What is your quest?... Great Shaving Soap

[OldSaw]

I used the Arko regular cream last night. I was very pleased with the results. It whipped up into a nice lather and went on much like the soap. No surprises, no scent, no problems.

I'm not real big on fancy extended face prep. I did my usual, wash with neutrogena face bar & warm water, rinse a couple of times with hot water, leave face wet and work in lather. As I began shaving, I was pleased that I could use my prefered shaving method without any problems like skipping or sticking. In fact my DE SS glided quite comfortably across my face.

I think this one is a keeper. Definitely a good find early on in the journey. The tube is not too big, so it will work well for traveling. Too bad it will have to ride in cargo.

 

[guenron]

mike(y),
If you have the time I would be interested in hearing more about how L'Occitane Shaving Soap earned your WORST EVER rating. While there is always room for differences of opinion, after all that's what makes horse racing, when finding the greatest distinction in the company of some of the grandest world class losers, I must wonder about the episode(s) you suffered. Perhaps you can relate these, e.g prep, performance, issues?
Thanks

 

[misterjoshua]

I just got my first order from SCS yesterday. I have a cake of new spice in the bottom gun mug and am looking forward to... figuring out how to shave with it! (started with creams.)

Man, that smells good... like a high grade cookie. I'll try not to eat it

The scent of the month (oakmoss lavendula) was spectacular... made ye younge wyfe happy (important) and me, too (somewhat important) .

Josh

 

[mikey]

hello ron,

the answer to you inquiry is in post #34 in my response to bob earlier in this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=60233&postcount=34

yes, it definitely was the WORST shave soap that i ever used. it was quickly converted to bath soap after about 4 shaves.

thanks,
mike

mike(y),
If you have the time I would be interested in hearing more about how L'Occitane Shaving Soap earned your WORST EVER rating. While there is always room for differences of opinion, after all that's what makes horse racing, when finding the greatest distinction in the company of some of the grandest world class losers, I must wonder about the episode(s) you suffered. Perhaps you can relate these, e.g prep, performance, issues?
Thanks

 

[finegelernt]

hello Ron,
the answer to you inquiry is in post #34 in my response to bob earlier in this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=60233&postcount=34

yes, it definitely was the WORST shave soap that i ever used. it was quickly converted to bath soap after about 4 shaves.
mike

You mean it is worse than Williams Soap which you can get for under a buck?
We just had a similar discussion regarding L'occitane soap here
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4420&page=4

and most people agree that it is slick and provides a great deal of protection against razor burn. I can understand having a difference of opinion on how the soap smells but such qualities as moisturizing and razor burn protection seem pretty objective and I do not understand how there can be such a wide difference of opinion.
Could you tell us which soaps you think provide superior razor burn protection.

 

[mikey]

finegelernt,

considering the cost of the locitaine ($12) vs the cost of the williams ($1), yes the williams is better. the williams lather dries out a bit too quickly if you don't use a lot of water and it takes longer to whip it up to the proper consistency but at least is gives me an adequate shave. come to think of it, considering the cost of the williams, i might bump it up to the "OK" category with the burma shave as these two soaps would work in a pinch. someone had metioned in a previous thread on one of the shaving forums that the trick to improving the williams is to pour boiling water over it and let it sit overnight. i just might have to try that.

i am aware of the "most overrated soap/cream" thread as i posted a reply there. it is good to know that there are others that don't like the locitaine soap. however, i do like the cade scent. it just turned out to be the most expensive bath soap i ever used.

with regards to what soaps work well for me, i put an extensive list in post #32 earlier in this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=60217&postcount=32

You mean it is worse than Williams Soap which you can get for under a buck?
We just had a similar discussion regarding L'occitane soap here
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4420&page=4

and most people agree that it is slick and provides a great deal of protection against razor burn. I can understand having a difference of opinion on how the soap smells but such qualities as moisturizing and razor burn protection seem pretty objective and I do not understand how there can be such a wide difference of opinion.
Could you tell us which soaps you think provide superior razor burn protection.

 

[sinekkaydi]

So far among what I have tried my favs are
Soap NOMAND
Cream Taylor Lavender
Proraso

 

[rtaylor61]

Mikey,

If you find the Williams dries out too quickly, try adding a couple of drops of hair conditioner to it. Or a small dollop of Palmolive Shaving Lather.

Randy

 

[guenron]

hello ron,

the answer to you inquiry is in post #34 in my response to bob earlier in this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=60233&postcount=34

yes, it definitely was the WORST shave soap that i ever used. it was quickly converted to bath soap after about 4 shaves.

thanks,
mike

Mike,
Thanks for your response, but your post #34 contains nothing about prep, etc.. As far as protection, it is strange that you got good lather, but no protection. I am really interested in learning how you managed to get this soap to lather without getting the benefit of its formulation. At any rate, that's what makes horse racing..

 

[rikrdo]

I have an untouched, unopened jar of Tabac under my sink. I keep coming on the verge of opening it for use but then I see the rest of the stuff on my sink and it makes me back down due to the already large rotation. Heh

Ill take it off your hands....
I just bought the big-ol jug of Tabac EDT and I need the soap!!

 

[OldSaw]

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.

When I first started working it in it felt like any other soap, but after about a minute I could feel my face tingling... I noticed my skin was really red...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...Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to use it.

Nearly two weeks ago I tried the HBS almond shave soap with the above posted results. I had planned on seeing about an exchange for unscented but never got around to it. The one that I opened and tried was sitting on my bathroom organizer and I used it several times as a shampoo bar, (makes mountains of lather).

Since it did not cause any reaction while shampooing I decided to try it again today. First I washed my face with it as a test and all was well. Next I whipped up some lather and worked it in with my badger brush. There was no tingling, so I wiped off a few spots to check for redness. Everything was looking good so I gently began the shave, even though my 1962 Gillette adjustable was set on 9 for seriously smooth, and was pleasantly surprised at how well it went. No redness, no burning and what an awesome BBS shave.

Of course I adjusted the setting down for the more fragile areas, but anyway, I was very impressed with this soap. Not only did it readily whip up into a very fine slippery lather, it was very adjustable. At one point I had it as thick as Noxema. I could have put it on with a trowel. With just a touch of water on the tips of the badger hair I was able to thin it back down to the way I like it. The almond scent had also toned down a bit but was still pleasantly subtle. At the end of the shave I was able to smear some of the lather around with my fingers to check for stuble and clean up the difficult areas on my neck. I do this by smearing a thin coat of lather against the grain and taking cross cuts on the stretched skin, works well around the adam's apple, especially with good slippery soap.

I know a lot of guys like preaching, "give it a second chance", but I'm certain it had nothing to do with my technique or anything I had control over. Also, I don't believe my skin was just sensitive that day. But having studied a little about soap, (wanted to make my own before finding things better than Williams), I have an idea of what may have happened. Aside from all the other additives that could be found in soap, the main ingredients are lye and fat, (animal and/or vegatible). Without getting into the specifics, after the chemical reaction takes place between these two ingredients it is poured into molds to harden. After being removed from the mold it is cut into bars, if not already bar sized, and allowed to cure. If the soap is used before fully curing it may cause a reaction. This is what I believe happened. Now I don't blame Sue for this, it is very difficult for the small batch soap maker to get it perfect outside of a climate controlled area. I think all it needed was a little air curing time. I will be sure to open the next one about a week before I need it to allow for this.

I highly recommend this soap for a smooth comfortable shave with a light almond scent. It also has a wife pleasing price.

I think the quest will take a brief break while I enjoy this for a while. No sense in rushing headlong into the unknown. Kind of like hanging out at Castle Anthrax for a while. As long as Sir Launcelot doesn't try to rescue me.

 

[mikey]

hello ron,

as far as prep is concerned:

hot shower
wet face
wet brush
create lather on soap
apply lather with circular motions
smooth lather with painting motions
one with the grain pass
one touch and cut pass
hot water rinse
cold water rinse
pat face dry
apply lime skin food

this is my standard procedure with any soap (i don't like creams). an across the grain pass for me is kind of useless. against the grain pass would give me even worse razor burn than this soap.

i'm stumped as well with regards to how i got this soap to lather fine but give an awful shave. i am simply reporting my observations for the (possible) benefit of this forum.

thanks,
mike

Mike,
Thanks for your response, but your post #34 contains nothing about prep, etc.. As far as protection, it is strange that you got good lather, but no protection. I am really interested in learning how you managed to get this soap to lather without getting the benefit of its formulation. At any rate, that's what makes horse racing..

 

[zachster]

Mama bear offers a old spice scent.

Old Spice shaving soap had an excellent, fresh scent, but it was not the scent of OS aftershave -- totally different. Do you know if Mama Bear's soap is scented like the aftershsave, or like the original OS shaving soap?

 

[gundog]

Old Spice shaving soap had an excellent, fresh scent, but it was not the scent of OS aftershave -- totally different. Do you know if Mama Bear's soap is scented like the aftershsave, or like the original OS shaving soap?

The Honeybee-Spa shaving soap in Old Spice scent is very close to the original.

 

[pokkuhlag]

Old Spice shaving soap had an excellent, fresh scent, but it was not the scent of OS aftershave -- totally different. Do you know if Mama Bear's soap is scented like the aftershsave, or like the original OS shaving soap?

I have the Mama Bear's soap and the original after shave ( old description) and it definately doesn't smell like the after shave. Maybe my AS is too old?

 

[zachster]

The Honeybee-Spa shaving soap in Old Spice scent is very close to the original.

Thanks -- I'll give it a try and report back. Every so often I can still remember the smell my last fresh cake of OS soap! Used it from '82 until it was discontinued in the early '90s....

 

[OldSaw]

I think the quest will take a brief break while I enjoy this for a while. No sense in rushing headlong into the unknown. Kind of like hanging out at Castle Anthrax for a while. As long as Sir Launcelot doesn't try to rescue me.

I must say I am very surprised at myself. I tried another product yesterday and posted the results in the reviews section.http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=69354#post69354

I took a stroll into the Body Shop and bought a tub of their shave cream. I was very impressed and like the fact that I can buy it at a local store. Could this be what I was looking for? It might have to be for a while.

At the beginning of this thread I indicated that I would probably find something that I liked and stick with it like I did with the Col. Conk. Little did I know what I was getting into. Have I opened the Pandora's Box of shave cream by daring to experiment?

While I can easily obsess over things for a short period, I fear this one might be long lasting. After all I have been at this a long time, (wet shaving that is). I fear that I will not be able to stop even though I really like this cream and the HBS almond, I can't help but wonder what is around the next bend.

I believe I am getting perfect shaves now, so why continue? Well, I guess since perfection is a road it is continously changing. I might even take a look at the cream section of the forum.

 

[Ken]

I would recommend that you try soaps by Floris and D.R. Harris, the two English soaps that I have found to be the best. I also think that the soaps by the Art of Shaving are first-rate. Floris and AOS are rather pricey, Harris less so.

Ken

 

[OldSaw]

The C&E Nomad that I was blessed to win at B&B has edged out the Body Shop shave cream.

The scent of the C&E Nomad is almost nonexistant, but WOW! what a shave! It lathers fast and rich from a very small amount on the tips of the brush. During the shave it holds up pretty well without needing to be refreshed.

I really like using a technique with this stuff that I think might be what is referred to as "blade buffing", not quite sure. Anyway, what I do is, after sufficiently reducing the forest to "touch only" detectable stuble, I lather up again and use short push/pull strokes without lifting the razor. I work against the grain with the adjustment of my 1962 Gillette DE set on one. Because the lather is so thick, on the forward stroke it builds up on the guard in a huge marshmellow like clump that doesn't fall off. On the back stroke this clump reapplies itself to my face, which allows for another forward stroke with no irritation. I can take several short passes over difficult areas and really concentrate on getting the blade at just the right angle to lop off the shortest of stubble. This is a technique that has left me in misery with a badly burned and bloodied face, especially around the neck. However, with the C&E Nomad, I have done this on back to back days and even once on the same day, (about 14 hours apart).

I know this isn't a proper review, but I've been pretty busy lately and didn't want to let this go without at least mentioning it.

 

[PalmettoB]

I started out with Col. Conk Bay Rum. Found it locally at a favorite old-fashioned general store when I first got into wetshaving properly. Even after trying others, I still will keep it around. Proraso is a great one. That one I definitely go to when it is hot out! And I just ordered Mama Bear's Rosemary Mint and Lavender, so I will have to report back on those next week. Can't wait!