Welcome, boss. Any fan of VDH is welcome. VDH is my go-to shaving soap and I've tried $30+ soaps. Nothing compares for me.
I've lathered it both ways also, but I mainly bowl lather. I chop/grate a stick and them mash it into a small Ziploc bowl for storage and to load from. Arko does perform well either way for me also, I just like bowl lathering.
Welcome to the den! I had a slight problem with bums and ingrown....the great folks here turned me onto tend skin and better technique. Problem solved for me. The tend skin is a wonder liquid IMHO. Also they pointed me to an alum block...it really helped show me where my technique was week and needed help.
I'll have to look into it. Had an issue but now seems to be resolved. I'm betting it was pressure on the razor. Being a little better about cleaning gear seemed to help too. I've been kind of curious about alum but not sure what to get. What do you use?
I do the same thing. Didn't like the stick to face. I wonder if the hard soap in the bowl is similar. Seems like it would save from mashing em lol.
I found 2 blocks of osma on Amazon for $11. They will probably last me a lifetime. I chose that one because of the reviews, what folks said here and that it was solid block form. I found some a slightly bit cheaper but figured for the extra 2 or 3 bucks, might as well get what people said was a good product. Very pleased with it. It went from my face burning everywhere I rubbed it to a nice cool feel almost everywhere on my face. It definitely helped my find the places I needed to improve on technique. Still have a bit to go, but I'm really glad I listen to everyone here and purchased it.
I believe so, I found a bottle at my local Walgreen's ....I think it was $16. But a little goes a long way. I'll probably have that bottle for a year or so since I'm not having as much of a problem now that I'm getting a better technique. But I'll always have a bottle on hand from now on.
VDH is definitely is good in my book. Doesn't break the bank, works good, and unlike most inexpensive soaps smells good
I've used both the stick and bowl. They lather the same IMO, so while the bowl is a bit less work, at first, it costs more and I found opening the bowl for every shave a real PIA compared to a Ziploc container. You can get 2 sticks(70 grams each) for $5.15, or one bowl(90 grams) for $5.25 from amazon. About a year ago I got the 12 sticks plus 3 free from amazon, if you bring the order to $35 with some blades or something else there is no shipping charge. I have no worries about shave soap for the foreseeable future.
