Which soap for a first time soaper ?

[jdrum3]

The Col is great because it's cheap, pretty easy to lather, slick, and if you mess up, just turn it into Superlather. Razorock and Cella are super easy to lather, but not the same as a hard soap experience like Tabac, MWF, or Col Conk. They act very cream-like. I also am huge fans of Tabac and MWF, but like others have mentioned, smell can be a turnoff for Tabac and lanolin in MWF has been known to irritate some.
Try to stick with Col's scents that contain Avocado oil for slicker lather and better on your face.

 

[VladTepes]

superlather ?

 

[DougieB]

Let's not exclude Arko

 

[OldGreyGuy]

superlather ?

A number of folks around here create what are referred to as Superlathers or Uberlathers by adding or mixing soaps and creams together or adding glycerine.

With regard to your original question here are some of my thoughts.

I don't have a huge soap collection, but I do have MWF, Tabac, Irisch Moos, Proraso, DR Harris Arlington, Palmolove stick, Geo F Trumpers Rose, Kiss My Face Lavender and of course Cella.

MWF has lanolin added, if you are allergic to lanolin then don't even think about it, if not then it is a great soap, very mild in scent, but with great moisturising qualities. I tend to bowl lather MWF and sometimes I create a superlather by adding some KMF Lavender into the bowl, after shaving with this soap my face feels very soft and moisturised like using no other soap. I will replace this soap when I finish my current supply.

Tabac and Irisch Moos (Irish Mist in German) are made by the same company. A very rich tallow based soap which produces great lather on the face or in a bowl. Tabac comes in bowl with refill puck, stick or cream. Irisch Moos only comes in a stick and smells more like Irish Spring soap. Tabac's scent is cause for endless debate here but I like the floral scents and great lather. I will replace the TABAC when it runs out, I may grate the Irisch Moos into a bowl as I really don't like the stick format and it does not come as a puck.

DR Harris has a good name there are 4 scents with Almond (good reports) and Lavender being as they are named. I have a puck of Arlington which has a citrus/fern smell, sort of like an old English scent. I find the lather good and will replace this when it runs out. I have Marlborough on my list of soaps to buy. Like Arlington it is hard to understand the scent from the name. I believe that it is more a sandalwood/cedar scent from descriptions I have read here and I will get this at some point this year.

Cella comes in two sizes, a small 150g red tub and a 1Kg brick. I believe that they are both the same however the proportions may be different in the two types. It has an almond/cherry scent and this can be different to different people. I took my tub and had my wife and daughter smell it and they both say it has a different scent. My wife smells almond and my daughter smells the cherry flavour like a Dr Pepper. Lathers well, many people report it works better with a boar not a badger brush, I find they both work. I will replace the Cella but if I do I would probably go for the 1Kg next time and decant supplies into a container which is wider than the 150g tub which is really small and hard (for me) to work properly with my brush.

I haven't use the Trumpers rose yet as it was a recent gift from my daughter and I am reluctant to open it with too many others opened. The Palmolive stick gets used when travelling, not much to say other than it works but apparently it is different to that made in Europe whic is reportedly better.

I haven't tried Col Conk, Taylors or Razorock.

Incidentially where are you seeing these locally? I haven't had much success sourcing these locally but then I'm usually too busy to do much local shopping.

Hope that helps.

 

[VladTepes]

Thanks mate very thorough. Funny posting on an American forum and getting a reply from someone probably just around the corner....

By locally I mean Aus based internet site in this case theshaveshed.com.au

Their service is really good.

Thanks again for your detailed reply.

 

[polt0004]

I know it is not on your list but I have enjoyed the Edwin Jagger soaps. They produce a great lather and are great for my semi-sensitive skin. They advertise 99.9% Natural, which is nice. Also the scent is great, especially the sandalwood (the GF loves it too). I paid $15 at WCS for the first tub and the pucks are about $9. Maybe something you might want to try down the road.

 

[Arthur]

Tabac was my first soap and two years later I still love it.

 

[takeshi]

Ya gotta try them all at some point.

^ This.

It's impossible to make recommendations for someone with no experience. Every soap has its fans and its detractors. If you know something about a particular person's experience and preference you can make relevant recommendations but with nothing to go on you're left with just needing to try out the various options. No soap (or anything discussed at B&B) is one-size-fits-all. It's all YMMV.

As for scent, it would help to know what scents the OP likes. Suggesting scents that we like isn't germane to the OP as popular and what the OP likes are two entirely different things. Every scent also has its fans and detractors.

Help us to help you. Otherwise all you get are people pushing you to use what they like and there's no need to constantly reinvent that wheel. If you want to take the tack of trying out what's popular you can just skim this subforum.

 

[Dusty1]

Most importantly enjoy the process, and don't think you need to try them all at once.

 

[GearHead_1]

...It's impossible to make recommendations for someone with no experience.

Seriously? That's what a very large portion of this and other forums are about. One person offering another an opinion, it's nothing more than that. Certainly a more informed recommendation can be made based on a certain set of criteria but it isn't required when telling about ones success with a given product. It's one guy saying "you may like this because of these factors" or "I like this product because of this or that".

Obviously the "YMMV" comes in to play, I believe this is understood by most. Hopefully the person asking the question sees something in what is written that strikes a chord with them and they give one product or another a shot. There would be a great deal fewer posts (read shared information) if all posters waited for a person to compile a list of what they believe they might need. The truth is they may not know until they have tried at least something. YMMV

 

[mctmatt]

As someone mentioned earlier you might like to try Arko shave stick or another great one is the Palmolive Shave stick. You can try face lathering or just press the Arko into your favorite container and lather just like a regular puck. The palmolive with probably need to be grated then pressed into a container if you choose not to face lather. They are both great Tallow based soaps that will provide you the additional experience of face lathering should you choose. You can probably order both items together for what it would cost for one of the shave soaps you mentioned.

 

[arm017]

Just keep on adding to your cart till you get free shipping!

But my first choice from your list is MWF by a long shot. DR Harris makes great soaps too and would be my 2nd. I have the almond and arlington. Good stuff.

 

[Go West Young Man]

The question is "are you trying soaps in the hopes of getting a better shave than you get now" or "are you trying soaps just for the fun of experimenting"?
If the former, then just stick with whatever cream you're using. If the latter, then, sorry, AD's are about to make your life hell!

 

[Gam]

For a face lathering soap I recommend Speick shave stick,nice clean scent,or Arko shave stick.Some shavers dont like the smell of Arko,I think it smells like Ivory Soap,others say Tidy Bowl.But it lathers great and is only 2 bucks,also leaving the stick exposed will tame some of the Tidy Bowl scent.

 

[itsmedave]

Hands down Cella. Easy to lather, great scent, great cushion and fairly cheap.

 

[jaygar]

I have only tried tabac and cella from that list. Out of all the soaps I have tried, which are not hight in number, they are the only ones I would continue to use.

 

[salazch12]

Giving a shout out for my beloved Arko!

 

[Cannata]

If you want something completely different from cream I would suggest MWF or Tabac

If you want a soap that is easy to lather I would suggest Cella.

+1 on the Cella

 

[Zap85]

I'm a newbie as well, and my first soap has been a sampler pack from Queen Charlotte Soaps. I love them, and have had no problems lathering them. Worth a look!

 

[VT_Hokie]

Anything from RR rules. MWF is also excellent.

This.

Also, don't forget about sticks. Outside of RR and MWF, all of my other top performers are all sticks. La Toja, Palmolive, Valobra, Spieck, Arko...all grade A stuff