I have a deplorable lack of AD symptoms for any phase of this grand hobby. I find something that works and just keep doing the same old same old. That said I'm curious how many soaps are used during your weekly rotations and how long does a puck last you? And can you even finish a puck without trying a new one?
I have nearly 140 soaps & creams, if I knew what I know now I could have kept it to no more than 10 :happy102.
I use Mitchell's Wool Fat about 50% of the time and a puck lasts me almost a year. My first puck actually lasted a little longer, but that was before I started shaving my head. All my other soaps are used less and seem to last forever. I've used up a Speick stick in about 1-1/2 years and I estimate my TSD signature soap will be gone after a total of 2 years. I also started with a couple pucks of VDH (glycerin then deluxe), which each lasted about 6 weeks.
I started a consorted effort to slim down my soap rotation and it seems to have worked. It currently sits at 4: Williams VDH Deluxe Arko Shavestick Palmolive Shavestick I've got enough Arko to last til the second coming. Williams and VDH are nickel dime quarter and available locally. In the fall, I'll likely take my turn with some shaving creams but moving forward, I doubt I'll ever keep more than 5 or 6 soaps or creams on hand at any one time. Aftershave however, is another issue, my stink be gone AD is live and kicking but I suspect that in time I'll bring it down to six or less AS and three or less colognes/EDTs I can already see a core of go to's forming.
I don't have a weekly rotation. I have two soaps right now and a large-er assortment of creams. I like to use something until it's gone. I'm currently working on a puck of colgate. They last me for over a month when I use them exclusively.
Hey Man, I am not a Doctor or anything..but you do what you need to do, or feel compelled to do...but if you have a total lack of AD this far in...you may want to go get your head checked... (just kidding...maybe...I dunno...I am a month or so in and have like 10 razors, 10 aftershaves, 5 brushes, 5 soaps/creams and more blades than I can shake a stick at...but really..do whatchoo need to do...) There is no right or wrong...it is all about the desire to shave because it is a pleasure, not a chore!
Current Rotation VDH Deluxe and Select Master shave soap Gold Dachs Tabac Mcithells Frankensoap Honey Bee Spa Soap Cella Colonel Conk Old Spice soap Reserve stuff 1 Klar 1 Mitchells 10 Arko 1 Cella 2 Williams 3 VDH Select/Deluxe 1 Valobra I've never finished a puck or stick, I get bored with them and chuck them out or frankensoap them. Pucks and sticks, like creams, last a LOT longer than I anticipated. I have settled on Cella as my favorite soap but more and more I have trouble telling the difference between them qualitatively, they all seem about the same to me now.
I dunno. I have roughly 25 soaps and a couple of creams in the rotation. I use the one up in the rotation for that day, then it goes to the end of the line to wait it's next turn at bat. Seldom do I use the same soap two days in a row. I have a puck of C&E Nomad that I purchased back around Feb. of '08 that still has several good shaves in it. I did have fewer soaps back then, so it was used at least once a week. Now each one gets used 'bout once a month. They last a looooooong time that way!
I, too, tend to find something that works and stick with it. I used Old Spice soap for over twenty years. I use MWF mostly now, but I still have some Tabac around and it's just to excellent a soap to waste, so I use it occasionally. My last puck of Tabac lasted almost a year with almost exclusive daily use and MWF seems like it's going to last well over six months.
Currently I consider myself to have a mild case of AD. As of right now I have: 2 straight razors both are Henckels, one a friodur 5/8 the other a 401 5/8(but i want 2 more i think):ashamed001 Soaps are another story tho I bought the Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna soap in a bowl, and got the nomad and sandalwood refills Muhl Sandalwood in a bowl with a buckthorn replacement puck DR Harris Lavender soap in a bowl Col Conk Bay Rum And a soap from a local store here
After much experimenting my weekday rotation goes like this: Proraso Green, Proraso White. On the weekend: TOBs Sandlewood (cool weather), Trumper Coconut cream mixed with Trumper limes soap (warm weather). At the back of my cabinet you can find: MWF, Tabac, T&H 1805 - these are all great soaps but I just get the best results with Proraso and love menthol. A tub of Proraso will last about 6 months when used every day.
I have about ten shaving soaps around and rotate them at will..... There is no routine in it, just when I feel like it It depends on the puck size and the ingredients, but every soap I used so far lasted somewhere around a year or so :happy088
I could stick to using 1 puck but it wouldn't be fair to the rest of 100 some pucks and creams. But I'm sure many of you have more than me. It's nuts mate! Generally speaking I reckon it varies from one user to the next. Some brushes are lather hogs while others aren't also depends on one's brush skills among other things.
I've only got 10 or so. But there are about 20+ that I'm planning on getting. Some days when it's warm I lean towards the Citrus types. Cool evenings , going out for the night then something woodsy. If I'm trying a new blade, razor ,,I always use the same soap to eliminate differences where possible. Then some days, feeling retro, I'll break out some Williams or VDH, witch hazel and Bay Rum . I rotate based on how I feel , or want to feel at that moment that seems to carry through the day. It still surprises me how it actually lasts through the day. And then you catch a whiff, later in the day and go AHHH. OOPS,, got off course,, how long does the soap last? Don't have a clue. Too new to have used up one let alone not sticking to just one, I keep buying more,so at this rate they should last a loooooong time. See, economical!
In over a year of using non-canned stuff, I have used up one full puck of Williams, one of VdH, and one sample size of Ogallala Bay Rum. I've used up less than half of my first tube of Proraso, and that's my favorite among the creams. I like to stockpile consumables anyway. When I first started buying different kinds of soap, I just had no idea how long one would last, and figured maybe one a month. Before I realized my mistake, I had a very large stock, maybe two dozen each of Williams and VdH. Then I bought some more stuff, just for variety. Right now, I'm just living on my savings, so to speak. I've got a big variety of soaps and creams, and may literally never need to buy any more. No organized rotation, I just pick whatever I feel like using that day.
The first puck of shaving soap I've come close to finishing is my first puck of Williams soap. Yeah, I know it's corny and lower-class and all that, but still. I acknowledge it's not the best, by far, and takes much better to modifications (non-lathering creams and glycerin drops) for enhancements, but I still have a fondness in my heart for it as a straight razor user, because it provides glide in spades. Given that.... (all for straight razor usage): Wilkinson blue bowl, hardly used but good enough, Crabtree & Evelyn "Nomad", Mama Bear's (4, assorted), Pre de Provence, Tabac (in the highly touted ceramic bowl, no less), VDH deluxe (the best performance for the price). They all last at different rates according to their original weights by ounces. The triple-milled are obviously harder and more difficult to melt and pour into new vessels, so glycerin soaps win by that configurability, but they all have a soul and a character, so are ultimately up to the user to determine their longevity. Softer soaps wear away quicker, harder soaps seem to last forever. You'd better like the longer-lasting ones... even "luxury" soaps that have exorbitant prices are a good deal, given their longevity. They last a LONG time...
I have about 8 pucks of soap in active rotation, then I have about the same number of creams that are used just irregularly.
