SR Shaving w/ Vegan Soap

[HazMat Shaver]

IMO, most vegen soaps suck. Most being the word of the day.

SV and MDC are vegan and are on top of my soap choices. So its a matter of the soap makers ability and experiance.

 

[APBinNCA]

I am a bit of a soap snob, but I have been trying out cheapie EU soap sticks. Most are vegan now. I could easily use them as my only soap if I had to, they are perfectly nice for SR shaving. Speick, LEA, Haslinger, etc. I am kind of tired of US made stuff, but that is purely personal.

 

[Possum092]

Quick update. Mo sent me a tub from a different batch, much better lathering without having to dig to the bottom. Excellent customer service!

 

[Frank Shaves]

Anyone else find their vegan soap lather is borderline for SR shaves? I love Grooming Dept. for my DE shaves; however, today’s shave with GD Vertu a vegan soap was lackluster. The scent is amazing, but the lather kept disappearing and the slickness for SR shaving was not impressive. I finished the shave without any irritation or nicks but was left scratching my head. Maybe my SR shaves take longer to execute than DE but only by a few minutes. Any thoughts?

Absolutely! Unwilling to fork over the big bucks, I tried about half a dozen vegan soaps, looking for ones with ingredient lists like MdC, and gave up figuring that vegan soaps just cannot provide the level of protection provided by tallow-based soaps. Then I tried MdC when very generous member included a sample of MdC with a razor bought on the BST.

The problem had nothing to do with vegan versus tallow. It had to do with good versus bad soap. There is no soap better than MdC, period. And MdC is a bargain over the full life of a tub.

 

[Ravenonrock]

I SR shave and use good vegan and tallow based soaps interchangeably. My preference leans towards tallow because it just agrees with my skin like no other soap post shave…yet.

 

[Matt O]

This picture is MDC, and it shaves better than it looks! The other two noteworthy non-tallow soaps that I like to use are I Coloniali Mango and Sebum. There is nothing lack luster about any of them. Santa Maria Novella is a cream, but also non-tallow, and it’s fantastic!

 

[Kyle89]

The only Vegan soap I've used with a SR is Proraso and the shave was fine. I'm sure when I was a newer SR shaver it would have been a problem but I think my technique is at the point where I can use Barbasol if I had to.

 

[Possum092]

The only Vegan soap I've used with a SR is Proraso and the shave was fine. I'm sure when I was a newer SR shaver it would have been a problem but I think my technique is at the point where I can use Barbasol if I had to.

The main difference I noticed was vegan soaps want to run when wet enough for my SR shaves. Tallow and duck fat based soaps tend to stay put without dripping and running down my blade and face. After this batch, I'll probably stay away from vegan soaps unless I absolutely need to try a specific vegan only scent.

 

[Frank Shaves]

@Possum092, If you are in the US, send me a PM and I will send you a sample of MdC. It is just not right that you not experience a world-class vegan soap.

 

[Alum of Potash]

I personally see no real difference between straights and other razors in lathering. For me, it's a matter of making the lather thick enough to stay on my face for the pass, and thin enough to rinse off as needed. Ditto for tallow-based versus non tallow-based and vegan soaps, although I'm partial to sheep tallow soaps and creams with lanolin as I like the feel there.

 

[Possum092]

@Possum092, If you are in the US, send me a PM and I will send you a sample of MdC. It is just not right that you not experience a world-class vegan soap.

I very much appreciate the offer. The pricing on MdC is about twice the price of anything else in my stash. I’ve read lots of great things about the soap.

 

[Possum092]

@Possum092, If you are in the US, send me a PM and I will send you a sample of MdC. It is just not right that you not experience a world-class vegan soap.

Thank you for your extremely kind offer! The generosity and willingness to help fellow shavers on these boards is truly impressive. Happy shaves and enjoy a blessed weekend.

 

[mattps1]

Most of my soaps are vegan, and have been fine for SR shaving these are:
- Saponificio Varesino
- MdC
- Antica Barbieria Colla I've used for the last 6 monhs

I've used Tabac tallow and B&M, while great soaps they aren't really above those aforementioned products IMO, but equals in quality at different price points.

This is a heresy to some, but some pre-shave product sometimes helps improve slickness as well, even just moisuriser on the skin before lathering up.

 

[Possum092]

Most of my soaps are vegan, and have been fine for SR shaving these are:
- Saponificio Varesino
- MdC
- Antica Barbieria Colla I've used for the last 6 monhs

I've used Tabac tallow and B&M, while great soaps they aren't really above those aforementioned products IMO, but equals in quality at different price points.

This is a heresy to some, but some pre-shave product sometimes helps improve slickness as well, even just moisuriser on the skin before lathering up.

Thanks for the recommendations. My problems with a particular vegan soap were in part attributable to layering within the tub and me not being aware of the need to dig into to the tub. The better lather producing part of the soap had settled near the bottom. Top lathering and just using the top layer was what caused my poor lathering issues.

 

[Possum092]

Just had an amazing shave with the replacement tub of Grooming Department Vertu soap. I can’t get enough of this scent. Vanill, chocolate, and lots tonka. Absolutely no lather issues; plenty left after three passes.