Shaving soap

[BirdofSydney]

I can confidently say that going from a silvertip back to a bristle brush (my travel brush, being hardy enough and cheap enough to throw in a dopp kit) is rather like trading in one's Silver Shadow for a Moke...

[mrleiter]

I take a hot shower to soften my skin, then foam my shaving creme with a badger hair brush (both Esbjerg) in a clay bowl that has been sitting in hot water during the shower. Apply generously onto the facial hair, let it soak for half a minute, then shave it with a single-blade razor. Wash it off with warm, then rinse it with ice-cold water.
Letting the skin breather for another half minute before oiling it with a non-alcoholic aftershave from Esbjerg as well.

[Berwick]

My tub of SMN hard soap is running out! It has lasted just over a year.

[Concordia]

One option I've recently found for travel is the tubes of shaving soap from George Trumper. 75 grams each, so they're OK to carry on past airline security, and they smell a lot better than the standard Edge I use at home.

[Frederic Leighton]

One option I've recently found for travel is the tubes of shaving soap from George Trumper.

Do you mean that soft thing going under the name of shaving cream and being so difficult to compare to a wonderfully hard, check-in-safe, long-lasting, triple-milled, English soap?

[Concordia]

One option I've recently found for travel is the tubes of shaving soap from George Trumper.

Do you mean that soft thing going under the name of shaving cream and being so difficult to compare to a wonderfully hard, check-in-safe, long-lasting, triple-milled, English soap?

Yes. You'll live.

[T.K.]

Any comments on the lathering qualities of shaving soaps in relation to local water properties? I can not get my triple milled soaps to produce a proper lather at all. I started out using the notorious Mitchell's, but susprisingly am now having worse results with Trumper's glycerine based soap. Softer soaps like Valobra and Klar and shaving creams work well, thankfully. But I do wonder if it is the relative hardness of my tap water that is to blame or that possibly my technique is lacking.

[Frederic Leighton]

My routine with triple milled English soaps: pick up some water with the shaving brush and deposit on the surface of the soap, leave the shaving brush in water for 5 minutes, take the brush and shake three times to remove excess of water, 'draw' 25 circles on the top of the soap, face-lathering for 90 seconds (produces enough lather for two applications). After years of hot shaves, I now use cold water, which gives great results. Try deep-cleaning your shaving brush by leaving it in a 1:1 vinegar solution for half an hour and then rinsing it in hot water (each 3-6 months or so). Hope this helps.

[T.K.]

Thank you. Your routine is similar to mine except for the cold water. I will be trying cold water tomorrow and see if it makes a difference!

[Frederic Leighton]

I will be trying cold water tomorrow and see if it makes a difference!

Well, the cold water won't make the lathering any easier (or any more difficult). I find it leaves the skin smoother and prevents the redness I was occasionally experiencing. I learned the trick from a pre-WW2 shaving manual. Have a look at THIS...

[Frederic Leighton]

Thank you. Your routine is similar to mine except for the cold water. I will be trying cold water tomorrow and see if it makes a difference!

Hello T.K.,

Hope you enjoyed your cold shaving. It might take you few shaves to get used to it. I can easily tell how gentler it is for the skin, avoiding those irritations due to using very hot water to open the pores and then cold water to close them. If this helps, imagine it as a very historical and old-fashioned way to do it (...actually, the proper way!).

I'm sure you already know that the most important factor in creating the lather is the amount of water 'charged' in the shaving brush - too little and the lather is thick and dry, too much and it is too thin, which makes the lather immediately disappear from brush and face.

Enjoy your shaves. Best wishes,

federico, London

[Rob O]

Federico,

I tried a cold water shave this morning and can confirm that my skin feels much smoother and less irritated today. Thanks for the tip. Living in a hard water area I do find it more difficult to develop a good lather on my brush. Maybe some SMN cream would be a better choice.

Rob

[T.K.]

Hi Federico,

The shave was indeed a joy. My skin is rather sensitive and hot water does not always do it good. One hot shower in the morning is really more than enough. Feeling the cold water and blade against the skin is actually quite pleasant. And I notice much less of the reddish irritation in the adam's apple area than I usually do. So thank you for this suggestion!

Getting the water and soap ratio right is difficult. I haven't been making my own lather for long, so in that sense I'm still practicing. But what a joy it is, acquainting myself with all of these luxurious products.

Tom

[Frederic Leighton]

Rob, Tom; thank you for the feedback--I'm glad the cold water alternative helped. Tom, agree on the "luxurious products"--you could even start complaining that they last for too long! At this point, my Valobra has been sitting in a bag for 3.5 years as I am forcing myself to finish the old soaps before opening new ones

[robert_n]

@ Frederic:
Internet being all shadows and mirrors, I can confess that I no longer use anything but water to wash my (head) hair. Drying wet hair with a towel is sufficient to remove excess oil, and the skin's secretion of sebum is stabilized at lower level than when one uses shampoo, which alters Ph and creates excessive dryness, dandruff, etc.

No one in my inner sanctum has complained of rankness. For the rest, I have French washes, and soap only the crotch and underarms. I do use a Japanese bristle brush to exfoliate and every odd day a foot-bath and a pumice stone and plenty of finger friction to remove dead skin on the feet, which cures all foot odor.

This is not something I widely advertise, as social programming is quite deep when it comes to personal hygiene.