What is shaving soap?
The essential function of a shaving soap is to act as lubrication between your skin and a sharp blade, allowing the razor to slip over your skin with minimal irritation. The soap lather and warm water also soften your hair and skin, preparing it for an easier shave. The best quality shaving soap uses the traditional soap making method where a vegetable oil is mixed with an alkali to form soap.
How to use a shaving soap, brush and bowl
Shaving your face, underarms and bikini line
Swirling the shave brush in circular motion over your skin will help exfoliate and remove dead skin cells, thereby lessening the risk of ingrown hairs, as well as lifting the hairs and making them softer ready for an effective shave.
- Fill a shaving bowl with hot water (or put a little in your sink) and soak the shaving brush for a minute or two.
- Remove the brush and shake out excess water. Empty most of the water from the bowl, saving approximately 1 teaspoon.
- Use your shaving soap and run a little hot water over it (approximately 1 teaspoon). This will make the soap softer. If your soap comes in a tin, keep it in the tin to do this.
- Take your shaving brush and swirl it over the soap for 10-20 seconds.
- Transfer the brush to the bowl with the little bit of water and swirl it for approximately 1 minute until a thick lather builds up. At first it might be quite bubbly, but the longer you swirl the brush the thicker it will become to use.
- Once the lather is nice and thick, use the brush in circular motions to apply it to your skin, covering all the areas you wish to shave with a nice thick cushion of lather.
- Shave using a quality safety razor.
- After shaving, spray Witch hazel, which is a natural antiseptic that helps reduce inflammation in the skin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is shaving soap better than shaving cream?
Shaving soap generally gives a thicker lather when it is used with a shaving brush. It also lasts significantly longer than a tub of shaving cream. Shaving cream gives a thick lather straight out of the tub and doesn't require as much work to build a lather.
Some soaps that aren't designed for shaving don't build up into a thick lather and will need to be reapplied multiple times during your shave.
Can I use regular soap to shave with?
Regular soaps don't build into a thick lather. This will result in a soap that will disappear from your face during your shave. You will have to reapply more soap before shaving the next part of your face. They may also not provide sufficient lubrication.
You can use a regular soap to shave with but it won't be as close or clean as a specially designed shaving soap.
