Dr. Dittmar Rivivage Shaving soap

**GreekGuy** · 06-26-2012, 06:32 PM

Fantastic!

I'm happy to hear it arrived so quickly! As you're lathering it, be sure to work in plenty of water. The Doctor LOVES water

I'm looking forward to your thoughts. And please, post your honest impressions. If you feel like its rubbish, I want to know what you really think

**Uncle Brian** · 06-26-2012, 06:44 PM

Ok Nick I can do that.
After coming from Arko it will be an interesting soap to try out, i expect it will take some time to become used to it but that's half the fun.

**Uncle Brian** · 06-26-2012, 07:03 PM

I couldn't help myself ... LOTS of WATER is the key

**GreekGuy** · 06-27-2012, 12:44 AM

Originally Posted by Uncle Brian

I couldn't help myself ... LOTS of WATER is the key

Looks like a good start!

I find the lather of DD to be less voluminous, but much denser than Arko. Have you had a shave with it yet?

**Uncle Brian** · 06-27-2012, 12:59 AM

No shave until tomorrow morning that's Thursday morning 10 hours from now.

I have given my Gillette Tech the chance to be first to play in the lather and a new Astra SP blade has been fitted.

Those two are a good combo that I'm happy using, I have some Polsilvers comming but best to introduce just one change at a time.

The lather in the picture built up very quickly and looked much better than what i usually get with Arko so I think I need to add more water. A good lesson learned I think.

Catch you all in the morning

**Uncle Brian** · 06-27-2012, 12:27 PM

Quick results of this mornings shave.

Soap lathers easily
Nice smooth creamy lather
Smells nice, not much of a smell at all
Blade glades easily over the face
Had a good shave with little irritation no damage done.
Gillette Tech/Astra SP/Dr Dittmar/Boar brush/cold water rinse/Nivea shave balm.

30 minutes after shave ... there is a gentle smell of soap on my skin and a smile on my face

**GreekGuy** · 06-27-2012, 01:10 PM

Sounds good so far! Hopefully the others will be receiving theirs shortly and can post as well

**squatzilla801** · 06-27-2012, 01:18 PM

The Dr. is in my friends. This stuff is really great, the highlight for me is the easy to make, very dense lather. Nick was right about it being quite thirsty. I was pretty surprised that it would just keep building with more and more water. It yields a really great shave and really is a bargain. I ended up milling two pucks into a tub, should last forever.

**Uncle Brian** · 06-27-2012, 05:30 PM

I was surprised just how much water it needed way more than i would have expected.
It's great soap and I think I will be doing the minimalist thing until at least the end of July.
Looking forward to what the other guys think too.

**petr** · 06-27-2012, 05:39 PM

meh ... you guys don't think it's sorta middle of the road? Very good yes. One I could use for months. It think the new poraso shaves better. But, we're all different of course and it does have that lovely light lavender thing. I'd rather Harris lavender if I was going for scent though. German soaps are really great.

**Uncle Brian** · 06-27-2012, 09:55 PM

I come from the Cult of Arko petr where the smell of the morning shave drives vampires out into the sun and kills bugs and creepy crawlies dead at 100 yards.
Soap is very YMMV I like the lack of strong smell with this soap if I decide I need some scent I might turn the soap into a cream and add some essential oil.
After only one shave it's hard to form a strong opinion but it's good stuff.

**Uncle Brian** · 06-28-2012, 03:59 PM

Shave two.
Did the usual preperation of having a hot shower and making sure I washed my face real well.
Soaked the brush in hot water then made up a lather using lots of hot water, I did manage to spread the lather all over the bathroom guess I must have lathered with a bit too much vigor.
Applied Lather and left it for 2 minutes while i warmed up the razor under the hot water and wondered who was the old guy peering back at me from the shave mirror.
Started my passes wtg being as smooth and gentle as possible
More lather then atg and finally more lather and atg with a little touch up in those hard to get to places.
It's great soap does a good job no fuss no bother no funny smells.
I understand that because it's so mild that people might not think much of it as they are loking for something 'exciting' not this kid I just want the best shave i can get without too much fuss and without smelling too much when it's over.
Looking forward to using it all up, will I but more? Yes It's a nice soap that gives good results plus it would be a great soap to give away when trying to get my friends to try DE shaving.
later folks ....

**Uncle Brian** · 06-28-2012, 04:00 PM

Ooops double post

**petr** · 06-28-2012, 07:35 PM

Oh, forgot. This soap has a very high Ph - on purpose. It is marketed as a "beard softening soap". I think it works at this too. Lather up and leave it on for five minutes while you do something else before you shave and see if you can tell a difference.

I tried this for a few days and it softened my coarse beard up, yes. I also I left it on too long and it started to burn my skin. Not lye burn or Essential Oil burn, but milder. That is what started my investigation. I'm curious if anyone else noticed this.

Glad you're liking it UB. We all need a workhorse no fuss kind of soap.

**Uncle Brian** · 06-28-2012, 09:31 PM

I'll try that tomorrow petr and I will also be trying out a Polsilver blade.
The Astra SP pack that I ordered still hasn't arrived so it will be the Polsilver and if I like them I'm going to order a whole bunch, enough to survive the nuclear winter clean shave if just a little mutated.

**syngent** · 06-28-2012, 10:01 PM

Well i didnt shave with it tonight, i just finished a run in my palm, and boy do i regret not shaving with it, the smell is very fresh but not boring at all like a lot of other fresh scents, i couldnt imagine anything else in my den serving as a better scent coming in from a hot day outside other then maybe a EO lime i have, but this is as it stands my slickest soap, i always test new products in the palm for a couple of reasons, 1 i always have so i can feel the differences right away, if i am going to have a reaction its better then finding out during a shave specially on the necks skin, and because your fingertips are very sensitive so i can feel the slickness between thumb and finger,... and also i can feel how moisturized my whole hand feels after

well its been a few minutes since i tested this out and my hands feel great moist but not greasy actually they are dry to the touch, but very soft, and the skin is tight as it should be, no reactions to it (im glad cause this just trumped out a lot of things in my den) value wise specially with sale right now this has to be a best buy on the net for sure, though time will tell how long the soap lasts it loads very easily so I dont think you use to much

I kept adding water playing with it to find its breaking point took it way wetter then i normally would, to the point the whole product would shift in my hand like snow falling off a hot hood of a car, it still felt slick, and i could still see it filling into the ridges of my hand and absorbing in so i would think it a very protective product indeed, ill pop in tomorrow after i shave to see final results but i have high expectations for this little gem

thanks to Nick for bringing this guy into my Den, I think it will become a top 3 for sure

**syngent** · 06-28-2012, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by petr

meh ... you guys don't think it's sorta middle of the road? Very good yes. One I could use for months. It think the new poraso shaves better. But, we're all different of course and it does have that lovely light lavender thing. I'd rather Harris lavender if I was going for scent though. German soaps are really great.

Laughs i guess its a bit of ymmv, ive never found proraso anything but middle ground as well but then having it local always tends to make products have to work a bit harder, as Ive been around it since i started shaving its lost its appeal well the old formula anyway i have the new stuff all around me now too though

**petr** · 06-29-2012, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by syngent

Laughs i guess its a bit of ymmv, ive never found proraso anything but middle ground as well but then having it local always tends to make products have to work a bit harder, as Ive been around it since i started shaving its lost its appeal well the old formula anyway i have the new stuff all around me now too though

good call. true.

**Uncle Brian** · 06-29-2012, 04:50 PM

Ok Shave Three
I have made a huge amount of lather it's just so esy and fun.
Going to leave it on my face for 5 minutes while it does its magic
Using Tech and Polsilver
Day off no rush & I plan to really enjoy the shave.
MUCH LATER I got a better shave today partly because of the very sharp blade and I think waiting 5 minutes helped, I still like the soap ... actually I can't think of anything bad about it at all.

**syngent** · 06-29-2012, 10:08 PM

alright i just got out of the bathroom and let me tell you i did this soap no favours, as far as my far as my gear goes anyway,

razor - old type head, weber bull dog handle (first time out with the handle)
blade - 3rd shave SI
soap - bet you cant guess

a/s - thayers WH

kept things pretty simple a simple warm water splash and facial cleanse, then i loaded the brush took about 15-20 seconds and got more then i needed with that kept adding water till i got a high shine to the soap, I can see why nick loves this stuff as it isnt dense like most creams and other soaps, as a straight guy (Nick not me) keeping his edge clear of product is key to a great shave as i understand,
took out my weber for the first time spent a few minutes before i got started making sure the blade was in perfect (old types have a bit of play and the blade can sit in very very bad positions if your not carefull) and away i went with a two pass + touch up shave

everything felt great i got a minor weeper that the cold water rinse got rid of certainly wasnt the soaps fault it was something i did, my face is now 7.2845 - 10 minutes, lol, from the shave and my face feels great again its smooth and firm and does not feel dry, no irritation to speak of at all i really enjoyed tonights shave, an aggressive razor + a sharp blade, is a combo that loves a slick product i have a few things i wont but out the old type to use with because i get skipping from time to time though the weber weight may help with that a bit i dont need to worry about that with this soap, a great puck at a great price, i dont see why this wouldnt hang around my den for some time to come,.... ill post anything i find different with any of my other combos if they come up but i really dont see any problems in the future !

again thank you to Nick for all your advice over the past months, and for getting this into my hands and on my face lol