I previously started a post about having trouble properly lathering a shaving soap and got a lot of good information in response. I would now like to pose the question a little differently. In your experience, what is the best (i.e. the most "idiot proof") shaving soap to use so that even a newbie can get good results with a moderate amount of effort? As always, any and all information and help is greatly appreciated.
Most newbie problems stem from not loading enough product. A softer soap makes this a little easier, so any of the Italian soaps (Razorock, Italian barber, etc..) would be good.
i like and agree with what @cmorris357 said ... softer soap and italian soap for me, i started (nine months ago) with a tub of proraso green and actually used it for the first six months. (then, i went absolutely haywire with soaps and creams ... but that's for another thread.) to everyone i have gotten started on this journey over the past several months ... i've recommended a tub of proraso
I would get your lathering technique established using a good, quality shave cream, such as the C.O. Bigelow (Proraso). Then move on to croaps and hard soaps.
I agree wholeheartedly. Get yourself a good soft soap, or "croap", from either Razorock/Italian barber or, while technically a "cream", the Maca Root Shave cream in the tub from The Body Shop is an extremely easy "croap" to lather. I generally start newbie friends on that soap. If you are dead set on a hard soap, I recommend Arko Shave Stick (haven't tried the tub soap yet, although I believe it is the same formula) as one of the easiest to lather hard soap sticks out there. Lastly, a soap I am shaving with all this month, is the Cade shaving soap bar from L'Occitane. Great lather, gentle scent and good skin care. At only $12 it's a great deal. Lastly, as a newbie, spend as much time as possible developing technique and lathering skills before worrying about any 1 particular brand of soap. Enjoy the ritual
Yep. Though technically a shaving cream, The Body Shop's Maca Root Shave Cream is cheap, easily available, made in the U.K., and lightly scented. It also lathers really, really easily, and is very forgiving of water addition. It's hard to add too much or too little, it will take whatever you add and make good lather. I started three people on their wet shaving journey with it. One gentleman still uses it exclusively, five years later. The other two switched over to Kiss my Face shave cream, though one of them still uses other English shave creams, including Maca Root.
What they all said. I started with williams and worked on it till I could get good lather but no one should have to. Its very hard to lather. Proraso was easy and so far I haven't had a cream that I couldn't lather well. Arko is the easiest so far for me to lather. Wet your face and smear on the stick then almost as soon as you touch it with a wet brush it starts exploding into thick lather. I had really good luck with MWF but I've been reading that people find it hard to lather.
Arko is both cheap and easy to lather -- either shaving stick or puck. Tabac is also a wonderfully easy soap to use -- slightly more expensive.
Although the title http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/lathering-tsd-soaps.27563/ says lathering TSD soaps, it is how I lather all my soaps. All soaps are a little different and just require experimentation to get that right water/soap ratio.
I started of with Proraso cream and it worked fine. Later moved to "croaps", soft soaps. Check out some Mantic59 videos on YouTube about how to lather.
I started with VDH, but quickly went to Proraso Green. Any Proraso is an excellent way to start, as is Tabac!
+1 for C.O. Bigelow (Bath & Body Works) it is inexpensive and easy to use for both bowl and face lathering. Also, Art of Shave (AOS) has some great starter kits - preshave oil, shave cream, post shave balm, and a badger brush. At $25 it's a great starter kit and the brush can also serve well as a travel brush.
