The best mug for me is the old Old Spiec mugs. Almost any puck fits and they have ridges on the inside to keep it from spinning. I face lather and I think that also saves money. These mugs are short to keep clanking to a minimum.
The New Guys Guide to Soaps & Creams
- Thread starter Eagle
- Start date
I lucked into using Bigelow/Proraso.
Thanks for the validation.
Thanks for the validation.
Thanks for a great thread. I'm on a campaign to prove that some of life's greatest joys don't have to cost a lot of money, and this thread proves why. Great topic.
It's probably only because I'm particularly partial to it, but I noticed a distinct lack of Omega shave soap/cream which, to my understanding, is quite comparable to Proraso/Bigelow but ringing it at close to 20 percent cheaper (even if that only means $2). Nice list though.
Thanks! I have to go "econimical" because of my funds, but it's nice to know that some good choices are still out there!
I'd like to see a harder tallow soap in there. While Tabac's really good, it's a softer soap that makes a softer lather, like MWF (which probably shouldn't be on a newbie list). Most of the hard tallow soaps seem to be a little more expensive. If I had to pick one and keep it cheap, my choice would be the Valobra stick. Of course, that complicates things because it's a stick.
Great info, thanks Eagle!
A great guide for someone like myself trying to learn more about wet shaving. Thanks for the information.
Great thread! 
Is the C.O. Bigelow that's made by Proraso the "exact" same ingredients or a little different?
My wife works at a health & nutrition center and she thinks the "Propylene Glycol" that is in the ingredients of C.O. Bigelow, Conk's, VDH and others is very bad for people.
I know it is the main ingredient in automobile anti-freeze. I really like the C.O Bigelow, and wondered if the original Proraso in the green tube had this ingredient as well?
My wife works at a health & nutrition center and she thinks the "Propylene Glycol" that is in the ingredients of C.O. Bigelow, Conk's, VDH and others is very bad for people.
I know it is the main ingredient in automobile anti-freeze. I really like the C.O Bigelow, and wondered if the original Proraso in the green tube had this ingredient as well?
Hey Okie, I have C.O. Big & Omega creams as well as Proraso Soap (in the tub) and they all three list propylene glycol in the ingredients. I assume the Proraso cream would as well although I don't have a tube to verify directly.
No artificial colors is called out though
Hey Okie, I have C.O. Big & Omega creams as well as Proraso Soap (in the tub) and they all three list propylene glycol in the ingredients. I assume the Proraso cream would as well although I don't have a tube to verify directly.
No artificial colors is called out though
Thanks for the info kwsher, Googled the "propylene glycol" and it sounds like it's a pretty toxic chemical. Looks like they put it in a bunch of hygene products. Shampoos, lotions, toothpaste, aftershaves as well as shaving products.
My better half advised me it's not to bad to have one or two products with it, but when it's in everything you use, it reaches toxic levels in the body.
She said it is highly absorbant through the skin and can effect the liver, kidneys and other areas of the body.
With all that said, I still can't see me giving up my C.O./ Proraso. Or Conk's for that matter.
I did a quick drive by of some of the stuff I have and these DO NOT have PG in their ingredients: DR Harris Arlington [soap], MWF [soap], Trumpers Coconut [cream], KMF lime [cream], Cella [soft soap], TOBS Rose [cream], QED Assorted [soaps] and Queen Charlotte Key Lime [soap/cream].Thanks for the info kwsher, Googled the "propylene glycol" and it sounds like it's a pretty toxic chemical. Looks like they put it in a bunch of hygene products. Shampoos, lotions, toothpaste, aftershaves as well as shaving products.
My better half advised me it's not to bad to have one or two products with it, but when it's in everything you use, it reaches toxic levels in the body.
She said it is highly absorbant through the skin and can effect the liver, kidneys and other areas of the body.
With all that said, I still can't see me giving up my C.O./ Proraso. Or Conk's for that matter.
I'll check the balance of the arsenal later.
Your girlfriend is pretty much wrong... propylene glycol is a food-grade humectant that's completely non-toxic at the doses that you get from shaving products. Or from, say, eating supermarket pound cake, many of which have a bit of PG to keep things moist.
The only cases of toxicity on record are from screwups in intravenous administration (PG is a carrier for a lot of different IV medications) where someone dumped buckets of the stuff directly into a patient's bloodstream.
Nothing to worry about unless your shave routine includes IV's.
She's also wrong about the buildup element of her theory-- your body metabolizes PG into pyruvic, acetic, and lactic acids, which are all normal parts of various metabolic processes, and flushes it out just as it would those.
The only cases of toxicity on record are from screwups in intravenous administration (PG is a carrier for a lot of different IV medications) where someone dumped buckets of the stuff directly into a patient's bloodstream.
Nothing to worry about unless your shave routine includes IV's.
She's also wrong about the buildup element of her theory-- your body metabolizes PG into pyruvic, acetic, and lactic acids, which are all normal parts of various metabolic processes, and flushes it out just as it would those.
Hey, some of the guys here are pretty hardcore...
Hmm...I had an IV yesterday when undergoing both an Endoscopy and a Colonoscopy.
Wonder if that is why I felt like crap afterward?
A comment on Williams (a favorite of mine). I think many people have a difficult time getting a good lather because it is such a hard and dense puck. I grate it and stuff it into a bowl and find it much easier to lather in this less dense form. It's a good, slick, long lasting soap and definitely cheap. CVS sells it for about $1.75.
I know the post is old, but I would like to clarify that just because the name Propylene Glycol is similar to Ethylene Glycol does not mean that it is the same category of chemicals as Ethylene Glycol. On the contrary Propoylene Glycol can totally and efficiently be metabolized by the body into pyruvic acid, which is a component of the glucose cycle, so toxicity is almost nil.
Ethylene gycol however, cannot be metabolized and thus precipitates out into its crystalline form in the blood and kidneys causing a high degree of toxicity.
Propylene Glycol is virually as safe as aqua (distilled water). Of course, one should use caution, and not try to eat the soap no matter how good they smell!
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