Proraso Sandalwood Shaving Soap review

[Falken]

I used Proraso Sandalwood in the red plastic tub this morning and it smells fantastic.

I loaded an Omega Syntex for 30 seconds, then bowl lathered with 2 tablespoons of hot water in a hot shaving mug with a medium damp brush.

It produced a very nice lather, but slightly on the foamy side, not a full cream cheese lather that I have seen people accomplish with Proraso but that is with a badger or boar brush.

So next time I will load the brush longer, as Syntex takes a bit more patience.

I made up for the weaker lather by painting more before shaving, so it still worked.

Note with this soap, your skin drinks the slickness quick so it isn't forgiving in multiple cleanup passes as you work across your face, so a triple pass might be the best way to go for bbs, using the last face lather only to clean up missed hairs before you rinse.

I only did a double pass shave, one WTG, second ATG, for an irritation free shave. I missed an ATG on a small patch below my right sideburn runway, but WTG got it anyway so I don't mind, as this was a fast shave.

Don't baby these tubs as this is a firm "Croapa" (creamed Italian soap) that doesn't seem to use very fast. Just leave the tub open after you load the brush directly in the tub to allow the surface to air dry.

I say this because with softer creams like Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood in the tub people like to take out a glob with their finger and place it in the center of the brush and close the tub right away.

These tubs are durable and you just use them and enjoy them, and the product holds up very well. Just load the brush in the tub and don't baby it.

I'd rate this soap a 10/10 for scent. Enjoy the smell as much as you want and don't feel bad as it isn't an artificial aroma, it is actually Sandalwood essential oils that are used in the product. You are actually smelling real Sandalwood, as stated on the ingredients on the bottom of the tub.

This is a thirsty soap, so don't worry about adding slightly too much hot water in your prep. I would like it to be slightly slicker, but this soap smells so nice you'd probably want to enjoy slapping a third lather on your face for a quick cleanup pass to enjoy the scent a bit longer.

I have medium sensitive skin, with a medium beard, and I only rinsed my face with ice cold tap water before drying, and to enjoy the sandalwood smell, I omit using and aftershave balm that would wreck that, and my skin isn't dry.

Bowl lather if you don't plan on using aftershave moisturizer to smell the sandalwood when the shave is complete. Face lathering for 2-3 passes may require you use aftershave balm, so keep this in mind.

About 2 hours after the shave, the Sandalwood scent is still pleasantly noticeable and in now way overbearing. Every 8 minutes or so, a sandalwood aroma passes you nose, and is a very calming scent. So they nailed it IMO.

If I was to only own one soap, that I had to pay for, at 10$ a tub this is the shaving soap I'd choose. It just smells that amazing.

 

[NormanBuntz]

Thanks for the review. I'm a fan of Proraso shaving creams in the long tubes. I've also eyeballed the Proraso tubs on Amazon.

I recently tried some Razorock shaving soap, also Italian, and was not as impressed.

 

[Falken]

The Sandalwood scent Proraso adds to the bowls is absolutely addictive.

This is truly the best value in a shaving soap.

I'd recommend anyone new to wetshaving to buy a Merkur 47C, an Omega synthetic brush, and a tub of Proraso Sandalwood.

You would hear people's cartridge razors and electrics go in the trash the next day.

This is the closest thing a man can enjoy to being at a spa, and it is cheaper than cartridges and you aren't tossing empty cans of shave cream, or plastic handles, or worn out electric razors with toxic batteries.

It is very ecological as well.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Sandalwood is an awesome fragrance. I have some Nexxus conditioner (Humectin) that has a sandalwood/lime scent. Smells really tropical.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Falken
It produced a very nice lather, but slightly on the foamy side, not a full cream cheese lather

Try a little less water next time.

 

[GSCJR]

Thanks for the review. I have never seen the red tub; will certainly look for it. I have used green and white but never red.

Thanks Falken!

 

[hotwheels]

Please voice your support for implementing a Grooming and Hygiene Forum.

hotwheels

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3642087#Post3642087

 

[Vuflanovsky]

So, I guess the trend toward high end barbers with handle blades, hot towel shaves and $30 haircuts is a real one. I'm seeing a few of these places around my area. I think one of these places has a large humidor although you can't smoke there. Heavy padded leather chairs, multiple newspapers on a rack, but no 19" Sylvania color TV shoved in the corner with bobbleheads on it.

 

[Falken]

Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
So, I guess the trend toward high end barbers with handle blades, hot towel shaves and $30 haircuts is a real one. I'm seeing a few of these places around my area. I think one of these places has a large humidor although you can't smoke there. Heavy padded leather chairs, multiple newspapers on a rack, but no 19" Sylvania color TV shoved in the corner with bobbleheads on it.


I haven't gone to a barber in years.

I have two Merkur razors (33C and 47C) and a Wahl Magic Clip with the stronger motor.

I just don't have the cash for 20$ hair cuts, never mind 30$ ones.

And I have a receding hairline, so I don't really have many "style" options other than shaving it down to stubble once a month.

 

[expat]

A little Off Topic but......

I just switched to DE shaving and I'm wondering about the best, easiest way to dispose of the old Razor Blades?

 

[Falken]

expat,

Keep an old jumbo aspirin or tylenol childproof container. When it gets full after, say, 100 years, toss the whole thing wrapped in duct tape to be extra sure nobody opens it in the trash.

I keep a bunch of new DE blades in a transparent childproof pill bottle. Keeps them fresh in the bathroom as well, keeps the humidity off of them.

I am going to toss a small sac of Silica Gel in there now that I thought of it...

 

[hotwheels]

Originally Posted By: expat
A little Off Topic but......

I just switched to DE shaving and I'm wondering about the best, easiest way to dispose of the old Razor Blades?


Many blades come in a plastic case that has an inbuilt compartment in the bottom for the used blades. Look for a slotted opening on one of the narrow ends of your new blade case. When you have used up the new blades, the old bladesm safely stored in the case, may be thrown into the garbage. You could also wrap the used blade in the wax paper it came in, and throw it in the garbage. Or, you can get a free "sharps" container at your local pharmacy, fill it up with used blades, then bring it to the pharmacy and swap for a nother free sharps container.

hotwheels

The slot to the right, at the bottom of the case, is for used blade storage:

 

[expat]

Thinking about it today, I cut a small louver in the lid of an old Altoids tin.
It should hold about 1,000 blades before I have to throw it out.

 

[expat]

Has anyone experimented with rubbing a little Petroleum Jelly on their face prior to using shaving soap/cream?

I did this morning, it gave me a VERY smooth shave and no nicks.

At this time I'm still using a Gillette Gel out of a can, it's not bad stuff, but with the DE razor seems to leave my skin a little dry.

 

[hotwheels]

Originally Posted By: expat
Has anyone experimented with rubbing a little Petroleum Jelly on their face prior to using shaving soap/cream?

I did this morning, it gave me a VERY smooth shave and no nicks.

At this time I'm still using a Gillette Gel out of a can, it's not bad stuff, but with the DE razor seems to leave my skin a little dry.



Maybe you want to try a pre-shave oil. It won't gunk up the blades or clog the comb. My skin is greasy enough that I don't bother with a pre-shave oil, but for someone with dry skin it should offer benefits.

hotwheels

 

[UncleS2]

Used DE razor blades: use your imagination. An empty can for pre-ground black pepper works well, your slot in an Altoids tin shows you have it figured out. The shaving gear places sometimes have a small tin blade container for sale. I've used a small individual can for house-brand V8-type juice- the can was steel, just rinsed it out & then punched a slit in top with a good pointed kitchen knife. Tin cans that contained chicken or beef broth are popular on the shave forums- open with church key or even an ice pick, empty can,rinse well, cut slit in top, you have a sealed unit that will hold hundreds of blades.

What did they use back when? Steel & plastic Blade dispensers of the 1950s-1980s had easily-used compartments built in. The one you may not believe- wall-mounted medicine cabinets for bathrooms were typically set into a cutout in drywall, and often had a slit inside that came from the factory. Blades pushed through simply piled up at the bottom of the space between sheetrock of the bathroom wall & that of the wall for the adjoining room. People who remodel old bathrooms still run into long forgotten piles of blades, that probably haven't had a new blade added to them for 30 years or more.