I was wondering what preferences do you have as a straight razor/shavette shaver? I know that glide is the most important and probably residual slickness. Any suggestions for soaps or creams that you find work particularly well for saving with an open blade?
What Soaps/Creams Do you Prefer?
- Thread starter dabrock
- Start date
I personally like CBL Tonsorial/Master Barber because it has great slickness. Williams mug soap, Lisa's Natural Herbal Creations, and Sterling do the trick as well.
Honestly though, I can make almost any soap work it just takes some time and patience.
Honestly though, I can make almost any soap work it just takes some time and patience.
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks, I'll try some Sterlings. Do you hydrate the soap more with a straight vice SE and DE?
Recently tried Stirling. Very nice soap indeed.
I have heard more hydration, so I usually try to use more....but then I found that more works pretty good with DE too. So perhaps I just never hydrated enough to begin with? LOL
IDK. Make er wet and see what ya think.
I have heard more hydration, so I usually try to use more....but then I found that more works pretty good with DE too. So perhaps I just never hydrated enough to begin with? LOL
IDK. Make er wet and see what ya think.
Rule of thumb, use more product than you think you need and add water until it feels slightly more wet than you'd use for a DE shave. YMMV, but I perfer a wetter lather that is shiny.
- Thread starter
- #6
Thanks, I've noticed that if I don't hydrate a bit more than normal the soap tends to dry out before I'm done.
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- #7
I guess I'll need a soap that handles a lot of water without breaking down. Sterling sounds like a good soap for that.
The Stirling soaps made from mutton tallow really stand out for me. Scots Pine Sheep has a pleasant, mild scent made from essential oil(s). I also like Glastonbury (also essential oil(s)), but I tone down its rather strong grass scent with some Orange Chill (beef tallow with essential oil). If you like citrus, the Orange Chill is pretty hard to beat, and Stirling makes one of the best barbershop scents (fragrance oil(s)).
Actually, I think any shaving soap or cream will give a good SR shave. Stirling, B&M, Proraso soaps are some of my favourites, but any good quality shave soap or cream will do fine.
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- #10
I currently have Sharped Dressed Man, which is a great scent but I've heard Electric Sheep is really good.
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- #11
I have a few B&Ms as well as pretty much all the traditional Prorasos. Guess I'll have to experiment a lot. Some soaps and creams don't like a lot of water and probably aren't good candidates.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
I disagree with you on this. I found that some of my preferred soaps for non-SR shaving do not work as well with SR shaving.
My current preferred SR shaving soaps are Arko stick and Palmolive stick. I am an exclusive face latherer.
I find I prefer a more wet lather for my straight shaves. I just add more water to whatever soap or cream I am using that day.
After three years of SR shaving (which followed 5 years of DE shaving), I now always have Tabac, Mitchell's Wool Fat, and Arko sticks in the active rotation pile. So far those are the only soaps I have re-purchased when I ran out.
- Thread starter
- #15
Well, I have plenty of Arko, Tabac, MWF, and Palmolive fortunately!
Arko is my SR soap of choice. It's just quick and foolproof. Stirling is great as well, but sometimes I don't feel like taking the extra time to hydrate it properly (though when I do it's a treat). With Arko I feel like I get the lather where it needs to be with fantastic residual slickness in a lot less time. That's just me though.
Especially early on, I noticed the bulk of my bad SR shaves were when I didn't use Arko. At this point I feel like I can use pretty much anything but still stick with the Arko stick as the daily.
Especially early on, I noticed the bulk of my bad SR shaves were when I didn't use Arko. At this point I feel like I can use pretty much anything but still stick with the Arko stick as the daily.
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- #17
Do you use it as a stick or as a puck? My only issue with Arko has been that it's very drying so I can't really use it daily.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
@RumpleBearskin you are convincing me that I should try a Tabac stick. Not sure if I can readily source MWF.
PS. I have pulled the pin and ordered a stick of Tabac, USD 15.50 including delivery to AU. If I don't like it, @RumpleBearskin owes me a full refund.
PS. I have pulled the pin and ordered a stick of Tabac, USD 15.50 including delivery to AU. If I don't like it, @RumpleBearskin owes me a full refund.
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I really like the results I get when using TBS maca root. I use a lot of product, maybe 1/2 tsp per shave, so price per shave might be a bit higher than other similar performing soaps.
My top picks:
Aqua di Parma Colonia
Baume BE
Castle Forbes
Santa Maria Novella
Saponificio Varesino beta 4.3
Speick Original Cream (or stick)
Tabac
You can’t go wrong with these.
Aqua di Parma Colonia
Baume BE
Castle Forbes
Santa Maria Novella
Saponificio Varesino beta 4.3
Speick Original Cream (or stick)
Tabac
You can’t go wrong with these.
