What soaps have you been disappointed with?

[VerbaVolant]

I absolutely love the scent of this soap but it lasts seconds.

It looks like a soap you could find at the local Ikea. Yeah, Ikea soap. Slatteroy...


PS. Different country. Same Idea...

 

[hairless wonder]

It looks like a soap you could find at the local Ikea. Yeah, Ikea soap. Slatteroy...

Ikea soap, what a great idea! It would require you to put the puck together with an Allen wrench based on pictograms, though.

 

[BrianP]

Proraso super formula soap. I had a tub of the older version and there's something in the super formula scent that wasn't there before and I cannot enjoy it. Not as eucalyptusey (it's a word now). Thankfully I don't find the same thing in the cream so I got that going for me.

 

[Lane101]

Most, if I’m being honest. I shower after my shave, so, scent isn’t overly important. Nor is post-shave skin feel.

What IS important is quality and ease of lathering, slickness, cushioning… all the things that make for a great shave.

Of secondary importance is price. Artisan soaps in cream form selling for $20+ for 5 ounces are obscene to me. Those with matching aftershaves are also of no interest; my aftershaves are either unscented menthol or they come from the drugstore. If I want a lingering smell, I wear a true fragrance (EDP or Parfum).

With all of that in mind, the soaps in my rotation are Arko (puck and stick), Cella Red, and Vitos Red. Also, en route to me are Jikoryen sticks. All are cheap and all work extremely well. For me, anyway.

Your priorities focus on what I call core shaving performance including ease of lathering, slickness and lather resiliency. Like you I've found options that deliver in those areas for under $2 per puck of which Arko is likely the best current soap given everything that has been discontinued recently. Via a lot of experimentation (see my many posts on this) you can also create a custom blend that delivers core shaving performance that is as good as any commercial soap out there. My favorite includes :

• Two sticks of Arko (I used two pucks of Williams and a stick of Arko in my last batch but Williams is no longer available)
• Two pucks Van Der Hagen Deluxe
• 2 ounces of Dove Men+Care (superlather ingredient)
• 2 ounces of Ivory (for more slickness)
• 1 ounce of Proraso Red (substitute your Cella)

Grate the hard soaps other than Van Der Hagen (VDH). Add in the Proraso and mix a bit. Then melt the VDH (10-15 seconds in the microwave) and pour it in and knead the mix together for a few minutes. VDH acts a s great binder for the soap. Form into five 3+oz pucks at a cost of under $2 U.S. each.

Note that I also now use other shaving soaps like Mitchell's Wool Fat, Cyril R. Salter and Tabac that provide added benefits in the areas of convenience (no need to blend), scent, more luxurious lather texture and better post shave feel though the core shaving performance is similar.

 

[Lane101]

Back to the original question Proraso Red was disappointing. While it lathers easily it does not deliver enough slickness for me. Also the scent smells more like chemicals than sandalwood. I is a great superlathering agent so I use a bit of it in my custom shaving soap blends.

 

[Attog]

Truefitt & hill, expensive and not working as good for it's price.
Bulldog shave soap original, not that cheap and the worst performance I've ever experienced.

 

[WThomas0814]

Your priorities focus on what I call core shaving performance including ease of lathering, slickness and lather resiliency. Like you I've found options that deliver in those areas for under $2 per puck of which Arko is likely the best current soap given everything that has been discontinued recently. Via a lot of experimentation (see my many posts on this) you can also create a custom blend that delivers core shaving performance that is as good as any commercial soap out there. My favorite includes :

• Two sticks of Arko (I used two pucks of Williams and a stick of Arko in my last batch but Williams is no longer available)
• Two pucks Van Der Hagen Deluxe
• 2 ounces of Dove Men+Care (superlather ingredient)
• 2 ounces of Ivory (for more slickness)
• 1 ounce of Proraso Red (substitute your Cella)

Grate the hard soaps other than Van Der Hagen (VDH). Add in the Proraso and mix a bit. Then melt the VDH (10-15 seconds in the microwave) and pour it in and knead the mix together for a few minutes. VDH acts a s great binder for the soap. Form into five 3+oz pucks at a cost of under $2 U.S. each.

Note that I also now use other shaving soaps like Mitchell's Wool Fat, Cyril R. Salter and Tabac that provide added benefits in the areas of convenience (no need to blend), scent, more luxurious lather texture and better post shave feel though the core shaving performance is similar.

Interesting. I’ve never mixed soaps in a precise ratio, except when I would pack a half of a stick of Arko into a large mug to seat a Williams puck and fill in the gaps.

I have a bowl I throw all of my scraps into, adding water as necessary to make it malleable. Haven’t used it yet…

I appreciate the idea!

 

[Wgg2017]

Tallow and Steele - performance is good but there is something in their ingredients that smells off to my nose. It's almost like old nachos and cheese. I've never heard this criticism from others so it must be unique to me but no matter how good the performance is I can't get past this weird smell I detect. I've noticed it in multiple scents so it's definitely not just a single bad batch.

Acqua di Parma - Expensive and isn't very protective or slick. I like the scent very much so I use it occasionally, but the performance is lacking. Won't buy again. There are enough dupes of this scent in other brands that do perform well that there is no need for me to purchase the real thing again.

Antica Barbieria Colla Almond Oil - Much like AdP, this is considerably overpriced for the performance it offers. Lesson learned. I hate products that survive on nothing more than marketing hype.

 

[lancre]

What pisses me off is when I find a soap that I really like, and then they’re done. They go out of business, or move on. I think after this year I’ll stick with a soap company that has been around for decades. Just my thoughts.

That was my thought, too. Then Combe discontinued WMS on me.

 

[lancre]

Lightfoot's for me. It smelled great, but I just couldn't get a good lather out of it, no matter what I tried.

 

[Captain Howdy]

That was my thought, too. Then Combe discontinued WMS on me.

Try Mike's Naturals

 

[mmaggi]

LOL@the Arko scent hating. But to each their own. I can't think of any soap that disappointed me performance wise. Scent wise Proraso Red comes to mind. It made me dislike the sandlewood scent.

 

[Whisky]

Ogallala soaps. Their Bay Rum, Limes, and Peppercorns is one of all time favorite soap scents but I could never get it to lather. I should probably try it again now that I have softer water.

 

[ChriWilson]

Truefitt & hill, expensive and not working as good for it's price.
Bulldog shave soap original, not that cheap and the worst performance I've ever experienced.

Which T&H ?
I've been fine with the older Sandalwood and of course their creams - starting to pick up a trend here - Hmm
Apsley is their outlier, as it has been reformulated and is excellent...

My disappointments were all attributed to lack of Potassium:

• Baume.Be
• LMdSdM
• Fine Classic
• Floris

 

[Herrenberg]

Which T&H ?
I've been fine with the older Sandalwood and of course their creams - starting to pick up a trend here - Hmm
Apsley is their outlier, as it has been reformulated and is excellent...

My disappointments were all attributed to lack of Potassium:

• Baume.Be
• LMdSdM
• Fine Classic
• Floris

What does lack of potassium (vs. sodium, I assume) do to a soap?

 

[ChriWilson]

What does lack of potassium (vs. sodium, I assume) do to a soap?

My understanding is that Potassium is needed to stabilize the lather. My experiences with those soaps mentions support that notion.

They started to create a bubbly foam that didn’t build into any useable lather. Whatever foundation was there simply faded out.

 

[Gamma]

Lightfoot's Pine

 

[Attog]

Which T&H ?

It was Lavender.

 

[ChriWilson]

It was Lavender.

Their current puck in Apsley is fantastic

 

[Attog]

Their current puck in Apsley is fantastic

It may be but in Europe where I live these are quite expensive. I can have 2 Stirlings for price of one T&H with wooden box.