Soap suggestions

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by Happy janitor, Feb 24, 2018.

  1. Happy janitor

    Happy janitor Active Member

    hi all. Im a newb, about a month in, and I'm looking for suggestions on some shave soaps. I've been using wcs ocean shave soap. I've tried every method of getting a quality lather, but its problem is that it doesn't have the slickness I'm looking for and it disappears on your face. Some reviews say to lather only half your face at a time because of this. That's not my opinion of quality. Today I picked up some cremo shave cream. It has the slickness I'm looking for and I got a really nice shave tonight, but i want that lather to go with it. Any suggestions? Oh, i do have a couple of samples from stirling but havent broke into them yet on account of doing the thirty day challenge.
     
  2. PLAla

    PLAla Bit Shy of a Full Puck

    Stirling is incredible soap. You cannot go wrong with it.
     
    jwr3265, BaylorGator, Enrico and 7 others like this.
  3. PickledNorthern

    PickledNorthern Fabulous, the unicorn

    Honestly sounds like you need to load more soap. Not being snarky, but with almost any decent product, disappearing lather means not enough product and too much water for the amount of product. 90%+ of newbs can solve their lather problems by using MORE product.
     
    jwr3265, Bobcat, RyX and 2 others like this.
  4. Zykris

    Zykris Well-Known Member

    Both suggestions above are solid.
     
    PLAla likes this.
  5. MR41

    MR41 Well-Known Member

    I agree with what’s been said and I’ll add that Proraso is very reasonably priced and is great value for money in all categories.
     
    BigMike and PLAla like this.
  6. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    This may sound goofy to you @Happy janitor , but give it a try. You didn't mention if you bowl, palm, or face lather. Which ever method is your preference Wet your brush ( are you using a brush? ) and shake out as much water as will fling free of the bristles. If you are using a boar brush it's probably stiff enough to easily load soap from a hard puck. A badger brush may be quite softer of bristle so it might require choking up on the knot. Grabbing the handle and half of the bristles holds the mass together to assist in loading soap. This may seem like your loading too much soap, but that's what those before me are talking about - use more product. Scrub on that soap puck until you see soap working it's way half up the bristles. Now grab that Cremo tube and squirt a dollop the size of a peanut on the soapy end of your loaded brush. Next either go to your face or bowl and start building the lather. It ought to be pasty and thick with no air and not enough water mixed in at this point. With your tap water running at a trickle swipe the top end of the bristles near the handle quickly to add just a small amount of water. Back to face or bowl for more agitation. It make take 3, 5, or 7 small additions of water to get the soap wet enough to make the tiny air bubbles that become a stabile lather. Some soaps need lots of water to reach that optimum mix. Too much water will break the lather leaving it thin, airy, and dissipating. I've used different soaps with a dab of Cremo and gotten some great lathers. The combo can elevate a lesser soap to acceptable.
    If you are still having issues after trying the "Use More Product" method, order a stick of Arko. That soap is strong of scent, may be slightly drying to your skin, and explodes with lather. It's also got a decent slickness and it's super cheap. Don't purchase a 12 pack until you're sure you like it because you might get 6 months of shaves from a single stick.
     
  7. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    I agree with @RyX - except in that you won't make it last 6 months unless you're @Bama Samurai. Mine's lasted that long, but then I don't shave daily, and I used up a puck of VDH and working on Williams at the same time. I don't personally find the scent very strong; it's just obviously there.

    Remember - load it like you stole it.
     
    Paul Turner, Jim99 and RyX like this.
  8. Happy janitor

    Happy janitor Active Member

    Thanks everyone! For more detail, i bowl lather, have tried face lathering but not hand lathering. I use a synthetic brush. I thought i was using enough product, but being new, I'll load more, adding the cremo. I shake my brush like suggested and after adding soap, i gently add water from a trickling faucet. The foam builds nice and thick, but it disappears after applying. One time after making the lather i reloaded with more soap. That was the best lather i was able to get with it and havent had much luck duplicating that.
     
  9. david of central florida

    david of central florida Rhubarb Rubber

    Try less water on your brush. Natural knots need a bit more water to get the show going (a soak), synthetic fibers pickup too much water if treated like natural. Then your having to adjust from jump. Just try nearly dry, then dip the ends.
    It's always easier to add water, than to adjust with too much.
     
    jwr3265, RyX and Happy janitor like this.
  10. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    That's just the way some soaps act. I'm not familiar with and haven't used West Coast Shaving soaps so I'll not offer an opinion about their formula or product.

    Here's another variable that might affect your results - water quality. If your water is hard with minerals the soap might lather better using distilled.
     
  11. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    WCS soap is made by PAA, which, to me, is an average soap at best. There’s more info on soaps than you probably want HERE.
     
    RyX likes this.
  12. Enrico

    Enrico Popcorn

    I agree with @RyX, but if you think you've tried all the tricks, Stirling soaps are great at a super value.
     
  13. Happy janitor

    Happy janitor Active Member

    Thanks for all the info and guidance everyone! I haven't used the stirling because i was doing the 30 day challenge. I'll work with the wcs soap and cremo as suggested and see how it goes before i get into the stirling samples.
     
    Enrico likes this.
  14. canoeroller

    canoeroller Well-Known Member

    You are better off loading too much soap than not enough. One way to see if you are using enough soap is to have a dry run. Load up the brush like you were going to shave, lather your face, rinse, then without adding more soap to the brush, lather again. If you have enough soap loaded on your brush, you ought to be able to lather your face three, four, or maybe five times without adding more soap to the brush. Even the most expensive shave soaps are pennies per use, so washing some extra down the drain will not break the bank.
     
  15. Shadow Shaver

    Shadow Shaver Well-Known Member

    My wife started with WCS soaps and they smell nice but IMO are just average performers. I think that you might have a more enjoyable experience with either Stirling or another soap that I really enjoy Mike's natural. Both have excellent post shave moisturizing and lather cushion. Thanks to @BaylorGaytor I decided to try some grooming department which is nice as well, but I am still working on my lather with it. That one is hard to get because it sells out as soon as he posts new batches. Good luck on whatever you choose!
     
  16. Happy janitor

    Happy janitor Active Member

    I did exactly as suggested and my lather came out quite better than before. I loaded the daylights out of my brush, added the dollop of cremo and ended up with a really thick rich dense lather that didn't disappear on my face whatsoever. Great advice and thank you. Once i receive my new stirling shipment i think the wcs will fall to the back burner.
     
    chrisgeeo and RyX like this.
  17. Oasisdave

    Oasisdave Active Member; radioactive

    I would go with The GroomingDept, Declaration Grooming, Cold River Soapworks, Shannon's, or Wholly Kaw.
     
    chrisgeeo likes this.
  18. Macktheknife

    Macktheknife Active Member

    Keep us apprised!
     

Share This Page