Favorite soaps

MARKHOLLADAY · Post by **MARKHOLLADAY** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 5:55 pm

I was wondering what is everybody's favorite soap and why ( lather , scent, etc ) ?

95% · Post by **95%** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:22 pm

Mark, I welcomed you just now in the other forum, but welcome again. If you will read the posts in Big Swifty's thread below called "the One", you'll get an idea of our varied preferences.

KAV · Post by **KAV** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:34 pm

First, welcome to the forum. My favoured hard soap is Mitchell's Wool Fat.
I have some small background in the sheep industry via a 2 year agriculture degree. I do not suffer lanolin allergies and it's superb for my skintype. It can be problematical creating lather with hard water and not as popular in humid and hot climes. As a educated consumer, I know the english farm communities do not practice the horrors of factory farming and keep rural land resources better intact for UK native wildlife. The pressure against it's use in products is by animal welfare activists with an agenda. The irony is the UK has a large rare domestic animal population and active farmers preserving this diversity.Anthropologicaly this is called appropriate technology VS the clearcutting of southeast asian rainforest for palm oil monoculture.
This is a product that exchanged the problems of domestic animal ethics for wild animal ethics. There are some lovely products that use it. My issue is having to determine if their palm oil resources are biosustainable.
Oh, MWF smells nice, has minimal packaging and lasts me 9 months per puck.

MARKHOLLADAY · Post by **MARKHOLLADAY** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:55 pm

I too really like MWF, I have created my own lanolin enriched soap that has twice the lanolin as MWF and is easier to lather because the soap is of a softer consistency. I will be offering free samples of my soap in the very near future just for feedback before I offer it for sale

gil3591 · Post by **gil3591** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 10:34 pm

tabac-lather and scent

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:20 pm

The shave soaps from Geo. F. Trumper and D R Harris. They are triple milled and thus very dense and last a good long time, while at the same time delivering superlative lather with adequate cushion for the sharp blades and shaving style that I use. They are also available in a number of very classy old fashioned scents ( both firms being old Jermyn Street perfumers afterall ). They are my benchmark and pretty much the only shave soaps I'll spend money on these days.
Regards,
Gordon

joe mcclaine · Post by **joe mcclaine** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:34 pm

D R Harris Almond.

Dry, earthy scent (Eau De Qunine, apparently) and great lather and the almond oil is good for the skin (again, apparently).

I like the fact it hasn't been arsed about with for nearly 100 years (and thrice I say, apparently).

KAV · Post by **KAV** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:35 pm

The virtue of a favourite is the paradox of trying something different with the known. I've tried a artisan soap and a major american brand that sent me into the shower in physical distress. There are a few more I have tried, and intend to with their own delights. A 'favourite' is like the apple eaten between wine tastings to clear the palet.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 12:41 am

Mark, Harris Almond and Trumpers Lime, both for performance and scent. There is a lot of good stuff out there but I could easily live with just the two.

If you want to make a commercially viable product just copy the best.

ThePossum · Post by **ThePossum** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 2:29 am

Tabac and MWF. Great stuff and especially like the scent of the Tabac.

DesertRat · Post by **DesertRat** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:42 am

In no particular order. These are my current favorites:

Cella
Speick
Institut Karite
MWF

marsos52 · Post by **marsos52** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:07 am

i have tried a good amount of soaps and creams

i have narrowed down to two ...that give me what i call the WOW factor..

wow. is when i use a product that proforms in every single way i want and like and expect.

what i look for in a shaving cream or soap (i like soaps much more)
is cushion and protection.. scent,, how it lathers,,and how my face feels after using the product

the two that give me all these things and puts a smile on my face is
Mitchells wool fat,, and trumpers ...most i use the coconut oil but my bowl has a fresh puck of rose and thats smells great and does exactly the same as the coconut

marc

Esoteric83 · Post by **Esoteric83** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:48 am

Trumper Rose & Harris Arlington get weekly airtime, regardless of the season.

I couldn't say one or the other is 'better' though.

gsgo · Post by **gsgo** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:11 am

Gold Dachs Spezial remains a favorite of mine for quite some time. Clean, fresh soapy scent along with close cutting performance, seems to really get the hairs standing while being quite slick with decent cushion. It's the only soap I have multiples of in my stash.

A close second would go to Cella, Valobra (stick) and Speick but Gold Dachs is clearly on top for me.

ATLpr8head · Post by **ATLpr8head** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:10 am

My favorites change almost weekly but I would have to say Tabac or Trumpers Rose. I have 3 Trumpers soaps(Almond, Limes, Rose) and had Violet. The Rose is by far better in quality. Dont know what it is but it is nice! I am going to give Palmolive an honorable mention as well.

Shave4Fun · Post by **Shave4Fun** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:53 am

In order of preference:

TABAC: very rich lather, scent is pleasantly strong. Does not dry out

Mitchell's Wool Fat: rich lather, scent its very nice. VG skin conditioning afterward

Palmolive stick: great for travel and face lather. Nice scent. Does not dry out skin

ARKO Stick: great for travel and face lather. Scent is good. Does dry skin a little, so best for summer or warmer climates.

These are the currently available soaps I have tried and a liked thus far. I will try Trumpers some day!

MARKHOLLADAY · Post by **MARKHOLLADAY** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:18 am

What does everyone like to spend on average for there shave soap or is quality more important than price ???

gil3591 · Post by **gil3591** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:48 am

MARKHOLLADAY wrote:What does everyone like to spend on average for there shave soap or is quality more important than price ???

i think you're running in a crowd that would ignore price for quality

BeatlesFan · Post by **BeatlesFan** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:05 am

My two favorites in daily usage are D.R. Harris Almond and Tabac. Both are superb, IMO. I can't say which is better.

I'd also give honorable mention (at least) to Valobra stick shave soap and Art of Shaving shave soap. Both are tallow-based, and I think both perform quite well.

If you can disregard price (and considering how long a puck lasts, it really isn't a great deal of cash), you might buy:

Harris Almond
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Tabac
Trumpers Rose

I can tell you that -- while there are lots of great choices -- there is a lot of enthusiasm and passion around here for those four soaps in particular. But -- even with these titans -- here are some complaints that you hear from some members:

* The MWF has lanolin and not everyone can handle that.
* Tabac is highly scented and some people don't like it.
* I personally seem to get some irritation from all Trumpers products, and I imagine that I'm not alone.
* I've heard some complaints that Harris Almond smells too much like quinine and is not sufficiently almond-y.

So, not everything works for everyone. I promise you, however, that you could easily trade -- on the Selling and Trading forum below -- a lightly used puck of ANY of those soaps.

Finally -- as a cost saving measure -- I suggest that you skip wooden bowls or ceramic jars offered by the mfg. You can always get that later, if you've settled on certain products. Meantime -- IMO -- it's just extra expense that you can easily avoid.

Good luck!

KAV · Post by **KAV** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:18 am

I like to spend all the money I used to waste on Gilllette and Barbasol.