Pick the One Soap You'd Recommend to a Newbie

[Len]

Dismissing cost as a variable, what is the one soap that you would purchase as a gift or recommend to either a boy just beginning to wet shave, or a man just making the transition to traditional wet shaving (TWS)?

You can pick your own criteria, but mine, for a newbie, are as follows:

1. Must have great cushion + protection as a level of added security.

2. Must lather well or relatively easily so the poor chap doesn't give up on TWS for lack of getting a proper lather.

3. Lather must be stable/thick/hydrated throughout the entire shave.

4. Scents should be relatively mild and classic that are more or less universally enjoyed.

5. Must be a soap you wouldn't tire of day after day, lacking any other rotation. Consistent and reliable.

There are a few that come to mind here for me, but only one that pops to the forefront and really sticks:

Czech & Speake: Oxford & Cambridge

This is the most protective soap I own, best cushion, bar none. This is a Valobra soap, so any in this family (Valobra, Czech & Speake, old AOS tallow) is going to offer the same performance. Thick, creamy, and stable, this soap could be known as "old reliable" in my den. If I'm ever trying a new razor I'm unsure of, this is the soap I want protecting me. If I ever have any doubts about not getting a safe shave, this is the soap I grab. It just works, and works really, really well...

The scent of the O&C traditional lavender is light, mild, classic, masculine, refined, and soothing. It is the one scent I have in a soap that I could never see myself tiring of, and I can't imagine how anyone could not enjoy this scent.

Overall, this soap is in my top five of all time, and if I was forced to give up every other soap but one, I might be the most hesitant about giving up this one.

So, what is the one soap you would first give to your son just beginning to shave, or would recommend to a new convert (price considerations excluded)?

 

[Bigboar]

Proraso. Tried and tested, a real heavyweight performer for both newbs and seasoned pro's.

Greg

 

[dowsing]

I was going to say Tabac, but it's not really a mild scent. Even so I'd probably still pick it.

My next choice would be Haslinger.

 

[Hexagrapher]

I'm having great shaves at the moment with Phoenix & Beau Unscented and Wickham 1912 Unscented Vegetal Shaving Soap so they would have to be named. I've used Mitchell's Wool Fat for years and years and love it too. Martin De Candre Unscented is wonderful stuff and I think I'd happily recommend it to anyone without fear.

I'm not going to pick one of these four any better than the others because that would be unfair. They're all products which are equally great.

 

[Nishy]

Speick or Haslinger

 

[flobberdob]

For someone starting out I would say a cream would be a better option.

TOBS sandalwood. Enough said.

 

[Burgundy]

Speick cream.

 

[sɐǝɹpu∀]

De Vergulde Hand or Speick. Cella and Tabac might too scented. Castle Forbes, if it can be a little bit softer.

 

[Nishy]

De Vergulde Hand or Speick. Cella and Tabac might too scented. Castle Forbes, if it can be a little bit softer.

Forgot about Vergulde Hand. Excellent choice.

 

[Hexagrapher]

I forgot to mention it earlier, because I haven't used it in a long time, but Institut Karite was a good soap for me.

 

[wazza]

I'd go for Proraso Green. Easy peasy to lather and for me, great shaves and moisturising.
I know you said regardless of cost but if some one was dubious then it isn't going to brake the bank. Also there's 'better' soaps to upgrade too.

 

[Dzia Dzia]

L&L. Easy to lather slick as a whistle. Scents are just what they claim to be.

Don

 

[Nick_S]

Any of the classically influenced scents from Phoenix & Beau or OSP Both offer sublime performance.

 

[R181]

I'd grate them up a stick or two of Palmolive into a bowl for them to use. It is easy to lather, the lather produced leaves nothing to be desired plus it has a classic and mild scent. It will also drive the point home to a newbie that you need not speed a ton of dough on a shave soap/cream, unless you want to, to be able to get a close comfortable shave.

If I could nit pick the OP's #3 criteria, I would say that most if not all soaps/creams that I have tried will produce a "stable/thick/hydrated throughout the entire shave" . That is more dependent on the shavers ability to lather properly than the soap/cream itself.

Bob

 

[Len]

If I could nit pick the OP's #3 criteria, I would say that most if not all soaps/creams that I have tried will produce a "stable/thick/hydrated throughout the entire shave" . That is more dependent on the shavers ability to lather properly than the soap/cream itself.

Precisely. Just about all soaps can be made to keep a stable lather with time and practice. However, for a newbie, who has little "ability to lather properly", I'd want to recommend a soap to him starting off that is foolproof, and does not take too much skill or practice to have master a finicky lather. The more difficult to make lathers can come later. And yes, this is a quality of the soap itself.