was proraso alongside tabac and mitchell shave soaps well known like they are today in shaving forums but back in the 1990s? lets say we wanted to know about shave soaps like we do today but back in the late 90s or early 2000s, would we know as much as we do about proraso and tabac and mitchell like we do today or was it too early for such products to be known like they are today? were the late 90s and early 2000s too early for shave soaps like these brands to be well known like they are today as far as commercializing them in shaving forums that are currently online? when did these shave soaps really start grabbing attention on shave forums if not late 90s and early 2000s then as they are popularly known today? would anyone know about the commercialization of such shave soaps?
Tabac had been around since 1959. MWF since the early 1930's. I didn't have to search long to find out that Proraso was started in 1948. What do you want to know? These shaving products predate MOST of us here on the forum. The difference today is that there is an internet and fora to discuss these and all of the other shaving products. Not to mention importing and exporting. The world is smaller now and products that were once exclusive to one country can now be found everywhere.
who was selling mitchell and tabac shave soap in the u.s. back in 1999/2000? what retailers since i dont remember kmart, target, walmart selling them back then? rsvp
if you are not having luck finding these older products, perhaps try some of the stuff at ok mart, wally mart, off target offer in the modern day. maybe commercial suppliers of barbershop supplies would have that kind of stuff too old tyme independent pharmacies have had all kinds of stuff too. as a kid I used to get auto and plane model kits at one good luck finding what you need
I only know about Tabac back then. I lived in Germany and used to buy it there all the time. I would bet money that the retailers you mentioned never sold those products...then.
Proraso has been extensively reformulated, since I joined wetshaving forums. If I remember right, Proraso red used to be an oatmeal based soap/cream for sensitive skin. It was reformulated as a sandalwood, and Proraso white replaced the red. It was never marketed in the states (online) until quite recently, in the last five years or so. But enough of all this and that. Join those forums, use the search function and look at those old posts about Proraso and see what people were saying about it back when. There is nothing stopping you from doing that research. It's not like this stuff just disappears. There's a historical record right there, just waiting for you to look at it. I'll tell you one thing. Nobody used Proraso when I joined. Everybody (in the U.S.) used C.O. Bigalow. If you saw a mention of it as Proraso, it was usually by an English speaking member of the forums who lived in Europe. A few people were fans of the red cream tubes, though I always heard of those being purchased through eBay or during trips abroad. A few Italian American stores may have carried Proraso products, as well as specialty pharmacies like Smallflower or Pasteur's.
I started using Proraso Red(Sandalwood) shave Cream/Soap, about six years ago. I still use it on and off. Great scent, slick, and lathers well. I'm thinking of picking some more up. Without the internet, I would say many of the Artisan Soap manufacturers, like Stirling and RazoRock, would never have made it off the ground. With the internet, we are also able to try regional soaps, from around the world, and revive some of their companies. The internet makes the world your little shopping mall.
Back in the 90's I didn't have a computer. News about soaps were in men's magazines or talk at the barber shop . Personally, what I knew of soaps was on the drug store shelf, usually Williams, Old Spice before it was discontinued or VDH. Sadly Traditional Shave products slowly disappeared from store shelves and so, after finally getting a PC I was able to learn and order on the internet. My first soap off the internet was Cella kilo.
In the early 2000's Target sold the Proraso Soap Bowl, Cream, and Boar Brush. Clayton Sent from my SM-A705U using Tapatalk
I imagine before the internet, men didn't even know how to shave (mainly in two or three light passes). I know I didn't until I joined these forums.
I learned how to shave from my dad. 1980 with a Gillette black beauty he bought for me. I still have that razor. He was using electric at the time. I wanted to use a Gillette. He taught my to do several passes. They knew how to shave back then and earlier. I think the breakdown of the family and more hectic lifestyle lead to us forgetting how to shave with multi passes.
