Proraso sapone (green) review

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by matthewoli98, May 14, 2019.

  1. matthewoli98

    matthewoli98 Well-Known Member

    Out of all the shaving products ive tested over the last few months, by far the majority ive given the thumb of approval and a general rating about five out of 10, however that is about to change.

    Don't get me wrong, i absolutely love the proraso company, and ive been a huge huge fan of them since i started wet shaving. I just love the fact that while other mainstream companies move more and more towards canned foams and gels, they continue to offer traditional wet shaving products.

    I cant speak for their other products as i haven't tried them yet, but id love to and im sure i will test the entire range one day, and it absolutely pains me to say that i DON'T recommend this soap. Without further ado, lets get the actual review started.

    Lather: 5/10, took a while to build the lather after a 20 second loading period, took the longest out of any soap ive tried so far, However with a little work it produced enough lather for 3 passes. Lather seemed to dry out quickly no Matter how much water i added.

    Slickness: 3/10, this is one of the categories that really let the proraso down, its slickness was absolutely terrible, at first i thought maybe i didnt add enough water but after each pass i added more to the bowl with exactly the same result.

    Residual slickness: 1/10, absolutely appalling. Terrible slickness after completing a pass, the worst ive seen from any soap or cream so far, bear in mind i tested two different brushes with this soap so its definitely not the brush. I used to get better residual slickness from nivea gels back when i started de shaving, so thats saying something.

    Scent: 7/10, a beautiful eucalyptus/ menthol scent, absolutely gorgeous, my only complaint is it is a bit muted after lathering.

    Post shave care: 5/10, not fantastic, but a little drying.

    Skin feel (during shave) 10/10, perfect amount of menthol, not too mild or too strong, perfectly bearable for even those who arent huge fans of strong menthol.

    All in all, i just can't recommend this soap.
    I cant speak about the soaps in the red or white container's yet or any of the creams yet but this is definitely the first soap im not a fan of, i always favour performance over scent, (i loved the performance of the arko sticks for example but not the scent for example, although the scent grew on me and now im a fan for sure).

    I desperately wanted to love this soap, but at the end of the day I thought it best to write a perfectly honest review according to my experience, although I'll update this review as i work my way through the puck.

    Again a huge thank you to Sav for all the new shave gear! Unfortunately in the world of wet shaving some products work better or worse depending on the person.

    Many of your experiences may differ with this soap, but heres a link to a review which shares my views.

    https://www.google.co.za/url?sa=t&sourc ... mrNHJZtfEO

    Sent from my Redmi S2 using Tapatalk
     
  2. Rob206

    Rob206 Well-Known Member

    I have the red. And it isn't in my rotation. I don't care for it. I noticed the same lack of slickness. I do however really enjoy the proaso red aftershave. Very nice
     
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  3. matthewoli98

    matthewoli98 Well-Known Member

    Ive heard very good things about their after shaves pre shaves, so im sure those are fantastic! Maybe I'm being too picky about the performance, but the lack of slickness definitely contributed to a fair amount of razor burn, so i definitely ended up reaching for an aftershave balm!

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    Last edited: May 14, 2019
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  4. brit

    brit in a box

    i am sorry you're having lather problems, will admit cream lathers easier than the soap. but have great results with all their products.. i would recommend them to anyone ..their single edge line is very slick..thank you..
     
  5. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    My best results from Proraso are achieved by face lathering. I am a huge fan of the Green AS. Thanks for the review.
     
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  6. matthewoli98

    matthewoli98 Well-Known Member

    Ive heard great things about their other products, but this one in particular doesnt seem to work too well for me. Ive tried multiple brushes, added various amounts of water and i can get a great lather with some work, but its just not very slick.

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  7. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    In reality, there's nothing special about Proraso. It's a common mass market product in Italy and some of the EU. Is Ingram Menthol Shave available in SA?
     
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  8. matthewoli98

    matthewoli98 Well-Known Member

    I dont think it is, i know theres a specialist shave shop where i can order lea menthol from, but i dont think they stock the Ingram's menthol.

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  9. matthewoli98

    matthewoli98 Well-Known Member

    Man i wish you could try some of our local artisan soaps, they're absolutely amazing performance wise.

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  10. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Do any of these artisans sell soap online? It's ok to post links and enable us...
     
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  11. matthewoli98

    matthewoli98 Well-Known Member

    Hmmm they do sell online, but as far as I know only locally, do you live in the US?

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  12. brit

    brit in a box

    do you have soft or hard water where you are?it could be a factor.. either way , there are better soaps out there. i am lucky to have soft water here and generally most soaps and creams lather fantastically, even williams..hard or harder water affects many soaps so not a technique issue..try bottled water to see if it makes a difference,obviously not local water of course..good luck..:)
     
  13. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    For me, Proraso Green (C. O. Bigelow) in the tube is excellent. Slick, comfortable, protective; inexpensive and has a superb scent. The tub...not so much.
     
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  14. BigD

    BigD Well-Known Member

    Odd, just used this soap this morning. No issues or problems. Had a great shave.
     
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  15. Yehuda D

    Yehuda D Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    The aftershave is good. That’s the only Proraso Green product I would still consider buying but the soap is on my black list.
     
  16. Yehuda D

    Yehuda D Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    I’m a huge fan of these South African soaps. There are these artisans such as:

    Bundubeard
    Gilly
    Wriggly Tin
    Simply Bee
    River Valley Trading
    Rondavel

    These soaps are so good in every aspect you can imagine - scents, lathering, as well as skincare. The main issue is the cost of shipping from South Africa to a destination in North America or to Europe is very high and also the service of SAPO which is the South African postal company is absolutely wretched.
     
  17. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    I am in the USA in Denver.
     
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  18. Frijolero

    Frijolero Well-Known Member

    Agreed. It's one of the better splashes going. I like it enough to buy it in the 400ml drum.
    IMG_20190515_091236_compress20.jpg
     
  19. brit

    brit in a box

    love the green aftershave ..a simple classic ..
     
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  20. Frijolero

    Frijolero Well-Known Member

    Always works good for me too. But it seems like there's no shortage of people that do have trouble with it. My water is not particularly soft, so I don't think that's it. Beats me.
     
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