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Got the Brush Covered, Now on to a Shaving Soap: Good Smell for Sensitive Skin

So thanks to an incredibly generous forum member, I have secured my first brush! Yahoo! Now I need to find a shave soap. I have heard a lot of good things about creams but something about the ritual of having the puck of soap and the mug just appeals to me. There are really only two things I am looking for in a soap: Something has a really nice and unique scent and something that is suitable for more delicate skin, if such a thing even exists. Sorry for all the noob questions guys but this is the first time I have even remotely ventured out and tried to do something like this. Thanks in advance!
 
For online orders I would recommend RazoRock or Cella or Proraso(low costs, lots of love on here). If you're trying to shop local then either Van Der Hagen from Wal-mart ($1.60, does a decent job from what I hear) or the better version of VDH available at Target(They also have a unscented version there if your skin is too sensitive)..costs like $4 but from what I hear it's rather darn good. Once I burn through my 5 tubs of RazoRock + 1 tub of Cella I plan on giving it a shot myself. :p
 
I was thinking of going with an online order since I am going to have get my razor online anyway. Have heard lots of good things about Proraso but do they offer different scents? Never heard of Cella, Ill have to look into that one. I wasn't really thinking in terms of unscented for sensitive skin, I just wondered if there was a soap that was more chemically geared toward more sensitive skin. Thanks for the advice!
 
You can try the white Proraso, that is supposed to be good for sensitive skin.

Just found some of that online. Might have to give it a shot. Any of you fellas have a favorite scent of soap? I was reading a thread about Mikes Natural Soaps and a lot of his scents intrigue me.

EDIT: I just hopped on west coast shaving and started checking out some of the Ogallala Bay soaps. Good price point and a lot of scents that are almost exactly what I am looking for. Anyone have any experience with these because I am leaning heavily in this direction and might get some of the RazoRock Cream also to compare how the shaves are with each.
 
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Cella has a sweet almond cent and has like a 100 year old recipe..it's insane..I love it to bits. You can get it on Italian Barber for a few bucks cheaper..but unless you buy enough to warrant free shipping you'll probably end up paying more in the end.

I mentioned unscented because some people on here that have skin so sensitive they resort to getting unscented then mixing in their own scents.

I've never seen anyone mention Ogallala soaps before. Their aftershaves are pretty good, though.

I recommend any italian soft soap for beginners, really. They're not a hard soap so they load very easily and lather just as easy. RazoRock (La Famiglia, Artisan, Classic is more heavy-cream like), Cella, Proraso, etc.
I really like the La Famiglia line of RR because they're made by a company that makes really expensive soaps for the european market..so you're getting a WAY higher end soap..just in a plastic container without a fancy brand name on it.
 
The Ogalla soaps are supposed to be really bad. I haven't tried them myself, but they don't get much love around here.
 

martym

Unacceptably Lasering Chicken Giblets?
Ogallala Bay didn't work for me. Dried up way to much. Kept having to go back to the water. Scent is very strong too. RazoRock is awesome. Cella is really nice too.
You can't go wrong buying from Italian Barber. Their after shave wax is great too.
marty
 
I highly recommend mikes natural soap. Great lather and very natural scents. Peppermint rosemary is fantastic.
 
Oh and I would go with proraso over the other Italian soft soaps. Most of them burn my upper lip but proraso never does.
 
Proraso or Cella would be excellent choices. They are really easy to lather and provide excellent performance. They also both seem to treat sensitive skin well.
 
I'll echo what BallisticBurrito said-the Italian soft soaps are a good place to start for a beginner-they are extremely easy to make tons of lather and result in outstanding shaves.
I have and love - Proraso White Tub (sensitive, old formula), RazoRock (King Louis and La Famiglia line) and Cella are all excellent choices!

For hard soaps - Mike's Naturals, QCS, Haslinger, Mitchells Wool Fat, Pre de Provence, are all outstanding.
To get started with hard soap you could also pick up a puck of VDH Deluxe from your local drugstore. It's cheap and shaves well enough-good to practice lathering and get started on, as there was a little bit of a learning curve with hard soaps for me at first.
 
There are really only two things I am looking for in a soap: Something has a really nice and unique scent
Scent is highly subjective (evidenced by countless threads on this site regarding the scent of any product). "Nice and unique" really don't help those reading your thread and attempting to assist you. You need to be very clear regarding what you consider to be "nice and unique". It wouldn't hurt to clarify what you don't consider to be nice or unique. Never assume that your preferences are universal on topics like this. If we all had the same preference when it came to scent then there would be no reason for certain scents to be offered at all.
 
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Sorry to say, but if you have sensitive skin, stay away from anything scented at first.
You're going to mess up enough times as a newbie anyways, better to not add the variable of potential negative reactions to the essential/fragrance oils to the mix.
Figure out your basic techniques, then start experimenting away!
 
Mike's.

Mike's Mike's Mikes.

They sell samples, so you could try a few to make sure they smell good to you and don't irritate your skin.

The first time I used Mike's (with proper face prep), I thought I had forgotten to put a blade in my razor. It's like the little hairs were volunteering to leave my face. Very moisturizing as well, which really helps my sensitive skin. YMMV of course, but I think it's 100% definitely worth at least trying a sample or two.
 
I would also recommend Mike's as a beginner myself to the DE world, but not shaving soap, I find them to be excellent, I also got some Queen Charlotte soap as well that I like, but I have never tried Cella, that is on my list for an upcoming buy.
 
How about AOS unscented? Do you have a local shop like it's retail shop or a Sephora? What about an L'Occitane store? Their Cade is amazing, fresh scent. I'd also very much so agree with any of the above soft soaps like Proraso or Cella. I would however, steer you clear of MWF as your only soap....some find it difficult to lather. Whatever you do, for $2 I'd recommend you get a VDH mentioned above just to practice, if your into that kinda thing so you don't waste your good soap.
 
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