Budget minded Soaps

So one of the few things i have been wondering about is shaving Soap...

If users can point me in the right direction for inexpensive soaps about $6 AUD (about $4.50 USD) would be greatly apprecited , i am from Australia.

I heard of the Palmolive stick and got so excited then i realized that the Australian version is different and not anywhere near as good as the euro version as i have read about still for $2 AUD can't really find other good ones....


Heard of the ARKO and its bad smell people say but now i guess i can't be too picky...

Was wondering if anyone would know any other soaps also i was wondering how many shaves these individual soaps can do,
( i am not someone that shaves everyday however that may change when the cartridge's are gone and the Astra's are in)

Because you are in Australia, it might be a good idea to ask us about specific products that you can get, and that fit in your budget. Take a look at the suppliers listed at Australia_Shaving_Supplies.

How hard is your water? In my experience the EU Palmolive stick does well in softer water, but suffers with hard water. I would probably give the Palmolive_OZ_Shaving_Stick a try anyway, if you can find it cheaply. If a shave soap does not perform well enough you can still use it as a body soap, so it is probably cheap enough to take the risk.

Gents like to play Arko for laughs, but the scent is basically a cheap and cheerful lemon. Its performance is excellent. I get 100 shaves from a stick, and in quantity it sells for around a dollar USA per stick. So about US$12 buys me over three years of shaves, which is hard to beat. Arko does well in hard water too.

Hello mblakele, good idea!

As for how hard my water is i am a total noob so i don't know what that is

Are you asking about brushes as well? What kind of budget are you talking about? Also, not sure if Amazon works for you guys or international shipping from online vendors. Who have you tried to contact from U.S. vendors for shipping?

Hello VW ninja err no i am not asking about brushes guess i should of left it out from this post amazon does work for me however the shipping is too expensive

http://www.maggardrazors.com/

International Orders Under 4 pounds, we ship via USPS First Class International Over 4 pounds, we ship via USPS Priority International Upon placing an International order, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions:1) United States Postal Service International mail can take up to 15 business days. However if a package is held in customs it could take an additional 30 business days. We are not responsible for any packages held by customs or any items confiscated by customs. Maggard Razors is also not responsible for any duty, taxes, or additional fees charged by the recipients mailing service or government.
2) Any claims for lost packages can not be made until 45 days after the shipping start date.
In the event that a package is lost, stolen, or damaged. You agree to fully cooperate and fill out all insurance claim paperwork. Orders will not be reshipped without full cooperation. As soon as we receive the paperwork back we will reship your order. This can be done electronically and will only take a few minutes out of your day.
3) We are not responsible for any packages lost, damaged, or stolen when using a forwarding service.
4) There is No Guarantee on delivery times.
5) United states postal service prohibits all alcohol based products via air mail. If an international order containing an alcohol based product is placed the item will be removed from the order and the purchase price of the item and any shipping costs associated with the item will be refunded.

http://www.italianbarber.com/


[FONT=open_sansregular]International Shipping[/FONT]
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251g to 550g...$19.95
551g to 1kg...$34.95
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Mblakele gave you good advice above.

If I were attempting to keep shaving as inexpensive as possible I'd use Arko everyday.

The scent is a lemon scent with a slight musty note to it. It doesn't smell bad at all, but to me it just smells a little cheap.
It's like they made a really great soap and the scent part was an afterthought.

Performance is on par with and in many cases even better than some of the big name soaps. For me it's the best inexpensive soap by far.

I've tried the Palmolive stick as well and I'm not a big fan of it. It's alright but nothing I find myself wanting more of.

You may also want to consider some soaps that are a bit more money upfront but last a really long time. For example, people seem to easily get six months plus out of a puck of Mitchel's Wool Fat. Sure a refill puck is like $15 or so but if you divide it out it's still around $2.50 a month for soap which is pretty reasonable.

If you buy a kilo of Cella for around $35 there's a whole lot of soap there, more than a year's worth so it ends up being pretty inexpensive if you break it down to what you use on a monthly basis.

I'd get however many sticks of Arko I needed to buy to get a deal, a puck of MWF and an kilo of Cella and be set for at least a few years. I have the big dollar soaps and these are three that are still in my shave den. I reach for an use all of them right along with the high dollar stuff and they hold their own quite well.

Sure, if you pick up a few of these in bulk you'll have to pay a bit more upfront but you won't be buying soap for a very, very long time. You'd be shaving with some really excellent performing soaps. Also, you'd be getting some variety in your shave den so that you don't have to use the same soap every single day.

The VdH and Williams stuff I'd skip all together, while the price is good the performance just isn't there.

If you are in a big city like Sydney, you should be able to find Arko somewhere. A stick will last for 3 months of daily shaves and more if you are not shaving daily.

If you know someone who happens to travel to the UK and back, you could always ask if they would want to buy you a couple of Palmolive EU sticks.

Well there are a few places that are selling arko inc shipping for about $6 aud which i believe might be cheaper than amazon. I am waiting for a reply from a ebay store which is selling eu palmolive stick, for $2 aud and 2.50 shipping if i can combine postage i might stock up

Tehcookiemonsta said:

Hello mblakele, good idea!

As for how hard my water is i am a total noob so i don't know what that is

Click to expand...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water#Hard_water_in_Australia says Sydney water is on the soft side: "39.4–60.1" ppm. The agency that supplies your water might have a more specific number for your area — but if you do not have problems with hard water deposits in your bathroom then that is probably all you need to know.