looking for the best sandalwood shaving soap.....any suggestion?

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by Gwynblade, Oct 25, 2015.

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  1. Gwynblade

    Gwynblade New Member

    what you think about Truefitt & Hill sandalwood shaving soap?
     

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    Gwynblade, Oct 25, 2015
    #1
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  2. david of central florida

    david of central florida Rhubarb Rubber

    I have two other Truefitt& Hill products.
    both of those are top notch. I'd expect the one your asking about, be the same.
     
    david of central florida, Oct 25, 2015
    #2
    Pedigree likes this.
  3. John Beeman

    John Beeman Little chicken in hot water

    The scent is excellent but if you have hard water you'll struggle with making lather.
    At my house I have to use Truefitt & Hill creams if I want decent lather.
    If you have hard water and you want to use a soap rather than a cream; Gold Dachs makes an excellent sandalwood soap and it lathers wonderfully in even the hardest water.
     
    John Beeman, Oct 25, 2015
    #3
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  4. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    T&H went downhill when they switched to a vegan formula for their shave soaps (in my opinion) just like Trumper's. If you want an English Sandalwood soap with tallow, Taylor of Old Bond St. is going to be your only option.

    If you just want a good Sandalwood soap, Prorazo red is hard to beat, and it uses real Sandalwood oil in the formula, something most of the 'sandalwood' shaving soaps leave out. On the flip side, the scent is very mild. Not very strong at all.

    Of course, if scent was the main thing shavers cared about, we'd all use shaving creams. The scent is usually about twice as strong in a shaving cream, compared to a soap.
     
    PLANofMAN, Oct 25, 2015
    #4
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  5. Gwynblade

    Gwynblade New Member

    PLANofMAN so you say that Prorazo red is the only one with real sandalwood oil and they shaving soap formula is best?
     
    Gwynblade, Oct 25, 2015
    #5
  6. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    My vote is for Cyril Salter Indian Sandalwood. I have tried Simpson, D.R. Harris and most recently Soap Commander.
    I would rank them:
    1) Salter
    2) Soap Commander
    3) DRH
    4) Simpson
     
    Primotenore, Oct 25, 2015
    #6
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  7. david of central florida

    david of central florida Rhubarb Rubber

    Have you tried Proraso red?
    if so how did it compare to soap commander?
     
    david of central florida, Oct 25, 2015
    #7
  8. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Muhle sandalwood is nice.
     
    Bama Samurai, Oct 25, 2015
    #8
  9. Jerry-built Hustler

    Jerry-built Hustler Well-Known Member

    DRH gets my vote. Outstanding, both in scent and performance.

    My experience with T&H soap is limited to an older formulation. However, I have sampled many other products in the T&H sandalwood range, and in my opinion heir sandalwood scent smells nothing like sandalwood. It is a very modern, highly synthetic, marine-type scent, reminiscent of "sport" fragrances circa the mid 1990s. Personally, it's not my cup of tea. Others like it, though. Obviously, it's subjective, although I really don't understand where T&H gets off using the term "sandalwood" when referencing the scent. They'd be more on the money calling it Calvin Clone or Sorta Safari.
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2015
    Jerry-built Hustler, Oct 26, 2015
    #9
    Pedigree, Gwynblade, juicy flawless and 1 other person like this.
  10. Jerry-built Hustler

    Jerry-built Hustler Well-Known Member

    As mentioned, DRH sandalwood is also tallow-based.
     
    Jerry-built Hustler, Oct 26, 2015
    #10
    Pedigree likes this.
  11. Justin Linker

    Justin Linker Wetshaving belieber

    Taylor Of Old Bond Street
    Art Of Shaving
    Proraso

    Stay far away from Geo F Trumper shave soap. Creams are fine. Soaps are trash.
     
    Justin Linker, Oct 26, 2015
    #11
    Pedigree, Mike Brown, Darkbulb and 1 other person like this.
  12. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    I always forget about D.R. Harris. :)
    Not at all. AoS Sandalwood also has real Sandalwood oil in it. What I was trying to say is that due to the cost and limited availability of real Sandalwood oil, many companies choose to use synthetic alternatives. Many companies also just list 'fragrance' in the ingredient list, so the only way to tell is to let the soap age. Real Sandalwood mellows and develops a creamy undertone to the scent. The fake stuff just stays the same.

    The problem is that the ingredients used in the fake Sandalwood can cause nasty skin reactions, and because there are quite a few different formulas, you won't know if you are allergic to that particular blend until you try it. Add to the mix people who are allergic to real Sandalwood, and you'll get quite the mess.

    As for Prorazo, I'm sure some people think it's the greatest soap ever made. I personally think it's a good soap, and ideal for newbies because it's easy to lather, creates a good lather, and is very forgiving of water ratios. It's hard to add too much or too little water to the lather. Their Sandalwood is lightly scented though, so if you are looking for that 'just walked into a carpenter's workshop scent' you'll want to look elsewhere.
     
    PLANofMAN, Oct 26, 2015
    #12
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  13. Jerry-built Hustler

    Jerry-built Hustler Well-Known Member

    According to the ingredients list on the AOS website, the sandalwood soap (as with the rest of AOS's sandalwood range) just shows "fragrance" on the label. It doesn't list sandalwood essential oil as an ingredient. Of course, the front of the package lists the scent as "sandalwood essential oil." So, we are left with a question: is the scent a fragrance-oil approximation of sandalwood e/o, or does the scent actually contain sandalwood e/o? If the latter, why wouldn't they list it?
     
    Jerry-built Hustler, Oct 26, 2015
    #13
    Gwynblade likes this.
  14. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Yes, it actually contains Sandalwood e/o, and as for why they just don't list it, that gets more complicated.

    Very few 'single note' fragranced shave soaps (or aftershaves/colognes) actually only contain that one note. Most use a variety of fragrances to bolster and compliment the 'main scent.'

    In AoS Sandalwood's case, there is Vanilla, Myrrh, and Patchouli in there as well. That is straight from AoS. There is probably other scents used in it as well, but those were the other three that AoS chose to list.

    That information comes from a Basenotes forum review.
     
    PLANofMAN, Oct 26, 2015
    #14
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  15. oscar11

    oscar11 Well-Known Member

    I've always liked Salters (best) even though it's a cream and TOBS hard soap. I don't know how authentic the scent is but I like them both. I'll eventually get round to trying DR Harris.
     
    oscar11, Oct 26, 2015
    #15
    Pedigree likes this.
  16. Mr. Shaverman

    Mr. Shaverman Well-Known Member

    Saying it for me! I agree with this post 100%. Those are the best 3 sandalwoods I've found, all lather and perform great.
     
    Mr. Shaverman, Oct 26, 2015
    #16
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  17. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    I'll throw in a +1 for Art of Shaving. It's expensive but at least it's good. Some guys swear the old tallow formula is better than the new stuff but the new stuff leaves me wanting for nothing.
     
    feeltheburn, Oct 26, 2015
    #17
  18. Gwynblade

    Gwynblade New Member

    Wow
    Thanks you all for a such interesting articles
    :( next time before i buy i will ask opinion from you
    So i understand that o I bought poor quality, expensive products.
     
    Gwynblade, Oct 26, 2015
    #18
  19. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    I have never tried Prosaso Red.
     
    Primotenore, Oct 26, 2015
    #19
  20. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Don't feel bad. I bought Trumper's Limes in the bowl, couldn't get it to lather right after three tries, PIF'd it, then after a couple of years I bought it again, thinking it was my technique.

    Nope.

    Now I use it along with Kiss my Face Limes shave cream to make a 'superlather.' Not an ideal situation, but I'm determined to at least use it up this time around.

    Trumper's shave creams are excellent though.
     
    PLANofMAN, Oct 26, 2015
    #20
    Gwynblade likes this.
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