Soaps That Punch Above Their Weight

[robphilldog]

My vote goes to Stirling.. brilliant performance and a great range of scents

My favourites: Executive Man, Island Man, Stirling Spice + Naked and Smooth (scentless although has a lovely clean smell)

 

[skibik]

If all you are looking for in soap performance is slickness, then VDH is a decent soap.

VDH provides little in the way of cushion and protection. It does have some Shea Butter and Mango Butter to provide some skin conditioning, but most artisan soaps are far better in this regard. For those with less sensitive skin, these attributes might not be important.

I consider "performance in slickness" and cushion/protection to be pretty much the same thing. If it doesn't have slickness then it certainly doesn't have the protection in my book. It comes down to "to each his own" and everyone is different in that regards. I consider Tabac and MdC to be the worst in slickness and those two some think are the next best thing to sliced bread. The topic was soaps that punch above there weight and I think VDH does that. Artisan or not there some better and there are a lot that are worse.

 

[RayClem]

I have sensitive skin, so I do not equate slickness with protection, although there is a relationship. In the world of lubricants, there is a measurement called lubricity. It is a measure of the degree of lubrication as the pressure increases. A lightweight mineral oil may be slick at low pressure, but it does not provide must protection if the pressure increases. A high-pressure grease is designed to provide lubrication even at high pressures.

Although the overall pressure of shaving is very light, when you consider that the contact point between the edge of your razor and you skin may be less than 1 micron thick (1 millionth of an inch) the pressure at the point of contact is very high. A soap with cushion will provide a microscopic layer of protection between the blade and your skin. The slickness will be maintained, even at high pressure.

There are soaps that have great slickness, but poor cushion. One such soap that I purchased was an Olivina glycerin soap. The primary slickness is excellent, but I was never able to generate a thick, rich lather that provided a cushion between the blade and my face. I was not able to get a close shave without irritation, in spite of the high level of slickness.

If your skin is less sensitive, you may have no need for a soap with cushion. I even read one post that indicated the shaver preferred a lather with little cushion as he could get a closer shave without the soap providing a layer of protection between his skin and the blade.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

If your skin is less sensitive, you may have no need for a soap with cushion. I even read one post that indicated the shaver preferred a lather with little cushion as he could get a closer shave without the soap providing a layer of protection between his skin and the blade.

Was that person me?

I prefer a thinner (yet lubricating) lather, and find they give me the closest and least irritating shaves. Cushion as I discern it, is a density of lather which (for me) causes more problems than it solves. Aerosolised foams are a good example of what I try to avoid. Most lathers I see in pictures and shave videos would be far too rich for me.

I do actually have quite sensitive skin. I also shave with barely discernible pressure. I don't think the high pressure grease analogy applies to my shaves.

I can get great shaves with the craft soaps that many say are rebadged bath soaps, which give a light bubbly lather and zero protection. On the flip side, the creams that I've tried tend to give a richer lather, and any attempts to this the lather down, results in a lack of lubrication, and the craft soaps that many detest, gives me better shaves than the creams that many love. The soaps give me more slickness in a thin lather than the creams do.

 

[gsurko]

Williams, Cella, Tabac, Fine and Arko, they don’t need to make anything else.

 

[Ryanshh]

Stirling samples punch above their weight, a 1oz sample works just as well as a 5.8 oz regular size. While other samples (roughly 0.25 oz) might have the same performance as a full-size puck/tub, I feel that the small size is less user-friendly while the Stirling sample sacrifices zero convenience and punches 4.8 oz above its 1 oz weight class.

 

[mrdoug]

I agree with you. These soaps do punch above it weight. Triple milled, with their own container, at this price is outstanding.

However it would be great if RR would tweak the scents, it's my only nitpick in these otherwise excellent value soaps.

Their blue Barbershop scent is my favorite WTP soap... In my top 5 scents of all, too. They nailed that one, imo.

 

[PigBrush]

+ 1 MWF. Not the cheapest in nominal dollars. Per shave has got to be one of the cheapest, though. I use m-f and a puck last me a year+

+ 1 Proraso. If you're in Italy it's so cheap it's a joke. Even so, worth the 10 bucks stateside imo.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[ischiapp3]

All the sticks I know.
Spanish products, as LEA Basic and La Toja (both, soap and cream).
Haslinger (old formula is better).
On medium range, Stirling.
A little over, Cyril R. Salter and St. James of London (despite are creams), if you need more fragrance.
If you look at best, Saponificio Varesino (better Beta 4.3), Meissner Tremonia and Martin de Candre are a solid choice.

All these, IMHO worth the price and more!!

 

[Ad Astra]

Murphy & McNeil makes their own soaps. They currently have 3 different formulas for sale on their website and you cant go wrong with any of them. Their customer service is incredible, free shipping, and they offer samples.

Just had a shave with M&Ms Cran soap; I am impressed!

Not with the scent, which is a very clean, almost fresh laundry scent... But the lather was seriously protective, slick and quick to whip up. Really liked this soap, and it wasn't on my radar.


AA

 

[EternalBachelor]

I look forward to trying Cremo Lathering. I couldn't find it in any local stores, so I ordered a tub from Amazon and it arrived today. I want to see what all the fuss is about (I like good budget products, and it smells really nice).

 

[DEPenguin]

+ 1 Proraso. If you're in Italy it's so cheap it's a joke. Even so, worth the 10 bucks stateside.

My son is stationed in Naples right now and he sent me a text this morning showing me two tubs of Proraso (red and green) he got in town for $4 ea.

 

[steveclarkus]

Was that person me?

I prefer a thinner (yet lubricating) lather, and find they give me the closest and least irritating shaves. Cushion as I discern it, is a density of lather which (for me) causes more problems than it solves. Aerosolised foams are a good example of what I try to avoid. Most lathers I see in pictures and shave videos would be far too rich for me.

I do actually have quite sensitive skin. I also shave with barely discernible pressure. I don't think the high pressure grease analogy applies to my shaves.

I can get great shaves with the craft soaps that many say are rebadged bath soaps, which give a light bubbly lather and zero protection. On the flip side, the creams that I've tried tend to give a richer lather, and any attempts to this the lather down, results in a lack of lubrication, and the craft soaps that many detest, gives me better shaves than the creams that many love. The soaps give me more slickness in a thin lather than the creams do.

Sounds like you would appreciate Williams Mug Soap. Very good slickness and thin lather. It is a very underrated soap and very inexpensive.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Sounds like you would appreciate Williams Mug Soap. Very good slickness and thin lather. It is a very underrated soap and very inexpensive.

Possibly. It's not freely available over here though, Steve. It sounds like Williams over there is the cheap, reliable, ubiquitous soap, much like Palmolive sticks are over here.

 

[RTM]

Proraso... worth the 10 bucks stateside

10 bucks? For Proraso?
I am in the wrong business...

 

[Clay S]

10 bucks? For Proraso?
I am in the wrong business...

You can pick it up for $5 at discount stores, when they have it.

 

[FloorPizza]

Sounds like you would appreciate Williams Mug Soap. Very good slickness and thin lather. It is a very underrated soap and very inexpensive.

I haven't used Williams Mug since '08, but back then, it was a really good soap. Couldn't agree more.

But I've read that it was reformulated. Not sure when that happened.

 

[steveclarkus]

I haven't used Williams Mug since '08, but back then, it was a really good soap. Couldn't agree more.

But I've read that it was reformulated. Not sure when that happened.

If it performs differently, it isn’t noticeable. I’ve used it off and on since the ‘60s and it seems about the same to me.

 

[kingfisher]

Lot of complaints in this thread about the scents of the RazoRock What the Puck? soaps. I only have the Orange Sunrise, but I think it smells great. I love it. Used it again this morning.

My only complaint about WTP soaps is the container. I get that they want it to look like a hockey puck, and that's amusing and all, but it's too small to load a brush properly. I removed mine from the small black container and put it into a wide-mouth container I had left over from another soap. Now it's awesome. Lather, scent, post-shave, ease of loading, etc. Just a great soap.

 

[SpannerX]

Lot of complaints in this thread about the scents of the RazoRock What the Puck? soaps. I only have the Orange Sunrise, but I think it smells great. I love it. Used it again this morning.

My only complaint about WTP soaps is the container. I get that they want it to look like a hockey puck, and that's amusing and all, but it's too small to load a brush properly. I removed mine from the small black container and put it into a wide-mouth container I had left over from another soap. Now it's awesome. Lather, scent, post-shave, ease of loading, etc. Just a great soap.

I've been using the WTP Lime Burst since the beginning of this month due to the FFFMM, and I'm really liking it, I find that it's great if you face lather it. I can get perfect lather that way, bowl lathing in, not so much. I haven't used the Orange Sunrise or the Barber one yet, but I like the lime scent.