Dove as a shaving soap?

[Lane101]

I'm not debating it can't be done and won't wash your car, but the ingredients are not good for your cars finish long term.

Wash away.

@SamplingNature , @brucered , lots of confusion out there on the use of household soaps for washing cars. Of course all the car washing product manufacturers warn against use of dish soap while the dish soap producers state that their products are non-abrasive and safe to use. These claims then get amplified via today's social media machines. Recall my Dad using a soap solution made with Ivory flakes decades ago with no ill effects.

Looked at some unbiased sources not trying to sell their products and the reality is that some dish soaps have abrasive ingredients that can damage your finish. Consumer Reports, in 2021, recommends that one not use dish soap to wash your car. Even the non-abrasive products are so effective at cleaning that they may remove your car wax finish and after market paint sealant even if they don't damage the factory coatings. Kelly Blue Book states that it is OK to use non-abrasive dish soap (not detergent). My sense is that if you plan to wax the car after washing a non abrasive product may be fine. Read the unbiased recommendations and use what you think is best. For me I'll keep using the commercial brushless car wash a few times per year.

Regarding the use of bath soap for shaving - there is not rule on what we should use. It up to each of our personal preferences and YMMV to determine what we use. I've found that adding some Dove and Ivory to my shaving soap blends enhances the overall performance. Additionally, because Dove Men+Car produces stable lather (almost too thick), blending it with bath soaps, that are slick though the lather dissipates quickly, delivers a reasonably good soap for shaving. Per my earlier posts I've tested a 50/50 blend of Dove/Ivory and it worked with decent core shaving performance. While prefer my commercial shaving soaps and custom blends there is no reason not to use bath soaps for budget and preference reasons.

 

[Big Jim]

I was unimpressed. I'm gradually using up what I have left in the shower. In my personal opinion and experience, Safeguard works better.

 

[Quaznoid]

Dove is a fantastic shave soap. I use it often. It is particularly fine if combined w Irish Spring. I lather exclusively w hand soap scraps to get wonderful slick free lather for the last 50 years. A Cheapshaver favorite

 

[Lane101]

I was unimpressed. I'm gradually using up what I have left in the shower. In my personal opinion and experience, Safeguard works better.

Hi Big Jim, I remember your initial well thought out write up when you first tested Dove. Recall you found it was almost too thick and preferred something slicker. My own testing was consistent with that. Found it works best combined with a slicker bath soap where it can compliment the regular bath soap slickness with its (Doves') stable lather. Tested with Ivory in my case and per the post above from @Quaznoid one of his favorite combinations is Dove with Irish Spring.

For myself I now use it as a regular part of my custom blends as a superlathering agent. Found that Dove Men+Care at 15% of the blends total weight is perfect.