I am just using VDH Luxury scented soap , now at Walmart for just under $4 and its very good. I think it just pips classic VDH to the line in performance but its lucky to have this great soap in a bricks and mortar inexpensively. For me right now its making any new soap acquisitions seem unnecessary.
When I use Arko and finish with Peruvian Blend Florida Water, I am impervious to harm from entities in this world and the netherworld.
Williams only serves as a shower/shampoo bar for me these days. I gave up trying to get that stuff to provide a sustainable lather. I love the smell of it, the history and the fact a puck is a buck, but it just won't hold up through even one pass. Great soap otherwise. Had a puck of VDH Luxury scented that came with my VDH shave kit. Love the smell but stopped using it when I found SLS on the ingredients list. One of the main motivating factors in the tune-up I gave my bath & body regimen was the desire to get SLS out of my life. Can't use Colonel Conks for the same reason.
My personal favorite "Cheap Stuff"—especially when on sale for 40-50% off.... =$5.00 a tub "Shea Moisture Shave African Black Soap Shave Butter Créme" — glad they don't charge for each letter in their ridiculously long name. Not everyone cares much this product (some hate the thick, pudding-like consistency), but I love the feel of it while shaving and the effect on my skin post-shave. No aftershave or balm really necessary.
I got very good results with Col Conklin bay rum! Did a face lather and it was greAt! I think soaps are generally better for face lather. Most old timers just used soap in a mug. Yes I do like bowl lathering with creams, but soaps I'm swaying more towards face. Crisps you can do both with.
I had a tub of that in my hand at Target months ago and read terrible reviews, so I put it back. People complained it wouldn't lather...almost like it was supposed to be a brushless cream. Obviously not your experience. It smells really good. I was in my local Target recently and saw they had quit a VDH wet shaving inventory: badger brush ($19.99), VDH Luxury Kit ($29.99 but this one comes with a boar brush), VDH Luxury scented and unscented soaps (don't remember the price), and a VDH DE razor ($19.99) that looked like a Wishi or similiar. I got the impression Target was clearing the VDH stuff out--it's gone from most of the stores I have reason to visit--but this one has quite a selection.
Yep. it does NOT lather. One applies it, ideally, with the hands, but I prefer a brush. Gary (GDCarrington) recommends a synthetic brush & thats what I use, although I've found a boar brush also works fine. It looks like a soft cold cream, slick on the fingers and feels like cold pudding being spread on your face—but I shaved with aggressive DEs and with straight razors using it and the stuff provides a very good cushion. It will absorb into your skin if you decide to leave it on (rub it in), but I simply rinse post-shave. Face feels moisturized and often I don't require a post-shave balm after using it.
I have found that Every Man Jack makes a pretty decent Latherless shave cream. Yes, latherless. Like the Shea Moisture it would come in handy when you are pressed for time. Cheap as well, I think I payed 6 bux for a 200 ml tube. at my local ShopRite.
I like the smell of Arko shave sticks, although scent is subjective, and find it to be an excellent soap in terms of both price and performance. This is a very beneficial thread because it shows folks that great shaving soaps need not be expensive. Three of the best shave soaps I found are very affordable: Arko shave stick - US $2 Van Der Hagen Deluxe - US $2 CVS Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar (Dove soap clone) - US $3 (2 bars) A lot of folks are getting into traditional wetshaving to save money. Hey, many shavers are short on cash these days, and a penny saved is a penny earned. Pricey soaps and creams just don't jibe with that reality. For those looking for luxury, upscale soaps, artisan products such as The Shave Den soaps, Kell's Original, Prairie Creations, Mike's Naturals, Mystic Water, Stoppe Shoppe and others fit the bill. Eight dollars or so for a luxury soap is reasonable. Twenty dollars or more is both overpriced and unnecessary.
I have some cheap stuff, to name a few - Arko, Palmolive, Speick ... they all beat the *BEEP* out of the expensive D.R.Harris soap I also have. Price is simply not a mark for quality. I'm still baffled that I get such great lather from Arko at such low price, all shipped directly to my mailbox from Turkey. One expensive soap that do hold its own is Tabac. Just used it today - omg that's lather for y'all!
An Arko Shaving stick is 50 cents in wholesalers in Turkey. Supermarkets or groceries sell it for 60 cents. Turks love Azerbaijanis, Albanians and Bosnians, maybe that's the reason why it's cheaper than Turkey
I tried it back when I was cart shaving. Didn't much care for it. Haven't tried it on the DE side yet as I love making lather. I should though. I have 2 full tubs just sitting there lol How is it for rinsing off the razor? Any clogging? and YES, the name is freaking ridiculous
