it a try. If i figure out a way to make it work for me i have no problem changing the review, this was just my experience so far

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Proraso either as soap or as cream isn't the densest around. Folks with soft water might not notice, but me with very hard water, do. Load it a LOT and see what happens. The problem isn't the review, it is for you to get the good shave that you deserve for the product you paid. And i think the situation can be drastically improved by loading more.

 

[matthewoli98]

I agree... I wouldn't pay $10 for the simple Proraso either, other than out of nostalgia.



Proraso either as soap or as cream isn't the densest around. Folks with soft water might not notice, but me with very hard water, do. Load it a LOT and see what happens. The problem isn't the review, it is for you to get the good shave that you deserve for the product you paid. And i think the situation can be drastically improved by loading more.

Ill definitely give it a try. I didnt pay for the proraso, but i got it in a PIF and the guy that sent it to me asked me to be completely honest when writing the reviews.

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[John Rose]

Something that might help with the loading is to warm it up by keeping the cap on the tub and floating it in a sink of hot water. I do this during my prep shower, and it softens it up without diluting it like blooming it with water would.
It's still not so soft that it turns runny, or separates, or anything like that.

 

[matthewoli98]

Something that might help with the loading is to warm it up by keeping the cap on the tub and floating it in a sink of hot water. I do this during my prep shower, and it softens it up without diluting it like blooming it with water would.

Thanks for the tip! I've actually never thought of that one!

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