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What soap for dry and sensitive skin?

I’ve recently returned to the world of shaving after having a long beard for over a year. I started out shaving in the shower with a DE for a couple of months, but now I’m getting back into shaving with straights again.

I’ve been face lathering with Tabac almost exclusively, and always shave right after my shower, but it feels like my skin is very dry right after my shaves, and it even feels like the soap lather is drying out my skin before my first pass is done. I can definitely feel more pull/irritation when this happens.

I’m interested in what the hive mind thinks; am I just making a bad lather, or should I try some other potentially more moisturizing soaps that would improve my experience, and if so which ones would the hive-mind recommend for long lasting lather and moisturizing properties?
 
i think that most of modern artisan soaps are great in terms of moisterizing the skin..
B&M,A&E,MacDuffs,Zingari Man,Noble Otter,Declaration Grooming,Lothur,Gentlemans Nod,
Grooming Dept and Phoenix Artisan won't leave you disappointed!
 
I had shaved with straight razor between 2011 and 2014 before I switched to DE razors and I remember that I had had the same issue. To be honest that was too long ago and either my technic/shaving time improved or I found better lather I don’t remember. I definitely preferred cremes with straights as they’re worked much better for me. It might help to relather your face in the middle of a pass if it takes too long and the lather dries while you shave.

I don’t think the issue is in Tabac though it’s considered a pretty good soap (I haven’t used it personally though).

Since I switched to DE where my shaving time is much quicker I don’t think I can recommend any soap/cream that would have nice long lasting gliding lather. But you can definitely try some artisan soaps as they are mostly tallow based and thus have rich nice lather (BUT you do need to add more water to tallow based soaps) or try tallow based soaps from established companies like Dr Harris etc. With artisans you can usually get small samples so that you can try it before buying big packs
 
i think that most of modern artisan soaps are great in terms of moisterizing the skin..
B&M,A&E,MacDuffs,Zingari Man,Noble Otter,Declaration Grooming,Lothur,Gentlemans Nod,
Grooming Dept and Phoenix Artisan won't leave you disappointed!

Yeah you can’t really go wrong. Look around what intrigues you and give whatever catches your eye a try. Unless you are allergic to one of the ingredients all of those artisans should work well.

Personal opinion: I’d stay away from Lothur because of the Dimethicone, which in the long run does more harm than good to your skin as it prevents the skin from taking in the moisture. Also probably wise to keep your brushes away from silicone. Not to mention the effects it has on water.
 
I'm quite new, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I have also dry sensitive skin and also using tabac.

I'm not unhappy about the soap though. Haven't tried that manny others but compared to the rituals cream or can foam I used before this thing treats my skin really well.

I do feel a big difference from shave to shave though. If its too wet feels like its not there, if its too dry feels like it just clogs up the blade and fails to let the blade 'surf' on the soap. When consistency is right makes a world of a difference. I know its right when the soap feels like smearing whipped cream on your face. Like fluffy but smooth. Like when it feels so gentle you could just keep lathering your face just for the enjoyment of it. Still working on getting it right every time though, it truely is an art of its own.

Also I stopped using alcohol based aftershave and now smear nivea cream instead. The cream helps a ton with the moisterizing. If you splash alcohol like I did you might considder skipping it. The feeling is great but I do think it makes your skin dry as a bone.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I use Speick stick and it is a very good soap, it hydrates and feels good after the shave(post shave). You can get it in their cream also and folks like that also. The scent is a mild spicy one with excellent lather qualities, Speick also has changed their formulation(away from tallow based) like so many European manufactures have done recently (new rules?)
Another good cream is Lavanda by Ach Brito, it has a mild lavender scent with a bit of mint? and it has excellent lather qualities also and have been around for over 100 years.
 
I tried several different types of soap in the past few months, but my facial skin is the opposite of dry. I constantly have to wash it.

One soap that doesn’t match my skin well is Shannon’s. The oil content is a little too high for me, but perhaps it might work well for dry skin. Wholly Kaw’s Donkey milk formulation has a massive amount of moisturizers and tremendous post shave feel. My understanding is that Mitchell’s Wool Fat was formulated for sensitive skin. If you are sensitive to fragrances and need slick protection, that might be worth a try.
 
Personally I prefer soap and aftershave same brand scent etc - been through the phase of mix and match and not as keen.
Been through plenty of poor recommendations but now I've found what really works for me - Stirling.
note I have no formal allegiance or ties to them - I'm born, bred & live in England ... being brutally honest what works for me.

FYI - I was fine with Tabac soap and liked the lather but wanted a better smell ... plus the Aftershave wasn't great with soreness from shaving (I'd used alum stuff, don't really use now .. keep as backup astringent to styptic etc)
Prefer tallow based soaps ... used moons soaps and others -- all great smelling but then the post shave scent cream stuff doesn't do skin proud.

Yes I have sensitive dry / fair skin - My routine is typically a shower before shave at the sink - i use just warm water to rinse face, razor and brush etc

For me I finally found Stirling ... absolute winner lathers good, scents all match and it smashes razor burn like not experienced before - I can pretty much be stupid with a Slant plus Feather and get away with it every time... their A/S does its job really well - it has witch hazel and alcohol but its great.... I can even massage swathes of the aftershave into sore neck areas if wanted and its brilliant... using their soap / a.s for me gives great skin afterwards.

Obviously everyone else experience will vary - but the soaps and aftershave definitely work for me and this past year has proven them.
 
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This might be crazy but it sounds like the drying issue is happening in the shower, that might be the place to address that. I use Dove bar soap in the shower now and that's made a difference in my pre-shave plus isn't break the bank expensive.

You also might consider a well hydrated pre-shave application even after a shower to maintain the hydration levels. As soon as I turn off the shower a ticking clock starts in my head until I can get a preshave application on there to keep the growth from drying out.

I'm a lollygagger sometimes (ok, a lot) and can take 10 min from shower to face lathering. In a warm bathroom that's enough time for my beard to dry out, so I use a preshave application to keep it in the zone till I'm ready. That's the theory at least, countered by the fact I don't know what I'm talking about :)
 
Thanks for all the replies. I’ve got some new soaps on the way. I ordered some MWF right after I posted, because I remember liking it in the past, but did sometimes have trouble lathering. I got a synth brush too because I hear they help to get some harder soaps to lather up better. I also have a couple Stirlings coming, as well as some Proraso white. I look forward to trying them out. I also think y’all may be right about drying my face out in shower too. I’ve always just used shampoo to scrub my face in the the shower. I may switch that up too.
 
...I also think y’all may be right about drying my face out in shower too. I’ve always just used shampoo to scrub my face in the the shower. I may switch that up too.

MWF or Haslinger Schafmilch soap is worth trying.

Try a dedicated face soap like Neutrogena, that should not dry you out as much. I use a pre-shave soap from PAA called the Cube (or Ice Cube for mentholated version). It can be used as a face soap, but also as a pre-shave. It boosts the lather a bit, too.
 
I have the same issue with most soaps!

I mostly use unscented soap nowadays and can tell the difference with my skin being in great condition!

It was definitely the scents in soaps that was causing my skin sensitivity and dryness.

A handful of scented soaps suit my skin which remain in my den. The best of the best being Mitchell's woolfat.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I’ve got some new soaps on the way. I ordered some MWF right after I posted, because I remember liking it in the past, but did sometimes have trouble lathering. I got a synth brush too because I hear they help to get some harder soaps to lather up better. I also have a couple Stirlings coming, as well as some Proraso white. I look forward to trying them out. I also think y’all may be right about drying my face out in shower too. I’ve always just used shampoo to scrub my face in the the shower. I may switch that up too.
I also think y’all may be right about drying my face out in shower too. I’ve always just used shampoo to scrub my face in the the shower
Shave days. Shower face washing should be very light if at all. Your shave brush will gently exfoliate your skin, while lathering. My skin and shave were greatly improved with better skin care. Pre and especially post skin care. Sensitive and dry skins can and will respond to skin nourishment products. Your skin should feel healthy before during and after your shave. It took me a few years of trying many skin products to improve my skin health.
 
Straights need stable well hydrated lather as they tend to not allow a smooth shave otherwise. I think the soaps that were mentioned should serve you well. Getting the lather dialed in by using a touch more product and then hydrating it up slowly until you find the sweet spot was my approach. When I first got into wetshaving I didn’t understand the necessity to have a proper lather until I started using straight razors.
 
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