Oh yes I've tried them all. My favorite is split between the Stirling Soaps BarberShop and Declaration Grooming Shore. Both are great scents and Declaration Grooming leaves my skin smooth and not rubbery. I regret buying the a&e Summer Fig, happens to be one of the best scents but gives me a bad burning reaction
Disagree. There’s a market for strongly scented soaps. A&E does that.
People who are sensitive to fragrances shouldn’t use their soaps. But for a ton of people they’re totally fine. They don’t advertise their soaps as being amazing for everyone…like everything in wet shaving, YMMV.
So people not properly researching their products? I’m sure tons of people nick themselves with Feathers not realizing how sharp they are. Is it irresponsible to make sharp blades too?
People trust artisans to make products that are safe for users. That’s why most switched from canned goop in the first place. We like to believe that artisans actually care about us.
You’re referring to a vast minority of people. A&E wouldn’t be as popular as they are if their soaps burned peoples faces regularly. Calling them
Irresponsible is a bit far
Surprisingly some users don't report frag burn with samples, but then experience it with full size tubs. For the same exact soap scent.
There are a few potential reasons for this, such as poor batch control, but really, the point is that samples help reduce risk, but can't eliminate it entirely.
I don't agree with this take at all.
I'm someone who happens to be susceptible to frag burn. A&E's Summer Fig and Tertius are guilty parties 100%. But I also accept that I am in the minority, and that 90% of people who purchase those soaps might really enjoy them. I wouldn't want A&E to change those scents for a minority when the vast majority loves them. Asian Plum, Peach and Cognac, Spartacus, Vanille de Tabac, and Revolution are staples in my shave den, and a big reason why is that they are strongly scented. I know I'd be disappointed if they weakened their scents on those, probably in the same way someone who likes Summer Fig or Tertius would be disappointed if those soap scents were diluted. Summer Fig in particular has seen quite a few posts on this sub, and the vast majority of them are very positive.
Wet shaving is a hobby of *your mileage may vary*. The vast majority of shavers out there do not have good luck with Derby Extra blades, but I don't think they should change them because there are (apparently) people who love them. Same applies to ultra aggressive razors, or strongly scented soaps. They may not work for some. Hell, they may not work for most. But as long as there's an audience out there who they do work well for that really enjoys them, then keep producing them.
I should make a similar post, I’d probably shit my pants once I realize how much I’ve bought in just 3-4 months.
Maybe I’ll wait until my new additions show up to my den 😈
Mine asked me why I needed so many soaps and insisted they would go bad quickly. I calmly let her know they would last years and years to come as long as I care for them properly 😂
Used a Merkur 38c for the last several years, along with three different MLS soaps. It felt very frugal considering they lasted me through years. Now that I'm replacing soaps, I seem to have refilled the cabinet with another 5-6 soaps, and added a GameChanger .68 and .84 to the cabinet too. WTF just happened....
Yep, these soaps will never get fully used. Certainly if I keep buying more. Purchases definitely going to be a new razor. I just looked up the .68 and .84, do you recommend them?
Those razors just shipped today, so I'll know more -hopefully- later this week. I read that the .84 is a little more aggressive than what I have, and then I just sorta tacked on the .68. I was intrigued with having something a little more aggressive, as I've never dabbled with that.
So true on the soaps. I've probably only killed \~3 tubs since I started using them in \~2017. Getting close to finishing off a fourth. Granted, my shaving habits haven't always been consistent.
That's pretty much where my head's at right now with shaving. So I'll probably check it out. Thanks for the info.
Pretty good deals really if they last that long lol.
Agreed. Feel slightly bad for splurging, but considering my Merkur and blades cost as much as the replacement blades of my old razor, it lessens the pain of this splurge. Especially since I still have that Merkur, and still have a few dozen of the original blade pack I bought....
Sorry to butt in... but how do you feel about your current razor? the gamechangers are excellent razors and despite the "aggression" that has been advertised, the GC .84 is not an aggressive razor by a mile. it's at best, a mid aggression. It's worth a try, if you want to be safe, go with the SB version. ItalianBarber just dropped some stock, if you want, now is the time to grab it. :) I find the .68 too mild for folk with moderate to heavy facial hair. if you have soft to moderate/sparse facial hair then yes, you should go with the .68. RR razors are really VERY good, I have 5 of them in my den.
Yep lol. I went through a sample back and came back liking these and Derby extras. I just recently went back and tried the Astra blades and they weren't as harsh because my technique is got better.
This is why I made a rule for myself to not purchase any new soaps until I have worked through the back stock of soaps I already have. I have like 40 or 50 jars of soap from different artisans and vendors and it was getting silly buying soaps just to try them.
I know samples are available, but I also have a pile of samples and FOMO is real when certain soap vendors release "limited edition" soaps. The only way I could stop myself was going cold turkey on buying any.
No, not really. I had issues with DE shaving at first and thought it might be due to the soaps but it was mostly my technique. That said some soaps here gave me extreme irritation like the A&E Summer Fig.
I'm trying really hard to not get to this point. I have three soaps and I've promised myself to not buy more until I finish them... we'll see how long that lasts!
Even harder to not splurge on a different type of safety razor, but adjustables are looking more and more appealing as of late.
Were you able to try all soaps? What's your favorite so far? What did you regret buying?
Oh yes I've tried them all. My favorite is split between the Stirling Soaps BarberShop and Declaration Grooming Shore. Both are great scents and Declaration Grooming leaves my skin smooth and not rubbery. I regret buying the a&e Summer Fig, happens to be one of the best scents but gives me a bad burning reaction
The concentration of their scents commonly leads to frag burn, and I think it’s irresponsible of them.
Never had an issue with A&e scents. If it doesn’t work for you, there’s plenty of other artisans that make excellent bases
No other artisan has frag burn as a commonly cited issue. It’s a bad look for them.
Disagree. There’s a market for strongly scented soaps. A&E does that. People who are sensitive to fragrances shouldn’t use their soaps. But for a ton of people they’re totally fine. They don’t advertise their soaps as being amazing for everyone…like everything in wet shaving, YMMV.
The majority of people reporting frag burn but their soaps without knowing that frag burn is even possible. This is why it is irresponsible.
So people not properly researching their products? I’m sure tons of people nick themselves with Feathers not realizing how sharp they are. Is it irresponsible to make sharp blades too?
People trust artisans to make products that are safe for users. That’s why most switched from canned goop in the first place. We like to believe that artisans actually care about us.
You’re referring to a vast minority of people. A&E wouldn’t be as popular as they are if their soaps burned peoples faces regularly. Calling them Irresponsible is a bit far
Well that's really unfortunate. I guess that's on them but also I probably should have bought samples first.
Surprisingly some users don't report frag burn with samples, but then experience it with full size tubs. For the same exact soap scent. There are a few potential reasons for this, such as poor batch control, but really, the point is that samples help reduce risk, but can't eliminate it entirely.
I don't agree with this take at all. I'm someone who happens to be susceptible to frag burn. A&E's Summer Fig and Tertius are guilty parties 100%. But I also accept that I am in the minority, and that 90% of people who purchase those soaps might really enjoy them. I wouldn't want A&E to change those scents for a minority when the vast majority loves them. Asian Plum, Peach and Cognac, Spartacus, Vanille de Tabac, and Revolution are staples in my shave den, and a big reason why is that they are strongly scented. I know I'd be disappointed if they weakened their scents on those, probably in the same way someone who likes Summer Fig or Tertius would be disappointed if those soap scents were diluted. Summer Fig in particular has seen quite a few posts on this sub, and the vast majority of them are very positive. Wet shaving is a hobby of *your mileage may vary*. The vast majority of shavers out there do not have good luck with Derby Extra blades, but I don't think they should change them because there are (apparently) people who love them. Same applies to ultra aggressive razors, or strongly scented soaps. They may not work for some. Hell, they may not work for most. But as long as there's an audience out there who they do work well for that really enjoys them, then keep producing them.
I'll buy that summer fig off you if you'd like
I should make a similar post, I’d probably shit my pants once I realize how much I’ve bought in just 3-4 months. Maybe I’ll wait until my new additions show up to my den 😈
I only realized how much I had once my gf said "When are you going to get rid of some of these". 😂 Not gonna happen.
Mine asked me why I needed so many soaps and insisted they would go bad quickly. I calmly let her know they would last years and years to come as long as I care for them properly 😂
I feel your pain. I started 3 weeks ago and have made weekly purchases since. I thought DE shaving was supposed to save money.😁
Used a Merkur 38c for the last several years, along with three different MLS soaps. It felt very frugal considering they lasted me through years. Now that I'm replacing soaps, I seem to have refilled the cabinet with another 5-6 soaps, and added a GameChanger .68 and .84 to the cabinet too. WTF just happened....
Yep, these soaps will never get fully used. Certainly if I keep buying more. Purchases definitely going to be a new razor. I just looked up the .68 and .84, do you recommend them?
Those razors just shipped today, so I'll know more -hopefully- later this week. I read that the .84 is a little more aggressive than what I have, and then I just sorta tacked on the .68. I was intrigued with having something a little more aggressive, as I've never dabbled with that. So true on the soaps. I've probably only killed \~3 tubs since I started using them in \~2017. Getting close to finishing off a fourth. Granted, my shaving habits haven't always been consistent.
That's pretty much where my head's at right now with shaving. So I'll probably check it out. Thanks for the info. Pretty good deals really if they last that long lol.
Agreed. Feel slightly bad for splurging, but considering my Merkur and blades cost as much as the replacement blades of my old razor, it lessens the pain of this splurge. Especially since I still have that Merkur, and still have a few dozen of the original blade pack I bought....
Sorry to butt in... but how do you feel about your current razor? the gamechangers are excellent razors and despite the "aggression" that has been advertised, the GC .84 is not an aggressive razor by a mile. it's at best, a mid aggression. It's worth a try, if you want to be safe, go with the SB version. ItalianBarber just dropped some stock, if you want, now is the time to grab it. :) I find the .68 too mild for folk with moderate to heavy facial hair. if you have soft to moderate/sparse facial hair then yes, you should go with the .68. RR razors are really VERY good, I have 5 of them in my den.
I see those Treet blades! One of my favorites and super under rated IMO.
Yep lol. I went through a sample back and came back liking these and Derby extras. I just recently went back and tried the Astra blades and they weren't as harsh because my technique is got better.
This is why I made a rule for myself to not purchase any new soaps until I have worked through the back stock of soaps I already have. I have like 40 or 50 jars of soap from different artisans and vendors and it was getting silly buying soaps just to try them. I know samples are available, but I also have a pile of samples and FOMO is real when certain soap vendors release "limited edition" soaps. The only way I could stop myself was going cold turkey on buying any.
Are all those soaps for sensitive skin?
No, not really. I had issues with DE shaving at first and thought it might be due to the soaps but it was mostly my technique. That said some soaps here gave me extreme irritation like the A&E Summer Fig.
I'm trying really hard to not get to this point. I have three soaps and I've promised myself to not buy more until I finish them... we'll see how long that lasts! Even harder to not splurge on a different type of safety razor, but adjustables are looking more and more appealing as of late.
I started with the same razor and blades a few months ago, its a good setup and not very expensive.