Ah, the alum! That’s what I’ve been missing. Thanks for the great info Armando.
I got the weirdest feeling reading Armando’s list, and then I realized I dreamed last night of buying a safety razor and needing razor blades. But it wasn’t to shave with, I needed it for something else. Some kind of escape from a house? Hmmm
It was a metaphor. You’re trying to escape from the tyranny of the Big Shaving Industry.
Thanks for this! I have never used anything but the creme in an aerosol can. In fact, that’s all I’ve seen anyone use, including my dad!
It gets points for convenience and absolute speed, but some of the propellants and stabilizers in it actually make it somewhat water repellent, which combines with soap’s natural tendency to “dry out” (de-oil) the skin to make for a comparatively dry shave. When you’re scraping 1 or more miniature knives across your face, lubrication is pretty important, hence my preference for brush + cream/soap.
A good cream will whip into rich lather on your face in 30 seconds and feels/smells wonderful, so I tend to encourage that method over the canned stuff, and buying cheaper products like Col. Conk’s and Proraso tends to save money in the long run. It’s just hard to ONLY buy those ;)
Word.
I’ve had the same jar of Tabac for over a year now. The best 8 bucks I’ve spent on shaving ever.
Every time this thread rises to the top I start thinking about getting into shaving this way. But then I realize that I’m perfectly happy with the general shave quality of a double bladed disposable. Which causes me to start in on the heathen thoughts of a good brush and soap used with a cheap plastic razor.
Tim. One of us. One of us.
MadMarcus, you gotta start somewhere.
Tim:
That Tweezerman’s brush you linked earlier is now on sale for like $7 on Amazon, with Prime shipping. That’s a ludicrous deal.
Being that it’s a $7 brush, just keep an eye on quality control if you buy it. If it loses a couple of hairs the first time you use it, no problem. If it’s shedding worse than a chow in summertime two weeks in, request an exchange ASAP :)
Also recently learned that apparently Queen Charlotte Soaps makes some phenomenal handmade soaps, shampoo bars, and creams that are apparently champion latherers with amazing, natural scents. I’m thinking of picking up a sampler pack of a half dozen creams or soap blocks, so I’ll report back when I can. The fact that they are based out of Charlotte, NC is especially cool, but I was saddened to learn that they don’t have a storefront I can visit :(
Another cream recommendation that I’ve made a couple of times, but will repeat because it’s one of the best products I use:
The Body Shop’s Macca Root Shave Cream.
The way I use it, I wet my brush and then just run it across the surface of the cream. The amount of actual cream I get on the brush is probably the size of a shelled sunflower and it is enough to lather my face twice! One container of that lasts about a year and a half of daily shaving.
Even if you use a disposable razor, I’d still recommend jumping to a cream like this.
Well, I think I might have enough soap for the next 5 years. I picked up tubs of the Taylor of Old Bond Street Lavender, Cella and RazoRock Cacao creams to try out. My first experience with shaving with the DE was with the hard soap Tabac and so the switch to the cream was a change. All three lathered up really nicely and much more quickly than the Tabac (which is no slouch in the lathering department either). I’ve now only shaven once with each cream, so this is hardly an exhaustive review, but I feel like my skin was the smoothest directly after shaving using the TOBS (but that could also be due to a new blade). As for the scent, there is definitely a strong lavender scent while applying it but it was more of a woodsy/herbal lavender than a floral lavender. Furthermore, once I rinsed it off my skin the scent was gone. Very impressed.
But, that shouldn’t detract from the other two Italian creams. The RazoRock, despite being labeled a ‘cacao’ product smelled more like almond, as did the Cella. They both smelled identical to me. Actually, in other terms I can’t really tell the difference yet. The RazoRock lists menthol in the ingredients, but I can’t smell it or feel it. I feel like my skin felt the best with the RazoRock at the end of the day, but the difference is so slight it was probably influenced by other factors (increased humidity, exercise, time spent in the sun, etc).
Ug, now I have to resist the urge to buy more soaps/creams to try out.
Oh and for a lesson in marital communication, my wife said to me the other day “Oh, I actually liked the smell of the Tabac”
I think my next purchase will be Tabac, it sounds good.
My Queen Charlotte soap samplers came in today; adorable little silver-dollar sized tubs of .5oz apiece. Got five of 'em, and although I may not see how they lather till tomorrow, I have spent the last little while immersing myself. Company descriptions followed by my additional observations.
Cayman - Sure Cayman is just another bay rum scent, but Shakespeare was just another writer and Beethoven just another pianist, right? Cayman is distinctly complex, clean, and spicy with a light touch of citrus.
I think it smells of gingersnaps and Christmas candles; strong cloves and maybe even a hint of cardamom. If it weren’t soap, I’d probably mull some cider with it.
Esquire - Esquire is a complex scent that starts with fresh, clean citrus notes, which are quickly joined by luxurious sandalwood. At the base, Esquire has a distinct dark, earthy note. Esquire smells classy, refined, and sophisticated.
To me, I’m getting hints of freshly printed paper, faint cologne, and wood. It’s simultaneously light and dark; very intrigued to see how it smells on the skin.
Hanami - You are sitting in a Japanese park, sipping on some tea, and enjoying the beautiful cherry blossom trees, all on a warm, spring day. This is what Hanami smells like. Sweet and citrusy top notes, combined with woody base notes make Hanami a clean, fresh, unique, and masculine scent.
Much more floral than they’d have to believe, TBH, it’s sort of like nectar or fruit juice in tone.
Provence - Out of the tub, Provence smells like a dense forest on a cool, spring morning. As Provence is being lathered up, the strong, woody notes are joined by both citrus and herbaceous notes, before giving way to an earthy, grassy dry down.
I feel some distinct pine and fir (heavy on the sap) here, as well as a bit of fresh-cut grass and spice.
Monaco - Monaco opens up with an irresistible blast of juicy citrus and precious neroli. As the scent grows, sweet ylang ylang and floral notes emerge. In time, one can also detect earthy and grassy notes. All of this creates a delicate, yet extremely complex scent.
I’d go so far as to call this one zesty with a mellow, woody scent behind it.
All in all, quite pleased!
Man, that’s some selection. I’m coming to the end of my Sandalwood soap from Taylor-no-longer-actually-of-Old Bond Street, and while I like it a lot, some alternatives would make for a nice diversion. I suspect I’d find “Cayman” aggressively unpleasant, but “Esquire” and “Provence” both sound really good.
Unrelated, I’m watching a re-run of Bonanza with a (very clean-shaven) fellow who looks exactly like a dollar store knock-off of Steve McQueen. It’s uncanny.
This thread finally broke me. My electric razor has really been letting me down lately so I grabbed a starter kit:
I look forward to bleeding profusely!
whistles
That’s a pretty package, Warren. I’d strongly recommend a blade sampler in your near future to figure out what brands play best with your face. Pretty much everyone is different, so relying on the first one you try doesn’t always work well. This is a pretty decent sampler.
Since your local, you’re also welcome to sample a couple of mine; I have some leftovers of BlueBirds, Astras, Derbys, Gillette Greens & Blues, and Sharks. I’d be happy to pass 'em your way after work or on a weekend sometime :)
OK, thanks! I grabbed the sampler pack as well now. This should be fun! I’m tired of my neck never getting a decent shave…
Is the soap cool for an absolute beginner or should I get a cream instead?
Sort of depends on the water where you live. My condo has high mineral/metal content that basically turns it to hard water; that makes soaps a little harder to whip up reliably. If you’ve got a cleaner pipe to city water or a softener installed, the difference between the two is minimal at best.
I’ll say again that I am phenomenally impressed by TOBS Avocado cream for the richness of lather it produces; Sandalwood’s proven about as nice. But realistically, it doesn’t guarantee a better shave than the medium-thickness lather of my C.O. Bigelow/Proraso cream or my Tabac shave stick.
I’ve only really been outright disappointed with the $1.50 puck of Van Der Hagen deluxe I bought on a whim at Wally World, and even that still shaves decently.
HUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUH
Hey, if I left it alone you have to. :) He’s not wrong though. It IS pretty.