Cream versus Soap?

[drmoss_ca]

I think I have always preferred soap, because they are cheaper and available in so many more varieties. It was once said that soaps gave a closer shave, whereas the thicker cushion of creams prevented ultimate closeness.

And now I disagree, with all that and with myself. I don't have any modern creams or soaps to play with, but using my old stocks of ancient Trumper creams and tallow-based Tabac, I'm getting closer shaves with the cream. I'm trying to do everything the same—hot water, pre-soak, lather thickness, razors, technique and whatever I can think of. And yet, the cream still wins. Does it soften the bristles more? I don't know. I've got several lifetimes worth of both, but I guess I should be concentrating on using the creams up first.

Chris

[Brutus]

Interesting theory…

I never had the impression that lather from shaving soaps made for a closer shave. I do have the impression, however, that lather from shaving stick tends to be inferior to lather from the shaving soap of the same brand (e.g. Tabac) even if the list of ingredients should be the same. Go figure…

Generally, I prefer shaving soaps over creams as the more compact soaps are easier to store at home and carry along when on a flight, which used to be an important consideration before I retired from my active flying career. Of course, some products are only available in one form, in which case the choice is already made for us.

As for using up my supply of creams first, I still have a few tubes of Musgo Real from the days when that cream was cheap (Remember the C$11/tube days?) and it seems they can be stored forever without any negative effect.


The odd shaving cream for me is Nivea. I like Nivea; have been using Nivea body and face creams for as long as I can remember. Nivea products tend to be reasonably priced, widely available, dermatologically tested quality products that do whatever they are supposed to do. In case of the shaving creams, I can’t find anything wrong with either of the two shaving creams available in Canada, they do produce a nice thick lather with good lubrication, but somehow they never seem to get anywhere close to my regular rotation.
It could be that I have been brainwashed by comments about the Dimethicone, a type of silicone, that these creams contain and which purportedly sticks to the fibres of shaving brushes and is difficult to remove.
I tried again a fresh tube just last week and after a two or three shaves it again went to the far corner of my bathroom cabinet.

Be that as it may, I have enough shaving soaps and creams not to worry about this too much…


B.

[Gene]

I never had that impression either - but I think some experimentation is now in order. I don't have any tubs of shave cream, but I do have some tubes:

Prorasso red tube (sandalwood) - Nice all around ... scent and performance.
Trumper Spanish Leather ... fair scent, good performance.
Nivea Shave Cream (bought in Canada years ago) ... medicinal scent but good performance.

For soaps I have:

Woods of Windsor (tallow)
Art of Shaving Sandalwood
DR Harris Lavender

I will use the same razor (General aluminum) and brush (Simpson Colonel X2L) for consistency. Sounds fun!

[CMur12]

I've hardly ever used creams, as I have always simply preferred soaps in concept.

I'm mystified, Chris, that you are getting closer shaves with the more cushiony creams. I have always made my lather slick, with minimal cushion, because that gave me a closer shave (and still with minimal irritation). Cushion was something I had to battle with to get the blade to the surface, and I was more likely to harm myself in that battle.

At the same time, I have always used mild razors. It's possible they just work better with thinner lather. Of course, an open blade is another paradigm, so I can't speak to that.

- Murray

[Gene]

Murray - How do you control slick/cushion? What helps make it more of one or the other? The amount of water in the mix?

[CMur12]

Murray - How do you control slick/cushion? What helps make it more of one or the other? The amount of water in the mix?

Hi Gene -

Yes, I make a wetter lather. I'm not sure if I work it any longer than others, but I need to work it and keep a certain amount of water in it while I do.

- Murray

[drmoss_ca]

I'm wondering if I should modify my claim. It seems that of my ancient creams, only the Trumpers are so good. Taylor's and Truefitt have not aged so well, and don't work any better than soaps, which is strange, perhaps, in that they were all made by Creighton. All have dehydrated, and the softest of them is like Italian soft soap. Trumpers have also retained their scent better than the others, which have but feint remnants of their original scent.
Of course, none of these observations may apply to newer versions of these creams, which have changed recipes and ingredients since.

Chris

[drmoss_ca]

I found a tub of relatively soft cream today - the J.M.Fraser from TBBS (sadly, seems NLA). Pretty damn good! Along with a Zowada damascus in mammoth ivory I had a very close shave!

[CMur12]

I haven't heard of J. M. Fraser for awhile. Are most of your creams old classics?

- Murray

[drmoss_ca]

Lord, yes! I haven't bought anything in years, having hoarded when the products were good.

C.

[CMur12]

It seems you timed it well for quality products.

Though not as extensive as your collection, I really liked Valobra shaving soap, so I have a pretty good hoard of their shave sticks, later cakes, and Valobra-made Art of Shaving cakes.

I also have a hoard of razor blades that I'll never get through in my lifetime.

- Murray

[drmoss_ca]

I have confirmation from Toronto Barber and Beauty Supply: J.M.Fraser cream is gone for good.

Bastards.

[Rufus]

Over my +50 years of shaving I’ve preferred creams over soaps. I don’t have a heavy beard and my skin tends to be sensitive. I find creams provide more cushioning and are generally slicker than soaps. For years I used TOBS and Trumper creams, but in the last few years I’ve found them very disappointing in terms of the quality of their lather and their slickness and cushion. Today, I use The Body Shop Macca Root and Aloe cream and Fendrihan house brand creams primarily. They have performance properties reminiscent of the older TOBS and Trumper creams. As concerns soaps, I’ve found Trumpers to be a total write-off and TOBS not much better these days. I used to like Haslinger soaps, but not since their reformulation. The Italian soft soaps I’ve used aren’t too bad, but don’t measure up to my preferred creams. I do, however, like Tabac and Harris soap sticks. When I do use a soap I find I get the best lather when I rub the puck/cake directly on my face rather than using the brush to apply it to my face.

[EL Alamein]

I have confirmation from Toronto Barber and Beauty Supply: J.M.Fraser cream is gone for good.

Bastards.

A few years ago I went looking for another tub of this and came to the same conclusion. There wasn't even any old stock laying around.

Even though this was a cheap cream with a synthetic scent I thought it was pretty darn good in it's performance. And that scent, though synthetic, had an endearing quality about it.

Chris

[drmoss_ca]

Ain't it sad that after the renaissance of wet shaving, all these companies can offer us is the cheapest crap that maximises their profit whilst trashing their own history and reputation?

I'm very happy with homemade soap that will stand against any commercial puck, but it's nice to have the scent of a cream now and then. My hoard is pretty much all gone hard now, but is still usable. There are dogs there (Vulfix, Harris Marlborough) and near misses (Salter), but they are still fun for variety. But to be able to use old style Trumper's Rose or Sandalwood, or even C&E Sandalwood or Sweet Almond Oil—those are sadly missed.

Chris

[brothers]

Dominico Caraceni 1913 cream made in Italy about 10 or 15 years ago. Fragrance is intoxicating and performance is unique and better than everything else due to the ingredients, resulting in an exorbitant price. Had to smuggle it past Mrs. brothers.

[woodsrider]

With few exceptions, I have been able to get a denser / better later using high quality creams compared with soaps. I like soaps because I live in an arid climate, and creams tend to dry out quickly - after a while, they turn into "croaps." That said, the croaps are still highly functional.

Some of my favorite soaps are the AoS tallow soaps, the Penhaligon's English Fern tallow soap (whew...I stocked up), and Martin de Candre (the fougere and the vetiver are awesome). DR Harris is OK, but I have better luck with the almond than some of the others.

[drmoss_ca]

I think this is no longer available, but I've been enjoying The Gentlemen's Refinery Standard and Black Ice shaving creams the last couple of weeks. The former is a mild anise scent, and the latter much stronger. You can tell the recipe is not like a Creighton's cream, but the performance is up there. A thick and protective lather, but still allowing a close shave. Pity they are gone!

C.

[HarryPotter69]

i once used my facewash for it lol it was so good

[drmoss_ca]

After a week of TGR creams, I decided to revisit the Cyril Salter creams. I have a full set of the old style, all sealed in plastic film except one, and a full set of the new versions (save one that has been consumed entirely). The old tubs included an almond scent that was not initially available in the blue tubs (I think it is now), whereas the new ones include a rose. The vetiver is the star here, in that it is a relatively rare scent. The rose smells artificial, as does the sandalwood (I don't know if they are, but that's how my nose reacts to them). All are mildly scented. Today I used the remnants of the blue Essential Lime, and found it still soft and fresh, with a superb creamy lather. I did not remember them as being that good, so maybe they have dried a little and become more concentrated? For $20CDN/$15USD at Fendrihan these are bargains.

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