Soaps/Creams that work better with straights?

[thanks]

My shave today which consisted of the following,

Dovo 5/8 Special
Kent BK4
Musgo Real
Pinaud Clubman

unfortunately reminded me that while Musgo smells phenomenal, it provides me with a pretty average- sometimes sub-par straight shave. When using a DE? It's fantastic all around! Still takes longer than I'd like to get a really good lather going. ProfessorChaos mentioned in the SOTD thread to me that he goes through similar Musgo phases which got me to thinking. Anyone else have a list of their regular favorites that work well with a DE, but not a straight or somehow vice versa?

My list would probably look like this;

Arlington SS - Great with both DE and straight
Tabac SS - Great with both as well
Godrej Original/Menthol Mist - Amazing with DE, lackluster with straight
Musgo Real - Great with DE, lackluster with straight
TOBS Avocado - Solid all-around work horse
La Toja Sensitive - Great with DE or straight
Coates Sandalwood - Great with DE, somehow even better with straight
Proraso - Fantastic with both

Am I weird or is this common? So far, for me, creams tend to outperform the soaps with a straight 90% of the time. Of course I expect the old YMMV to apply heavily here, but still.

 

[Bacchus]

I've read that a straight requires a more 'wet' lather than a DE, I couldn't say for sure, I've never used a DE, but maybe you need to tweak your lather a bit for the switch

 

[thanks]

I've read that a straight requires a more 'wet' lather than a DE, I couldn't say for sure, I've never used a DE, but maybe you need to tweak your lather a bit for the switch

I definitely have. If lather doesn't rinse off easily from my blade, I know it's too dry. ProfessorChaos mentioned I might need to clean my brush, but it does fine with all of my other creams and soaps. I might be the only one on this, then.

 

[pmast]

I have had the opposite experience. So far soaps are working better for straight shaving. I think it takes longer for me to shave with a straight since I am still refining my technique. The creams seem to be drying out quicker and I usually have to relather toward the end of a pass-especially using Musgo.

 

[Bertilak]

I've read that a straight requires a more 'wet' lather than a DE, I couldn't say for sure, I've never used a DE, but maybe you need to tweak your lather a bit for the switch

I find that the lather does dry out as it sits on my face. Of course this this takes longer if the lather was on the wet side to begin with. I am slower at straight shaving than safety razor shaving so this situation comes up more with a straight. The idea that a straight needs a wetter lather may be because it stays wet longer that way.

I am not too fussy about it. I lather up and shave. If it starts to dry out, I tap the tips of the brush on the water in the sink and re-lather.

I always use soap, not cream.

 

[professorchaos]

I definitely have. If lather doesn't rinse off easily from my blade, I know it's too dry. ProfessorChaos mentioned I might need to clean my brush, but it does fine with all of my other creams and soaps. I might be the only one on this, then.

If it does well with other creams and soaps, it probably doesn't need to be cleaned . How much Musgo do you use? Since I have an abundance of shave products, I tend to err or the side of using too much rather than just enough.

I have shaved with a straight far longer than I did with a DE, so I cannot really say one cream/soap does better with a straight than it did with a DE. Or visa versa. With that in mind I rank my more commonly available soaps and creams as follows:

Tier I These are the Cream of the Crop in my world
1. Mitchell's Woolfat (the non plus ultra of shaving soaps)
2a. Musgo Real
2b. Santa Maria Novella Crema da Barba
3. Gold Dachs
4. Hans Baier Olivenöl

Tier II Top notch performers - a solid A - but not quite as good as Tier I
1. La Toja Crema De Afeitar
2. Olivia's Crema Rasierseife
3. Cella

Tier III Very good creams and soaps, usually glycerin based.
1. Acqua di Parma
2. Domenico Caraceni
3. Spanish Fig & Nutmeg
4. Penhaligon's new formulation

 

[thanks]

If it does well with other creams and soaps, it probably doesn't need to be cleaned . How much Musgo do you use? Since I have an abundance of shave products, I tend to err or the side of using too much rather than just enough.

This might have been an issue, as I did use a little too much of the Musgo, but I've been using lanolin heavy cream for a little while now, and I know the consistency to get them to. I should try it again with a lot less.

I shouldn't say the shave was necessarily bad with the Musgo, I mean I've had much much worse with Godrej, I'm just saying it wasn't amazing like it had been for me before. I need, need, neeeeeed to try MWF! I'm just thinning the herd before I go through another "try everything" phase.

 

[professorchaos]

This might have been an issue, as I did use a little too much of the Musgo, but I've been using lanolin heavy cream for a little while now, and I know the consistency to get them to. I should try it again with a lot less.

I shouldn't say the shave was necessarily bad with the Musgo, I mean I've had much much worse with Godrej, I'm just saying it wasn't amazing like it had been for me before. I need, need, neeeeeed to try MWF! I'm just thinning the herd before I go through another "try everything" phase.

Yes, you do need to try da Fat. Just know that it probably will leave you underwhelmed at first. I shelved mine for quite a few months before figuring out what all the fuss is about. Then I nailed the lather and had an epiphany. One of its' lesser mentioned qualities is that there is little scent, it is all about performance. No scent to tire of; it is remeniscent of unscented, old fashioned soap if anything.

 

[crankymoose]

for me there I would say I get mostly average performance with most soaps or creams except 2 when using a straight and those 2 just are way better then everything else, they would be any soap from Colleen at http://www.thegentlemensquarter.com/ she has quite the following over on SRP and after using her soaps with a straight I understand why and the other would be Tabac although after a while I do tire of the scent not that there is anything wrong with it I just like a little variety.

 

[HCSchluge]

I have been using Proasso with my DE for quite a while then switched to Truefit and Hill Lime and Muhle Cream when I started with the straight. Both are a lot more creamy and more slick than the Proasso which seems to help with the straight. I'm fairly new to straights so your mileage may vary.

 

[Samouraï]

do you guys consider Tallow-based soaps to be the best? do you mix your soaps up with a little more water?

I find that I get the best straight razor shaves with my AoS unscented. I am beginning to mix it up with a bit more water than usual, and I am getting great results with protection and smoothness during a straight shave (though it isn't as fluffy).

 

[Leche]

I think my tallow soaps (currently Speick, Tabac, and Arko) work the best with the straight. But everything else has been more than acceptable. Conks Almond is a slick performer.

 

[BEAR DEN]

For me I have stopped for the time being using cremes for str8 razor shaving. Tallow soaps for whatever reason actually make a big difference in my shaving experience. The 3 top ones for me are Irisch Moos, Tabac and MWF. I actually use Williams also and feel that it out performs cremes only when it comes to str8s. Tallow soap is now a must for me not just a luxury. YMMV!!

 

[professorchaos]

I have no problem using tallow, lanolin or glycerin based soaps and creams with a straight. Results vary though. Lanolin performs best, tallow second and glycerin third best. All are good shaves, but not equally good.

 

[bassguy]

I agree. My puck of MWF is in the mail, and Tabac is a great benchmark soap, but glycerin has it's place in my line-up too. They all work well, but some soaps do different things for me.

 

[thanks]

I have no problem using tallow, lanolin or glycerin based soaps and creams with a straight. Results vary though. Lanolin performs best, tallow second and glycerin third best. All are good shaves, but not equally good.

That's the order I'd put things at, as well except for Godrej. Maybe I just need to give it another shot? Man, I really love lanolin creams though!