Review Of Van Der Hagen Luxury Soap

The only other soap I have used before this was VDH Deluxe, so my review will be based on that comparison.

I bought this at a local supermarket called Shoprite for around $4.00. My shave prep was normal. After my shower I built my lather and applied it to my face. Right away I notice that this lather was a lot more dense but much less slick than the lather with VDH Deluxe. The first pass WTG was pretty standard. The razor didn't glide over my face like it does with VDH Deluxe and it didn't rinse under the running water either, but it was still ok. My face felt drier than usual after the first pass than usual. I applied more lather and began my second pass WTG. Maybe the soap was beginning to dry or something because this pass didn't feel as good as the first pass. I applied lather to some spots on my face and went in for touch ups. At this point I noticed some irritation around the neck area. Nothing crazy and it started going away once I applied some moisturizer, but it's not something I'm used to either. Overall it was not a good first shave with Van Der Hagan Luxury Shave Soap. I will work with it, maybe with more water to increase slickness. Any additional advice will be greatly appreciated !!!

 

I found that using a big boar brush (Omega 10049) worked really well. I would soak the soap and brush together in the dish while in the shower. Then I'd pour out the water, shake the brush a little bit, and then load like crazy. It took me a little while to find the right balance but I got tremendous shaves once I did. I really like VDH Luxury! Good luck with more experimentation.

 

Try Stirling soaps co. or route 66 soap...they will rock your world

 

Step 1: throw that soap in the trash.

Step 2: PM where you want me to mail you a decent set of soaps and I will get them in the mail this week since you and I are DB row brothers in the "what is your workout" thread.

 

Personally, I agree with trying it with more water. I think the telling signs are the lather density and the fact that you had trouble rinsing it under running water.

 

I literally lol'd. I was trying to be nice...you just went for it.

 

Anyone that Rows 120s deserves an above-average soap. Hopefully he takes me up on that offer because I'm dead serious. Life is too short for bad shaves.

 

So here is what I want to send your way to test out and decide which your face likes best:

Silver fox tallow soap
RC tallow soap different beta recipes
RC veggie soap 2.0 and 2.1

After trying these and giving your favorite one the nod we can give you some suggestions on which soap brand would be best suited for you. If you are getting irritation on your neck from the VDH then you will want to try tallow + lanolin if you are not allergic. If the veggie soap is your favorite there are a lot of cheap options that we can suggest for you that are incredible. WSP is a MdC clone and very good for the price but if the tallow is better for your face we can steer you on that direction instead.

 

Never throw soap in the trash. If you don't like it for shaving, you can use it in your shower.

 

VDH Luxury is a very good inexpensive soap. There are few soaps in its price range that perform as well.
I always add a couple drops of glycerin to all of my soaps prior to making lather for slickness and I always use pre-shave oil.
Every soap has its own characteristics and usually it only takes a few tries to get the correct ratio for a good lather.
The other factor that can make a difference is how soft your water is.
Even now that I have several dozen different soaps and creams (including lots of expensive stuff), I still have a place for a puck of VDH Luxury, both scented and unscented.
And by all means, take advantage of any opportunities to sample soaps before buying a puck or just purchase a soap sampler.

 

That's exactly what I do with Williams soap!

 

I found that at $4 per puck, the VDH soap is a great value. I've not had an issue with the lather, nor of it drying out too soon. It is possible that they've recently changed the formula and that could be the issue.

 

This community is so great. Very generous of you. I hope he takes you up on your offer

 

totally agree...for the price and availability it is very nice.

 

I have no doubt VDH Luxury is a good soap, I just don't know how to use it yet. I freakin love VDH Deluxe though. That stuff always gave me a great shave !!!

 

TSD is amazing. Everyone is polite, patient and hospitable !!! Thank you !!!

 

I feel that most "known" soaps can be decent soaps when used properly. When you get into some seriously good ones like cold river sw, stirling, mama bear, barrister and mann, etc...there is a HUGE difference!

I would say proraso is a good doap and will def get the job dobe, but comparef to say...barrister...it can't hold a candle to it. Barrister is that much better. Take it from soneone who has tried 100's of soaps (heck...ive tried more than that...i OWN 100's of soaps), there are some very affordable, high quality sosps that are just incredible, and if you try them...you won't want to go back.

FYI: @Rockclimber , aka Ben, knows his stuff. See what you think of the siaps he sends you.

 

If you're getting irritation on the neck then I would definitely try a tallow or lanolin or superfatted soap instead of a melt and pour soap. A couple of my friends started out with that same kit from Walmart and while it's a good start they were getting irritation on their lower neck. I had every one of them switch over to Mitchell's wool fat and the problem stopped. Some of them with really tough beards don't like vegan soap yet, I'm still working on them!

I'm not sure what the rules are here on posting links so I'll just say that wet shaving products WSP+T has a $9 dented tin sale going on. I think that soap is underrated for the price and maybe something you might want to pick up if you enjoy the tallow samples. Stirling is around the same price as well and hard to say anything negative about.

 

+1

Anyone that knows me knows I am a big Stirling fan. These are great values on great soaps for sure.

 

I never got a hint of neck irritation with VDH Deluxe, just VDH Luxury. I know it's not the soap, but rather the way use I used it.