Valobra Crema di Sapone Purissima shaving soap review

Valobra Crema di Sapone Purissima shaving soap

The semi-soft Italian shaving soaps garner a lot of praise on the forums. There must be a good reason for this, right? I decided to find out for myself and bought a box of Valobra shaving soap. Similar soaps offered by Cella and Vitos come in 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) cakes. I wanted something a little smaller and less expensive in case it did not work out well. The Valobra comes in a smaller 150 gram (5.2 oz.) size, and so fit the bill quite nicely. The box is labelled "Crema di sapone purissima", which translates as "Cream of purest soap". There is also a version of this soap with menthol.

Update Oct 5, 2014: This soap lasted for 6 months of daily use.




The soap is in bar form wrapped in paper with an inner plastic lining. The bar has the consistency of putty, so it can be easily pressed into a mug or other container and molded to fit.





Valobra website: www.valobra.com

Overall: (9/10)

This is an impressive shave soap indeed! The online praise heaped on Valobra is well earned. It is super easy to lather, has a slick and long lasting latheer, represents a good value for the money and has a pleasent scent. I can't ask for much more from a shave soap. It is so good that it will likely become my mainstay soap.

Ease of lathering: (10/10)

It is very quick and easy to create gobs of lather with Valobra. A few seconds swirling the brush on the soap yields enough for four passes with plenty left over. Using a somewhat floppy badger brush or a stiffer boar brush made no difference. A bountiful, creamy, rich, thick lather was always readily obtained.



Life span of lather: (10/10)

The lather seems to last forever, both on the brush and when applied to the face. I took my time shaving and is still did not dry out or diminish in quality. Valobra is definitely a champ in the lather longevity department.

General skincare: (8/10)

The skincare is quite good, although not extraordinarily so. My face feels very nice after a shave with this soap.

Lubrication: (9/10)

The lather is really slick, which does much to enhance shave quality. The razor glides across my face with no dragging or irritation at all. Smooth and comfortable shaves were had thanks to the Valobra.

How protective: (9/10)

The Valobra soap does particularly well when it comes to protection. It is as good as any shave soap I have ever used, and more protective than many other brands. No nicks, scrapes, cuts or irritation when using this soap.

Scent: (8/10)

The soap has a light almond scent, and smells like marzipan. Being particularly fond of marzipan, I find this aroma pleasant. Those folks who favor heavily perfumed soaps might like it somewhat less.

Price: (8/10)

The price is around $17 at most outlets for the 150 grams / 5.2 ounces bar, although derazorblades.com sells it for $12. Seventeen dollars might seem expensive at first, but the price is reasonable considering the quantity and quality of the soap. It is a fantastic bargain at $12. The 8/10 is for the $17 price point. At $12, it would easily be a 10/10.

Would you buy again: (10/10)

Not only would I buy this soap again, I will buy it again. The Valobra could well become my standard shave soap from now on. I was expecting it to be top-notch, and it exceeded all expectations.

Soap ingredients:

The ingredients list was not printed on the box, and I could not find an ingredients list on the Valobra website. Here is an ingredients list form this page on Amazon:

Acqua (water), Potassium Cocoate, Potassium Palmitate, Potassium Stearate, Glycerin, Palmitic Acid, Sodium Cocoate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Palmitate, Sodium Stearate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut Oil), Parfum (Perfume)

Brushes used:

Dovo 918052 pure badger
Omega 50014 boar travel brush

Note that although the Dovo brush is sold as a pure badger, the brush characteristics and cost indicate that it is actually a better grade then pure.

My water hardness:

62 ppm as CaCO3 (moderately hard)

The water hardness was taken from my utility's latest water quality annual report. The scale below was used to correlate water ppm to the soft/hard rating, and is from the US Geological Survey website.

Water hardness scale (as CaCO3):

0-60 mg/l: Soft
61-120 mg/l: Moderately hard
121-180 mg/l: Hard
Over 180 mg/l: Very hard

mg/l is milligrams per liter
Some utilities give water hardness in parts per million (ppm)
1 mg/l = 1 ppm (not exactly, but very, very close)

 

Valobra puts Cella to shame many times over, IMHO.

One small niggle tho... "purissima" means "very pure" or even "purest." Often used in a figurative or hyperbolic way* (Purest, to be perfectly correct is "Il piu' puro" or "La piu' pura") So, it's "Cream of very pure soap.

* A noted exception being the Catholic use of "purissima" to refer to Mary as the Purest of Virgins, where it is meant as a literal absolute superlative.

Sorry... 6 years of Italian in school.

 

Aaaack! My butchering of the Italian language corrected. Thanks for catching that.

 

It's not a horrible mistake.



You could probably even translate it as "extremely pure." Ya know, just 'cuz ya can.

 

One thing to note..."Crema di Sapone Purissima" translates to purest soap cream. Sound like this is definitely one soap I have to give a try. As I will be traveling back to Italy I wonder where I can pick up some. Will have to ask around. Thanks for the review. This is really helpful.

 

Excellent review. Sounds like a quality soap.

 

Cella is one of my favorite soaps. I might have to check this out.

 

Great review. I love my Valobra bar soap I wash my face with ... May have to take a look at this one

 

When I read a review like this one, I go and buy the product! Ordered! Thanks for such a thorough review.

 

Great review. I have been looking at Valobra and Vitos as alternatives to Cella in quality, but with a more subtle scent. I am now leaning Valobra.

 

I have both Valobra and Vitos Super Duper Extra (or whatever, the one w/ coconut oil). I'd give Valobra just a slight edge. Of course, the two have different scents also.

 

I've enjoyed the menthol version of this soap, good soap.

 

First shave this morning with Valobra Menthol. Amazing! 12 swirls you have enough for two shaves. This soap is by far the easiest I've ever lathered. Although the Menthol isn't strong, I did feel it on my third pass. Faint but noticeable. $12 for slab on Amazon.

 

I use the Valobra Fourgére ('fern-like') shaving soap tho morn for there first time and was quite impressed with the performance. The scent may not be to everyone's tastes, but I found it refreshing.
The soap is more cream in color than this photo indicates.

 

A few years old, but awesome review!

I have a ordered the Valobra Almond and it should be here by the end of the week. Really looking forward to trying it out. I love Italian soft soaps and I keep seeing that this ranks up there with Cella. Can anyone who's tried it recently, chime in?

 

Great review, I have both almond and menthol in my rotation. Along with Vitos, Cella, and 3P, I could easily use these soaps exclusively!

 

I recently received a tin of Valobra from a fellow member, I can summarize my opinion in four words....Tried it, LOVE IT

I am definitely on a huge Italian kick right now...next year at this time , due to my ADHD, I might be saying the same thing about German soaps

 

Got my Valobra Almond today. I'll be giving it a try tonight. Here's hopin' it can rival Cella.

 

I have the Valobra Menthol soap and it lathers very well. The scent is mild and it leaves a comfortable feeling. The cooling sensation is so subdued that it can hardly be felt.

 

What a shave! Slick, protective, and super easy to get a luxurious lather from. And it actually didn't give me a horrible reaction like 99% of soaps I've tried do. An amazing soap that has earned its way into my den for sure.