What are the Best Shaving Soaps of 2017?

Traditional wet shaving still has thousands of loyal men who would never consider going back to modern razors and sprayed foam from a can. It’s easy to see why; there’s a certain history and allure to a traditional shave that is hard to compete with.

When you’re shaving with a safety razor or a straight blade it wouldn’t feel right to use a canned foam and so most men choose to use a thick puck of soap instead. This soap is brushed heavily with warm water to create a lather that is applied with the brush to your face.

Many of these soaps have been around for decades and in some cases, centuries. While there are newer soap companies, the major players have been using the same formula for a long time. Most men choose to stick to one soap once they’ve found what they prefer, but whether you’re new to shaving soaps or an old-hand looking for a new adventure, let us guide you through the best shaving soaps we could find.

Henry Cavendish Himalaya Soap

If you’ve read our shaving bowl review then you’ll know that we are huge fans of Henry Cavendish . All of their products are of great quality and it’s evident that they’ve put the hours in to test their products on real men.

This American Made soap creates an extremely rich and thick lather that is able to lubricate the skin and ensure that the blade glides rather than pulls. Some cheaper soaps quickly dry out and can also dry your skin with it, the Himalaya soap leaves your skin feeling luxurious and soft.

This product is made with all vegetable products including shea butter and soy, for many people they’ll be glad to hear that’s it’s free of animal products. Therefore, it’s not as traditional as some of the other soaps on this list with do include animal fat or tallow.

One thing we noticed is that it has almost no smell. We have read plenty of complaints from men about the smell of shaving soaps and so Henry Cavendish have been smart enough to make this as close to scentless as possible.

This is a 107g puck that should last you 3 - 6 months depending on how much you use and how regularly you shave. This makes it especially great value for money, it’s one of the cheaper soaps that we reviewed and creates an expensive feeling lather.

One key point that many men have mentioned in their reviews is that it is easy to generate a lather. Some harder triple-milled soaps are hard to lather up and for men who are new to using a hard, traditional soap this can be frustrating. This Himalaya soap appears to be aimed at the average man who is joining the world of wet shaving and they’ve done a fantastic job.

Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Soap

It’s an absolute delight to be able to include a soap by Taylor of Old Bond Street , they are an old English company that were established in 1854. As an Englishmen myself I would humbly say that the British are famous for their high-quality shaving soaps and brushes.

This sandalwood soap is made with glycerin which is sourced from either animal fat or vegetable oil. Due to this being from such a classic company we would image that it’s likely to be sourced from animal fat but we can’t confirm either way.

This soap also comes built into a handy wooden bowl which you can use to lather up the soap onto a brush before transferring to a separate mug or bowl to generate a full foam. This is a particularly hard triple-milled soap and so you’ll want to leave hot water on the soap for at least a few minutes to allow it to soften up. At this point you’ll need to brush quite hard to generate a sizable lather.

When you do manage to lather it up you’ll find that it is extremely thick. This and its ingredients make it the perfect shaving soap for sensitive skin. We believe that it’s likely to be the animal fat products that work better on dry skin that modern oil alternatives.

This soap has a strong but not overpowering scent of classic sandalwood, this should fade shortly after you wash the soap off your skin. For those of you looking for an ultra-classic shave then this is about as traditional as you can get.

Proraso Shaving Soap

Proraso is an Italian brand that was formed shortly after the war in 1948 to help men get a smooth shave. This Proraso “Green” soap is relatively soft and therefore will lather easily into a rich and creamy foam that will help your razor to glides across your skin.

It has a light and mellow scent that doesn’t linger and will disappear after being washed off. This is a great soap for a beginner because it comes in a slightly oversized container that is forgiving of any excess foam.

It’s also relatively easy to generate a lather compared to the soap by Taylor of Old Bond Street , making it a more enjoyable first experience for new users.

This Proraso soap is created using their own ‘hot soap’ technique which is then left to mature over a period of 10 days. During this time all of the liquid will evaporate and leave a solid puck of soap which is extremely concentrated.

It also contains eucalyptus which people believe helps to purify and tone the skin, along with menthol which provides a slight cooling feeling that you would expect from a ‘mint’ type product. If you’re new to traditional wet shaving and are looking for your first shaving soap then this would be a great option at this price point. It’s one of the cheaper soaps on this list and so it’s hard to go wrong.

Mitchell’s Wool Fat Shaving Soap

This is the ultimate classic shaving soap, made with traditional animal fat ingredients. They use the exact same formula to create the soap today as they did when they first started the company in England all the way back in 1893.

Mitchell’s has a rich history and their soap produces an even richer lather. The soap contains lanolin which is made from sheep, hence the name wool fat. Using traditional sheep fat instead of vegetable oils does create a different product and is extremely lubricating.

It’s hard to artificially create the same greasy and lubricating feeling that animal fat gives and Mitchell’s is the closest you’re going to get today to a traditional shaving experience.

The lather itself is thick and almost greasy, providing a nice layer for your razor to glide along. If you do have dry or sensitive skin then using traditional soaps may be better because the richness can prevent the razor from dragging along the skin. It’s even recommended by dermatologists because of the softness and soothing nature of the lanolin and other organic ingredients. Mitchell’s has become one of the go-to soaps for hardcore traditional shaving fans because of its heritage and the excellent products that they have.

Captain’s Choice Bay Rum Soap

This is a slightly more obscure soap that doesn’t have a lot of reviews. The reason that we wanted to include it in this list is to give those people who adore Bay Rum an option. Bay Rum aftershave has developed almost a cut following and those people are also looking to purchase soaps and deodorants that have a similar scent to the aftershave.

This soap by Captain’s Choice is scented with the exact some concentrate that is used in the Bay Rum aftershave and emulates it will.

The tub itself is extremely oversized at eight-ounces, with only five-ounces of soap in there. This means that you can comfortably lather the soap in the tub rather than having to transfer to a mug or a separate bowl.

Captain’s Choice use a vegetable-based glycerin rather than one formed from animal products. This vegetable base makes it soft compared to traditional triple-milled animal fat soaps. A soft soap combined with an oversized tub is the perfect combination for a beginner and with a modern and non-traditional scent it’s a great entry-level soap.

It’s not going to give you the same experience that a more traditional soap will but that’s not Captain’s Choice’s target market. This product is aimed at a younger audience who are becoming interesting in traditional wet shaving and are looking for non-intimidating, modern and convenient soap to use.

Men’s Soap Company Himalaya

This is a soap that we wanted to include because so many others have reviewed it recently. It’s a relatively new company and they are growing rapidly.

The soap is made entirely from natural ingredients and is a vegan shaving soap. It is primarily made of glycerin, coconut oil, castor oil, seed oil, shea butter and soy. It’s not the first all natural soap by any stretch, but what’s more surprising is how well it lathers.

We’ve seen photos of the lather possible and have read tens of rave reviews from happy customers, it seems that this is a very strong contender.

They even claim that you can whip up a thick and rich lather within just 15 seconds, that’s fast for even a semi-hard soap let alone a triple-milled soap such as this. With these ingredients it’s also likely to be extremely soft on the skin, leaving it moisturized and soft rather than dry and coarse as some soaps do.

Coconut oil and shea butter are used in many of the beauty industries top creams because of their moisturizing and softening qualities. In a shaving soap we imagine that this will make for a very moist lather that should help to prevent against any tugging of the skin and reduce the chance of cuts.

Most of all, this soap is interesting to us because the company is currently offering a unconditional satisfaction guarantee. They say that they will give you your money back if you don’t enjoy the soap. That’s putting your money where you mouth is.

It’s really fantastic to see a young company entering and holding their own in such an established industry where there has been almost no innovation over the past century. We’re excited to see what some of these newer companies can do to improve the way that we shave.

Conclusion: What's our Favorite Soap?

In conclusion, our favorite soap is the Henry Cavendish Himalaya Soap . We thought that it offered excellent value for money and a lather that is hard to rival. Yes, there are plenty of excellent soaps out there, but when forced to pick just one it’s hard to fault the Henry Cavendish.

It’s clear why this soap has sold tens of thousands of units, the brand name Henry Cavendish stands for quality and they never fail to deliver. The Himalaya has a great scent that isn’t overpowering and fades after washing off, it lathers excellently with just the right amount of resistance and it comes beautifully packaged. With coconut oil and shea butter it gently moisturizes the skin and prevents any irritation or dryness whilst shaving, leaving the skin smooth rather than oily.

An Introduction to the Best Shaving Soaps

The process of traditional wet shaving requires more time and money than modern shaving but it’s a completely different experience. Wet shaving is able to give you a closer shave that will not be rivaled, it’s also more comfortable because of the thick lather that’s created from a real shaving soap.

Wet shaving compared to regular shaving is a night-and-day, the difference is very noticeable and many men refuse to switch pack to modern shaving methods. In most cases, shaving soaps are used by men using safety razors and straight razors, but because traditional soaps offer a far superior lather compared to canned foam we would suggest that everybody uses soap. Even if you’re using cheap disposable razors you will be able to improve your shaving experience be using a traditional shaving soap.

What are the Different Types of Soap?

There are three main types of shaving soaps ; traditional three-milled, semi-hard and croap.

Traditional three-milled soaps are often produced by companies that have been around for many decades, although recently there have been newer companies creating traditional soaps too. This type of soap is an extremely hard and dense puck that is designed to be used with a classic brush to create a rich lather. This is the traditional method of shaving that men have been using for hundreds of years. All of the soaps on our list are triple-milled because this is the only ‘real’ soap in our opinion.

Secondly, you’ll find semi-hard soaps. These are much softer but still in the form of a puck. You can often lather these up just in your hand or with very little brush-work. We don’t like to deter from the traditional path, but a semi-hard soap is a good way to shave quickly without the time commitment that using a triple-milled soap requires.

Finally, we have the modern croap . This word is an amalgamation of the words ‘cream’ and ‘soap’, so I’m sure you can guess what it is. By having a far softer cream, you can apply it directly to the face without having to use a brush and bowl to generate a lather. This form of soap is becoming extremely popular with younger men who are becoming interesting in wet shaving because of its convenience.

For those of you who do decide to purchase a triple-milled puck, you’ll find there are two choices; with or without a container. Some of the soaps will come built into a small shaving bowl , but for those of you who prefer to use a shaving mug it’s preferable to buy a single puck without the bowl. If you’re new to shaving with a soap puck then we would suggest buying a puck with a container just for the sake of ease.

What Ingredients are in the Best Shaving Soaps?

With the hundreds of different soaps available it’s not surprisingly that there are a wide-range of different ingredient used. Traditional recipes were created with tallow, which is sourced from animal fat, this helped to make the lather soft and silky. Many men still prefer to use tallow-based soaps because they think that the lather is thicker and more silky than any modern soap can ever be.

However, more companies are moving away from animal products and choosing to use oils such as vegetable or coconut oil to give the glide to the foam. While there is some legitimacy to the theory that animal-based soaps do offer a superior lather, the main decision will come down to your own personal ethics and whether you would prefer to use a plant-based soap.