'Hand made' soaps on bay of eee

T

TRXnMe

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Hi

Is anyone else using any of the cheap handmade shaving soaps available on the Bay of E?

I took a punt and got some of the orange & sandalwood and it's working rather well for a couple of quid delivered.

So, if anyone else has tried them, are they any good, or is it my inexperiencce of soaps that's making me think they are quite good value?

Linky

They have a few others which I'm thinking about getting hold of, the one with the ale smell is tempting the brewer in me no end :)
 
Personally I wouldn't bother, especially if you don't know what's in them.

From my experience of artisan soaps (from the internet or from local fairs) these soaps are just regular soaps and not suitable for shaving. Of course there will be exceptions but do you really want to spend time and money finding out which ones they are?

I'd recommend trying the plethora of soaps and creams from well-known shaving companies. Alternatively read up the many reviews soaps get on these forums. There is certainly a wide range albeit they mostly need to be bought over the internet instead of from shops. With a known brand you are getting a reliable product (although not guaranteed to work for you, e.g. Trumpers Eucris hard soap was a dead duck for me, even though it was expensive).
Even the expensive soaps/creams last so long they really are only pennies to use daily.

If you are looking for artisan soap I'd point you at Nanny's Silly Soap (especially soft soap) and Prof Blighty's glycerine soaps. They have a great working formula and so many varieties to try.
 
I'm not particularly looking for artisan soaps, or craft soaps or whatever the 'hip' term is tomorrow :)

I spotted them, thought oo, orange and sandalwood, only a couple of quid and had a punt. So far it seems to lather well and hasn't given me a rash which is a good result for a new soap and my skin. I'll definitely get more of that type as I'm enjoying it.

I'm also trying a few of the soaps suggested by the users of the forums, in the same way I'm trying different blades in my razor. It's part of the quest for the zen shave :D

I think the proraso menthol is probably next on my list, not really read much about the Nanny's until today and oddly I've spotted a few threads here and elsewhere that mentioned them.

I suppose I ought to get a 'pukka' sandalwood soap, the Taylor's one seems to get good reviews, and answer my own question by using it back to back with the stuff I've got...

Hmmm

I thought SAD was seasonal, not shaving, how expensive is this going to get now??
 
Are you looking for only soaps or for creams as well?

If you are worried about skin reactions, try getting some samples . I know Nanny's does samples and you can often get samples sets from the big name companies.

I have the TOBS sandalwood cream and highly rate it. I once thought it turned my face red but this hasn't been the case since so it must've been something else.
I rate all of the Proraso products so that would be a good standard to compare other soaps/creams against.

For me, I've found Tabac, NSS, Cella and Trumpers coconut cream to be excellent but YMMV.

How expensive will it get? It need not be expensive at all; but it probably will.

Have fun.
 
Well, I got a tub of Proraso white for my birthday, rather unexpeced as I'd not realised the Memsahib had made notice of my change of shaving practice :heart:

The cheap stuff off the bay is out performing the proraso so far in a test of 4 shaves with 2 each b y soap and one brush for consitency.

I strongly suspect my technique is a bit pants with the proraso as it's very highly rated by too many folk for my initial fidings to be right, but I'm happy my bargain soaps are working for my technique for now.

TOBS Sandalwood is on the christmas list, must resist using my money to get some before the 26th :)
 
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