Soap recommendations for oily skin

[MostaccioMan]

I've never used shave soaps in 4 years of DE shaving. Always been happy with Indian shaving creams which are just lather bombs. But with people singing the praises of so many soaps here, I'd like to try out a soap or two.

I have extremely oily and sweaty skin, prone to acne if I shave with Old Spice (Many ouch-y years of wet shaving till I figured that out) or lime-based creams. Please let me know your thoughts on a good shaving soap for starters. And since I live in the UK, I may not always be able to get American soaps, so a recommendation on the ingredients to look out for would also be very useful!

 

[SterFry]

Martin De Candre

 

[Peterv1]

Have a look at Truefitt & Hill ultimate comfort which is their take on a sensitive skin formula another option could be Taylor of old bond street jermyn street which I find to be a soft non greasy cream or as stated above the Natural base by Martin de candre

 

[Herne]

With my oily skin I like best Martin De Candre, Arko, Cella brick, La Toja. Maybe MWF, some say it is very moisturizing but I do not notice. But as MWF can be a bit of an challenge to lather, I would go with some of the others that are easy to work with.

I would stay away from oil heavy stuff like Saponificio Varesino and such. Stay with simple formulas.
Martin De Candre shines on this. Especially Natural. Easy to lather, excellent lather, nice face feel while lathering and post shave.

 

[Tirvine]

I agree on Martin de Candre but also commend Pre de Provence.

 

[kingfisher]

Martin De Candre

+1

 

[sarimento1]

I've never used shave soaps in 4 years of DE shaving. Always been happy with Indian shaving creams which are just lather bombs. But with people singing the praises of so many soaps here, I'd like to try out a soap or two.

I have extremely oily and sweaty skin, prone to acne if I shave with Old Spice (Many ouch-y years of wet shaving till I figured that out) or lime-based creams. Please let me know your thoughts on a good shaving soap for starters. And since I live in the UK, I may not always be able to get American soaps, so a recommendation on the ingredients to look out for would also be very useful!

does it help for you to lather, fully rinse, then re-lather, in order to remove any residual oil before shaving?

 

[MostaccioMan]

does it help for you to lather, fully rinse, then re-lather, in order to remove any residual oil before shaving?

I use an antibacterial face wash first to clear away the oil and dirt before shaving. But if use a really oily or fatty cream, my face initially feels as smooth as glass after the shave, but breaks out in acne the next morning.

 

[sarimento1]

I use an antibacterial face wash first to clear away the oil and dirt before shaving. But if use a really oily or fatty cream, my face initially feels as smooth as glass after the shave, but breaks out in acne the next morning.

curious, what creams are oily?

 

[MostaccioMan]

curious, what creams are oily?

There's a few small-batch home-made creams you get in India which contain coconut oil. Quite a lot of it. It's supposed to soothe sensitive skin. And while I've not got a razor burn, rash or a cut while using them, I do get acne quite fast.

I tried an EJ shaving cream which came with the razor, too greasy. Old Spice is also a bit too slimy. My wife swears by her Body Shop shea-butter creams and made me try it for a shave once. Boy was it a mistake!

 

[sarimento1]

There's a few small-batch home-made creams you get in India which contain coconut oil. Quite a lot of it. It's supposed to soothe sensitive skin. And while I've not got a razor burn, rash or a cut while using them, I do get acne quite fast.

I tried an EJ shaving cream which came with the razor, too greasy. Old Spice is also a bit too slimy. My wife swears by her Body Shop shea-butter creams and made me try it for a shave once. Boy was it a mistake!

have you tried speick cream? or any proraso?

 

[MostaccioMan]

have you tried speick cream? or any proraso?

Speick, no. I started using the Proraso Green cream recently. It creates a big blob of gloop sometimes, but its quite cold in England now, so while my skin does get a bit oily the next day, its actually useful for once.

I'm pretty sure it will only see action in the winter months.

 

[Atlantic59]

I'd suggest Speick and/or La Toja.

Also, any of the simple Italian soft soaps without a lot of extra moisturizing ingredients, such as, Vitos Green, 3P, TFS Russo, Rasozero, etc. You can get these in smaller sizes from Connaught Shaving in the UK.

 

[old_school]

You can find lots of recommendations in past threads. Link provided. I simply used advance search, searched oily and titles only and this forum soap.

To many new soaps are overly fatted for other than dry or average skin. Lanolin can be a problem as well. La Toja, MdC, Arko, Speick are outstanding. I find SV, Tabac and Valobra (if it ever comes back) all workable.

 

[Dovo1695]

My top pick for oily skin would be Arko. It's a fantastic performer, but it dries out skin like nothing else on earth. I love using it in the spring/summer, but I put it away during cooler weather (I have very dry skin generally and live in New York).

It might be perfect for what you're looking for, and it's just $2.00 for a shave stick. It'd be a cheap experiment, and it's a classic shave soap.

 

[Robert G]

Not exactly a hard soap, but SMN Crema da Barba.

 

[old_school]

With my oily skin I like... Cella brick...

I would like to try Cella but have read the Green with Aloe Vera is conditioning so I've avoided both.

So the red is not moisturizing or conditioning? Any soap that you would say has a similar PSF to the red? Thank you.

 

[sarimento1]

Speick, no. I started using the Proraso Green cream recently. It creates a big blob of gloop sometimes, but its quite cold in England now, so while my skin does get a bit oily the next day, its actually useful for once.

I'm pretty sure it will only see action in the winter months.

do you ever use an alum block?

and have you ever questioned your dermatologist?

 

[hydro-magic]

does it help for you to lather, fully rinse, then re-lather, in order to remove any residual oil before shaving?

I don't think that helps. If you have tough whiskers, it does help to put some lather on your face to soften the whiskers for a few minutes before shaving. No need to fully rinse though. I just make sure my face is wet before applying the lather to shave. Some residual lather won't hurt anything and may even help give your lather some extra slickness.

 

[MostaccioMan]

do you ever use an alum block?

and have you ever questioned your dermatologist?

I've used alum blocks earlier and while they certainly made my face dry, my skin started compensating for that by secreting excess oil in places I didn't shave: I got pretty aggressive acne on my forehead, temples and above the cheekbones.

The dermatologist I consulted 5 years ago specifically asked me to stay away from alum or to use it sparingly. I wasn't into DE shaving back then, so I was more concerned about the bath soap I was using.

Although I must confess, I used an alum block instead of an aftershave, not along with it. Meaning I did not wash it off after a minute and it stayed on my face all day.