Only soaps I've tried are Williams and Riviage, Riviage was decent, Williams seems to dry my skin and thus makes my skin produce more oil. Creams so far have not had that effect, I want to use a soap but I'm scared they will dry my skin out considering most soaps are glycerin based. Any soaps out there that are a "clone" of cream? If that makes sense...
Soaps better or worse for skin than creams
- Thread starter Gunky
- Start date
I think I understand what you're saying. I've had similar issues with soaps where I find they are lacking in lubrication, cushion, and moisturization. I have a puck of Honeybee Spa Rosemary Mint that does a great job of all three and it's my understanding that all of her soaps are the same formula save for the scents. If you are looking for a local option, check out the Van der Hagen soaps at Wal-mart/Walgreens/CVS et al. I've had great results with the pink (glycerine and shea butter) and orange (glycerine) soaps. Good luck in the search!
Welcome to the gang. You'll find that the soaps you used are on the lower end of the BBS spectrum. There are plenty of great, mositurizing soaps out there. If you want to get away from pure Glycerin soaps, but don't want to go all the way to triple-milled luxury goodness, give Mama Bear's -or my personal favorite- Honeybee Spa's a try. Mama Bear combines essential oils to give the soaps an extra boost, and Honeybee Soaps are a shea butter/clay blend, designed to moisturize even the driest of faces.
Again, you could always go for triple-milled goodness. Trumper's and Truefitt are good starts. Trumpers benefits from having a multiude of fragrances to choose from. Not an easy task to perform with a triple-milled soap. Most guys on this board will say that Truefitt has an awesome scent, despite the lack of diversity.
Again, you could always go for triple-milled goodness. Trumper's and Truefitt are good starts. Trumpers benefits from having a multiude of fragrances to choose from. Not an easy task to perform with a triple-milled soap. Most guys on this board will say that Truefitt has an awesome scent, despite the lack of diversity.
I believe that most creams have a more moisturizing effect than soaps, but there are some soaps that are moisturizing as well. Look for ones that contain avocado oil, coconut oil or shea butter for ones that are more suited for dry skin types. Personally, I never have a problem with dryness from soaps, but I have somewhat oily skin and aftershave balm or Corn Husker's is all I ever use for moisturizing.
I also think that soaps are a bit more drying than creams. Of the ones I have tried, Mitchell's Wool Fat soap was the best. But no soap or cream beats the moistening properties of high-end gels. These are just lubricity and moisturization, it seems. The soap in soaps and creams helps soften the beard, but if that is not a problem, gels could be a viable alternative.
You could also simply compensate for the drying properties of soaps and creams by slapping on a good lotion afterwards, but that would be fighting the devil with beelzebub. It would be best to avoid such measures in the first place.
Best - MM
You could also simply compensate for the drying properties of soaps and creams by slapping on a good lotion afterwards, but that would be fighting the devil with beelzebub. It would be best to avoid such measures in the first place.
Best - MM
To which products are you referring?
For me, the hard soaps and glycerine soaps with shea butter are the kindest to my skin.
I HoneyBee Sue makes a nice shaving soap, but my favourite glycerine-based soaps are those made by Colleen at TGQ - but either of these is a good place to start if you're looking for a soap that's kinder to your skin.
Gunky --
(God, that's an odd username...
) One thing you'll notice in this thread is the multiple references to HoneyBee soaps. Although HoneyBee Sue doesn't get much 'press' on this site, her shave soaps are really quite excellent. They lather richly, lubricate and cushion very well, and IMO provide the best skincare of any shave soap --and I use many of the high end soaps, too. HBS soaps aren't 'drying' as you (correctly) mention with regard to Williams. HBS shave soaps are in a much higher class of product and are at the 'top of the heap' of the glycerin based shave soaps.
What makes them stand out is the skin conditioning/skin care they provide. Recommended.
-- John Gehman
edit: a cream-like soap I'd recommend is the Provence Sante. Very lush, creamy, great shave. Wonderful.
(God, that's an odd username...
) One thing you'll notice in this thread is the multiple references to HoneyBee soaps. Although HoneyBee Sue doesn't get much 'press' on this site, her shave soaps are really quite excellent. They lather richly, lubricate and cushion very well, and IMO provide the best skincare of any shave soap --and I use many of the high end soaps, too. HBS soaps aren't 'drying' as you (correctly) mention with regard to Williams. HBS shave soaps are in a much higher class of product and are at the 'top of the heap' of the glycerin based shave soaps.What makes them stand out is the skin conditioning/skin care they provide. Recommended.
-- John Gehman
edit: a cream-like soap I'd recommend is the Provence Sante. Very lush, creamy, great shave. Wonderful.
either my skin is getting tougher or QED is just amazing stuff, but i used it this morning and my skin felt great, not dry at all and the shave was nice and smooth. no irritation. so if this is what it's like to use soaps then i've just opened myself into a big league.
i've used soaps in the past, but due to fact that most of them made my skin dry, i've stuck with creams, but the QED this morning was great. it was a nice balance.. not too much moisture and not too little.
i've used soaps in the past, but due to fact that most of them made my skin dry, i've stuck with creams, but the QED this morning was great. it was a nice balance.. not too much moisture and not too little.
I am very impressed with Anthony Logistics Shave Gel and Zirh Shave Gel. Anything that's based mainly on glycerin and aloe vera works really well. There are lots more on the market it seems. Perhaps one of them will actually smell good too
Best - MM
I am very impressed with Anthony Logistics Shave Gel and Zirh Shave Gel. Anything that's based mainly on glycerin and aloe vera works really well. There are lots more on the market it seems. Perhaps one of them will actually smell good too
Best - MM
I forgot about those. I've used both and did not care for either, though it was some time ago.
There's alway superlather.... 
- Thread starter
- #13
My skin is happiest after a lanolin (the mighty MWF) or tallow based shaving soap (Harris, Tabac, Speick, Penhaligon's etc, followed by a splash and moisturiser or skin food.
- Thread starter
- #15
Sure. First, I didn't care for the consistency of either - just a matter of personal preference here. Second, I did not care for the shave delivered by either product. While they were both slick, I did not find that either provided much cushion. Third, the end result was a very average shave. Finally, I found the scents to be very boring.
I'm not saying that these products are bad or that one cannot get great shaves from them. Simply put, neither provided me with enough satisfaction or enjoyment to continue using them. DR Harris, Taylor's, Trumper's, Penhaligon's, Tabac, SCS, QED, Floris, and many others all put up a tremendous fight when it comes to finding a home in my shave den.
If it doesn't, you can always melt it in the microwave. No more than 10 seconds, mind you, and you should be set.
I don't mind the consistency of gels that much. With respect to cushion, I have to admit that I have never really understood what that means (I am going to post an inquiring thread about that). The blade has to get to the skin, so why would I want a huge cushion? In any case, I like the performance in that I get very little irritation, and these gels are very nicely moisturizing.
I do freely admit that the gels I have tried so far are rather boring. The Anthony Logistsics is reminiscent of Proraso. I am still searching for others.
This morning, I tried my MWF again and ended up with considerably more irritation. It's a pity.
Best - MM
Found it. I'll post my ideas there.
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