What One Soap Brand Should I Try?

[Tarak83]

Hi all. The only three shave soaps/creams I've experienced are Taylor of Old Bond Street, Stirling, and Proraso.

In my 2 month DE journey, I've already bought quite a handful of soaps and razors, so I owe it to myself to slow down.

What one other soap company would you encourage me to try in the arsenal? I'd like it to be in the more artisan camp of things, vs. large mass produced brands (i.e. Proraso). I'd also not like any of the highly polarized things like Tabac. I'm looking for something really slick that is good for sensitive skin.

Brands coming to mind: Zingari, Barrister & Mann, Caties Bubbles (even though I hate that name), Pre de Provence.

 

[Heron]

Stirling

 

[Sabre]

TFS and Mondial, both croaps.

 

[Tarak83]

Stirling

See above. Stirling is one of the 3 I have. Love it.

 

[Tarak83]

TFS and Mondial, both croaps.

TFS? Does that stand for something?

 

[Sabre]

TFS? Does that stand for something?

Tcheon Fung Sing. They are Italian.

 

[MrSpeedy]

If you liked Stirling, you'll love Mike's Natural Soaps. If you are interested in trying a vegan soap, I would strongly suggest Dr. Jon's or Southern Witchcrafts. SW might be a slightly better performer, but their scents are polarizing, to say the least.

 

[Rider]

Artisans:

- Mike's.
- Soap Commander.
- Barrister and Mann.
- Ariana & Evans.
- Catie's Bubbles.
- Shannon's Soaps.

Non artisans:

- Haslinger.
-

 

[emwolf]

I too vouch for Southern Witchcrafts, an incredible soap, but very odd and complex scents.

 

[Clay S]

I wouldn't consider Pre de Provence an artisan soap, though it is a soap I would recommend.

 

[mata_66]

Tcheon Fung Sing. They are Italian.

Old good Tcheon Fung Sing was a Chinese immigrant who traveled to Italy back in the 30's. During World War II he was interned in a refugee camp. He married an Italian woman and together with her wife he made good use of his soap crafting skill and in 1945 they started to produce shaving creams in their shop in Turin (NW Italy).

Today his descendants still run the business and they produce a never-ending series of soaps, croaps and creams, both branded TFS and for other brands (Razorock, Abbate Y La Mantia and many others). Price range in Italy is between $3 and $35 depending on the quality and packaging.

 

[mata_66]

I too vouch for Southern Witchcrafts, an incredible soap, but very odd and complex weird scents.

But I like them (well, some of them...)

 

[Racquet]

Just about anything listed will fill your needs, Maggards house soap is a really good
tallow soap that I enjoy, made for Maggards by Thru the Fire Finecraft, a local to Maggards
artisan that also has her own line. Soap Commander is a really good vegan soap, one of the first soaps I purchased,
Long Rifle Soaps is one of my other favorites, like a old pair of jeans or comfortable shoes. Cold River Soap Works,
Wet Shaving Products offers both vegan and tallow soaps that are excellent, as others have said, Mikes Naturals.
Just look on Maggards or West Coast Shaving and pick something, there are way too many offerings to say this
one is the best. I can't get a bad shave from any of my 40 soaps

 

[OpusX]

The thing that's filling my den up the most is CBL Soaps. I'm very much enjoying them.

 

[sugardaddy]

Barrister and Mann .. of the ones you listed as ideas, I would recommend this one the most. Their base is just so good and his scents are equally so. I love that he has remade old, classic scents that were excellent and well loved: Reserve line. But he also takes risks and develops interesting and creative sents too. I kind of think of this brand as The benchmark for the top tier soaps. And so I think that learning their base and enjoying something from them is a great way to also be able to communicate to other users because of that common ground. I also like the scent strength of his products: few light ones.

ZingariMan .. her seagull soap base is just terrific and although she's relatively new on the scene, Heather's products are top tier.

Catie's Bubbles .. from the beginning I have also not liked this product name/brand. But have heard very few raise that same objection. Maybe everyone is just keeping it quiet. because after all, the products are excellent and many of the scents are really really well done. He named the company after his daughter which of course is a wonderful thing to do, because after all he does love his daughter. But I think that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best name for a men's shaving products brand.

Pre de Provence .. I did 15 days with this soap and can say that, in my opinion, it does not belong in the same league as the brands already mentioned. I'm just speaking in terms of performance, but it's just not as creamy and slick as the ones we've already mentioned. Now, I think the number 63 is an amazing scent that I will always have in my collection. But the performance is a bit of a let down, compared to so many other makers that we have going right now. It is vegan, and I think it represents a very very good value if money is a concern, because a puck will last a very very long time. And don't get me wrong... the slickness that you get is enjoyable and shaves very well.

(Sent from mobile)

 

[JCarr]

Zingari Man, Barrister & Mann - Both good bets!

I recommend, Zingari Man The Wanderer and Barrister and Mann Terror. The other producer I would look at is Goodfellas's Smile...their Abysso is a really nice aquatic, YMMV.

 

[Ridgeback]

Noble Otter is on my top 2 list

 

[mata_66]

Zingari Man, Barrister & Mann - Both good bets!

I recommend, Zingari Man The Wanderer and Barrister and Mann Terror. The other producer I would look at is Goodfellas's Smile...their Abysso is a really nice aquatic, YMMV.

Nice soap indeed. I also like their "Tallow N.1" (and the Lovercraftesque label) and Re Nero (Black King) with horse milk:

 

[Tarak83]

The thing that's filling my den up the most is CBL Soaps. I'm very much enjoying them.

What does CBL stand for?

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Soap Commander is one of the best out there, but not in terms of slickness. It's slick enough, but the post-shave is pure magic. Very simple clean soap recipe with no foamers or chelating agents, very spa-like lather, right up there with Martin de Candre, and better in some ways for a fraction of the cost.