Thread: Question about soap vs. cream....

You don't NEED a stand plus they are cheap- and you don't NEED a bowl- a mug will work fine, and you can lather on your face if you want

I'll give my newbie (Day 28!) two cents for what they're worth. I started with a tube of Proraso, a puck of Conk Bay Rum, and a Tweezerman brush, purchased through Amazon, a Filly strop from RupRazor, and Nivea Extreme from Safeway. I use a small bowl from my kitchen, and dry the razor on a shelf. Razor was shave-ready from the classifieds.

Now, I've loved the Bay Rum smell since I was a kid, so I was rooting for it. I tried both the Conk and Proraso by themselves, and very much preferred the Proraso. I have not bothered to get any glycerin or other additives yet, so I'm not whipping up uberlather. I really liked the lather from the Proraso, but found the Conk dried up too easily on my face. So, score one for the cream.

I then got a sample kit from the local Art of Shaving store (freebie!). This was a revelation in lather production. An almond-sized dollop of cream VERY quickly gave plenty of whipped-cream consistency lather for a shave, and the shave was more comfortable. Best of all, since it was unscented, I could mix in some of the Bay Rum soap for a nice scent. Score another for the cream, but give the soap some credit.

I then got samples of Lavender and Bay Rum soap from SRD. (I now own more scented products than my wife, who thinks I'm nuts.) They had a MUCH more intense smell, and made a much better lather than the Conk, but I still found them a bit too drying. The introduction of glycerin might help, but mixing with a little AOS cream made for a really luxurious shave. Cream wins again, but a really top-notch soap is a fantastic addition.

I have some Castle and Forbes Lime on the way, so we'll see how that compares to what I've done so far. It gets great reviews for lather production. I'm planning to get some of Mama Bears soap at some point as well, but I'm definitely leaning toward favoring creams.

I should also point out that in my limited experience, the smell is really more for your benefit during the shave than anything else. I don't find it to have any lasting effect, which I think is good.

Good luck!

Fred

Hi there!

I'm a complete and total newb, and just did my first straight shave the other night.

But I have to tell you, I've used all kinds of stuff for shaving in the past. I get pretty bad razor bumps, and I found that most of the creams I had tried either didn't help, or actually make it worse because they're so full of chemical crap that my skin doesn't like. I wound up just using plain soap in the end, because I didn't feel like spending the money on stuff I didn't get good results from.

Tried shaving soap and a brush for the first time last and night and HOLY CRAP, it is so much better. Even if I don't wind up sticking to straight shaving (though I fully intend to!) I will stick to using shaving soap and a brush. It feels great, it leaves your skin feeling great, and it just works better. It really does.

It doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. I picked up a cheap synthetic brush, which works just fine for now, for $11.50 NZ, which works out to about $8 US. And I even saw a couple for a little bit cheaper.

I have Mama Bear's Chocolate Mousse soap (a lovely gift from the lovely Lilith!), and it works up a lather in no time flat, even with my cheap brush. I just took a look on the site, and you can pick up something from there for as little as $7.50 US, and it will last for absolutely ages.

And I'm sure you could find other soap brands that run cheaper as well. But Mame Bear gets all kinds of praise around here, and now I know why.

So that's, what, $15-$16 on a brush and soap? It's worth it.

You don't need to buy a scuttle, or a stand. Just use a small bowl, and let the brush dry either in the dry cup, or standing on its handle, if the base is flat.