My dad, a supply officer in the Navy during WW2, liked to talk about the only way he and his buddies could shave-out of helmets.
I'm still kind of confused about the idea of using soap to shave even though I have been doing it for a few months now. Before I switched from canned goo, I was under the impression that soap had one job: break down and remove oil, whether it be from skin, dishes, linen, or otherwise. Sometimes in soap reviews, one of the criteria used to judge the soap is how hydrated the soap leaves the skin post shave. Reviewers knock soaps for drying out their skin but this doesn't make any sense to me because the whole point of soap is to remove oils from the skin. I get that shaving soap provides a slick lather that helps to reduce friction, but isn't it always going to dry out your skin? Shaving soap is still soap after all and it's still an emulsifier. I always use lotion even after shaving with top notch soap and even the slickest soaps still leave my skin dry as a desert after I wipe away any slick residue with a towel.
Many shave soaps have additional unsaponified fats like Shea butter or lanolin in them as well as other skin conditioners like aloe and glycerin. These additions help the skin retain moisture. When I use a soap like Stirling that had those additions leave my face feeling hydrated and often I don't need to use a balm. Sent from my Galaxy S6 using Tapatalk
I wouldn't worry too much about what the reviews say. Different reviewers can prioritize different soap characteristics, which will affect their opinions of a given soap. The details might generally hold true, but individual preferences can vary. My advice is if it seems interesting, then try it. If the soap works well for you, it does not matter what others think of it. If a soap does not work well as a shaving soap for you, then just use it as a bath soap. Theory is fine, but it is the end result, the empirical observations, that actually count.
Here's an FYI on bath soaps- Maggard's is currently out of their London Barbershop. I put my name on the list for them to inform me when they get a new set.
I've found that Dove bath soap works great in a pinch. In my area, not too many stores carry shaving supplies.
Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but was looking into this to get more ideas and this was the only thread I found on the topic. There is a fair amount of members who describe using shave soap as a bath soap - usually because they didn't like the shave they got from the soap. But I am more interested in hearing how folks are using bath soaps as shave soaps. I have regularly used different bath soaps in my shave lathering routine. Some work really well by them selves, others work better as additives to other soaps or creams. One of the ways I have used them was when traveling. I always kept a shave brush in my Dopp Kit, even when I was carrying a cartridge razor and canned shave cream. On several trips, I had my brush, but forgot to bring shave cream. So I would lather up using the shower or face soap provided by the hotel. Some of these soaps are very luxurious, so I regularly packed the unused bars upon leaving the hotels. I have tried various shave products, that have not provided good lather for whatever reason. Usually cream based products with "butter" in the name. I have found that loading the brush with a soap based product allows for some of these products to perform well, and rather than use my good lathering shave soaps as additives, I use these sample size soaps from the hotels. I have a ginger based soap that I really enjoy using with Shea Master Shave butter. This combo provides an excellent lather and the shea butter / ginger scent is heavenly. They also make an all purpose soap "The Shea Moisture Three Butter Shave Soap is a 3-in-1 go to organic shower soap that leaves skin smooth." I find that you can get some really fine smelling scented soaps at the outlet stores and if you buy the luxury soaps, they have some really good ingredients. I find brands like Yardley, Neutrogena, Aveeno, as well as many boutique soaps have great scents, excellent ingredients, and lather building properties. If I find that a bar doesn't work well for shaving, I just use it as a hand & body soap. Using these soaps as a pre-shave is also something I experiment with. It's a lot of fun.
