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What is your quest?... Great Shaving Soap

I can only add to what the others say. I started out with a crappy soap (Classic Shaving) then used creams. I recently started moving back to soaps and find I prefer them except to maybe Cyril Salter Mint (awesome stuff with my weird water). Salter makes other flavors that according to Charles at QED are just as efficacious.

For soaps, I would try (in general order) the Honeybee, SCS, the French stuff, Tabac (available from Charles) and Mama Bear. That will keep you in soaps for a while. :biggrin: Don't forget the QEDman glycerin soaps either while you are putting in your Tabac order - his stuff is just absolutely first rate and provides the closest shaves of my entire supply of creams and soaps. His shaves sticks are very cool and work superbly but the tubs are a good deal as well if not a bit trixity to lather.

Dennis
 
Steve said:
Dennis,

It's QED for me! I have Bay Rum, B&B. Sadalwood and Vetiver.

Half the fun is trying different soaps until you find what you like. You owe yourself the opportunity to try a number of them. It's the thrill of the hunt!

Steve

I've found plenty that I like, but I keep buying :tongue:
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
Birch,

Pardon me as I try to get used to makeing my posts actually post.

In my lost reply to you yesterday, I was saying how I had recommended Col. Conk almond to others over the years without regard to how it might work with different skin types.

I see a lot of guys bragging up Proraso and I wouldn't say it is bad stuff, it just doesn't work well for me. I also have developed shave habits that don't work well with Proraso. I like making a second pass immediately on certain areas and this requires a soap that leaves a little bit of lube behind for the second cut. I know I could change my technique and have better results with Proraso, I just don't want to. I like what I do and I want a soap that will work with me.

I have slightly sensitive skin but I think there is more to it than that, such as PH, age, elasticity etc. that makes one soap great for some and not so great for others. Because of the large quantities I was buying it's been a few years since I bought any Conk soap and maybe they changed something. I'll have to compare a new one to a 3 year old travel Conk I have tucked away.

I'm just thankful that there is such a wide variety to chose from. I think that is the jist of what I wrote. Now I will add a thread reply about the Honey Bee almond I tried today.
 
I would have to say that for me the Proraso soap in the green tub is my favorite soap. It is easy to lather and provides very good lubrication. The fact that I like the scent is just a bonus for me.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
First I would like to say thanks for all the replies and wonderful suggestions of favorite soaps. I am building quite a list to try out. It will take a while to get through it, but I think I'm ready for the journey. Comming from a guy who hasn't changed shaving soap in nearly 20 years that's a big step.

Today I received Honey Bee almond, Arko soap and Arko regular cream, plus a couple of little alum bars from Tulumba. So with only one shave available before taking MBW out for dinner, (8 year anniversary, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more, say no more), I tore into the Honey Bee almond.

It smelled great and felt like shaving soap ought to feel, not hard like some of the cheapo brands. First thing I realized was that this was no wimpy little shaving bar when it would not fit into my Old Spice mug. No problem, I tossed it into my shallow soup mug, (49 cents at thrift store), and started working up a nice lather. This stuff really lathers well.

When I first started working it in it felt like any other soap, but after about a minute I could feel my face tingling. Since it was not a burning uncomfortable feeling I kept on going. After my first pass, (just below my right ear, I always start at the jaw line and work from right to left, then move up to the right side burn and cut above the jaw line. Keeps the lather from washing off), I noticed my skin was really red. I just loaded a new Derby into the Super Speed so I knew my blade was in good shape. I felt to see if I scraped the skin and all felt fine. I took another stroke and saw even redder skin, which by now was brighter than my slightly fading red hair. So I think I am alergic to the Honey Bee almond. However I did not want to quit since it was working well for shaving. So I finished the shave taking lighter strokes than usual just to be on the safe side. It really provided what I was looking for in shavability. It made the razor glide almost effortlessly across my face and through my thick wirey whiskers. Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to use it.

Not wanting to leave the Arko untested I washed off my face and checked if I left enough whiskers for another go. I was surprised at the shape of the red skin. It wasn't just where I shaved. It was every where the lather was, including my ear lobes and one sploch just above my chest. The good news is it cleared up rather quickly after washing and rinsing.

I figured there was enough to make a cross cut pass, so I lathered up with the Arko soap. The cream will have to wait until tomorrow. I was quite surprised at how well this stuff felt and performed. After removing the wrapper I squished the ends toward the center to shape into a puck. It was quite pliable. I then tossed it into my Old Spice mug and worked up a nice lather. Just like the Honey Bee it lathered up very nice.

It went on without much fanfare but my face was feeling slightly numb at this point anyway. Not wanting to shread my face I gingerly took a few light strokes. I thought it performed quite well and my skin was not running for the door. In fact it was returning to normal. I finished the second shave and my face really felt good. I rinsed, rubbed down with the new alum bar and applied some Nivea Sensitive AS.

All in all I think both soaps performed above average. I can see keeping some Arko on hand as a back up even if it does not become my favorite. Heck at 99 cents it dances circles around the same priced Williams.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
Jim,

Check my results in "the quest continues..." reply to this thread.

Dennis
 
Dennis,
That is surprising about the Honeybee. Definitely sounds like that flavor at least is out for you. It is such good stuff, though, that, IMO it might be worth trying a different scent. After all, the thing that you are allergic to is far more likely to be a fragrance oil than the primary ingredients.
 
Yup, sounds like you are definitely allergic to one of the essential oils (real) or fragrance oils (synthetic) in the soap. The soaps come in dozens of flavors and usually unscented as well so do not rule out a particular maker of soap because of an allergic reaction. If you liked the lather and shave in general, try a different flavor.

Dennis
(the other one...)
 
I agree with "The Other Dennis"...I have used 3 HB soaps so far and all work fantastically...give a couple others a shot and see how they work for you...
 
dennis,

yes, my quest is also a great shaving SOAP. i haven't narrowed it down to one but here is what i have tried:

GOOD

proraso
qed (sandalwood, fresh lime)
tabac
truefit and hill
trumper (sandalwood, west indian limes)


BAD (for one reason or another)

burma shave - discontinued?
classic (fresh lime)
colgate
c&e (almond)
ems (citrus lime)
rivivage - supposedly the same thing as gold dachs spezial
scs (ginger lime)
surrey (amber) - supposedly the same thing as colonel conk
taylor (luxury)
williams


UGLY

locitaine - the WORST shave soap i have ever used, i would rather shave dry with a dull blade


NEED TO TRY

coleen (cavendish black)
knize ten
mama bear (drakkar)
mitchell - supposedly the same thing as kent

thanks,
mike
 
mikey said:
BAD (for one reason or another)

williams
surrey (this is supossedly the same thing as the col. conk)
locitaine (the WORST shave soap i have ever used, i would rather shave dry with a dull blade)
scs
taylor
rivivage
ems
classic

Wow...I am surprised at the L'Occitane and SCS since I have great success with these...but as always YMMV.
 
hello bob,

to give you a little more background on the two soaps you were suprised to find on my "BAD" list:

locitaine
yes, this was the WORST shave soap i have ever used (colgate was i close second). the soap lathered well and had a creamy and hydrated consistency. problem is, the soap provided absolutely NO protection. i got the worst razor burn and way to many nicks for the cost of this stinker of a soap.

scs
i purchased the ginger lime soap from sue as the description said it was a lime (as i am a huge lime fan) soap with a hint of ginger. problem is, all i could smell was the ginger. the razor skipped a lot when i used this soap. sue credited my account no questions asked, definitely top notch customer service.

thanks,
mike





boboakalfb said:
Wow...I am surprised at the L'Occitane and SCS since I have great success with these...but as always YMMV.
 
I understand...I don't have much success with Castle Forbes creams but some people think its the greatest stuff in the world.
 
bob,

same thing with the proraso, i love it but a lot of guys can't stand the stuff.

thanks,
mike





boboakalfb said:
I understand...I don't have much success with Castle Forbes creams but some people think its the greatest stuff in the world.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
moses said:
Dennis,
That is surprising about the Honeybee. Definitely sounds like that flavor at least is out for you. It is such good stuff, though, that, IMO it might be worth trying a different scent. After all, the thing that you are allergic to is far more likely to be a fragrance oil than the primary ingredients.
I'll see if I can exchange the unused ones, (I got 4), for some other flavors. I'm not ready to throw in the towel on all Honey Bee soaps just because of one scent that may not agree with me. Especially since they have such strong testimonials.
 
Just a thought - I am pretty sure that Honeybee Sue sells unscented bars. You could always try one just to make sure it isn't something in her base soap. Although it may not really make sense to do that, since you would then be stuck with a boring unscented bar, and you will probably be fine with any other scent anyway.
 
boboakalfb said:
I understand...I don't have much success with Castle Forbes creams but some people think its the greatest stuff in the world.


They are WAY overrated and overpriced. I think the main appeal is that they are hard to get and overperfumed-a lot of guys like that aromatherapy explosion.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
MBW hates the smell of my Arko soap. I could hardly believe it. I said it's plain unscented soap, it must be something else. She sniffed the mug and said it had to be covered or go in a drawer.
 
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