Why are you a "Soap Purist"

Many times I have read people say that they only use soaps, or that they are selling their creams because they have decided to use only soaps.

So why are there so many "soap purists?" I love creams, but have a couple of decent soaps that I like (Cade, IK) and have used some ok soaps (VDH, Arko Stick) and one not so decent soap (Williams).

What am I missing? Why are you a "soap purist?" Are there any "cream purists"?

I originally was a cream only guy, as I thought that soaps would dry my sensitive skin. However, I tried soaps, and my assumption was totally unfounded. The soap lather is consistently thicker, slicker and denser than cream, although Penhaligon's is an exception, and are quite moisturizing.

From the lather of soaps, I find I get a consistently better shave (nick and cut free) and I've also found since using soaps I have more BBS shaves than with creams.

The reason I switched I hear you ask, I started shaving with a straight. I noticed while researching, prior to my straight shaving journey, on the forums and SOTD pics was that straight shavers tend to use soap.

As always YMMV.

I think I a made the fulltime switch to soaps when I shaved with a puck of Wilkenson Sword about two years ago, until then my go to shaving cream came from the Body Shop with brief interludes with Taylor of Old Bond St and later Trumpers Sandalwood shaving creams.

As mentioned above I like the lather you get from a good shaving soap and the the end result is a BBS shave.

I go back and forth between soap and cream, but in general I prefer soap. In my case, it isn't that one is better for shaving than the other by leaps and bounds, it's more that I feel like I get better value for my money. I also have a much easier time face lathering with soap, which is how I get my best shaves.

Maybe it's because I'm an Old F**t and resist change. In any event, I find it much easier to get a good wet lather with a soap than with creams.

Simple answer. NO SLS. If you look at the ingredients of some of these creams, most are known to cause contact dermatitis, or are serious allergens. With my soaps, I get a damn good lather, and I'm not concerned about having some strange polysyllabic chemical dissolve my skin.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Most of the old creams have been reformulated and "cosmeticized". Soap is better for my face and gives me better results.

I'm mostly a soap guy, but there are some creams I like and use, namely Proraso and Godrej.

I'm not a soap purist, but I primarily use soaps for the reasons that Jim named

Jim said:

Most of the old creams have been reformulated and "cosmeticized". Soap is better for my face and gives me better results.

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Infuriatingly so. They use inferior synthetic ingredients. It's a growing trend, one that pisses me off. Instead of sugar, there's "high fructose corn syrup". Instead of cocoa butter, there's PGPR (Polyglycerol polyricinoleate, which had me foaming at the mouth in a state of pure rage when looking at the ingredients in my Hershey's chocolate bar). Keep it simple, stupid!

Examining this from a scientific perspective, this may be done to ensure consistency from batch to batch, but I'm not so sure anymore.

Too much stuff.

Soap works for me and I already have too many pucks lying around. Adding a cream would just make more clutter in the bathroom and not improve either my range of choices nor my shave. Plus I would have to go through a bunch of them to find my favorite(s). I already have more "favorite" soaps than the number of pucks I'm happy with having in my possession at one time.

I may aspire to become a soap purist. But first I have to get through almost full tubes and tubs of TOBS sandalwood, TOBS avocado, Godrej mint, KMF mint, KMF lavender, and Nancy Boy signature.

It's going to be hell.

Soaps just seem to have more soul than creams. They are easier to use
and feel better. Cheers

I've used many more creams than I have soaps but when I finally broke down and bought some Tabac I found myself using it almost exclusively. And then when my wife got me some Crabtree and Evelyn Nomad SS I was blessed with a little variety.

I find that I get a great lather consistently as good or better than I have with any cream and it's financially more sensible when I have to spend $12 every 6 months to a year instead of every 2 months.

Thanks guys. Interesting responses...

I basically used 1 soap for 12 years (C&E Almond). I would get almost a year from one puck, but I lathered "incorrectly." I would swirl for maybe 5 seconds, and I would have a very wet lather on my face. It actually worked great and was much better than goo with my Mach 3/Fusion. I never watched the Mantic videos so I didn't know how to correctly lather soap (but now I do).

Anyway, I love creams, and I love how powerful the scent is. Of my Top 10 soaps/creams, all ten would be creams. I posted the question, and welcome more responses, because I rarely, if ever, hear about "cream purists."

Another thought... 16 people are reading the soap forum right now, while only 1 person is reading the cream forum.

I am a soap purist. I can pay only $6-$8 for soaps from SCS and Mama Bear and get the closest, most comfortable shaves. The pucks last me for several months. They are a piece of cake to lather. What's not to like?

Maybe when I can get a soap version of Nancyboy Signature and T&H 1805 i'll become a soap purist. Until then, I'll switch between soaps and creams.

i do a bit of switching, but overall im a soap guy.

I just get a better shave.

Jim said:

Most of the old creams have been reformulated and "cosmeticized". Soap is better for my face and gives me better results.

Click to expand...

That pretty much sums it up for me as well. I also echo the comments above about there being too much "stuff" in a lot of creams.

I think there is a transition for a lot of guys - many guys start with creams because they're often more accessible (I can get Nivea, Proraso, Omega, Kaloderma and The Real Shaving Co. products in my local drugstore, but no soaps) and easier to lather. Then many guys get soap curious and the rest, as they say is history.

I used to use a lot of creams, but over the past couple of years find myself using soaps almost exclusively and find myself spending silly sums of money to track down elusive tallow-based products.