Bath & Body works will run some great deals on C.O. Bigelow. I usually pay around $5 per tube. Just the other day a received an email from them for a 30% discount off a purchase that was good online or in store. With the buy 2 and get 1 free deal I was able to pick up 3 tubes (5.2 oz.) for $14 dollars plus Pa. state tax at my local B & B W. This is great if you like CO Bigelow/Proraso.
Finding cheaper soaps/creams.
- Thread starter Joe Geo
- Start date
I'm a big fan of Mama Bear Soaps. Sue has a lot of great fragrances. Many have matching bath soaps which is also excellent stuff!
Both of these are available on Amazon. Often there is a 15 pack deal on Arko sticks that should last almost long enough for the stink to die down, which is a lot of years.
This is a big deal for me as I enjoy Colonel Conk soaps, which are reasonably priced. It is, to my mind, some of the better low end soap. The only problem is that I don't have a local source for it thus the shipping expense is kind of high per puck.
There are some exceptions but the majority of soaps are actually very inexpensive when you think about how long one will last.
I wouldn't choose a $6 over an $8 or $12 soap just because it's a couple dollars cheaper. Even that $15 soap is inexpensive if you can use it every day for 2 1/2 months or more. That cheap $6 soap will seem to last forever and then you're stuck with one you don't really like. Don't just pick up something because it's cheap, you're better off with one or two quality soaps than acquiring a large collection of poorly performing products that you can't wait to get rid of.
I've tried a lot of cheap soaps and most all end up being used in the shower just to get rid of them. My advice is to read many reviews and be very selective. Maybe just buy a quality soap or two and just use those for a while. You don't need a lot and they last a really long time.
Some vendors like Stirling, Mike's and Barrister & Mann offer samples. These are excellent to find out what scents you enjoy and to see if you really like a product before committing to a soap puck that will last a really long time. When you add in shipping it's more expensive to buy and try many samples, but it's worth it in the long run because when you do purchase the large pucks you end up getting the soaps you really like.
Some inexpensive brands that are very good are:
Arko - this is about as cheap as you are going to find that is actually enjoyable to use. Smells like Lemon Pez candies or some type of lemon cleaning product. Some don't care for the smell but nobody denies that the performance is excellent. You can find this for a couple dollars a stick. A stick will probably last a month or so.
Stirling - excellent and inexpensive at about $6 a puck.
Mike's - also a very good soap for about $8 a puck.
RazoRock - this one is tricky because some are excellent soaps and some are just ok. The RazoRock XXX tallow is excellent for $10 but is currently sold out for a couple more months. The XX is good as well performance wise but the scent is rather faint. There are some other winners in this line but you have to read the reviews.
Mitchel's Wool Fat - this one is excellent and the hard puck is inexpensive because it will last many, many months. It's about $14. Some people have trouble lathering it so it's probably not a good first soap though.
Other soaps that are really good are Strop Shoppe SE w/tallow $20 (my favorite), Barrister & Mann $15, PannaCrema $20.
Good luck and be sure to let us know what you choose.
I wouldn't choose a $6 over an $8 or $12 soap just because it's a couple dollars cheaper. Even that $15 soap is inexpensive if you can use it every day for 2 1/2 months or more. That cheap $6 soap will seem to last forever and then you're stuck with one you don't really like. Don't just pick up something because it's cheap, you're better off with one or two quality soaps than acquiring a large collection of poorly performing products that you can't wait to get rid of.
I've tried a lot of cheap soaps and most all end up being used in the shower just to get rid of them. My advice is to read many reviews and be very selective. Maybe just buy a quality soap or two and just use those for a while. You don't need a lot and they last a really long time.
Some vendors like Stirling, Mike's and Barrister & Mann offer samples. These are excellent to find out what scents you enjoy and to see if you really like a product before committing to a soap puck that will last a really long time. When you add in shipping it's more expensive to buy and try many samples, but it's worth it in the long run because when you do purchase the large pucks you end up getting the soaps you really like.
Some inexpensive brands that are very good are:
Arko - this is about as cheap as you are going to find that is actually enjoyable to use. Smells like Lemon Pez candies or some type of lemon cleaning product. Some don't care for the smell but nobody denies that the performance is excellent. You can find this for a couple dollars a stick. A stick will probably last a month or so.
Stirling - excellent and inexpensive at about $6 a puck.
Mike's - also a very good soap for about $8 a puck.
RazoRock - this one is tricky because some are excellent soaps and some are just ok. The RazoRock XXX tallow is excellent for $10 but is currently sold out for a couple more months. The XX is good as well performance wise but the scent is rather faint. There are some other winners in this line but you have to read the reviews.
Mitchel's Wool Fat - this one is excellent and the hard puck is inexpensive because it will last many, many months. It's about $14. Some people have trouble lathering it so it's probably not a good first soap though.
Other soaps that are really good are Strop Shoppe SE w/tallow $20 (my favorite), Barrister & Mann $15, PannaCrema $20.
Good luck and be sure to let us know what you choose.
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There was a lonely puck of Williams at my local CVS for $1.87...
- Thread starter
- #25
Thanks Jay, I'm not far from there at all...just 10min from me! I'll check it out. Any other stores that sell wet shaving suff?
Another quick way to cut costs is to just order refill pucks and use your own bowls or tins. The Container Store has some 4" tins that look exactly like the tins I got with Mike's Natural Soaps. Target and Walmart have the Anchor Hocking bowls that lots of people on this board swear by. Refills are lots cheaper. My favorite low-priced soap is currently Stirling and it's usually soft enough to mold into any container.
Stirling......great artisan soap.....great price
Lucas
Lucas
Cella and Vito soap come in 1kg bulk box. It should last for years, so in the long term it's very cheap.
Joe Geo, are you looking for suggestions of less expensive places to get your favorite expensive soap, or are you looking for less expensive soap suggestions? If the latter, I will join the Arko chorus....top-notch performance, bottom level price, and a scent that I love but many people hate. You can mash it directly into puck form in your existing bowl if you don't like the stick format.
C.O. Bigelow from Bath & Body Works as mentioned several times above is my go to cream. They regularly have them on sale were you buy two for $20 ($10 per tube) and get a third free, but every couple of months they also have a $10 off $30 coupon that stacks. I generally wait for those and buy six tubes for $30 plus tax. For that small investment I end up with a ton of shaving cream.
At some of the local Indian stores or online directly from India I have been able to find Palmolive, Godrej, Dettol, and occassionally Old Spice shaving cream for fairly inexpensive ($2-4 per tube). They are half the size of C.O. Bigelow, but I like being able to get multiple scents to rotate.
VDH soap is a steal at walmart, target, and lots of other local shops. It was my first venture into soaps and performed well enough.
My next step will be a large sample order from Stirling Soaps next week which also seems to be a good deal for the price. I will also pick up some Arko on my next Amazon order just to check it out, both of which fit into my lower budget for things I do not technically need.
Oh and if you are going to look at glass bowls for your soap refill pucks, check out Big Lots. I always am able to find packs containing three 2 cup Anchor Hocking bowls with lids for $6.
At some of the local Indian stores or online directly from India I have been able to find Palmolive, Godrej, Dettol, and occassionally Old Spice shaving cream for fairly inexpensive ($2-4 per tube). They are half the size of C.O. Bigelow, but I like being able to get multiple scents to rotate.
VDH soap is a steal at walmart, target, and lots of other local shops. It was my first venture into soaps and performed well enough.
My next step will be a large sample order from Stirling Soaps next week which also seems to be a good deal for the price. I will also pick up some Arko on my next Amazon order just to check it out, both of which fit into my lower budget for things I do not technically need.
Oh and if you are going to look at glass bowls for your soap refill pucks, check out Big Lots. I always am able to find packs containing three 2 cup Anchor Hocking bowls with lids for $6.
You're probably talking about VdH Deluxe, which was $1.75 or so. It's been clearanced away at every store chain, to make space for VdH Luxury for about twice as much. For the money you get a soap that gets better reviews and is larger.
Uh, yeah. Your local drug store.
I was actually referring to both really because the luxury seems like a deal for the price too. I also agree with your comparison, my deluxe version has found its way to the back of the drawer for now.
Cella is very good at $10 average price. It smells amazing like this cherry almond scent. It also lubricates the face enough and lathers very well.
Joe --
I'll point you to SaintCharlesshave.com
The soaps are excellent, great scents, lube well, soften whiskers, and easily produce a prodigious lather for about $7 for a puck. . Recommended.
-- John Gehman
I'll point you to SaintCharlesshave.com
The soaps are excellent, great scents, lube well, soften whiskers, and easily produce a prodigious lather for about $7 for a puck. . Recommended.
-- John Gehman
- Thread starter
- #36
Jay, I visited Merz Apothecary on my way into work and totally fell in love with the place! Bought myself a jar of TABAC while I was in and they hooked me up with some nice samples too. I met one of the owners and he said they recently bought the property next door and they are expanding the wet shaving section. Actually he may even devote the entire addition to shaving supplies. Thanks for the tip bro! Do you know of any other stores around the Chicago area? I don't live far from there at all.
Mikes, stirling and razorock are all great deals and quality products. A puck or tub will last quite a while.
Biotique Bio Palmyra expert shave cream. Available on Ebay from 2 sellers for $13.50 free shipping from India; worth the wait. Fabulous stuff; it's all I use. There's a muti-page thread here under "shaving creams."
Plenty of cheap but good creams out there. Have a look at Godrej and Old Spice that come out of India. Seriously cheap and pretty good quality. If you can find it, there used to be a cream called Wars which I think was from Poland. I heard they stopped making it but you used to be able to get it for $2 a tube.
