I posted a version of this under "soaps", but am not getting any replies, perhaps "straight razor clinic" is a better place. I am new to straight razor shaving and am still nervous about it. I am looking for a non-scented soap or cream to replace my favorite English Fern soap which is no longer available (I figure that I'll just use an unscented soap and the use English Fern EDT afterwards). I know that this is not an original observation, but the lather from my soap seems much slipperier than the beautiful lather I get from my Castle Forbes cream (which I use for DE shaving). Am I right in believing that the slippery soap is a better choice for a straight razor? Anyway, I'd love some feedback as to what,in your opinions, is the best unscented soap or cream to use with my straight. Thanks.
Help me guys!
- Thread starter dougcampbell
- Start date
Doug, you are right when shaving with a str8 you want your lather very slick and wet, I like mine to be so wet that it almost runns off the blade but not quite. As for unscented soaps I can be of little help as I only look for soaps that have the qualities that provide me the most comfortable close shave and I pay almost no attention to how they smell or don't. I'm pretty tolerant of different scents and I don't use aftershave or splashes so there is no conflict in the scents for me. Keep at it as your nervousness will soon be replaced with a much deserved confidence.
FrankC
FrankC
Personally I lather exactly the same, whether it is with a DE, SE or straight.
Don't over think it. Do what you usually do, then experiment a little from there.
Don't over think it. Do what you usually do, then experiment a little from there.
I find creams very subpar in my shaves. I imagine the same would hold true if I used a DE however. I doubt the positive traits of a shaving soap fail to extend to use with DE's. The only shaving cream I've even found worth using on occasion for me is Proraso, and it is clearly inferior to most, if not all of the soaps I use (I am very fond of the scent (Red)). That said, soap lathers are capable of being just as "beautiful" as cream lathers. It's all a matter of getting the right soap and developing the right technique. Creams do typically lather faster than soaps, but there's nothing about them which implicitly demands that they produce thicker, creamier, denser, etc lather. That has to do with the soap/cream's makeup, and soaps can be formulated to equal creams in that quite easily. Many soft soaps are little more than shaving creams with less air and water mixed into them, allowing them to set up slightly firm, making them a "soap" rather than a "cream". For instance, MdC's recipe is most reminiscent of a shaving cream recipe from the 19th century, bearing little resemblance to any of the shaving soap recipe's from that era. Yet it's considered a soap because of it's packaging and texture. And there are many, many soaps very similar to it in formula.
Try Cella.
- Thread starter
- #7
Thanks guys. I know I am overthinking this. I'm beginning to realize that wet shaving is a journey that you have to take largely by yourself. I've been working hard on my soap lather (I now load the brush with 120+ strokes and get what I think is the best lather that I can get from soap). However, it is still thinner and more slippery than cream. I thought of using my GFT lime soap as the smell dissipates pretty quickly, but I don't think that GFT soap is that good (their cream is fabulous). I guess, minus any more feedback from B&B, I'll go with the MdC. I see that they make a "Fougere" scent, I wonder if that would be close/compatible with English Fern?
I haven't smelled EF, but MdC fougere struck me as a bit floral for a fern scent. It was nice though, rather faint. My personal favorite modern soap is the speick shave stick, but it's probably not what you're looking for with regards to scent. It's rather peppery if memory serves (my stick has long since lost scent). If the cost is not an issue for you though, MdC is a very solid option.
