I had seen this brand, but never tried it. So why not. It lathered alot better than William's but it does not leave the face as soft as William's. The price is a little bit more thatn William's price, but the size of the soap is larger, though it seemed to go faster. It took a little while longer than William's to lather, but when you finished, the lather was much better. I loved the feel of a new cake in the my hand. Inexpensive. Found almost at any drugstore in the states. The box is green and has a VHD seal, but says "deluxe shave soap" with Aloe Vera & Shea Butter for Dry Skin - Heavy Beard." I did not think the mosturizing was all that great. The company is out of Texas: www.vdhent.com and it seems they also make those cheap boar hari shave brushes you see at Walgreen and CVS. But looking at their website, it looks like they also sell badger hair brushes.

Cheap ,available locally, Lot's of lather, great scent and doesn't dry my face like Williams. MUST have soap!

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Jon

1967 Gillette Black Handle Super Speed
1962 Gillette Super Speed
1959 Gillette Adjustable Fat Boy
1940's Gillette Gold Tech

It definitely softens my whiskers when I use it, but it tends to go a little fast and sometimes the lanolin comes out of the soap if it's not meticulously dried. Certainly better than Williams Mug Shave Soap in terms of moisturizing and lather. The scent smells like soap, but that might have something to do with the lanolin in it. A puck cost me a little under $2 at Walgreens.

I bought the transparent brown version of the same brand at WalMart. I like a dense lather and this soap is hard to achieve that. Too little water and it doesn't lather up much, add more water and the lather gets too foamy. It also dries pretty fast so by the time I get to the chin I usually need to reapply some from the brush. I guess you get what you pay for. I'll continue to use it till it's gone but doubt I'll buy more. The smell is great first thing in the morning though, very clean, not perfumy. I'm one of those people who can't eat before lunchtime and the smell of almonds or lime or mint first thing in the AM makes me want to puke.

I bought my self three 2.5 oz. pucks of the Select brand (white) for a total of $6.00. I formed them in a bowl and proceeded to shave. What I got was a fantastic under-rated performer. Lubricity, moisterizing comfort was all there. There is absolutely no reason to pay more for any shaving soap unless the reason is the scent. I like the extremely clean, almost non existing scent. It rinses clean from the razor. The brand is labeled hypoallergenic, and I believe it is from my experience. I will always buy it. If this soap was made in a foreign country, had a fancy name and had to be bought over the internet, there would be more fanfare.

I thought it was ok. Readily available, cheap, makes a decent enough lather. I will keep it in the rotation. I could do without the Grey Flannel scent....

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Brad

My experience with this soap has been great. Once I figured out how to get a good lather going I have found this to be a great all around soap. I would definately recommend it to anyone. Especially, if like me, you tend to do repeat strokes between passes. I really like the fact that it rinses clean off of my razor (how many soaps actually do that). It makes me feel confident that it is also rinsing clean off of my brush, not to mention my face.

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Joe

I got this stuff at Rite-Aid for $2, and tried it last night. I put a bit of warm water into the plastic tray it comes in, and after my shower I then loaded up my brush. I actually built my lather in a mug (I usually build soaps directly on my face), and surprisingly the soap produced a nice thick lather. Nothing like AOS or higher end stuff but it was good lather. Definitely hypoallergenic, didn't dry my face, and slick enough to give me a baby smooth shave.



Note:



I gave it a Zero for scent because it literally does not smell like anything once it's on your face, its completely scentless.

I am pleased with Van Der Hagen. The price is TOO CHEAP. I have NO PROBLEM with the lather. All in all I think it is a GOOD choice. I use it one time a week in my rotation.

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Pete

"Failure is not an option"

I really like this stuff. As long as it's available, I will probably never go back to Williams. It's a pretty decent step up. The lather is awesome, very nice and slick. You have to really work your brush, but at the price, I don't mind having to use a little more soap. I melted a puck into one of my mugs and it works great. A thumbs up for me, esp. considering the price. I kind of like the smell too, though it really is only enjoyable while you're shaving, it's better than nothing. Defiantely good stuff!

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..doin' the Badger's work. twitter: @masonjarjar

Love this soap... now. Initially, using the same lather techniques as my shaving creams (bringing the wet, hot brush to the dry soap to charge it), it was disappointing. I could get a decent lather for the first pass, but the second pass was useless; especially when keeping my lather bowl in a bowl of hot water between passes. I gave up on it and felt guilty that I included it in a shaving brush kit present I gave to a friend.



Then, after recently browsing in the forums, I started using the technique of pouring hot water over the soap for a bit, then pouring it out, before making lather. Doing this, the lather I make lasts through three passes and is thick and incredible each pass! I couldn't believe it at first. I've found that it takes really hot water (I use a hot pot). Hot water from the tap did a better job than my lousy previous technique, but the super hot water brings this soap to life.



One guy mentioned he can get it for $.90. Must be in the military like me. $.90 with no tax at the PX/BX. Cant' beat that! So, I get it for the same price as Williams, which has resisted any attempt by me to turn it into a decent lather. Like many before me, the Williams ended up in the shower.



The scent? I love it, for the same reason I love Palmolive (rest in peace). It's just a clean, soapy, all-American smell. Very pleasing going on the face.



Moisturizing? Doesn't dry me out like the Williams, but I definitely need a ASB afterwards.



Hardly leaves a film on the razor. Not incredibly important, but it's nice to have a shiny razor throughout the week.

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Anachronistic Shaving Equipment Guy

My wife bought me a cake of the pink version. Nice scent, but subdued. I had no difficulty working up a good lather. Very nice shave. Great price. It's now a part of my rotation.

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Regards,

Ray

beats the snot out of williams, for only a little bit more coin. the scent is nothing special, but mild and not objectionable. the regular and sensitive (white and brown) version of this don't work nearly as well for me as the deluxe (pink). has a tendency to dry my face somewhat. seems to last plenty long, especially considering the price. available locally, which is a huge plus for me. one of the best values in shaving.

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quick tip: if you aren't sure whether i am joking or not, i am!

I tried it this morning, and I'd rate it a so-so. I couldn't get a decent lather out of it, but the scent is not horrible like most cheap drug store stuff, and it did leave my face feeling smooth and moist. I applied some Thayer's Witch Hazel and left it at that, and my face still feels good now at nearly 6 pm. Can't beat the price! I'll probably throw it in my travel kit. It was good enough, though, that I ordered the VDH Glycerin version - looking fwd to trying that one.



My verdict: it stays but just barely.

Its a Good cheap soap...lathers up a bit better than Williams but the scent won't win over many converts...