A common question for anyone getting into wet shaving is "what is the difference between shaving cream and shaving soap , and which one is better?
In reality there is no one answer. It is simply a matter of personal preference, although most straight razor connoisseur's use shaving soaps. Shaving creams are easier to use, because they are already lathered, while soaps are slower to use because they need a brush to work them up into a lather. There is a big argument against most common shaving creams available in your local supermarket that they are full of chemical and numbing agents that are avoided in specially produced shaving soaps.
Each shaving soap requires a different amount of time to bring to a lather, and a different brush will be suited depending on the stiffness of the badger hair bristles. Different soaps also have different strengths of scent and this should be considered depending on the sensitivity of your skin.
When you are looking for a high quality shaving soap it can be almost impossible to tell from the descriptions available - it is the ingredients, their proportions, and the manufacturing process that can make all of the difference. Typical shaving soaps are either tallow based or glycerin based. Tallow is animal fats generally beef or mutton , and it is these fats that are key to the performance of a shaving soap - the fat acts as a lubricant between the razor blade and your skin, reducing the risk of cuts and razor burn.
The best way is to try it for yourself, of the alternative is to look through the various review sites available and see what other experienced wet shaving enthusiasts think about different soaps. There is no such thing as 'the best shaving soap' - there is only which is the best for you. Try a few of the most popular soaps and some of the more obscure soaps and decide which one you prefer for yourself. Lathering up a shaving soap is quite simple - however there are many people around who try to make it sound more complicated than it really needs to be.
This is a quick video showing how to use a shaving brush to make lather from an Edwin Jagger shaving soap. Selecting and using a shaving brush can be difficult - there are various types of hair that can be used in the bristles and there are various grades of hair within each type. If you are having trouble it might be the type of brush you are using - a soft soap works better with a soft bristled brush, and a hard soap works better with a hard bristled brush.
Shaving soap generally gives a thicker lather when it is used with a shaving brush. It also lasts significantly longer than a tub of shaving cream. Shaving cream gives a thick lather straight out of the tub and doesn't require as much work to build a lather. Shaving soap is a toiletry consisting of a preparation of soap and fatty acids that forms a rich lather for softening the beard before shaving and delivering a creamy base that allows the razor blade to glide over the surface of the skin.
The term shaving soap typically refers to a hard type of soap that you need to whip into a lather using a shaving brush. More popular these days are soft soaps which lather faster with a shaving brush. Shaving soaps are extremely popular amongst traditional wet shavers and they are now becoming more popular with new wet shavers due to their great value for money compared to the cans of shaving gel and foam you find in supermarkets.
A good quality shaving soap can last up to 6 months daily use, sometimes longer, for example, a Martin de Candre Shaving Soap will last around a year daily use. So, you do get a lot of lather for your money! Traditionally all shaving soaps were hard shaving soaps , that is, a round puck of solid soap.
In many cases, these soap pucks had been triple-milled during manufacture to remove as much moisture from the soap as possible. These triple-milled shaving soaps are very hard, but when lathered up properly they deliver excellent razor glide and produce a thick, rich, cushioning lather to shave on.
Contrasting this is soft shaving soap , these are soaps which have more water left in them during the manufacturing process, this gives them a consistency like putty. This can be done in the palm of your hand, a shaving bowl or directly onto your face. For new starters a shaving bowl is a good idea because it allows you to see the soap develop into a lather and you control the amount of water that you add in a consistent way.
A shaving bowl does not need to be anything special — it can be any bowl or large mug from your kitchen or it can be a specially designed shaving bowl. To build the lather simply swirl the brush around inside the shaving bowl until the consistency stops changing which can take up to a minute. At this point you might need to add some more water to the mix.
If the lather is still very stiff and thick then it needs more water so add hot water to the bowl about a teaspoon at a time. Eventually you want to get a lather that is light and shiny and has a texture similar to whipped egg whites or slightly looser. If you add too much water then the lather will become too runny and will dry out too quickly when applied to the face. You will know you have added too much water when you start to see large air bubbles in the lather than you can't get rid of.
When you first start it is a good idea to make some test lather and to keep adding water to the lather until you take it too far. Keep feeling the slickness between your fingers as you add water and you will begin to get a feel of when you have the right amount of water. Once you have your lather at the right consistency you need to apply it to your face. Begin by applying the brush with a circular scrubbing motion around the face and neck. This will exfoliate the skin, raise the beard hairs and surround each whisker with lather.
The longer you do this process the better as it also helps to soften the beard. When the face is completely covered you can change to a painting motion to even-out the lather over the face and take off any excess. Shaving soaps can come in a bowl or on their own as a refill. The bowls are usually wooden but some companies prefer smaller plastic tubs.
Each brand has their own shape and size of shaving soap which means that refills for one brand don't usually fit in the shaving bowls of another brand although many will fit given a push.
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