Suggestions requested

Hello all my DE brothers and sisters!

For the frequent visitors here at B&B, you probably already know that I am wading back into the DE world after a couple of decades of suffering with disposables.

I recently picked up my first DE, a Gillette Flare Tip SS and am waiting on my Feather SS.

The only soap I have right now is a puck of Classic Brand Sandalwood. I've read through a bunch of the Shaving Soaps threads and it seems that, while no consensus will ever be reached, there are a few soaps that are generally well accepted, those being:

• Cella
• D.R. Harris (Arlington?)
• Mama Bear
• Tabac (tho' from what I've read, it seems to be in the love it or hate it category)
  
  I'm thinking, based on price and popularity, that Cella should be my next addition. But I'm putting it out there for you all to guide my way.

Welcome. Cella may be a soap, but it lathers as easy as any of my creams. Wish I had tried it sooner. It would have saved me a wad of cash. The only cream that shaves as close (for me at least) is Castle Forbes. Cella's scent could be better, I'm not big on almond, but the shaves have been great.

D.R. Harris smells absolutely luscious and works wonderfully. Not to detract from each of the other fine soaps on your list, but I have all of them and this one gives me the most pleasure. YMMV of course.

new fan of mamabear....love the soaps and sticks!

I've used all but the DRH and would recommend any of them, but the Cella is the best. The great thing is all these are easily sold or traded away.

Cella is awesome! Italian soap/creams are the best.

I would vote for Cella as it is a premier member of a group of soaps (soft Italians) that everyone should experience and most love.

The English hard soaps (the Arlington) are another group you will purchase too, but I would sample a number of the scents and not assume that because Arlington is well reviewed here, that it would be the automatic choice for you (I made that mistake, though I wouldn't exactly call it a mistake).

The German soaps and their quirky scents are the wild card of soaps IMO.

I'm not a fan of Arlington at all. The scent isn't subtle or nuanced, which is generally what I enjoy. I'd go with MWF if I had to pick one right now.

I believe Cella is a good choice. I personally love Tabac, but if I had to choose one, it would be the Cella. Not familiar with DRH, or Mama Bears.

Jeff

Cella rocks, smells good and lathers up really really fast. Other soaps I would recommend are AOS (best tallow soap), Irisch Moos (same as Tabac but smells better), MWF (lanolin is awesome for your skin), and Pre De Provonce (shea butter is awesome for your skin) , and Mama Bear (a glycerin soap).

I voted "other." Try P160 before it's all gone.

This is an easy question for me to answer. Cella, Crema Sapone Extra Extra Purissima by a wide margin. I would also add though, the D.R. Harris Arlington, and Valobra, Sapone per barba stick. If I was forced to live with only 3 soaps, this would be my ideal selection.

I have hard water and Mama Bear's works great. You could try Dragon's Blood; I love it and it's on of her big sellers. Or maybe Awakenings if you like menthol.

Rimshot:
I use Chelsea's Unscented Shave Soap. Moderately priced at $3.95 per puck w/ $3.50 USPS First Class Mail shipping (for the first puck and ¢75 for each additional puck), from Suwanee, GA, (purchased on Ebay…”augustine_9” is the Seller).

These light clear pucks are 2¾ inches in diameter across and weigh approximately 3 ½ ounces each. Although not being ‘tallow or milled’, after 3 months use, I do know that this Soap lasts a long time, though alittle softer soap than a few of the glycerin soaps (Van der Hagen, I’ve briefly used before).

These are glycerin-based soaps and according to Chelsea, the unscented puck is made with "Natural White Glycerin soap, French White Clay, Vitamin E and an amazing new product called Foaming Bath Butter". The foaming bath butter produces an incredible lather and each puck is made with high quality ingredients and processes using all natural Glycerin - no harsh chemicals to irritate my face which is ‘ideal’ for my sensitive skin.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=188885&highlight=chelsea%27s

Christopher

If you haven't tried the Tabac, it's worth a try.

Cella is idiot proof, but the scent just doesn't do it for me.

DR Harris costs more, but if I had to choose one product to shave with for the rest of my life, it would unquestionably be DR Harris Arlington.

They're all soaps that should, IMO, be tried on your winding journey to shaving zen.

Since Mamabear recently had a tragedy, I vote for Mamabear's. I'm sure she can use all the financial assistance she can get. Just shoot her an email and make sure she has the inventory to support what you wish to purchase.

rockviper said:

I voted "other." Try P160 before it's all gone.

Click to expand...

so where or what happened to P.160? is it no longer being made?

brucered said:

so where or what happened to P.160? is it no longer being made?

Click to expand...

That is correct. Here is the thread about it.