Just curious: What type of soap do you prefer - tallow non-milled, vegetable non-milled, triple-milled tallow, triple-milled vegetable, or glycerin based - and why? Also, if you had to choose just one soap what would it be?
One soap? Williams. And I believe it's outside of the categories you list- not glycerin but also not triple milled. It's a plain old tallow soap.
It's not as simple as tripple milled or glycerin. I'd take TSD or VDH Deluxe (glycerin soaps) over Williams (tripple Milled). Yet on the whole, I prefer tripple milled. Just a little side, that while tripple milled soaps appear more expensive they last much longer and an average cost per shave is really not much different between a $10 glycerin soap and a $20 tripple milled soap. On average, tripple milled soaps give more protection without too much cushion allowing for a close, comfortable shave. But, that can't be generalized to all tripple milled soaps, and a few glycerin soaps are real standouts. I tend to like clay in my glycerin soaps of which I'm most fond of TSD shave soaps. My favorite soap overall is Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF). On top of being as slick and protective as any other soaps, the skin care is unbelievable good for me. That means both softening up the beard before shaving and leaving my skind feeling great after the shave. The only very minor negative for MWF is the wonderful scent isn't as strong as I'd prefer. Guess my fondness of this soap isn't a big surprise as I clearly state I'm a FAT LOVER in my signature.
Thanks for the vote NoobShaver. I've also edited the post to added a few more categories (actually wanted the post to be a poll so it'd be easier for viewers to see the overall results - but a browser lock-up mid-post caused the thread to post before I had a chance to enter any poll categories...).
While I've seen it mentioned in a few threads, I haven't yet had the chance to look into MWF - I'll have to check it out a little more.
That would be a very good idea actually. I'm mostly a cream guy myself so I never really bought into all the hype that MWF generates, but when I had the chance to pick up a puck for $10.00 plus shipping I thought I would give it a try. Wow, thats really about all I could say! I am a firm believer in it now, it has definitely found a spot in my rotation.
I prefer glycerin soaps. I think tripple milled soaps don't agree with my local water supply. After trying 20+ soaps I think VDH is my favorite.
As my scientific friend with the squirrel stated up stairs each soap has its own qualities. I use all. My Favorites are #1 MWF For all the same reasons Eric stated #2 TSD Wheat Iced sub zero #3 ARKO Stick Now mind you I have plenty more of each type these are my 3 absolute cannot be without.
My favorite soaps are tallow based, whether they are triple milled or not. I think MWF, Palmolive, Valobra stick, and Speick are all milled, but not triple milled. Cella is a very good tallow based soft soap. Mitchell's Wool Fat is my favorite soap. I don't find it hard to get a good lather (I had it down by my second shave). It produces the best lather I have used from any soap or cream, very slick and plenty of cushion. It works well at softening the beard, and my face feels great post shave. It was a light clean scent though I wish it were stronger. It can be found very cheap from English vendors such as Connaught, Carbolic soap and Mistry's. I like that MWF has been around for so long and I hope it never gets reformulated (I've been stocking up just in case).
One soap..easy...Williams... Works great for me and get it local cheap. As an aside if they were still making the Colgate I would be hard pressed to choose between it and Williams for a favorite.. but probably the Colgate. Fuzzy
I have no clue what the differences between triple-milled or glycerin should be. I limit myself to 1 particular soap: Kent's Luxury Shaving Soap, aka MWF (in a different packaging but same stuff)
I have long been a fan of triple-milled, tallow soaps. My preferences being D.R. Harris and Penhaligon's. However, I have recently been enjoying many glycerin soaps. My favorite for performance and scent has been SRD Bulgarian Rose Otto. It has been outstanding in all areas. However, it is very expensive for glycerine soap. A very good, but much cheaper alternative, was Kell's Hemp Oil shave soap. It provides the slickest lather I have found. Other excellent options are Mama Bear, Saint Charles Shave and TSD. The great part about glycerine soaps is the vast scent array from which to choose.
Triple milled tallow everytime. I really enjoy the cushion and creaminess that they provide. I just don't seem to get along with glycerine. If I had to choose just one soap it would be MWF.
Wow, I'm really surprised to see one soap -- in this case MWF -- starting to dominate so heavily in a thread so soon. Am definitely going to have to track down a sample or second-hand tub so I can give it try.
Just look for a shaving soap with tetrasodium EDTA and or tetrasodium etidronate it it's Ingredient Listing. They are both "chelating agents" which help the soap to work better with the hardest water. They bind with the minerals so that they are not able to create an insoluble soap scum which makes lathering and shaving difficult! I hope this helps!
