Shaving Soap

Proraso Eucalyptus - Make your face feel great when you splash with cold water following the shave.
 
You can find inexpensive boar brushes that are good for about $20!

I use Mitchells Woolfat which is nice! The cent isn't strong like some others and it feels pretty good on the skin.

I own two stropes, one has oxide on it and one doesn't.

I also have two barber hones to keep my collection of straits nice and sharp!
 
timsclips said:
I thought I would update this thread.
I purchased a Van Der Hagen boar brush at CVS and a bar of the same brand soap at Wal-mart.
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Strange!!
I bought the same products at the same stores:)

To the OP-
Do not skimp on a brush. I mean, you do not have to go expensive, the CVS brush is great.
I started with a synthetic brush. I bought it from a barber/beauty supply store. I "thought" they would have the best- NOT!!
Walgreens also has a nice brush and a better choice of items too:)
 
I have found that I can make an awful shave with the right kit, and visa versa, all depending on preparation- or lack of. The longer your face is hotter and wetter, the better. This is barren 'discussion territory' of course; there is not much potential for deliberating and debating in how to get your face well warmed and wetted. Nor how to do it by spending money, so it usually gets little mention, but it contributes more to the end result than pretty much anything else, IMO.
The other way to a good shave Monday morning is to not shave Sunday...but that again is not fertile spending ground. Best focus on what must be bought!
 
i use Poraso shaving soap -12aussie dollars & its lasted 2 years-I shave for work so use it a fair bit.
also I've got T.N. Dickinson's Witchhazel which you splash on afterwards.
cheers
 
anotherbrother said:
... This is barren 'discussion territory' of course; there is not much potential for deliberating and debating in how to get your face well warmed and wetted. Nor how to do it by spending money, so it usually gets little mention, but it contributes more to the end result than pretty much anything else, IMO.

...but that again is not fertile spending ground. Best focus on what must be bought!
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Well put. Some guys like to buy and try and collect all the different products and tools. If that's your thing, then great, go right to it. As the owner of upwards of 800 knives, I'm not going to call the kettle black.

But those who just want a good shave should know that it is absolutely not necessary to spend a lot of money to get that result. You don't need a lot of expensive products to just get a great shave.

I, for example, spend $10 on a puck of soap, http://www.thegentlemensquarter.com/category.php?cid=1, but A) I get about six weeks out of a puck, about 24 cents per shave, B) you do not need to spend even that much for good soap, and C) canned foam costs about 15 cents per day, so I'm splurging nine cents per day which really isn't that extravagant.

Before I got hooked on TGQ, I used Classic Shaving Soap,http://www.classicshaving.com/catalog/item/522960/198648.htm, for about six months and got good results from it. It's about $6 per puck. Again, about six weeks from a puck which results in about the same per-shave price as canned foam. And this is good soap.

So, you absolutely do not NEED to spend $25 or 30 on a puck of fancy soap imported from England or France or Italy, or somewhere. On the other hand, if you WANT to experience that exotic soap, if you enjoy that premium soap, well need and want are two different things. And I tell you what: even a $30 puck of soap is really small indulgence compared to a lot of other possible luxuries.
 
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All good advice above. If at the end of the shave you don't have a beard you're doing it right, and no one should tell you different.

I started shaving with a straight several years ago. At first I tried all the high end soaps and creams under the sun. I reveled in the different smells and textures, and prided myself in my ability to whip up a hot lather with a merangue-like consistency. I built up about 3 lifetimes supply of different soaps. After a while I stopped buying soap and started working through my supply. What I found was that although they make different kinds of lathers they all work. Nowdays I usually whip up a wattery lather in about 10 s. It does not look like the stuff that comes out of a can but my shave works just fine.

I have a stock of Williams I picked up on sale at $0.75 a cake sometime back. When I'm out of soap I throw one of those into a mug. Then I get some glycerine soap from my cabinet. Any kind will do. I put that in a bowl and put it in the microwave for just a few seconds to liquefy it and then pour it over the puck of Williams. The combo of glycerine soap and Williams seems to work better than either alone, and is quite economical. This combo will last in the mug for several months of daily shaving. The glycerine pour also seats the Williams firmly in the mug.

Every once in a while if I want to treat myself to a thicker lather I'll put a pea-sized dab of cream on top of the soap in the mug. Usually either Tom's of Maine or Akro. Pretty much any cream works though. This will make it easy and quick to create a thicker lather that is fun for a change-up.

Using soap this way in the mug makes it last much longer than some of the other techniques that involve prewetting the soap in a bowl, rinsing it off, etc. I just lather up in the mug and if there's any lather left that's fine, it will dry out and be there next time. Not that it's important to save soap, but this is a consequence of the way I've settled on doing things.
 
I just received my Mama Bear Sandalwood Vanilla soap in a wooden bowl. I've been using Colonel Conk for some time now. IMHO, the Mama Bear blows the Col. Conk out of the water. It's slicker, but strangely allows the blade to bite the hairs better. I'm a huge fan now.
 
I'm relatively new to wet shaving, but I've been using Tabac soap - great for tons of slick lather. Don't worry when you first open the cake and it smells of cold cream and old lady - a day or two of airing out and it smells purely of barbershop manliness.
 
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