A couple of my patients are Dutch and they recently went back home to visit family. So of course I had to ask if they would bring me back a Dutch tradition. They were a bit curious what I had in mind and when I said that I wanted some De Vergulde Hand shave soap they knew exactly what I wanted and were pleased to share such a time-tested product from their homeland with me. Here is what I received today... I have a couple questions about the 2 different shave sticks since they have different ingredients. I'm wondering if the shave stick on the left is an old formulation. It contains only 5 ingredients while the shave soap and stick on the right have the exact same ingredients consisting of 20 items. Ingredients of stick on the left: sodium stearate, kaolin, parfum, titanium dioxide, tolyl biguanide Ingredients of stick on the right & puck: sodium stearate, potassium stearate, sodium cocoate, potassium cocoate, aqua, kaolin, glycerin, parfum, sodium chloride, benzyl salicylate, tolyl biguanide, linalool, amino-tri, limonene, tetrasodium EDTA, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, hexyl cinnamal, coumarin, cl 77891 Here is a google translation of what is written on the back of the right shave stick box... "The shaving soap in a handy bar The Gilded Hand model provides anunprecedented smooth skin. Moisten the skin with warm water and then massagingthe Gilded Hand shaving soap, preferably with a shaving brush, on the skin. Throughthe massage the facial hair Gann upright, and can be as easy and completelyshaved. By shaving with a shaving brush, clean the skin better and prevent ingrownhairs. Shave with the hair growth, cheeks and throat first, so the foam can soak in the lushsxaarder chin and upper lip. Then uitscheren, d.x.z. against the hair growth. Also suitable for sensitive facial skin and / or heavy facial hair. Already 450 years trendsetter in shaving"
Here are the ingredients (older box, then newer box) along with the original script for those that might be able to translate better than google (wink wink, nudge nudge to Crackstar!).
COOL! I have no experience with these products and can't really offer you any useful information other than, "use them to generate lather." Let us know how they perform.
That's the one stick that I've yet to try and have wanted to get one for a good while. I just can't see doing it now since I have too much soap as it is. I hope it turns out to be a winner for you so I have something to look forward to.
I understand Dutch well if it's spoken slowly because of the similarity to German, which I speak almost perfectly. De Vergulde Hand is one of the NICEST soaps I ever shaved with in all my life. It has been around for over 450 years, so I would say that the company has been doing something right. The first time I had this soap was when a very close and dear friend of mine who is a member here sent it to me almost 6 years ago.
Jeff, do you know anything about the difference between these two sticks? Are they different types, like sensitive & regular? Or is it more likely an old & new formulation?
ShaveABuck carries the stick for $10. I think I've read that the TSD store carried it at one time but I don't see it currently.
I've never seen that stick on the left. The ingredient list seems quite lacking. Yup, used to sell it. Have one bottle of the aftershave left.
Hi As a guy from the Netherlands I can confirm what you were thinking. The one on the right is for a sensitive skin. Did it really also have something in the box besides the stick? Something like a travel cap? The one on the left is for regular skin. There is also another brand which looks like these. It's from a Dutch store called kruidvat. Please don't let them ever buy these. The lather is worthless, imho,and dries up as soon as it touches your skin.
The one on the right in the first picture is the one with the most ingredients & it's for sensitive skin??? If anything I figured the one on the left with much fewer ingredients would be for sensitive skin. The one on the right also shares the same ingredient list as the tablet, so is the tablet also for sensitive skin? Yes the stick on the right came with a travel cap while the one on the left did not. Thanks for your input. I greatly appreciate it. I'll be sure to stick with DVH & avoid kruidvat.
The other thing I was curious about is the name difference with the stick on the left. It is labeled as "Van De Vergulde Hand" while the others are simply "De Vergulde Hand". This also made me think that this stick is older, along with what appeared to be a very worn & aged price sticker. Thanks again for your help.
I expect to be in Amsterdam in mid-February. Any suggestions of stores to shop for this soap or other shaving items? I would also love to find a place that carried the Fitjar soaps.
Mine was brought back for me so I don't know exactly where it came from, but I've heard that De Vergulde Hand is the most common shaving range over there and can be found in drugstores and possibly even grocery stores. Expect to only pay about 2euros each for it too, not too bad!
