Soaps?

[Trans_am2000]

Hello, new member. Long time lurker.

Recently am into a (hopefully only few months and we’ll be out of there) job that is FOOD SAFE and SQF certified..basically hair nets, beard nets, the whole 9. Can’t take it. I started wet shaving again after just using the good old 3mm on my shaver for about 5 years. Luckily I had an older 830 shave brush. Half the knot stained blue from shampoo being spilled on it sometime during a house move. And a super super old almost empty dried up puck of Proraso white and my old 24C and some feather blades. I’ve since ordered some new jazz.

Recently got a new 620 and a new of tub of white, a 34c and some astra blades…been playing with their white preshave, I use clubman special reserve and follow up with the white aftershave balm after all is said and done..

Is something off with the new soap? I just don’t remember the lather being like this. It feels like it has okay cushion but no slickness..even using my old well broken in 830 the lather is meh…I can feel my fingerprints when I rub them together. Had a rough shave. Went through stages using my remaining lather(I only made one pass and loaded for about 30-40 secs) adding more and more water and even up to when it was a mess it just didn’t have the slickness I remember it having…

Maybe I’m just a bit rough now after not shaving for about 5+ years and me thinking using astra blades to try and get my skin used to shaving again before I go back to feathers could be contributing to the rough shaves I’ve been having.

Anyway, could one of you fellows recommend a decent soap to try? I’m not really worried about price or anything. Hell, the old proraso soap has officially lasted well over 7 years since I bought it so I’m not against spending more on something much better. Is there any consensus on a decent quality soap that can check all the boxes?

 

[skateblade]

Try some mutton tallow soap from Stirling soap co.......great during and post shave and easy to lather ......enjoy your new shaves ! pete

 

[JimL911]

Dr. Selby Lavender Luxury Shaving Cream, 125g

Dr. Selby Professional shaving products have been created to achieve the perfect shave because it adapts to the needs of every skin, protecting it from possible irritations. Its formula, with abundant yet compact foaming without bubbles, softens the beard and allows a better slide of the razor...

maggardrazors.com

Very slick.

 

[jesseix]

Personally I just don’t think Proraso is a very good product. Lots of folks like it and that’s fine, but I think you’ll enjoy much better shaves from a lot of soaps.
Whatever you end up with, enjoy!

 

[Dave himself]

Welcome to B&B. Pamolive creme is nice and slick, and won't cost much.

 

[Trans_am2000]

Personally I just don’t think Proraso is a very good product. Lots of folks like it and that’s fine, but I think you’ll enjoy much better shaves from a lot of soaps.
Whatever you end up with, enjoy!

I’m unfortunately going to agree. It’s what I started with a long time ago. Having an old dried up puck I can say even with considerations for error that something isn’t the same. The label is different. New one says super formula. I’ll tell you for someone like me who is likely below average in the game that the old puck doesn’t build as fast loading and doesn’t explode when in the bowl, however it is more slick and less voluminous..It’s possible the new formula needs some technique adjusting maybe..I may try to add more water up front and maybe whip it less. Can you overwork and add too much air to a lather? However I just checked out a review on the dr selby, people seem to rave on it, I’ll probably pick it up and give it a go.

 

[Trans_am2000]

I’m unfortunately going to agree. It’s what I started with a long time ago. Having an old dried up puck I can say even with considerations for error that something isn’t the same. The label is different. New one says super formula. I’ll tell you for someone like me who is likely below average in the game that the old puck doesn’t build as fast loading and doesn’t explode when in the bowl, however it is more slick and less voluminous..It’s possible the new formula needs some technique adjusting maybe..I may try to add more water up front and maybe whip it less. Can you overwork and add too much air to a lather? However I just checked out a review on the dr selby, people seem to rave on it, I’ll probably pick it up and give it a go.

I ended up getting 3 different soaps to try

Dr. Selby,
Noble Otter Soap Co. The Noir Et Vanille,
&
Maggard Razors Limes and Bergamot Shave Soap with Tallow.
I will also be going back to the feather blades. Been digging through some old crap of mine and found an old box of silver blue blades I never opened. May try them as well

 

[SydneyShaver]

Proraso is just not a very good product imo. Like probably the lowest rated cream I've used from a performance perspective. Look for mostly natural soap formulations. Much better ingredients, longevity etc.

 

[Jay21]

Proraso dries my skin and leaves a weird film in the sink.

 

[texbilly]

Personally I just don’t think Proraso is a very good product.

Interesting I tripped across this thread. After receiving a Proraso Green gift pack at Christmas from my sister (who has no idea I have enough product to last 2-3 lifetimes, including two tubes of Proraso cream), I decided to give it another chance, at least to be polite. I dabbed a bit on each cheek, rubbed it in by hand like a brushless, then built a very respectable lather by gradually adding (probably more than usual) water to my brush. Pretty decent lather volume but what really impressed was the slickness...and I mean really slick. I'm not sure anything I use regularly comes close. I am very much a soap guy but I was pleasantly surpised how the cream performed and I've since been using it at least once a week. Now what other creams are just waiting for the same chance?

 

[blethenstrom]

Welcome to B&B!

 

[brucered]

If you used it once after 5y of not shaving and it didn't work for you in terms of lather quality, it's probably 99.875% user error or technique and the Feather blade probably didn't help.

Proraso is a quality soap & cream (Blue is my preference). Cushion smushion. Of course you can feel your fingers between the lather. Shave soap can only provide so much magical cushion, whatever that is anyways.

Use more product and less water to start and ditch the bowl for making lather if you are using one....face lather.

 

[texbilly]

Welcome to B&B!

Thanks....joined in 2009 but I might as well be considered new.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

You mentioned a house move in your opening post. I suspect that (and associated change in water chemistry), is more likely the be the root cause of lather changes, rather than the soaps not being what they were.

You might need to tweak your lathering methods accordingly, to get the same quality lather you got before. If your water here at the new place is harder, a pinch of citric acid in the water might be the only change you need to get back to what you were getting before.

 

[Wgg2017]

I ended up getting 3 different soaps to try

Dr. Selby,
Noble Otter Soap Co. The Noir Et Vanille,
&
Maggard Razors Limes and Bergamot Shave Soap with Tallow.
I will also be going back to the feather blades. Been digging through some old crap of mine and found an old box of silver blue blades I never opened. May try them as well

Nice selection of soaps. I enjoy Noble Otter very much and hopefully one of the three you purchased will give you the results you're looking for.

However, if they don't, I'd suggest buying a bunch of samples from Maggards. Great way to try out a huge variety of soaps to figure out what you like without buying a whole tub. Each sample usually has enough for at least 5 shaves. More if you use a smaller synthetic brush.

 

[DEgeezer]

Welcome to B&B!

 

[Trans_am2000]

You mentioned a house move in your opening post. I suspect that (and associated change in water chemistry), is more likely the be the root cause of lather changes, rather than the soaps not being what they were.

You might need to tweak your lathering methods accordingly, to get the same quality lather you got before. If your water here at the new place is harder, a pinch of citric acid in the water might be the only change you need to get back to what you were getting before.

I’ve thought this about my lathering methods, however I used the older stuff in 3 locations including the one I am in now, one was municipal water, the other well water. Currently am back on well water now. Both wells had/have an array of water softeners and hydrocarbon filters etc. Never had a problem with well or the city water. I have made lather with my old puck before in all locations before just getting the newer formula..idk what I’m doing wrong with the new stuff.. I’m not trying to ruffle anyone’s feathers by not liking the new proraso formula.

Now I’ve only used the old stuff 2 or 3 times here and have used the new formula about 10 times. Perhaps I got lucky. Or the older stuff is a bit harder and changes my perceived ratios up. I feel like the newer stuff may be a hair softer. This may be my issue. I will attempt again probably tomorrow night or Friday and try a different approach on ratios.. I want to like it, infact I want it to live up to what I remembered it being.. even if I like it less than the ones I’ve ordered. I wouldn’t mind the old lady smelling like oatmeal. LOL. I forgot how much I enjoyed the whole ordeal. I’d gladly whip up some leg shaving cream for the ball and chain to use

 

[BrianP]

The heart wants what the heart wants. That being said, I'm disappointed with the Super Formula soap, so despite being pretty much a soap guy, I have a tube of green cream. I will always have one in the drawer. Maybe give the cream a go?

I have a couple of flavours of SV soap. Great stuff. I use the Green cream way more often than them. It's not technically better but I use it way more often.

You'll find your flow. Dialing it all in over time is part of the fun.

 

[DesertIguana]

Some Wet Shave vendor sell sample sizes, or assortment of samples.

Good way to test soaps without breaking bank.

 

[Trans_am2000]

The heart wants what the heart wants. That being said, I'm disappointed with the Super Formula soap, so despite being pretty much a soap guy, I have a tube of green cream. I will always have one in the drawer. Maybe give the cream a go?

I have a couple of flavours of SV soap. Great stuff. I use the Green cream way more often than them. It's not technically better but I use it way more often.

You'll find your flow. Dialing it all in over time is part of the fun.

In my glad I’m not the only one. Have you used the original before the change? I’ve never used a cream in my life, however the Mallard looks to be a stiff cream rather than a soap. I can scoop some up with my finger.

Also, update for you all. The soaps came in today. Couldn’t resist. The noble otter smell is kind of off putting in the tub. However when lathered it’s not bad. The mallard lime smells good, sort of like a mellow key lime pie smell. The dr selby smells like a puck of hand soap you’d find in a nursing home. Sniffs out of the way, noble otter was great. I loaded for 20-30 seconds. Grabbed a photo halfway through. This brush only has about 10-11 shaves on it. It makes me want to grab the well broken in 830 and see what it can do.

So how I shave is usually I like to get some cream on the top cap and then it helps you glide while finding the closest angle for your 2nd pass..it’s also good for your starter passes on the cheeks or the neck where your skin is dry and the cap tends to stick a bit., obviously works great for against the grain as well. Just doing this I could immediately tell how much more slick it was. I appreciate the help. I can honestly say proraso is not good compared to others. I feel like it’s price has doubled and for what you get now for the price you can get something much better for a couple more dollars.

I will update on the others as I use them.