What are the Must Try Soaps

[jbo99]

I am new to wet shaving with anything other than canned goo and find that I seem to prefer soaps to cremes for making lather and shaving. My question is, what are the must try shaving soaps in your opinion. I currently have three I use, VDH deluxe, williams and arko. I like all three, still trying to figure out williams lather making but I have found a way to make usable lather for me, still would like it to be better but I won't give up yet.

Are there more moisturizing soaps out there, I seem to have dry skin when using arko, which I like, I just don't like the dry skin aspect when done.

I am all ears.

 

[jazzguy]

Mitchell's Wool Fat, Harris and Haslinger are three of my favorite soaps. You might also try Mike's which I find to have excellent skin care properties.

 

[JaxJim]

Tabac, Mitchell's Wool Fat, Cella and C&E Nomad would be included on my list of must try soaps.

 

[John Von Wuggz]

MWF and Proraso green in the tub.

 

[Krona Kruiser]

+1 on MWF, Proraso Green, Cella and try some of the RazoRock soaps/croaps. Try some shave sticks like La Toja, Palmolive and Valobra as well.

 

[DirtDiver]

Personally for me I LOVE the Art of Shaving Sandalwood. Really easy to lather and great smell.

Also, Proraso green, CO Bigelow, and TOBS.

 

[Mick]

Arko shave stick
Tabac
Cella
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Palmolive shave stick

 

[jeffsf]

At least one of the small-batch "artisan" soaps -- I'm very partial to Mystic Water Soap and am waiting for Mike to finish up his real-life commitments to try some of his product as well. There are others, such as Mama Bear's and Queen Charlottte, but only so many days that I can shave in a month

 

[TheVez2]

Mainstream
Cella
Proraso Green
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Art of Shaving - Sandalwood
Tabac
Valobra stick
Palmolive stick
Martin de Candre - If you want to splurge!

Vintage (from B/S/T, eBay, etsy, etc.)
Williams - much better than current Williams
Old Spice

Artisan
Mystic Water
Saint Charles Shave
HoneyBee Soaps
RazoRock
Queen Charlotte Soaps
Mama Bears

 

[Deano]

I like the Razorock soaps or about any Italian "croap". Having said that, the VDH Deluxe is a pretty good soap and the glycerine it includes is nice. IMO the VDH Luxury is even better.

 

[Kostas1]

Check out your local department stores and TJMAXX/Marshall's for tallow Art of Shaving soaps (the "made in Italy" ones). Truly excellent.

Razorock soaps/croaps are excellent and close to impossible to beat for the money. The La Famiglia line is rebranded TFS...great stuff. The Artisan Line is excellent also, and I prefer the ones with tallow. Nice thing about all of the above is that you have many scent options to choose from.

Savon des Volcans. Been spending the last couple weeks mainly with these. I know some have had trouble lathering. I haven't and their performance is wonderful. Brush up on your French though (or cheat like I did and use google translator).

MWF...it is great. And..you have to because MWF is a rite of passage.

 

[5savages]

When everyone has finished responding, and you've read through all of the posts, you'll come to the conclusion that you need to try them all!

 

[JCinPA]

Mainstream
Cella
Proraso Green
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Art of Shaving - Sandalwood
Tabac
Valobra stick
Palmolive stick
Martin de Candre - If you want to splurge!

Vintage (from B/S/T, eBay, etsy, etc.)
Williams - much better than current Williams
Old Spice

Artisan
Mystic Water
Saint Charles Shave
HoneyBee Soaps
RazoRock
Queen Charlotte Soaps
Mama Bears

Wow! Now I don't have to make a list! I've tried all but 2 on that list, and I would agree. There is one addition I would make, however, and that would be a D.R. Harris in scent of your choosing. Arlington seems to get most popular, although Marlborough gets some love, as well.

 

[Deano]

When everyone has finished responding, and you've read through all of the posts, you'll come to the conclusion that you need to try them all!

 

[jbo99]

When everyone has finished responding, and you've read through all of the posts, you'll come to the conclusion that you need to try them all!

hahaha, that's what I thought when I started reading back through the recommendations.

 

[Black Adder]

All excellent suggestions. I would add Valobra's soft soaps, available in menthol and almond. Lathers like crazy, super slick, and protective. Comes in a very manageable block that you can press fit into any container.

Don

 

[dparish1952]

Try these controversial soaps to know what the fussing is about:

Fragrance--Arko, Tabac
Lathering--Mystic Waters (MW), Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF), Mike's Natural, Williams (you have)
"Overlooked"--La Toja stick, Valobra stick

HTH
Dennis

 

[5savages]

What I suggest, is rather than chase down all of these great recommendations, pick one from each category. Immediately these categories come to mind:

Triple milled tallow (DR Harris, Tabac, MWF)
Triple milled veggie (Cade, Provence Sante)
Artisan Tallow (Mystic Water, Mikes)
Artisan melt & pour (Ogallala Bay Rum Co)
Italian "Croap" tallow (RR Boston Tea Party)
Italian "croap" veggie (RR Fresco)
Stick (Valobra, La Toja, Arko, Speick, Palmolive)
Cheap (Williams, VDH, Arko)
Vintage (Williams, Colgate)

I'm sure we could come up with more, but you get the idea. Once you find out what types you like, start exploring more from that category.

Or just try them all.

 

[TheVez2]

All excellent suggestions. I would add Valobra's soft soaps, available in menthol and almond. Lathers like crazy, super slick, and protective. Comes in a very manageable block that you can press fit into any container.

Don

I almost added them to my list, but they act pretty much just like Cella, so they aren't very unique to "need" to try them both. Interesting enough, it performs just like Cella for me, except Valobra doesn't have tallow and Cella does.

 

[Marco]

Other two very moisturizing soaps that have not been mentioned until now are Institut Karitè and the new Lea stick. Both excellent IMHO.