Thanks for the welcomes and suggestions! Some good things to try. Awhile back I made some body soap similar to L'Occitane french milled soap, because I didn't want to pay L'Occitane prices. It was fairly easy and I might take the same route here. I am looking at possibly doing a soap made with jojoba and tea tree oil or argan oil. When I made soap I used Argan and didn't have any problems so I may go that route. Or, as mentioned above I may try saponofied coconut oil. Not allergic to anything according to the allergist I saw years back, but have very sensitive skin to bacteria and pores that clog easily according to the dermatologist. I have developed a regiment that works well over the years and I have gotten it under control for the most part. Cleanse, tone, scrub w/salycilic product, benzoil peroxide as needed, twice a day. Then every other week I give myself a 70% glycolic peel in order to unclog pores and fade old acne scars and hyper pigmentation. It's a PITA, but it is working. I just always get nervous adding new products. It took awhile to find the right combo of products. Anyway, thanks again! I will update and let you know how I fare. If I go the route of making my own, I will create a thread, in case there is some interest. I just ordered a Merkur 180 so now I am committed to the world of DE shaving Hope y'all don't mind if I pull up a chair and stay awhile!
I use a bath soap from time to time before the shave to clean my face.I found a very good soap (for me). http://www.sebamed.com/products/product.html?tx_nsproductdatabase_pi1[showUid]=144 Here in Germany there is a second bar soap,with Olive Oil and Aloe Very in it available.This one moist´s your face very well.I used this one as a "shower" soap as well.A very nice soap which i can higly recommend.
I shaved for years with the bath soap I made and a Gillett mach 3. I did not even use a brush to lather it. My morning routine was: out of the shower soap up the hands and rub on face shave proceede with the day things have changed a bit since then.
Been told by many shaving professionals, old school and modern, that you shouldn't shave with ordinary soap. "Ingredients" are different.
True, but in this case I don't believe "shouldn't" to be law. Many folks, as you can see if you've read through all of this, have used ordinary soap with acceptable results. If ordinary soap was actually that bad for the face, I would have had problems starting some ??-odd years ago. It's all that I've use in the shower to wash my face for many years.
This has been an interesting and funny thread but i too have a question about this. I bought some irish spring and thought how much i liked the scent i was wondering if anyone has graded some up with a shave soap and meted it together? Im going to try it with some vdh. Ive never done anything like this so any tips??? Should i add glycerin? How long to melt?
Folks have been grating up Williams a mixing it up with VDH for quite some time. Don't see why it wouldn't work with any other soap. Melt the VDH in a microwave safe bowl using 8 to 10 second bursts. KEEP YOUR FINGER ON THE STOP BUTTON AND HIT IT IF THE SOAP STARTS TO BUBBLE. Let it rest for 30 seconds or so the hit again for another 8 to 10 seconds. Continue the bursts until all melted. Stir in your grated Irish Spring and you're ready to go. I'd try it without the glycerin first, you may not need it. If you do, you can always add your drops when you load your brush.
Indubitably Sir! I have advanced from what we had termed in the army as the "Field Expedient Method" (during which time a question about the basics of wet shaving would have produced from me the answer of "Hu?....Idunno.") to a more knowledgeable practitioner of the art. However, this evolution would have not been possible without the tutelage of the more advanced adepts of the craft who have provided me with needed guidance through the various shaving forums.
My irish spring vdh melting was a success...if any of you like the scent of irish spring you should give it a shot...lathered almost instantly and got a good shave
Almost certainly not. Many of the drugstore soap bars are tallow based. None of them produces a worthy shave lather.
Why not? If it does not work well, the world won't end. Should your shave be lousy with the Old Spice soap, simply wash it off your face, apply a known good shave soap or cream for the rest of your shave, and use the Old Spice as a bath soap.
I tried using bar soap but didn't like the lather. I figure why bother when there are better dedicated products in my den.
Because some bath soaps work reasonably well for shaving and are less expensive than most shaving soaps. Dove is one that comes to mind. It is not an issue for some people, but those looking to save some money might see things differently.
Yep. For years, when I used soap to shave (I never even knew about shave soap, and I didn't use a brush), it was more about the lubrication then it was about the lather. I never got any kind of true lather from a bar of soap, but the smoothness (at least I got) was exceptional. Of course, there were better brands than others, and I used relatively expensive ($7.00) bars of soap. Lasted 3 to 4 months, so it was well worth it to me..
I regularly use Dove moisturizing bar, and it out performs a cream I paid $25 bucks for. Cheese grate it in a puck in a empty Greek yogurt cup. ( works best for whipping it up ) or even as a lather bowl you can toss out. You will be pleasantly surprised. .
Have you tried it. Lots of fellows Think it's a good shaving soap in a pinch. 3 pass, do you use a different soap or cream for each pass ?. Possibly a different blade for each pass. , ???. Why not, it makes sense. . Just fooling around. Don't be insulated