C&E Sandelwood - best shave yet?

Hi guys,

Been at this DE shaving malarkey for a month or so now, and yesterday had perhaps my best shave yet!

Merkur HD, new Feather, C&E Sandelwood soap, Men-U wash and moisturiser.

Wow! BBS, NO irritation, just a couple of very, very minor nicks that vanished after cold water splash.

Now, I've used the Feather blades before with several soaps so far: MWF (very good), Tabac (average), Meu-U cream (good), CADE (good) but with C&E, I don't know what I did differently, because the shave was fantastic!!

One thing I have noticed with the C&E, is that the shave is always VERY close (and I've tried using Derby's and Merkurs). But I've always had redness afterwards. I always put it down to this soap, and haven't used it that much recently. I also seem to remember not getting much lubrication, but again, this could be the Derbys, or my lather technique.

I made a conscious effort with the lathering yesterday, and something must have worked! I made sure I added enough water, I may not have added enough in the past.

Another poster has mentioned (in the review?) that there must be some ingredient in the C&E soaps that make the hairs stick up more. I don't know if this is the case, but all I can say is that it works!

I'll certainly be using this soap regularly, and may try C&E's other scents. Do these shave any differently or is it just the scents that differ?

John

You aint seen nothin yet..It gets lots better soon..Congrats on a great shave...

Yes I picked up a Sandlewood in wood bowl for $9, along with some refill pucks for $3 each. I am very glad, because the shaves are excellent. It doesn't irritate my skin nearly as much as the Sienna, and the shaves are great. This stuff lathers so thick, it is beautiful. The scent is very pleasant.

I have not tried the sandalwood yet just the Sienna and Nomad which I love. where did you get refills for $3? I think I paid $6 per refill.

The refills have been on sale at pretty much all the C&E stores. There's a thread about it. It took me a few tries with the C&E Sandalwood soap to get the balance right.. I've realized, at least for me in my house with my water, that it takes much more water than I had tried the first few times. The last shave was awesome.. I used the Williams "soak the puck" method and got a really nice lather going..

-Mason

I tried the same combo again yesterday for the first time since the original post - Feather and C&E Sandelwood.

Couldn't believe it - worst shave for a good while!

Bad blade?

I've since been using TOBS Rose cream and Swedes/Israeli Personas and getting very, very good shaves. Maybe Feathers aren't for me after all?

i've found that going from my truefitt and hill cream to the C&E soaps i always screw up the water ratio. the creams need nothing and the C&E soaps always need a ton. i've got nothing but good results from my C&E soaps.

I like the C&E Sandalwood, but I have occasionally had just the slightest irritation from it. Sounds like it's a good thing I didn't go with the Sienna.

Bluestaco said:

I like the C&E Sandalwood, but I have occasionally had just the slightest irritation from it. Sounds like it's a good thing I didn't go with the Sienna.

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Yes, the Sienna is worse for those of us who are sensitive to the chemicals in C&E soaps. I did find a nice trick recently I must tell you about.

After using the C&E Sandalwood for a while, I switched to TABAC. Considering how great TABAC is, when I recently switched back to my Sandalwood, I noticed some irritation. Personally some of it is due to the fact that TABAC simply gives better razor glide, but part of it was the sensitivity to the C&E product. I decided to do some superlather using my Sandalwood and some KissMyFace Fragrance Free cream. Wow. Excellent shave, and it really reduces the irritation caused by the Sandalwood soap.

TRY IT!

VR6ofpain said:

Yes, the Sienna is worse for those of us who are sensitive to the chemicals in C&E soaps. I did find a nice trick recently I must tell you about.

After using the C&E Sandalwood for a while, I switched to TABAC. Considering how great TABAC is, when I recently switched back to my Sandalwood, I noticed some irritation. Personally some of it is due to the fact that TABAC simply gives better razor glide, but part of it was the sensitivity to the C&E product. I decided to do some superlather using my Sandalwood and some KissMyFace Fragrance Free cream. Wow. Excellent shave, and it really reduces the irritation caused by the Sandalwood soap.

TRY IT!

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That is exactly what I do! It makes for a nice trade off, because you get the sturdier lather of the C&E and none of the irritation.

I shaved once with the C&E Sandalwood soap - I got 2 pucks in bowls from a member in a purchase a while back, and just got around to trying it two nights ago. INCREDIBLE scent -subtle, but very good. Very lubricating, exactly what I love in a good soap, and plenty of easy lather. I liked it more than Tabac for sure, in terms of efficacy.

Now I need to find a source to stock up on some pucks.

the C&E stuff is very good esp considering the price. i find that it does tend to dry my face a bit and towards the 4th pass the soap gets a bit thin and dry (adding some water and soap fixes this).

with that said the soaps are a great value. $8 for a puck that has now lasted me 3+ months. now i don't have every day but i don't think i've made a dent in this thing!

jhclare said:

Wow! BBS, NO irritation, just a couple of very, very minor nicks that vanished after cold water splash.

John

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John,

What was your brush? I'm just curious.

Sorry, late reply, haven't been on here very much recently!

Brush is a Super Badger from Taylors. Not sure if it's the best to be honest, starting to lose hairs...

The local C&E can't order that soap anymore

cybrok said:

The local C&E can't order that soap anymore

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it's completely discontinued. Good luck. If you find a supply of them let me know.

It is so interesting how different products work better or worse for different individuals. I find C&E Sandalwood just so-so. For me it isn’t as lubricating as other soaps and a bit more irritating. I would say that I get a better shave from cheaper products like VDH or Coln. Conk. I have come back to my puck of S&E Sandalwood several times thinking that I did use enough (or too much) water. The results are typically the same. I guess that is why they sell different products.

MAK said:

It is so interesting how different products work better or worse for different individuals. I find C&E Sandalwood just so-so. For me it isn’t as lubricating as other soaps and a bit more irritating. I would say that I get a better shave from cheaper products like VDH or Coln. Conk. I have come back to my puck of S&E Sandalwood several times thinking that I did use enough (or too much) water. The results are typically the same. I guess that is why they sell different products.

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i found i can get a good shave with any of these soaps. i have found though that some tend to dry out my skin more. col conk really dries out my skin and makes my face feel tight.

the only soap i haven't tried from them is the sandalwood. i also have the glass jar of cream and a tube of the sienna cream. my family really likes getting me stuff from there!

VR6ofpain said:

Yes I picked up a Sandlewood in wood bowl for $9, along with some refill pucks for $3 each. I am very glad, because the shaves are excellent. It doesn't irritate my skin nearly as much as the Sienna, and the shaves are great. This stuff lathers so thick, it is beautiful. The scent is very pleasant.

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$9 and $8 dollars for C&E in the wooden bowl?! I'm paying TWICE that much for mine. Where are you buying it at these prices?

Two days ago I shaved with my C&E Sandalwood soap for the first time in a long time. I used it a couple of times when I first got it a few months ago, and I didn't like something about it, and I didn't remember what.

I had written it off as a mediocre soap, but I actually got a good lather the other day, and a good shave. I think I just wasn't building a good lather back then, as I was new to DE shaving. The one thing that came back to me, and it's a dealbreaker, is that it gives me pretty bad irritation.

I'm gonna sell it soon for a pretty cheap price. If any of you want to jump on this before I post it in the BST forum, feel free. I milled it into a ramekin, but can probably pull it out to save on shipping cost. You'll probably need to re-mill it though to fit your container.

Sienna cream doesn't irritate me the slightest bit, go figure. For that matter, if someone wants to do an even trade, Sandalwood for Sienna, I'm game. I really like the Sienna scent.