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Simply the best that I have found (and I have tried 4 others, including WalMart's). As much as I hate to admit it (me being a senior and on fixed income and all), it just is worth the few extra dollars for the quality of the facial lubrication and shave it offers. In fact, given how well this lathers with 3 flicks of a badger's brush, priced out per shave it may not cost more at all. Proraso does have that menthol scent that you have to like, or get used to, or both, but it is very tolerable and it does not seem to bother folks with perfume sensitivities. (We square dance, and you just can't have heavy scents in a room of sweaty old people on a southern night without somebody getting "the vapors"). So if you can use the less expensive stuff, congratulations. Otherwise, you can count on this Proraso.
Just received my Proraso shaving soap the other day and after my first shave with it i'm impressed.
I purchased it because of all the great reviews but wasn't sure what to expect from only a $10 shave soap.... i'm impressed.
Pros:
Smell was clean and refreshing
Nice menthol tingle feeling
Cleaned off razor and face with just a splash of water
Lathered Up Easy
Cons:
No cons about the soap just about the tub itself. It doesn't have a very good seal just be sure to clean up the tub before closing and putting it away.
The first time a cracked the lid, I was a little worried when I saw the soap inside. Its a very soft soap, and will give and compress under pressure. Almost holding a middle ground between a hard bar soap, and a stiff paste. I was worried that because of this texture, it would not last very long. The bowl is a little flimsy feeling, but the lid fits on it very securely. The smell is wonderful, the eucalyptus & menthol make it smell like a more masculine Noxzema.
It lathers quickly; and building a thick, dense, rich lather is very easy. The lather holds to your face very well, retaining its water nicely and not making a drippy mess. Because it does not take much pressure with the brush to build a nice lather, my worries of it not lasting very long have been dashed. A number of shaves in, and I have hardly put a dent in the amount of soap in the bowl.
The eucalyptus and menthol become very apparent as the lather soaks in to your whiskers, providing a pleasant cooling tingle. It is not an intense feeling like some mentholated products, but the menthol it makes it's presence known.
When the steel meets the skin, it cushions and lubricates the blade very nicely. Even with the normally unforgiving Feather blades, it provided a nice smooth shave with little irritation (even after re-lathering and making a second pass against the grain).
It rinses cleanly and easily, and when paired with a good aftershave, leaves my skin feeling tight and toned. It doesn't seem to hang around, clogging up pores.
Overall; If you have not tried Proraso, I would recommend giving it a shot. I have had many people recommend it to me in the past, but I just never got around to picking it up. I have been wet shaving for many years, and wish I had tried this product much sooner; It is fast becoming my favorite shave soap.
I shave with a Gillette 1-9 adjustable DE razor, and am currently using Feather blades.
As I move into this new frontier known as DE shaving I'm glad to have found this soap. The Proraso shaving soap arrived quickly and I couldn't wait to try it out. I was able to work up a nice lather without much work (or knowledge). The smell was great, not over bearing and very enjoyable. As my first soap I don't think I could have made a better choice, but then again I'm a it is my only soap so what do I know? If you're starting out and you want an easy to use, fresh smelling, make your face feel good shaving soap look no further than this one.
I bought Williams shaving soap, this Taylor soap, Mitchell Sheep Fat shaving soap, Proaraso shaving soap in the green plastic container, and gave them all a 4.
The Willaims was super cheap and does better than fine, and cleans great. If you don't have sensitive skin, it works great. My skin is sensitive.
The Taylor soap smells unbelievably of sandalwood. I'd buy it just to put in the bath and slop it with some water every now an then for the odor. It is less soft/smooth shave than the Mitchell or Proraso, but smoother than the Williams., and the smell is unbelievable. They put the real stuff in it. It does not leave my skin as comfortable as the Mitchell or Proraso soaps.
The Mitchell Wool Fat soap was smoothest on my skin and softened my hair the most. It does not make as thick a lather, but I did not find that a problem, hitting myself with the brush when/where needed. It left my skin the most comfortable after I used it— with visible the irritation and burning I feel after shaving disappearing most quickly with this soap. The Proraso soap was the least irritating while shaving, but I believe it has something like mint oil in it to deaden the skin a bit.
The Proraso soap was the most comfortable to use, probably because it has a small amount of mint oil (which I can smell) and deadens the skin a bit. It left my skin almost as undamaged as the Mitchell, and shaved with less stinging. The Proraso is cheaper, but is less dense, and more of it seems to get used up when you shave. I suspect it will be the same cost as the Taylor and Mitchell in the end.
I seem to be using the Mitchell the most, sine it has a soft shave, but if my face is burning a bit already, I use the Proraso, since the mint calms all that down. I love the smell of the Taylor soap and use it preferentially when my face does not have any burning on it. Oddly, I am using the Willliams soap as bath soap. It works better at cleaning than the bath soap I buy in the store and is roughly the same price. If my skin was not sensitive, I would use the WIlliams. Much cheaper and I used it as shaving soap for years.
Feature Product
- Made in Italy
- 5.2 oz (147 g)
- New Formulation
Description
Proraso Shaving Soap in a Bowl - Refresh 150ml/5.2oz
As a wet shaver of about 3 years, I'd heard of this soap before. I'd heard stories of its cooling, refreshing properties and how it's a classic and staple of every wet shaver's shave den. I picked up this soap, along with the pre/post shave cream, and gave it a shot. Firstly, after a good hit face wash, I applied the pre/post cream. The tingle begins. I'd read it's best to let this stuff sit on the face for a minute or to to "work". After about 5 seconds it was like an artic blast hit my face. I begin the lather process, which is different from other shave soaps. This is more of a "croap" as its softer than your usual puck of soap, but much firmer than a cream. About 10 seconds of loading the brush is PLENTY. I prefer face lathering over a bowl, so I start building the lather. I'm using hot enough tap water that it steams, but all I feel is the icy numbness of menthol. That sensation, or lack thereof depending on how you choose to see it lasted through all three passes, and there was still enough soap left in the brush to do at least another 3 passes. After rinsing off, I applied a tiny bit of the pre/post cream as an aftershave, and the effects are not as noticable. About 15 minutes after the shave, the menthol is wearing off and I feel zero irritation or dryness. I'll buy this stuff as long as Proraso makes it!
I thought I wasn’t going to like it when I first opened the bowl of soap. It smelled like Christmas trees. However....once I hit it with my badger brush and a little water..magic. The menthol feels really good on my face. The smell is mild while shaving, but not like Christmas trees. Maybe the water wakes something up. Incredibly easy to get a great lather with. I’ve used the Proraso red cream in the past and have zero complaints. I think this soap allows for a little bit closer shave. I did notice that the shave is a tiny bit closer without using the preshave.
100% satisfied with this product.
Great shaving soap. Smells great, works well, very few complaints
The one thing worth mentioning is that when you first use it, it gives you a rich, velvety, creamy lather. The more of it you use though, the less of a lather you get and it becomes more of a light soap suds. It's like when you've used most of a bar of soap and it's not very soapy and more and just hard and waxy. I've started to accept this and now I just throw out the last 1/4 of the soap. Even when I only use 3/4 of the contents though it lasts a LONG time, my guess would be 6-8 months, so it's not a really big deal. I think this is just the nature of soap and there's not much they can do to avoid this, except maybe sell it in smaller amounts.
BACKGROUND: I recently switched over to a safety razor for the cost benefits (I used dollar shave club and got tired of paying over ten dollars a month in razors). First off, the shave butter I came to love did no good with a safety razor. So I purchased some proraso shave soap (mainly because I love the after shave they make).
I instantly fell in love with the soap. It took a little while to learn how to properly use a safety razor and how to properly lather up the soap, but once you get that down you will find that this soap helps bring the closest, most comfortable shave you will ever have. the menthol and oils in the soap soothe as the blade goes across your face.
The great benefit is that this soap comes in its own lather bowl (though I do build up a lather and then move the lather to the lid to finish it out). I have been using this stuff for about a month of daily shaving and have barely dented the stuff. You get a lot for the money. It's a great value and is great for the face with the oils and menthol. leaves very few, if any, burns on the face.
Overall a solid shaving cream. My go to shaving cream has always been Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood scented. This Proraso does not nearly smell as good to me as the sandalwood TOBS cream. It does give you a nice tingling sensation on your neck and face however, which the TOBS does not. I don't think it lathers quite as well and is overall a bit thicker. I would rank this as number 2 when compared with the TOBS. I have also tried the Proraso cream that comes in a tube and was not a fan. I would definitely recommend the Proraso bowl over the tube.
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