Shaving cream vs. soap and why people need to try things for themselves

This will not be an earth shattering post, but want to reemphasize something that is often said on these forums, but probably not always believed. My hope is that other people who are starting will learn from my experiences. The following is background:

Frequency / method - I have a medium beard and have been shaving my head for over 15 years. I shave 3x week and usually shave in a shower or steam room. Prior to starting wetshaving two years ago, I used Gillette Fusion razors. Now that I wetshave, I use the basic three pass approach (WTG / XTG / ATG) modified a bit when I shave my head.

Equipment - I started with a pretty basic setup and it has served me well:

• Razor - I have both a Edwin Jagger and Merkur razor.
• Blades - I started using Derby blades, but after trying several others have settled on Feather blades.
• Brush - I started with a basic pure badger brush and have migrated to a best badger, but considering moving to a super or silvertail as I find the increase in grades a good investment.

• Soap / Cream - this is the point of my post. I started wetshaving using a couple different formulations of Proraso shaving soap (sensitive , eucalyptus / menthol). I started with soap because it seemed easier than trying to work up a lather and did not require a bowl. I was so pleased with the results of wetshaving that I saw no need to try a shaving cream.

The morale of the story for me was that I should have taken the sage advice often given and tried both shaving cream and soap. I tried various blades, but settled into using shaving soap before I gave shaving cream a try. I am not saying go wild and spend lots of money to try everything on the market, but would encourage anyone who has used to the same setup for a while to make sure you have tried enough variety to know you are not missing something.

Some people may enjoy soaps more than cream, but the following are some of the reasons I am sold on cream:

• Better coverage on the 2nd / 3rd pass - I was able to get a good lather from soap that would adhere to my beard / head before I had done the first pass, but I did not get the soap to adhere as well after the first pass had reduced the beard. The cream is much richer and easier to apply even after the beard has been reduced on the first or second pass.
• Better lubrication - this may not be true for everyone, but I have found that I get much less resistance with cream than I did with soap.
• Dryness - my face / head do not come out of the shower as dry with the cream as they did with soap.

As with everything, YMMV. Although I wish I would have tried cream sooner, I am glad that I did not make the switch / discovery several years from now.

Nice write-up! Thank you!

I have to congratulate you on your restraint. I have bought all kinds of soaps and creams in just over my first year at this. I might have to play around a little more with my creams after reading this, because I have always used soaps more and never really think to use creams much.

Try Arko soap and you may get the same positively better results as you got with Proraso cream.

Arko is as good as cream as far as soaps go. Just remember to water it well.

Can you really make an informed comparison based upon one product line? I suppose that if you only want to use proraso, the results are fine. E.G., as someone has already mentioned - a tallow based soap will likely challenge your impressions.

Trying different things and combinations is definitely the way to go.

Enjoy yourself! That's what this is all about.

First, welcome aboard, tomormatt!
I, myself, prefer Proraso cream to Proraso croap/soap. However, (irrespective of pass type/number) I find my top soaps perform every bit as well, as my top creams. Of course, YMMV.
(FWIW, my favourite hard soaps are triple-milled tallows.)

Great observations & well expressed. I wandered into cream land by way of TOBS Sandalwood back in October. Had read about it in several locations & decided to buy a tub for my birthday. All of the advantages that you expressed above worked the same way for me. Now, I cannot go back to the soaps. And while the TOBS creams might cost a few bucks more, I did not finish up my first tub until early this month......and I shave every single day. So, 4 months on a tub I don't see being all that expensive.......and you can save a coupl'a bucks a tub by buying a 2 pack. So, glad you enjoyed your trip to cream land. I'll be lathering up again with it in the morning.

i like and use both creams and soaps personally. i go through phases where i perfur one over the other. then a month or so that will change. before i discovered all this i use to only use a multi blade razor and whatever can of shave cream i had on hand all mostly were the same. now the choices are great. do i use cream or soap? what scent do i want? super speed razor or tech today? love the choices i have now.

Creams and soaps are both fantastic. Some products are better in one version than the other, and others (like Speick) are GREAT in both formats. The wonderful thing is that there are enough choices available to make everyone happy.