A couple of weeks ago I won a PIF, generously provided by [MENTION=111353]Chango[/MENTION], for a tub of Proraso Red shaving soap. I have been using it for a week now and it is definitely a keeper. I have mostly face lathered with it, with one bowl lather. Here are my impressions:
The soap itself is semi-soft and comes in a bright red 150ml tub that is barely large enough to hold the puck. The tub is the only thing that I do not like about the product. Its very flimsy and there is almost no room to load the brush in the tub without making a mess. I did try using it as a lather bowl the first day with pretty comical results. A slightly larger and heavier plastic bowl would be a big plus. The current bowl, IMO, cheapens a really high quality product.
The soap has a earthy, musky sandalwood scent. I wasnt sure if I liked it at first, but for me it smells better on my face than in the tub. It has definitely grown on me. For those interested heres a list of ingredients:
Water, Stearic Acid, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Lactic Acid, Fragrance, Shea Butter, Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Pentaeythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Coumarin, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Sandalwood Oil
I used a no name Japanese boar brush with this soap. It loads up on the brush quickly and easily, I soak my brush in hot water while I shower and just shake it out before loading it up. Face lathering is easy. The soap turns into thick, creamy slick lather very quickly and easily. This soap is definitely user friendly. The lather provides good cushioning and is very slick. Using my Van der Hagen razor with Personna Red blades every day, the razor glides across my face. My beard is fast growing and dense, with I would say average coarseness. I was able to get near BBS shaves with two passes every day. (I dont do ATG) No cuts, nicks or weepers for any shave. It rinses well and leaves my face feeling slippery and smooth.
And thats the high point of the product. All of the moisturizers, especially the shea butter, leave my face feeling well moisturized and very soft. There was no need for a post shave balm. Also there is little to no sting using aftershave with this product, it offers the face great protection. The moisturizers may be too much in hot and humid weather, the first day I used it was close to 90 degrees with high humidity and my face felt kind of damp all day, but once the heat and humidity dropped it was great. This will be a great winter soap.
Overall this is a winner. I will buy another tub when this is finished and I will transfer it to a mug when I do, so I can mug lather. Im also going to try the other Proraso soaps. At $10 a tub this soap is a great bargain.
The soap itself is semi-soft and comes in a bright red 150ml tub that is barely large enough to hold the puck. The tub is the only thing that I do not like about the product. Its very flimsy and there is almost no room to load the brush in the tub without making a mess. I did try using it as a lather bowl the first day with pretty comical results. A slightly larger and heavier plastic bowl would be a big plus. The current bowl, IMO, cheapens a really high quality product.
The soap has a earthy, musky sandalwood scent. I wasnt sure if I liked it at first, but for me it smells better on my face than in the tub. It has definitely grown on me. For those interested heres a list of ingredients:
Water, Stearic Acid, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Lactic Acid, Fragrance, Shea Butter, Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Pentaeythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Coumarin, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Sandalwood Oil
I used a no name Japanese boar brush with this soap. It loads up on the brush quickly and easily, I soak my brush in hot water while I shower and just shake it out before loading it up. Face lathering is easy. The soap turns into thick, creamy slick lather very quickly and easily. This soap is definitely user friendly. The lather provides good cushioning and is very slick. Using my Van der Hagen razor with Personna Red blades every day, the razor glides across my face. My beard is fast growing and dense, with I would say average coarseness. I was able to get near BBS shaves with two passes every day. (I dont do ATG) No cuts, nicks or weepers for any shave. It rinses well and leaves my face feeling slippery and smooth.
And thats the high point of the product. All of the moisturizers, especially the shea butter, leave my face feeling well moisturized and very soft. There was no need for a post shave balm. Also there is little to no sting using aftershave with this product, it offers the face great protection. The moisturizers may be too much in hot and humid weather, the first day I used it was close to 90 degrees with high humidity and my face felt kind of damp all day, but once the heat and humidity dropped it was great. This will be a great winter soap.
Overall this is a winner. I will buy another tub when this is finished and I will transfer it to a mug when I do, so I can mug lather. Im also going to try the other Proraso soaps. At $10 a tub this soap is a great bargain.
