Soap vs. Shave Stick vs. Cream

Veteran Newbie here (I've been at DE shaving since July).

I've learned different things along my way, holding the razor, when to change the blade, mug lathering, etc etc. I have found that face lathering works best for me. It’s the quickest and I build an amazing lather.

I am using creams as opposed to soaps to do this. I think soaps may leave a film or my face too dry. It already is. But the idea of using a shave stick has recently jumped up on my radar. I wanted to know the difference between a shave stick vs. a soap puck vs. cream.

I am sure there may already be a thread out there.

Also what brands make shave sticks? I know TOBS and Speick do. Anyone else out there?

I use shave sticks often. They're easy to use and can get great lather. They are good for traveling as well. They're especially effective if you haven't shaved for a day. Just simply wet your face and rub the stick all over, especially against the grain. Be sure to coat your beard with soap. Then take a damp brush and start face lathering. It works like magic!

I have found that I have better success with a soft badger brush rather than a boar brush, but others may have success with both.

The shave sticks I currently use are Irisch Moos, Arko and Speick. All three are great. I love the Arko stick and you can't beat the price! It's usually at or under $2 a pop. The Speick is terrific as well. Moos is harder to come by for sure and is more expensive. One thing for certain, all shave sticks last a long time.

I know that TOBS, Honeybee, DR Harris, Mama Bear and QED make shave sticks, but I've never tried them. They seem popular though. Good luck!

Personally I love the performance of a shave stick. The even, thick coat of soap gives a large amount of protection from the nice cushion. I really feel that the product sinks into the skin to offer the added protection.

Ive rubbed cream evenly over my face to see if the results are similar, and they were.

Id suggest you try the Speick stick because its tallow, hard milled soap for less than a QED stick. Nothing against QED, but I dont find the shave sticks to be a good value.

There is no difference between a shave stick and shave soap except for the shape of the product. You can get the same effect by taking a puck of shaving soap and rubbing it onto your face.

As others have mentioned, you can also apply cream in this way.

Soaps do not leave a film on your face or dry your face more than creams, in my experience. In fact, the only product I use that seems to leave a film on my face is a cream.

Mama Bear's had a large variety of shaving stick scents. I own two, Black Code which I love the smell, and Sandalwood Vanilla (SWMBO's fav). They are great to travel with and even at home they are in my shaving rotation.

http://mamabearssoaps.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

a stick is the same as a puck, its just used differently.

makes include, but are not limited to (though these are all I can think of):
qed, mamabear, Tobs, Tabac, DR Harris, speick, valobra, arko, palmolive, mennen, la toja, irisch moos, wilkinson sword, boots, De Vergulde, erasmic

Gogo said:

The shave sticks I currently use are Irisch Moos, Arko and Speick. All three are great. I love the Arko stick and you can't beat the price! It's usually at or under $2 a pop. The Speick is terrific as well. Moos is harder to come by for sure and is more expensive. One thing for certain, all shave sticks last a long time.

I know that TOBS, Honeybee, DR Harris, Mama Bear and QED make shave sticks, but I've never tried them. They seem popular though. Good luck!

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Huge +1 here. All three are amazing and you really can't go wrong.

What I like about shave sticks is that I've never screwed up the lather with them. They may take a bit more muscle to get going sometimes, but the lather will always be perfect, and if you add too much water, it just flies off your face so you can always reapply some soap with the stick. I'm not always in the mood for them, however, so it's important to have options.