In use, in stock and in the pipeline

Burgundy

Burgundy

Messages
2,403
Location
Hampshire, UK
I must confess to reading SOTD regularly... every day. As well as ogling the pretty pictures and lusting after a vintage razor or several, what I really pay attention to is the soap or cream that people use. Especially when cross referring to the Acquisitions thread. It's got me thinking about the different philosophies we all seem to have about using soaps. I haven't noticed that any of us are of the functional, spartan mindset of using one soap and one soap only (although this may be a desired 'endgame' for some). On the other side of the coin, I can't think of anyone who has as many open soaps as weeks there are in a year. At the same time, some members prefer to have only a small selection of soaps open at any one time whereas others have no qualms with having a multitude of open soaps on the go.

I myself have presided over a proliferation of product over a period of months - both in rotation (open) and in stock (unopened). (Sorry, got carried away with alliteration!). I've gone from 1 soap to 11 (not including duplicates/replacements) with plans for 3 more - but only 6 open. I have some bizarre aversion to opening too many that strikes me as perfectly rational. To some that'll be modest whereas to others it'll be OTT. What do you do then? Basically, to what extent has SCAD/SSAD got a grip on you and how's it playing it? Do you have a preference for soaps or creams? Are you a hoarder or a Spartan? Do you have a strict rotation (i.e. Tabac on Monday, Cella on Tuesday etc) or do you pick whatever jumps out at you from the cupboard as you wet the brush? What other soap habits do you have?

For what it's worth:
  • In use: Cella; La Toja soap stick; Mitchell's Wool Fat; Proraso green soap; Proraso white soap; Speick cream
  • In stock: Geo F Trumper Coconut Oil cream; Institut Karité soap; Lea soap stick; Palmolive soap stick; Speick soap stick
  • In the pipeline: Martin de Candre; Valobra stick; Vitos Extra Super Coconut
 
I have something like thirty, all in use to some extent. I don't have a soap rotation, though I do have micro-rotations for certain related soaps (eg when I feel like a Harris soap, I use the top one of the three and put it back on the bottom). I have recently adopted two "rules": I use a stick when the Chubby 2 comes up, because I think they suit it, and a cream when one if my two High Mountain brushes comes up, as otherwise the creams would sit unused. Other than that it's all whim, whereas razors and brushes are systematic.

At the moment my three menthol soaps and one cream aren't getting used, for climatic reasons...
 
I suspect for most, one facilitates the other in that if you're a regular SOTD poster you use a larger variety of products & kit. That isn't a criticism just an observation but for me I no longer rotate frequently because I simply get better results with increased familiarity so I'll stick with the same combo for months.
 
i tend to use the same soap for a week or so then change to whatever i feel like using, i'm just looking to find my total favourites. Once those have been found, i'll off load the rest.

In Use: Mitchells Wool Fat, VITOS Coconut, Proraso Menthol Soap
Open used sometimes: TOBS Jermyn Street Soap, Trumpers Coconut Soap, Palmolive Shave Stick, TOBS Jermyn Street Cream
In Stock Unopened: Cella, Proraso Tea & Oat Soap, Proraso Menthol Soap, Palmolive Shave Stick, TOBS Coconut Cream
In the Pipeline: Maybe a few different shave sticks.
 
In use: Knize Ten, T&H Rose Cream and MWF
In stock: 3 refills of Knize Ten, 6 MWF and 24 Palmolive sticks
Pipeline: Valobra, Wilkinson Sword & Speick sticks
 
I'm really straightforward and I'll generally have one soap on the go for a long time with one or two more that get an occasional use just for a change, at the moment I have:

In daily use: T+H Grafton cream.
Occasional use: L'Occitane Cade soap, Godrej original cream.
In Stock: Nothing
In the pipeline: Nothing really, though I'll order another pot of T+H by the end of the year, probably lavender.
Mothballed: Arko stick, Penhaligons hard soap. Didn't like either. They now live in a drawer in the bedroom.
 
I use three Vito's coconut & almond, GFT cream coconut oil, and Simpsons, I won't be renewing the creams but will be getting the Vito's again, plus I'm waiting on the Nanny's Cedarwood & Vetiver hard soap.

Jamie.
 
In daily use: everything I have
In stock: about fifty soaps and creams (quite a few different brands/manufacturers)
In the pipeline:
to buy - La Toja, Speick, Castle Forbes, T&H... anything, really.
bought and being shipped now: creams Palmolive lemon cream, Old spice cream, Axe Denim cream, Godrej limes cream, Dettol Fresh and Cool creams
bought but not yet opened: Scent from Heaven almond, Jean Paul Gaultier-style and Coconut soaps (all the same base formula).
I have a few favourites but these tend to change depending on which way the wind's blowing.
 
In use shaving creams: Erasmic
In use post shave balm: Body Shop razor relief - the last few drops, Edwin Jagger Sea Buckthorn post shave lotion.
In stock shaving creams: 1 tube of Trumpers Spanish Leather shaving cream, 1 tube of Body Shop Maca Root shaving cream
In stock post shave balms: 1 tube of King of Shaves post shave balm, 1 tube Bulldog post shave balm.

Shaving creams in the pipe line: Proraso Sandlewood, Trumpers Eucris, D R Harris Coconut oil, D R Harris Arlington, Palmolive cream, Wilkinson Sword soap bowl.
 
In use: Bluebeard's Revenge Shaving Cream, GFT Coconut Oil Cream and DR Harris Marlborough Soap
In stock: GFT West Indian Limes Cream, Prof's Harlequin Soap, Arko Stick, Arko Sensitive Cream, Palmolive Stick and Tube
In the pipeline: TOBS Jermyn St, Cella, MWF and Razorock
 
In use pre-shave: Nuage Men shaving oil.
In use creams: Erasmic (new formula), Cowshed Bullocks Smooth shaving cream (brushless).
In stock creams: WARS, Supermax Ultimate, Ingram.
In use soaps: MWF (in it's Kent guise), GFT almond, Palmolive stick, Arko Stick.
In Stock soaps: Palmolive stick.
In use AS splash: Barbershop Bay Rum.
In use AS balm: RSC.

Nothing in the pipeline as such, but have things in mind for when I need to restock or, more likely, can't resist an addition to the stable any longer.
 
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