Is it what??

Will Power

Will Power

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Jan 18, 2007
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Shaving forums often brood on technique, brush, blade. Obviously these ARE all important, but my experience shows it's the lather that is the key to a really decent shave.:thumbup:

With experimentation, it seems to me that if I whip up a good cup of Cella (Italian almond scented soap/cream) then I get a really close shave with a minimum of problems. Cella is an odd cross between soap and cream, though it calls itself soap, very soft type but wonderfully economical I always seem to make too much:eek: There are a lot of very good creams & soaps, we all like to try them out, but which one have you found to be the consistent performer?

Or is it something else? Blade, technique,brush, bowl type, prep?:D
 
Cella is my favorite soap so far (though I’m a still a beginner at wet shaving and haven’t tried a lot of stuff yet); it’s easy to lather, smells great, and makes a good cushion. I’ve used Figaro too, which is really similar and cheaper, but I think Cella is a bit higher quality. What other soft Italian soaps do people recommend?

It’s often a mystery to me why sometimes I get a good shave and sometimes I get a bad one. There are so many variables that it’s hard to blame, or praise, any one thing. If I get a bad shave, I usually blame whatever product is most convenient simply because I want to buy something new to replace it. :D Of course, your technique is more important than your products, but it’s hard to resist buying new stuff!
 
Cella is remarkable, truly.

Other Italian stuff I've tried is Proraso, works very well but I don't care for the smell too much. Their sensitive skin version is anaemic, neuter even...still gives a good shave though.

One very cheap soap you don't hear much of but it out performs many others is Mon Savon bol a raser from France.

Any other favourite soaps/creams?
 
Beard prep and a good lather are the keys to a close, comfortable shave. I face lather 100% of the time and prefer the stiffness of a boar brush, like the Semogue 620, for building a good lather. I've also been getting great results with Cella as well as Proraso Green & Blue. My all-time favorite so far is T&H 1805.

Jeff
 
I bowl lather and RazoRock Classic cream is my standard. It hold up well to hard water, smells fine, cushion, slip is good too. I have some La Famiglia soaps and am still unsure about them, seems a bit dry to me, or I just don't like to load the brush with 200 circles and whip for 2 minutes.

VdH glycerin soap is a great one to have in the cupboard for making super lather from mediocre soaps or adding some slip if you are sunburned and have tender skin that day.

Best part about shoddy shave soaps is they still make great bath soap!


-Xander
 
100% agreed that the lather is the most ignored part of a good wet shave. I think it's equal to the beard-prep and shaving technique in importance.
 
Yea, a good lather is very important to having a good shave. To get that you need to have the proper "technique" for your particular choice of brush and soap using the type of water that is available to you.

Bob
 
Some good info here, but I will suggest that one man's ideal soap/cream may or may not work well for another.

I could share that I like Tabac, and Art of Shaving, but the only way to know if you will love them is to try (and I can't guarantee you will like them as much as I do)

Another similar concept is the use of pre-shave oil. I go back and forth on this depending on the season.
 
Having second thoughts.......

Maybe it's the blade after all! For some imbecile reason I decided to have a shave or two with a cartridge again, just to see.. Used the same brushes/creams etc. First thing that struck me was just how hard you have to press with these things, them being so light. The shave is just not anywhere as close, later that day&certainly the next a rough feeling (I like to DE shave every other day) Not only this, but, horror :eek: something not had in years - some ingrown bristles put in an unwelcome appearance. Painful too.:barf:

Just so glad I was able to rediscover DE blades&better shaving. Without the internet I'd be trapped in endless mediocrity of very expensive cartridges & gel-hell:mad:
 
Arko is a top consistent performer for me. I also like Mitchell's Wool Fat and Provence Sante. I'd like to try Tabac some time. I'm into hard soaps now, but if a person likes soft soaps, Proraso Green is good stuff.
 
Preface; Seems this forum leans towards straight blades instead of double edged, my choice for shaving. That said prep is the key in general, and I'm constantly making adjustments. Hot shower, soaking the brush, in my case, an AOS fine badger - softer core for creams and gels, an an AOS pure badger, stiffer, for soaps which work well for my needs. My soap of choice, BTW, is the not well known French-made Tade Laurel oil come in a 100G round tin; smells good and lathers well. 'Soft' soap is AOS Sandalwood (You guessed it, I have an AOS store downtown from me.) Cheers, Joe
 
Yes, yes there are :p We've been getting some new straight traffic lately though which is good. Lather gets ignored alot I think because people just assume it's a process they've nailed down and take it as a given, and they still aren't getting great shaves so they start looking at prep and blade.
 
Yep, I still DE shave pretty often. Mainly when my 4 year old son is wanting to shave like daddy. I give him a bladeless beat up razor and lather him up.

Lathering with a brush is an interesting process, its easy to do, very easy. Yet, it takes time and experimentation to do well and consistently. It took me a full 3-4 months before I really realized I was stopping short most of the time. When in doubt, more product and more water!

I just picked up a very nice Gillette slim adjustable for $20 at an antique store last weekend, still had hair and grime in it. Cleaned it up and gave it a once over light polish and its ready to go!


-Xander
 
Never really thought about the lather being so important, but I know it is true.

I've got some of the best lather with Williams mug soap...takes a while to figure out how to get it to lather well, but once you do, it's great.

I also like mama bear soap
 
I never figured out modern williams soap, always got an airy foam out of it regardless of how long I swirled the puck. It was however the slickest shave I've ever had, razor glide and beard softening were excellent, it just dried out too fast and didn't hold cut stubble well. If it weren't for one of the soap's fragrances that burned my face every time I used it I might give it another try.
 
You have the same problem I did At first, I'll copy something from SRP and post it below helps a lot with the modern Williams, and following theses directions makes for a nice shave
 
I can't find it, oh well

The thing about Williams is it take a lot of water, more than most soaps from what I have seen/heard. If you add a drop of glycerin to it, you can get an even better lather. I will probably use Williams next time I shave...which will probably be soon, I've been growing a beard for a while and it's time for it to go
 
What I would suggest is just do test "lathers". I find myself doing "testing" by just making lather with different soaps. Making mental notes about the following in no particular order:

1. Brush soak time
2. Type of brush (boar or badger)
3. Amount of shave cream (pea, raisin, grape sized)
4. Amount of swirls for hard soaps.
5. Do I need to add other soaps to get a good lather.

Example:

I was using my VDH soap for a few weeks and thinking to myself that is was a very airy soap that I did not like. The problem was not the soap but me. I did not load the brush enough. After more test lathers, the VDH soap performs like a champ.

Here are some pics of a test lather with Irish Spring soap. Yes, I try all the bar soaps I have in the house. The lather was very mousse like. It shaved well but left my skin a touch dry. I will load up the brush with a glycerin soap and retest/shave with the Irish Spring in the future.

20130803_215820.jpg


20130803_215656.jpg


m-
 
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