Soap Value vs Cost per Gram

[Feldgrun]

Which of these premium/artesian soaps last the longest, and are the best value for their quantity?

MdC 200g $69.50 $.35/g

Wholly Kaw 4oz (113g) $29.99 $.27/g

Tallow + Steel 85g $22 $.26/g

Grooming Dept 4oz (113g) $27 $.24/g

House of Mammoth 4oz (113g) $25 $.22/g

SV 150g $31 $.21/g

Lothar Grooming 115g $23.99 $.21/g

Declaration Grooming 4oz (113g) $24 $.21/g

DR Harris 100g $20.99 $.21/g

Zingari 5oz (142g) $28 $.20/g

Murphy & McNeil 4oz (113g) $20.99 $.19/g

Noble Otter 4oz (113g) $20 $.18/g

A&E 4oz (113g) $19.95 $.18/g

B&M 4oz (113g) $19.95 $.18/g

PAA (CK-6) 5oz (142g) $25.95 $.18

Canada 175g $30 $.17/g

Highland Springs 4oz (113g) $19 $.17/g

MacDuffs 120g $19.99 $.17/g

Southern Witchcraft 4oz (113g) $18 $.16/g

Areffa 100g $15.28 $.15/g

Captain's 5oz (142g) $18.95 $.13/g

Chiseled Face 4oz (113g) $14.99 $.13/g

Catie's Bubbles 4oz (113g) $14 $.12/g

MWF 125g $15 $.12/g

Mike's 5oz (142g) $15.50 $.11/g

Shannon's Soaps 4oz (113) $12 $.11/g

Sterling 5.8oz (164g) $14.25 $.09/g

 

[lasta]

TFS Ciotola Rossa 125g, $5.99 $.047/g, shiny low structure very slick lather, smells delicious.

IMO, most soaps perform fine, just about using enough and mixing in the right amount of water. Buy which ever smells best to you.

 

[Keyvan]

Which of these premium/artesian soaps last the longest, and are the best value for their quantity?

MdC 200g $69.50 $.35/g

Wholly Kaw 4oz (113g) $29.99 $.27/g

House of Mammoth 4oz (113g) $25 $.22/g

SV 150g $31 $.21/g

Lothar Grooming 115g $23.99 $.21/g

DG 4oz (113g) $24 $.21/g

DR Harris 100g $20.99 $.21/g

Zingari 5oz (142g) $28 $.20/g

Murphy & McNeil 4oz (113g) $20.99 $.19/g

Noble Otter 4oz (113g) $20 $.18/g

A&E 4oz (113g) $19.95 $.18/g

B&M 4oz (113g) $19.95 $.18/g

Canada 175g $30 $.17/g

Southern Witchcraft 4oz (113g) $18 $.16/g

Areffa 100g $15.28 $.15/g

Captain's 5oz (142g) $18.95 $.13/g

Chiseled Face 4oz (113g) $14.99 $.13/g

Catie's Bubbles 4oz (113g) $14 $.12/g

MWF 125g $15 $.12/g

Mike's 5oz (142g) $15.50 $.11/g

Shannon's Soaps 4oz (113) $12 $.11/g

Sterling 5.8oz (164g) $14.25 $.09/g

My guess would be that MWF lasts much longer than any of the soaps with a lower cost/g. It is probably the best value by a wide margin. I believe that it also tends to last longer than most other comparably sized 3 milled soaps (e.g. Tabac).

I don’t know if a puck of MWF would last as long as 200 grams of MDC, but I am pretty sure that it would last of least 70% as long. The French soaps are fantastic performers. The lower priced ones, like Pre de Provence, would probable be competitive in terms of best value.

 

[VerbaVolant]

The use of adjectives in this thread does not help the OP, nor the rest of us, get answers. The topic of this thread is great, as far as I am concerned, and will certainly read it with great interest.
Numbers, please use numbers.

 

[VerbaVolant]

TFS Ciotola Rossa 125g, $5.99 $.047/g, shiny low structure very slick lather, smells delicious.

IMO, most soaps perform fine, just about using enough and mixing in the right amount of water. Buy which ever smells best to you.

I used a TFS soap and really liked it. But the question here is, how many shaves for the soap and price/g. So, how many shaves did you get from your TFS Ciotola Rossa?
Only then we could appreciate value. From a monetary perspective.

 

[SharpieB]

I don’t even consider cost when I buy a soap. Not that I am rich, but as an example, Sterling and MdC are both great values IMO.

MDC is initially very expensive, but is hard as a rock and lasts seemingly forever. Stirling is a bit softer but is inexpensive and tubs contain almost 6oz.

Cost per shave is negligible with both pricing extremes.

 

[Owen Bawn]

STOP USING ADJECTIVES AND FOLLOW THE SCIENCE!

 

[DesertIguana]

My concern is not price, my concern is if I buy a Soap my Skin likes.

I have many allergies, so I try to always buy a small or sample size.

 

[NorthernSoul]

The whole concept of "luxury" products is to be unconcerned about "value". Makers of luxury products try to disconnect the relationship between cost and benefit, so they can charge more for their products.

MWF is more of a "premium" product as are some of the others in that list. If you buy MWF refills from Connaught in the UK, it is $7.75/125g, about $0.062 per gram. Being a hard soap, it takes less soap for each shave, so the cost is even lower on a per use basis compared with softer soaps.

 

[VerbaVolant]

From the list:

DR Harris 100g $11USD, $15CAD, £9, $0.11USD/g, 68 shaves - $0.16USD/shave

MWF 125g $7.40USD, $10CAD, £6, $0.06USD/g, 50 shaves - $0.15USD/shave

I am not much of a premium soap user, I admit. But a Catie's Bubbles soap is going to be used this summer and is currently waiting patiently in my fridge.

 

[Lane101]

My guess would be that MWF lasts much longer than any of the soaps with a lower cost/g. It is probably the best value by a wide margin. I believe that it also tends to last longer than most other comparably sized 3 milled soaps (e.g. Tabac).

I don’t know if a puck of MWF would last as long as 200 grams of MDC, but I am pretty sure that it would last of least 70% as long. The French soaps are fantastic performers. The lower priced ones, like Pre de Provence, would probable be competitive in terms of best value.

@Feldgrun MWF is great soap and can be even more economical than the 12 cents per gram in your calculations. Connaught Shaving sells it for roughly $7 U.S. with no delivery charge if you buy in bulk as part of a larger order and I've regularly seen it on sale at Amazon for around $12 per puck. These options take the cost down to between 5.6 -9.6 cents per gram. My first puck was from Amazon for $12 and I stocked up on a few pucks last fall from Connaught when it was even cheaper landing in the U.S. for roughly $6 per puck.

On a per shave basis I've found dialed in my technique so that I'm using about a gram of MWF per shave which is economical. Even if MdC lasts for a year per many B&Bers that is still roughly 19 cents per shave versus MWF at a third to half of that. I've found that MWF has a nice luxurious feel so, for me, it provides excellent value for the money.

Overall the while the math calculations are universal the value equation will be personal to you based on which soaps provide your preferred shaving experience in addition to being economical.

My recommendation would be to make a Connaught Shaving order of a few soaps to get free shipping and figure out what works best. In addition to MWF you can get soaps like D.R. Harris landed in the U.S. for under $12 (versus the $21.99 you listed) significantly changing the economics. You should also try a Cyril R. Salter shaving soap that is identical to D.R. Harris in all but scent for half the price. They have lots of other soaps ranging from S.V. to Tabac and even TFS Ciotola Rossa 125g landed for around $3. Again have the price noted above. I also have a TFS Ciotola Rossa and it works well so long as you scoop out enough product. It's a soft soap that I found works best if treated like a cream scooping out an almond sized portion.

Good luck on your soap journey!

 

[Lane101]

TFS Ciotola Rossa 125g, $5.99 $.047/g, shiny low structure very slick lather, smells delicious.

IMO, most soaps perform fine, just about using enough and mixing in the right amount of water. Buy which ever smells best to you.

You are absolutely right about TFS Ciotola Rossa. When I tried using it like a soap the lather was always too thin - could never load enough. When I changed technique to treat it as a cream, scooping out an almond sized portion, it produced plenty of excellent lather. Great value soap. Nice almond scent.

 

[Lane101]

The whole concept of "luxury" products is to be unconcerned about "value". Makers of luxury products try to disconnect the relationship between cost and benefit, so they can charge more for their products.

MWF is more of a "premium" product as are some of the others in that list. If you buy MWF refills from Connaught in the UK, it is $7.75/125g, about $0.062 per gram. Being a hard soap, it takes less soap for each shave, so the cost is even lower on a per use basis compared with softer soaps.

Curious, how much MWF to you estimate you use per shave?

When I started on my first puck, given all the posts on lathering difficulties, I used my boar brush and technique from even harder to lather Williams shave soap and wound up pulling around 2 grams of soap per shave with lots of lather left over. Have adjusted and found that my plissoft brushes work well with MWF and now have it down to roughly one gram per shave. Really enjoy the luxurious lather. Happy to have never had difficulty lathering MWF. Note that I start with a completely dry puck and do not pre-soak or wet it.

 

[Lane101]

I used a TFS soap and really liked it. But the question here is, how many shaves for the soap and price/g. So, how many shaves did you get from your TFS Ciotola Rossa?
Only then we could appreciate value. From a monetary perspective.

I have this soap, found that I need to scoop out an almond size amount for my preferred lather. Guessing this is around 2 grams worth so roughly 60 shaves per 125 g container. This is a soft croap that, for me, works best if I treat it like a cream.

I only paid $3 for mine so this comes to about 5 cents per shave. Fairly economical at that price.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Curious, how much MWF to you estimate you use per shave?

When I started on my first puck, given all the posts on lathering difficulties, I used my boar brush and technique from even harder to lather Williams shave soap and wound up pulling around 2 grams of soap per shave with lots of lather left over. Have adjusted and found that my plissoft brushes work well with MWF and now have it down to roughly one gram per shave. Really enjoy the luxurious lather. Happy to have never had difficulty lathering MWF. Note that I start with a completely dry puck and do not pre-soak or wet it.

I'd estimate 0.5 - 0.7 grams per shave. I face lather it using a big boar brush with a fairly thin layer of soap. No need to generate a big bowl of lather that way. The key to slickness with MWF is adding lots of water, but doing it gradually.

I'd avoid the common advice of soaking the MWF puck until it absorbs a lot of water and expands to fill the available space. That leads to using more soap than you need. The key is to load enough soap in the first place from the dry puck, hence the big boar brush.

 

[Mempho]

I'm hiding under my desk waiting for the Arko legions to descend on this thread.

 

[China shaver]

My guess would be that MWF lasts much longer than any of the soaps with a lower cost/g. It is probably the best value by a wide margin. I believe that it also tends to last longer than most other comparably sized 3 milled soaps (e.g. Tabac).

I don’t know if a puck of MWF would last as long as 200 grams of MDC, but I am pretty sure that it would last of least 70% as long. The French soaps are fantastic performers. The lower priced ones, like Pre de Provence, would probable be competitive in terms of best value.

Absolutely! PdP is hard as iron and is outstanding value whilst also being a decent performer. I'm surprised its not on the list

 

[Ron R]

Italian barber (Razorock)has some great soaps and I enjoy buying them on sale and they seem to work just as good as my high end soaps. Some of my favorites are RR XXX, RR Santa Maria del Fiore and RR The Dead sea are nice scented soap with excellent lather qualities.

 

[Lane101]

Italian barber (Razorock)has some great soaps and I enjoy buying them on sale and they seem to work just as good as my high end soaps. Some of my favorites are RR XXX, RR Santa Maria del Fiore and RR The Dead sea are nice scented soap with excellent lather qualities.

The triple milled Razrock What-The-Puck soaps also provide some of the best value out there. Often sold on sale for under $3 for a 100 gram puck. Roughly 3 cents per shave at a one gram usage rate. Similar and even identical formulations to some pucks that are much more expensive. Look up my earlier posts/reviews of these soaps.

 

[VerbaVolant]

...This is a soft croap that, for me, works best if I treat it like a cream...

The same experience here.