The Best Shaving Soap for Safety Razor
By Kings of Today | Updated Oct 09, 2019
In 2018, the beard was no longer a trend. It’s the age of the shaven chin (source) which means getting out the best shaving soap for your safety razor.
The trend started when Clooney got rid of his beard last year and Brad Pitt has limited his facial hair to a light goatee (source). Eddie Redmayne has never had a beard and championed hair-free faces forever.
Linked with this new trend is the care of our skin (source). Those who want to now display their new hair-free jawline will want to have good skin. Which is why there is likely to be an increase in demand for shaving soap for sensitive skin.
The Best Shaving Soap for Safety Razor Quick Review
| Product | Best For | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Men's Himalaya Shaving Soap | Starting Product | |
| 2. Maison Lambert Shaving Soap | Most Popular | |
| 3. Williams Mug Shaving Soap, 10.5 Ounce | Value | |
| 4. Henry Cavendish Lavender Shaving Soap | Vegetarians | |
| 5. Arko Shaving Soap Stick | Travelling |
Top Choice: Men's Himalaya Shaving Soap
This shaving soap offers a mild and delightful scent while you shave, while being made from all natural products.
Why Do You Need Shaving Soap for a Safety Razor?
You might not think of using shaving soap but there’s a lot of benefits to it when grooming. During your shave, the soap softens and lifts the beard up. This allows for a close and comfortable shave. It also gives more protection for your skin, this is great if you have sensitive skin or are prone to irritation and razor burn.
When you’ve finished shaving, you’ll also find your skin feels extra smooth and conditioned. You’ll be ready for the day ahead. It’s also good to know that using shaving soap is more environmentally friendly than using aerosol shaving products (source).
How Do You Shave Like a Pro?
If you want to have a great shave with a safety razor and soap or cream, then you should follow these quick and easy instructions.
First you need to get the right shaving products. A shaving brush is necessary when you’re using shaving soap with a safety razor. You’ll also need a shaving bowl. This should be a short wide bowl to get better results. Finally you’ll need some of the best value shaving soap.
Once you’ve got all the items together, you should soak your shaving brush. This can be done by filling your shaving bowl with clean, warm water and leaving the brush in there to soak for a few minutes.
While the shaving brush is soaking, you should soften the shaving soap. To do this, add a few drops of warm water to the top of the soap. You can leave it for a while.
When the brush is is thoroughly soaked, you should flick off any excess water to ensure it doesn’t drip. Then empty out the bowl of the water, leaving about a teaspoon of water.
Now you need to build up the lather. This is done by taking your brush and swirling it over the soap for about ten or fifteen seconds. Then you can transfer the brush with the lather to the bowl.
Using little pressure, whip up a lather in the bowl. It’s important here not to put too much pressure on the brush. This can often cause damage to the bristles and some may break off.
This will cause irritation in the skin when shaving as they may mix in and accidentally get transferred to your face.
After about one minute, your lather should start to build up. The more swirls you’ve done in that minute will determine the thickness of the lather. If the lather is still bubbly, continue to swirl, it should be thick to apply.
If you’re struggling to get that full lather, you can add a little more water but don’t apply more pressure. Also be sure not to add too much water to the lather.
When you have a lather that is thick, you can start to apply it to your face. This is done by coating your brush evenly with the cream and applying it slowly and evenly to your face.
It should take about a minute to completely apply the lather to your face. Don’t use circular motions to apply the lather, instead try to go back and forth.
You can stop applying the lather when it’s evenly spread on your face in a generous layer. By brushing on a lather from a shaving soap, you can ensure the cream gets right down to the surface of your skin. This will lift and suspend your facial hair in the cream so it’s ready for cutting.
What Do You Need to Look for in a Shaving Soap?
The best value shaving soap doesn’t mean the cheapest. Quality, when it comes to shaving soap is much more important than just price, and there are lots of things to look out for when buying.
Fat & Glycerine Content
Whether it’s vegetable or tallow, your shaving soap should have a high level of fat. It should also contain lots of glycerine. Glycerine is better when it has been derived from vegetable oil as this will better lock in water and hydrate your skin.
It will also soften your beard and leave your skin moisturized. The fat is an essential component because it provides lubrication and protection for your skin during the shaving process. You’ll also find that the higher the fat content the better lather you can get.
Scent
This is probably something that you’re already aware of, but scent is very important when you’re choosing your shaving soap. If you’re looking for the best shaving soap for sensitive skin, then we recommend you stay away from fragrant shaving soaps.
However, if you don’t have sensitive skin, then you can choose from a wide range of fragrances. Some of the most popular ones have been almond, eucalyptus, sandalwood, cedar, mint, lavender, rose and lemon.
Don’t worry about these scents remaining. These usually wash off when you’ve finished shaving. They just add a nice aroma as you shave.
Price
Price isn’t always indicative of quality, although lower priced bargain bin brands can cost less, but they generally aren’t anything more than a bath soap. They will therefore offer little protection and you’ll be unable to get that satisfying lather for your shave.
Brand
You don’t have to stick to the big-name household brands you’ll find at the local drugstore, but a reputable brand is important when it comes to choosing your shaving soap. Good brands have built a strong following, don’t rely on expensive marketing tricks and have excellent reviews.
The Best Shaving Soap for Safety Razor Review
1. Men's Himalaya Shaving Soap
This shaving soap offers a mild and delightful scent while you shave, while being made from all natural products.
For those looking to regularly shave off stubble, then this might be the product for you. The Men’s Soap Company offer here a lovely shaving soap that has a high level of glycerine in it. Therefore, your skin is protected against the blade of your safety razor.
The earthy aroma, while mild is still pleasant and it doesn’t hang around too long after you’ve shaved. Therefore, if you have a favourite aftershave that isn’t a similar fragrance, you’re still free to use it.
This is also a great shaving soap if you’ve never shaved before or used another soap. It feels fresh on the skin.
- All natural ingredients.
- Lasts a long time.
- Great at moisturising skin.
- Melts when too hot.
- Can be hard to lather.
- Scent can be too mild.
2. Williams Mug Shaving Soap, 10.5 Ounce
A traditionally used shaving soap that has stood the test of time. It creates a lovely lather for new and old users.
We mentioned that brand is one of the most important factors when choosing a shaving soap and this soap certainly matches that requirement. Williams have been around since 1840 and they’ve almost perfected their shaving soap as a consequence.
The soap creates a thick, luscious lather that is great for all skin types, especially those with sensitive skin.
The lack of fragrance may put some people off, but considering fragrances don’t remain after the shave, there’s little lost here.
What’s really great about this product is the long lasting lather it creates. Some will dry quickly, but if you like to take time to lather, this product will be great for you.
- Creates a great lather.
- Lather is long lasting.
- Does not dry on face.
- Limited scent in soap.
- Requires skill in building lather.
3. Henry Cavendish Lavender Shaving Soap
Ensure your skin is moisturised at the end of a shave with this shaving soap product that is 100% vegetable based.
This product comes in stylish packaging that looks great in any bathroom. And with it being 100% vegetable based, it is perfect for those concerned about animal products in their shaving products.
This is a great product for those looking to take time to shave in the morning. To get the best lather you might want to soak the soap for up to an hour before you plan to shave. Drying this product is easy as it will dry when left out and can be reused when you need to shave again.
It is possible to get your lather with the technique we described above, but this can sometimes result in a poorer lather which doesn’t lubricate as well.
There is almost no scent with this product. Which makes it a great choice for those with sensitive skin.
- 100% vegetable based.
- Can last six months.
- Stylish product packaging.
- Almost no scent.
- Not a good lubricant.
4. Maison Lambert Shaving Soap
Those who are concerned about harmful chemicals in shaving soaps will be pleasantly surprised by this scent-free shaving soap.
With no scent in the shaving soap and no harmful chemicals, this is a great option for those with really sensitive skin. The lather is really good and helps to moisturise and protect the skin during a shave and the blade will feel as if it’s gliding across your face.
Those behind this product have taken a lot of effort to make sure this shaving soap is for everyone. It is hand-made using French techniques from all natural products. Therefore, it’s a completely vegan shaving soap.
Those with dry skin will also be pleasantly surprised by how this shaving soap adds moisture to your skin.
- Contains all vegan ingredients.
- No artificial ingredients.
- Easy on sensitive skin.
- Smell is medicinal.
- Hard to get a thick lather.
5. Arko Shaving Soap Stick
A shaving soap that’s perfect for those looking to shave while on their travels. This little product gives you the precise amount you need for each shave.
This is a great shaving soap for those who like to travel and shave while away. The product comes with 12 sticks. This is really good as it stops wasting your shaving soap.
Each stick is individually wrapped, so taking one or two away for shaving is simple and doesn’t take up too much room.
In addition, the lather you can create is really good. It helps to lubricate and moisturise the skin, which allows you to have a great feeling shave.
This is probably the most fragrant shaving soap on the list, which is nice if you want a lovely scent but if you have sensitive skin, it might not be suitable.
- Separated into handy portions.
- A lovely fragrance.
- Easy for travelling.
- Limited number of uses.
- Not great for sensitive skin.
The Best Shaving Soap for a Safety Razor Is..
In my opinion the best value shaving soap is the Men's Himalaya Shaving Soap. It has the best fragrance without being overpowering and the lather it creates is perfect for sensitive skin.
The feel on the skin is also pleasant. For the price, it is also quite good and you certainly feel as if you’ve got value for money.
