Newbie questions about all things shaving soap

[Rook Champ]

I haven't been on in months. I started with DE razors at Christmas, and now I'm ready put my foot in the water in the wet.

I got a $5 synthetic brush and a $5 stainless steel shave bowl with a lid. Since I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll be giving up Edge forever, I didn't want to invest to heavily in products I might end up giving away.

The bowl doesn't have ridges which I think is required for building a lather. But I've never built a lather so all I'm going on are YouYube shaving tutorials.

The brush is by Frank's Shaving and is a synthetic brush.

Sometime today I'm going to get a cake of Proraso and a cake of Arko, both of which are highly rated and fairly cheap.

How long should I expect them to last? I used to be able to get almost a year out of a can of Edge but i was only shaving one pass every other day

Now that I'm doing 2 passes and sometimes an evening pass if I'm going out, i used up my can of Edge within about 6 months.

How long does it take to bloom a cake?

My routine right now is to fill the sink half full with hot water, shower, get my razor out if the water, lather up, wash my hands, and shave.

Will it bloom in the amount of time it takes me to shower (and I'm ex-Air Force so my shower is 5 minutes max)?

 

[Benzadmiral]

A cake of soap will last quite a while. Now I don't shave every day and don't use the same product each time, so take that into account. And I face-lather, too. But my tub of Phoenix Atmotic, bought more than 3 years ago, is only now getting low; my Tabac stick, purchased in late 2018, is nowhere near done. Depending on the product, I don't think you have to use a lot at each shave to get a good slick lather and a fine shave.

Arko performs way out of its price class. I've never used Proraso soap, but the Green cream in the tube is outstanding, so I'd expect they know what they're doing when it comes to soaps.

 

[Stubblebum]

Sometime today I'm going to get a cake of Proraso and a cake of Arko, both of which are highly rated and fairly cheap.

How long does it take to bloom a cake?

Will it bloom in the amount of time it takes me to shower (and I'm ex-Air Force so my shower is 5 minutes max)?

IMO, neither Arko nor Proraso should require blooming, as they are both relatively soft soaps.

 

[LMcC]

I’ve become a little bit of a super fan recently, so I’m going to highly recommend you try a Stirling soap. It lathers incredibly easily bowl or face, they have a million scents, and samples are only $3.80. They are big samples (1 oz) and I would expect a sample to last 30 shaves or more. The big tubs are almost 6 oz and are only $13.

 

[esky15]

As for lathering in the bowl, you don't need ridges to build a lather. It certainly helps, but you can do without.

 

[luvmysuper]

Or just try face lathering, it can be nice for raising the hair and defoliating a little bit.

 

[kingfisher]

No need to bloom. No need for ridges.
A puck of dish lasts me anywhere from 80 to about 135 shaves.

 

[dabrock]

The number of shaves is going to depend a lot on your brush, the soap, and how heavily you load. A synthetic uses less than a natural hair brush and the harder the soap the longer it will last. If you go with Arko you'll get fewer shaves because it's only 75g, but it's also very cheap as you can get it for $12USD for 12 sticks on Amazon. If you buy something like Pre de Provence it can last you over a year for one puck and will cost about the same.

Overall, a can of cheap gel or foam will likely be slightly less expensive if you are only doing one pass, but you'll find that soaps are better for your skin and just shave better in general.

 

[BigJ]

IMO, neither Arko nor Proraso should require blooming, as they are both relatively soft soaps.

Yep! And if you use the Arko stick then you don’t need a bowl; just rub the stick over your wet face then go to town with your brush.

 

[GNR]

First, thanks for your service! You guys always gave me free rides (to horrible places) and then left, LOL.
But, you always came back for me, so I’m a big fan.
I like your two choices to start.
I wouldn’t bloom either.
The FS synthetic brush should make great lather with both. Just do some practice lathers.
Send me a PM if you want to try some different soaps or creams.
Good luck and have fun!
Tim

 

[Lee93]

For me a Proraso tub lasts 75 days, I shave every day with 2 passes plus 1 courtesy pass.