Soaps recommendations?

[The Blackadder]

Wall text incoming:

Hello everyone! I’m very new to DE shaving and I’d like some recommendations for soaps. I have sensitive skin (suffer from Dermatitis). I’m probably getting ahead of myself as I’ve read most of newbie wetshavers do, but what are you gonna do? . The door to this world has been opened and I’ve found myself surrounded by so many options of blades, soaps, creams, etc. Luckily I’ve been able to stick just to one razor (Merkur Progress long handle) and just one brush, but soaps and creams are my weakness. I’ve read most of the valuable guides here and I’m trying to follow the 4x4 rule (same gear for a month) while I improve my technique. So far I have the following:

- Taconic lime (love it, but a bit to strong for my skin)
- Proraso green (Used it twice, gave me kind of a reaction)
- Tabac (never used, kind of like the scent)
- Speick stick (never used, like the scent)
- Cella red (never used it, like the scent)
- TOBS Sandalwood (never used it, love the scent)
- Haslinger Aloe Vera (never used it)
- eShave white tea cream (never used it)
- Stirling Bay Rum (I find the scent a bit too strong for my taste)
- Zingari Navigator (never used it, probably my favorite scent so far)
- Arko stick (of course)
- Nivea sensitive skin shaving cream (my current 4x4 gear, good results, almost no irritation)

Where I live (South America) Zingari Man is “reasonably” priced and I also intend to buy some DR Harris from abroad. Which ones would you recommend from those two brands? As I said before, I love Zingari Navigator and TOBS Sandalwood as a reference. Soaps with a “kick” might be too much for my skin. I could consider reasonably priced soaps from other brands ($20 is kind of my mental limit) Thanks a lot in advance for enabling me to continue down the rabbit hole

PS: I exclusively face lather as I’ve read it’s best for my skin and I only use cold water (hot or even warm water is terrible for my skin, learned it after a couple of weeks)

 

[CoreyWoodmancy]

If Mystic Waters ships international , I would recommend the sensitive skin soap they offer , that is probably the best my skin has felt from a soap when I used that puck exclusively. Zinagari man is also great on the skin from my perspective very moisturizing.

 

[Sam Hanwich]

TOBS makes Jermyn Street that is for sensitive skin and has a very nice scent that isn't too heavy. Try your TOBS sandalwood and see how you like it. Jermyn Street is a lighter scent than the Sandalwood and another TOBS with a light scent that I really like is Eton College.

Mitchell's Wool Fat has a very light and pleasant scent and with lanolin it leaves your face feeling really nice after shaving (assuming you don't have a sensitivity to lanolin). Because the scent of Mitchell's is so neutral and light, if you have something that is too strong (like your Stirling Bay Rum) you can load your brush with mostly Mitchell's and just a tiny bit of the Bay Rum and that dilutes it down to the point where you can enjoy the scent without it being overpowering.

 

[lasta]

You have Cella, Tabac and Arko!

You don't need anything else.

If you have skin issues, I would recommend staying with the dermatologically tested big brands. Palmolive can't go wrong!

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

Lot of soap on that list you haven't even tried. Perhaps work your way through that before acquiring soaps and creams you might end up never using or throwing away.

 

[ewk]

I agree. You have at least 2 years of daily shaves with the soaps already listed. Of those listed, definitely use the Speick; I find it to be very skin-friendly.

 

[The Blackadder]

TOBS makes Jermyn Street that is for sensitive skin and has a very nice scent that isn't too heavy. Try your TOBS sandalwood and see how you like it. Jermyn Street is a lighter scent than the Sandalwood and another TOBS with a light scent that I really like is Eton College.

Mitchell's Wool Fat has a very light and pleasant scent and with lanolin it leaves your face feeling really nice after shaving (assuming you don't have a sensitivity to lanolin). Because the scent of Mitchell's is so neutral and light, if you have something that is too strong (like your Stirling Bay Rum) you can load your brush with mostly Mitchell's and just a tiny bit of the Bay Rum and that dilutes it down to the point where you can enjoy the scent without it being overpowering.

That’s a great recommendation. MWF will definitely be in my next order

You have Cella, Tabac and Arko!

You don't need anything else.

If you have skin issues, I would recommend staying with the dermatologically tested big brands. Palmolive can't go wrong!

Excellent, Palmolive is readily available here

Lot of soap on that list you haven't even tried. Perhaps work your way through that before acquiring soaps and creams you might end up never using or throwing away.

I agree. You have at least 2 years of daily shaves with the soaps already listed. Of those listed, definitely use the Speick; I find it to be very skin-friendly.

I’ll do my best to follow your advice. I can’t make any promises though. Thanks everyone

 

[AndyPanda]

Where I live (South America) Zingari Man is “reasonably” priced

Zingari sells an unscented version I always get an excellent lather with their soaps.

 

[d_e]

Speick.

 

[SalS]

If you must use a brush, Proraso White cream is very nice for sensitive skin. If you really want a nourishing shave that treats your face like a baby’s behind with mind bending performance and ease try Jack Black Beard Lube.

 

[Tomo]

It sounds like you have enough to work through but I am in no position to judge. With sensitive skin the following should be on your radar.

Baume
Abbate y la Mantia Krokos
Martin de Candre Original

 

[ksblazer]

As mentioned it sounds like you have plenty of soaps already.

Give them all a try and figure out what will work for you. Before buying more soaps to try.

I overbought and looking back. I wish I would have done it that way.

You already have a nice selection of soaps. I’m sure you will find a few that you will like. Then go from there.

 

[The Blackadder]

As mentioned it sounds like you have plenty of soaps already.

Give them all a try and figure out what will work for you. Before buying more soaps to try.

I overbought and looking back. I wish I would have done it that way.

You already have a nice selection of soaps. I’m sure you will find a few that you will like. Then go from there.

I completely agree. I’ve been focusing on one soap every two weeks (or until I learn how to work them properly), so I’ve barely touched my small den

 

[NorthernSoul]

You've got enough already to probably last several years!

Skin sensitivities are very individual, so you'll need to experiment. You may find you have sensitivity to certain ingredients such as some essential oils or fragrance ingredients, lanolin, shea butter, etc.

Haslinger is usually pretty kind to the skin and performs very well. They make an unscented soap called Sensitiv you may want to try at some point, though the Aloe scent is mild.

Speick seems to be tolerated well by most. It's a good performer, too.

 

[Chabu]

Love TOBS Sandalwood. The scent is heaven. If it it had the slickness and skin moisturization of B&M, it would be perfection.

 

[UncleBob59]

Wall text incoming:

Hello everyone! I’m very new to DE shaving and I’d like some recommendations for soaps. I have sensitive skin (suffer from Dermatitis). I’m probably getting ahead of myself as I’ve read most of newbie wetshavers do, but what are you gonna do? . The door to this world has been opened and I’ve found myself surrounded by so many options of blades, soaps, creams, etc. Luckily I’ve been able to stick just to one razor (Merkur Progress long handle) and just one brush, but soaps and creams are my weakness. I’ve read most of the valuable guides here and I’m trying to follow the 4x4 rule (same gear for a month) while I improve my technique. So far I have the following:

- Taconic lime (love it, but a bit to strong for my skin)
- Proraso green (Used it twice, gave me kind of a reaction)
- Tabac (never used, kind of like the scent)
- Speick stick (never used, like the scent)
- Cella red (never used it, like the scent)
- TOBS Sandalwood (never used it, love the scent)
- Haslinger Aloe Vera (never used it)
- eShave white tea cream (never used it)
- Stirling Bay Rum (I find the scent a bit too strong for my taste)
- Zingari Navigator (never used it, probably my favorite scent so far)
- Arko stick (of course)
- Nivea sensitive skin shaving cream (my current 4x4 gear, good results, almost no irritation)

Where I live (South America) Zingari Man is “reasonably” priced and I also intend to buy some DR Harris from abroad. Which ones would you recommend from those two brands? As I said before, I love Zingari Navigator and TOBS Sandalwood as a reference. Soaps with a “kick” might be too much for my skin. I could consider reasonably priced soaps from other brands ($20 is kind of my mental limit) Thanks a lot in advance for enabling me to continue down the rabbit hole

PS: I exclusively face lather as I’ve read it’s best for my skin and I only use cold water (hot or even warm water is terrible for my skin, learned it after a couple of weeks)

I recommend Lothur Grooming shave soaps. The owner of the company developed the soap for himself because he has very sensitive skin. It is easy to lather, has great slickness, and the post-shave feel is second to none. On YouTube you will see that’s it’s considered the best shave soap on the market. I would agree with that.

 

[Swank]

I would try Cremo cream. I've got a tube and can only say good things about it, but I don't have dermatitis. I find it very cushion-y. I'd use a very sharp blade like a Feather (I'm a new convert) and shave very, very slowly and lightly with a mild razor. The trick for me is to go slow, so I'd suggest shaving at night when you have the time and not in the morning when you have to get ready and go out the door. Hold the razor like it's a bow and your face is a musical instrument lol. Let the weight of the razor provide the pressure and do not push the razor into your skin trying to get a close shave. Cremo is so cushion-y the blade doesn't seem to touch the skin imo. It's very moisturizing too and may take a few rinses to get it all off your skin.