So I was out shopping at Sally's, Target, & Walmart with the family when I got an idea. You always here stories of old timers just shaving with a regular bar soap like Dial and decided to give it a shot. I found 4 different soaps 2 of which claim to be either specifically for shaving or atleast can be used to shave, and two that I just like the smell of in all honesty and figured would make a fine new bath bar if all else failed.
I tested all 4 bars with the following methods.
1st Test "The Shave stick Method"I ran the bar under some hot water and splashed some water on my arm. Then I dipped my Stirling Synthetic Brush in a bowl of hot water and squeezed out the excess water with my off hand. Finally I built up a lather on my arm shave stick style before attempting to whip up a lather with my brush and test for cushion and slickness.
2nd Test "The Bowl Lather" I dipped my brush hot water again after rinsing out the soap from my previous test and proceeded to lather directly on the bar with my brush for 45 seconds before whipping up a lather in my bowl for 45 to 60 sec adding water as need. Finally finishing by applying said lather to my arm to test for cushion and slickness. I really wanted to try to over load the brush to give each soap the best chance possible.
Here are the results of said tests.
- The Megababe Blade Bar:
Cost was $7.97 for a 4.4 Oz bar. This was by far the SLICKEST bar of the bunch and it was super slippery to keep your hands on ( not a good bar to get from the commissary if ya know you know ). As you can see in the attached photos the results from test 1 were less than stellar I could not whip up an acceptable lather directly on the skin or in my bowl with my brush. And it seemed like the brush robbed the soap of much of its "slickness". However I noticed if you apply the soap shave stick style and built up a lather with your hand the results were extremely similar to Cremo and other thin modern shaving creams. It was a thin and EXTREMELY slick lather. I think this bar would be a great option for those who shave their legs or like a thin but slick soap. The post lather feel was rather tight and dry on my skin but nothing little moisturizer couldn't fix. Expect to see and actual shave test with this bar soon!
- The Jukebox Vanilla on Vinyl
Cost was $4.97 for a 4.5oz bar. Well this was definitely the most moisturizing bar of the bunch and smelled great as well. Unfortunately that's where the good news ends. No method I attempted produced an even half decent lather lacking in both cushion and slickness. Will make a great shower bar/10
- Dove Mens+Care 3-n-1 bar.
Cost was $4.97 for TWO 3.75oz bars (7.5oztotal). This baby was "da bell of da ball!" Jesus christ brothers I did not expect this bar to actually be best of the bunch. I 100% expect this bar to be ass and to use it for showering then next few weeks, but instead both tests produce lathers that were slick and well cushioned. It was also the 2nd best moisturizing wise leaving my skin feeling pretty good. The 1st test produced an acceptable lather that was nice and slick and the 2nd test produce a thick whipped cream lather that had good cushion and slickness. And while not as good as a proper artisan soap like Stirling it is 100% good enough to shave with, and I will be doing a test shave with this soap tomorrow. If that test goes well I plan to use a cheese grater to grade the two pucks into an old Stirling shave jar and add it to my rotation for shits and giggles. This test honestly left me the most excited because it means I'll always have a dirt cheap back up for traveling or if I'm broke and rationing my artisan soaps. Also I can grate these bitches into an old stirling bowl and give to friends interested in wet shaving instead of ordering more samples from Stirling like I have been.
- Dr Bronner's Magic bar.
Cost $3.49 for a 5oz. Sadly it was the worse of the bunch. Like the Juke Box no method produced an acceptable lather and it wasn't as hydrating or as fragrant as I'd hoped. Will be reluctantly used as a bath bar/10
Anyway I hope yall enjoyed my little experiment and if you want to try lathering up and shaving with the same bar of soap you just washed your ass with like Granddad I can highly recommend the Dove 3-n-1 Extra Fresh bar. Hope yall have a good evening and smooth shaves!
My late grandfather was a bar soap straight shaver. Mainly out of affordable necessity because you can wash up, shave and even wash clothes. The Great Depression really affected my grandparents.
My great grandfather on my mother's side also used a bar, open comb brass Gillette, and abit of old spice to wrap it up. Unfortunately his open comb has gone missing :(. Plan to pick up an old open comb like his eventually. Was a fun experiment I plan to use the dove bar and my Gillette Slim Adjustable for tomorrow's SOTD.
The older soaps are or were pretty different from the modern mass produced varieties. It was definitely tallow based. Hard to find a new version that is good for the shaving.
Interesting! Did he use a Fels-Naptha/Zote style soap?
I don’t know. The last soap that my grandmother would buy was Mitchell’s bath soap bars. My grandfather would steal a bar for shaving.
Glycerine soaps can work really well. Whole Foods brand was really popular back when I started wet shaving forever ago.
And for anyone thinking to try Dr Bronners, add a drop or two of the liquid soap to your normal lather. It adds so much slickness. My old super lather was a squirt of Proraso green from the tube on top of Valobra soap with one drop of Bronners peppermint. Completely magical lather every time.
That sounds like a fun experiment. Right now im thinking of making a grated blend of the dove, a tallow based soap, and some glycerin as a fun experiment. Ive seen some guys on the B&B form do this and reported good results.
Get after it. I'm all for the cheap experiments given this all should be a cheaper way to shave and not hoarding or addiction.
Agreed so many of us got into this to get away from expensive cartridges only to spend hundreds on razors, soaps, blades, aftershaves, and if your inst straight razors like myself then stones.
Facts. Even if I've only had a max of 5 different soaps at a time, I've also gone through 3-4 different razors to find my favorite. Haven't bought much new in 10+ years though.
I feel like I've been pretty frugal in my 3 years of wet shaving. I rocked a Vanderhagen razor and stirling Synthetic for my first year and a half until I thrifted a Vintage Red Tip SS for $25 and a Slim Adjustable for $5 in fact the only new razor I own other than my Vanderhagen is my Ralf Aust Straight Razor which I picked up for $120. I also only ordered 2 soaps every 6 months because thats how long they generally last me. That was until my most current order this month. I went crazy and ordered 4. Honestly the most expensive thing of bought so far is honing stones for my straight razors but even those only added up to like $200 and allowed me to restore 3 Vintage straight razors I picked up for under $20 at my local antique store, so they've already returned on the investment savings wise. This hobby can be as affordable or as expensive as you want which is part of the fun. A $13 Bali razor and bar of dove can give a plenty good shave, but nicer items are out there if ya want them.
All the dove soaps are fantastic for shaving. I like the shea butter kind specifically but the sensitive type is more commonly used
Ill have get the shea butter to try next. I initially had it in my cart but swapped it for the 3-n-1
Most of those are meant to be used without a brush.
Just rub the soap hard on the wet skin. Then spread around with a very wet hand to produce thin "protolather".
That is it. Ready to shave.
The soap usage is high, but the protection and post-shave feel are excellent
The Megababe bar and Dove Mens worked great with that method unfortunately the other two didn't really. Gonna be fun to experiment them over the next few weeks
Yardley tallow bars shave fairly well.
I have a yardley my wife used as a shower bar however the modern packaging just said "may contain tallow" I'll have to pick a new one up for the next round of tests
Thank you for the write up! At home I have more than enough shaving soap as it is, but it's good to know that Dove soap could come in handy if I'm in the uncharted territory and need to chop those whiskers.
If anything its useful info for traveling. I prefer to take as little with me as possible on work trips. So knowing I can hand lather a bar in the hotel or while camping is pretty sick.
You don't need big crazy lather, you just need some lubrication. One of the best things I've ever shaved with was a face wash from a pump bottle. It's slippery as hell and It works. I still shave with 'shave' soaps because I like the scents better.
I recently found these expensive Italian soaps in a thrift store for $3. It's almond scented and I see online its about $20/bar. I'm going to compare it with Cella and some others one of these days.