I'm going on about a year of wet shaving now. In that short time, I have worked my way through many types of soap/cream. What comes to mind presently is:
- Williams
- VDH
- Proraso (C.O. Bigelow)
- TBS Maca Root
- Mamma Bears
- D.R. Harris (puck)
- Tabac (puck/bowl)
- Provence Sante Green Tea
- MWF
- TOBS creams
- Trumpers
- Cremo
- e-Shave cream
- P.160
- Cella
- Queen Charlotte Soaps
- Valobra Stick & milled
- Arko (stick)
- Palmolive (stick)
- SIM (stick)
I'm sure I forgot some.
I've tried both bowl and face lathering. I enjoy face lathering for maximum brush-to-face time and minimization of required equipment.
However, to the point of this post, having tried creams, pucks and sticks, I am finding that sticks just seem to provide a level of glide/slickness that I feel is above what I'm able to achieve with creams and pucks. In order of characteristics I find important, it seems to be glide/slickness, hydration/amount of water able to be held by the lather and sitll remain stable, and finally cushioning. YMMV. With respect to slickness, I find my shave sticks are outperforming my other soaps. E.g. Valobra, Palmolvie, SIM, Arko (minus the scent) are some of my go-tos in rotation. Perhaps this is because these are simply higher performance products than my non-stick products. Or perhaps it has more to do with delivery mechanism (rubbing it directly on my face).
Maybe a more experienced member would like to chime in on whether or not sticks have consistently provided a "slicker" shave for them over the long run vs other soap types. As for now... I think I'm converting to an all-stick rotation.
Regards,
Jason
- Williams
- VDH
- Proraso (C.O. Bigelow)
- TBS Maca Root
- Mamma Bears
- D.R. Harris (puck)
- Tabac (puck/bowl)
- Provence Sante Green Tea
- MWF
- TOBS creams
- Trumpers
- Cremo
- e-Shave cream
- P.160
- Cella
- Queen Charlotte Soaps
- Valobra Stick & milled
- Arko (stick)
- Palmolive (stick)
- SIM (stick)
I'm sure I forgot some.
I've tried both bowl and face lathering. I enjoy face lathering for maximum brush-to-face time and minimization of required equipment.
However, to the point of this post, having tried creams, pucks and sticks, I am finding that sticks just seem to provide a level of glide/slickness that I feel is above what I'm able to achieve with creams and pucks. In order of characteristics I find important, it seems to be glide/slickness, hydration/amount of water able to be held by the lather and sitll remain stable, and finally cushioning. YMMV. With respect to slickness, I find my shave sticks are outperforming my other soaps. E.g. Valobra, Palmolvie, SIM, Arko (minus the scent) are some of my go-tos in rotation. Perhaps this is because these are simply higher performance products than my non-stick products. Or perhaps it has more to do with delivery mechanism (rubbing it directly on my face).
Maybe a more experienced member would like to chime in on whether or not sticks have consistently provided a "slicker" shave for them over the long run vs other soap types. As for now... I think I'm converting to an all-stick rotation.
Regards,
Jason