Can you help me pick my first soap?

Well it wouldn't be my first exactly, since I bought a mug from WCS which came with a puck Col. Conk Lime... But I'm sad to say that I really don't like the scent of that soap and only used it a few times. I've been using Bigelow shaving cream which is from my understanding supposed to be the same as the original formulation of the Proraso green. I'm interested in finding a soap I like because even though I don't like the scent of the Conk soap I do like the lather, it feels slicker than the cream that I'm using.

So I've done some searching on the forum trying to figure out which soaps people have had good luck with and I've come across a few, and I was going to list which one's I was trying to decide between but please feel free to suggest a soap of your liking so long as it meets the requirement of being under 15 bucks.

A few of the soaps I'm considering:

RazoRock Chianti Lavender
Institut Karite Shaving Soap
D.R. Harris Lavender
Haslinger Schafmilch

While I've read good things about the Schafmilch, one thing that does stand out is that its harder to clean up from the sink and brush, something that is kind of a put off for me.

Can't go wrong with Harris....you owe it to yourself to try some RazoRock products though too. They're incredible values.

Of the soaps you are considering, I have the Schafmilch and the RRCL, they are both very good soaps but I would give the edge to the RR strictly based on scent. The Haslinger smells fine, but basically smells like soap while the RR is fairly lightly scented with a pleasant fragrance. If going on performance, slight edge to the HS.

From my perspective it would be a good experiment to just buy them all and figure out which you like...

edit to add that I've never had an issue cleaning any soap from my sink and I've tried plenty

Well that's two votes for the razorock, I think I'll go with that one for now, I plan on trying them all of course. And once I have my "staples" figured out or a good baseline I'll definitely start going out on limbs and trying different things, I just can't do it all at once. ^_^

Proraso!

Tabac.

Ben

My two first soaps were Tabac and Proraso Green. Both are fantastic.

+1 on any of the RazoRock soaps. Proraso green is one of those that I can never be without as well.
I haven't tried the others.

The Haslinger Schafmilch, hands down the best performing soap on your list. And I've used them all(exactly them same as you list).

IMO, of course.

You may wish to splurge for scent, in which case MdC scented or Fourgere would be my suggestion...but for nine bucks, the Schafmilch is the best soap you may ever use.

Of those you listed I'd go with either RazoRock or Haslinger, two superb tallow soaps that are very easy to lather up properly and very effective to shave with. Or, as my friends here on B&B like to say, "get both".

How exciting. I remember when I lost my virginity to a quality soap!

Your list has very good choices, although I did not like Chianti Lavender. However, other Razorock products are superb. Currently, I favor the shea butter-containing soaps. That includes Institut Karite that is on your list and two Razorock shea butter-containing soaps, King Louis Lavender and 888 Eucalyptus. FYI, karite is French for shea butter. Any of these are easy to lather and provide a slick protective lather.
You could also try Strop Shoppe tallow-containing soaps (non-tallow are also excellent), Valobra hard soaps in blue containers, Mitchell's Wool Fat, or Calani soaps from Germany. All are great soaps. Have fun.

of the ones you listed, i would go razorrock, good value too

After struggling very hard with only buying one, I seriously had my cart filled with all of the soaps in some combination or another since this morning, I forced myself to pull the trigger on only buying one, and I chose the RazoRock, a big deciding factor for it was it came in its own tub for storage and I wouldn't have to find somewhere to store an exposed puck. Next time I'll get the Haslinger Haslinger Schafmilch, and I appreciate the suggestions that everyone has contributed, I will definitely have a much easier time buying soap the next time I'm looking. I'm curious about the MdC the price is definitely way more than the other soaps I was looking at, does it really shave that much better? Or does it smell that good?

I like the description of the fougere scent and I almost got the Valobra of it, but I'm trying to be good about not splurging on things and it didn't meet my requirement of being under 15 bucks, and I could only get one.

Though most will disagree, I'd suggest the Pre De Provence or Institute Karite over MDC. While MDC is I fine soap, I found the others to be as good a performer at a lower price.

Stirling soaps for 15 bucks you could get two kinds and cover shipping. I suggest glacial for summer!

I recommend Mitchells Wool Fat or, as it's known as THE FAT.

TonyB said:

Stirling soaps for 15 bucks you could get two kinds and cover shipping. I suggest glacial for summer!

Click to expand...

Stirling soap co. looks interesting, I like the wide variety they have, and their Anise one sounds nice. Going to have to do some more research on them. I do like wintergreen though so good recomendation on their glacial one.

mightyeskimo said:

I recommend Mitchells Wool Fat or, as it's known as THE FAT.

Click to expand...

That was actually one of the others that I came across a lot and was having a hard time deciding on.

I can't help but to have a slight feeling of fear right now that I might of made a mistake on which soap I decided to go with.

Trumpers Coconut. It'll make your face feel good and it will make you crave a Mai Tai.

If you want a fool proof lather monster...... Al's Fougere about it, Jabónman, or LPL

If you don't mind a little more finicky soap.... MWF, Stirling or B&M


All are great. But those fool proof ones I mentioned are obscenely forgiving

mightyeskimo said:

I recommend Mitchells Wool Fat or, as it's known as THE FAT.

Click to expand...

+1...the fat is amazing.