# My shaving soap doesn't work anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436 "2026-07-05T16:46:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/1 "2026-07-05T16:46:26Z")
All my adult life, I’ve used a brush and soap to shave. (Why, you may ask? Dunno. I like old-fashioned things, I guess.) I’ve never been loyal to any particular brand. But recently I bought a new bar, and it failed miserably – it would build up a nice lather on the brush, and I’d apply it to my face … but by the time I raised my razor it would start to fade, and before I finished one cheek the lather had disappeared. Nothing but a transparent film on my face, which makes it hard to tell where one’s been. I tried a different brand, with the same results. For the moment, I’ve switched to shaving cream in an aerosol can. What’s going on?? Is it my water? Is there a particular make of shaving soap that works better? (Tangentially…is there any difference between shaving soap, hand soap, bath soap?) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/2 "2026-07-05T17:58:14Z")
Have you tried shaving cream from a tube? I don’t know if this is available where you live, but that’s what I have been using without any issues my whole adult life. With a brush, of course. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/3 "2026-07-05T18:04:45Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > All my adult life, I’ve used a brush and soap to shave. I do also. Hot water, brush, shaving soap. Very nice. Soaps I have used and liked- Rocky Mountain Barber Company, Burn The Ships, and Tonhauness. all from Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/4 "2026-07-05T18:05:45Z")
Hard water, with lots of dissolved minerals, will prevent soap from lathering. However it’s hard to imagine how the hardness of your water could have suddenly changed. You could try using distilled water for one shave and see if that makes a difference. That would at least tell you whether the water is the culprit. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/5 "2026-07-05T18:13:13Z")
I’m guessing enshittifcation. The tendency for companies to use cheaper and worse ingredients over time to eke out a bit more profit. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/6 "2026-07-05T18:16:36Z")
A few years ago, I decided my liquid hand soap was superior to shaving cream. The blade never clogged, and I was getting several extra shaves out of the same blade. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/7 "2026-07-05T18:21:21Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Is it my water? Just for kicks, try bottled water and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/8 "2026-07-05T18:54:04Z")
I have found that milled shave soap does not work as well as unmilled shave soap. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/9 "2026-07-05T21:28:04Z")
What do you mean by milling, here? It is a bar of soap (or round, or whatever). ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/10 "2026-07-05T21:49:27Z")
Milled soap has most of the water removed. It’s more solid than non milled soap but it doesn’t lather as well, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/11 "2026-07-06T01:04:30Z")
I use Italian shaving soap in the shower. I know where my face is and I don’t have sideburns. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/12 "2026-07-06T01:47:18Z")
Shaving is much easier without a beard you need to avoid mowing a swath through. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/13 "2026-07-06T02:32:08Z")
Not saying this is it, but I notice you left out one piece in the chain. Could it maybe be the brush? My tech troubleshooting mindset says to try swapping out each component separately. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/14 "2026-07-06T02:37:01Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Not saying this is it, but I notice you left out one piece in the chain. Could it maybe be the brush? Least likely, but not impossible. But the OP said > [@jsc1953](#): > > But recently I bought a new bar, and it failed miserably That is the most likely issue. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/15 "2026-07-06T03:14:31Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > is there any difference between shaving soap, hand soap, bath soap? I don’t have factual evidence, and I don’t know about shaving soap, but my sense is that liquid bath soap may be a little soapier than liquid hand soap (more surfactants etc.). The kind of bath soap that is also usable as shampoo probably has a different formulation from regular bath soap. My opinion is that both are probably too wet to be good for shaving, but I’ve never actually tried it. My father used bar hand soap for shaving, his entire life; he had slightly oily skin even when he got older, so he didn’t have to worry about it drying out. I gave him a can of gel shaving foam once, that’s what I use, but he didn’t like it. He definitely didn’t like the big foamy canned shaving cream either. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/16 "2026-07-06T03:44:32Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I don’t have factual evidence, and I don’t know about shaving soap, Yeah, it is designed to be easier on your face. In a pinch, mild hand soap will do. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/17 "2026-07-06T04:14:25Z")
My advice for any kind of personal hygiene, not merely shaving, especially if you are having trouble with ultra-processed products (“milled”, deodorant, whatever) would be to try using a normal bar of soap with no more than two or three ingredients, like regular Aleppo soap or its ilk. It should lather up well (especially if you use a brush on your face) and of course it works on your hair, skin, etc. IE: > [@jsc1953](#): > > is there any difference between shaving soap, hand soap, bath soap? Nah. I mean, as long as we are talking about basic soap without a dozen added ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/18 "2026-07-06T10:40:51Z")
I have’t used “shaving” soap in years. I’ve been buying blocks of artisan milled soap and putting it in a square glass I bought at a thrift store, and it works great. I’m currently using an olive oil soap formed into an almost cubic block. I rinse the shaving brush under the hot water tap turned up full, and make a lather in the square cup, and it stays foamy and moist until I shave it off. I suspect that proper “shaving” soap contains a bit more il, and possibly something to retain the foam (root beer contains yucca sap for that reason – does anyone put it in shaving soap?). But, heck, my olive oil soap is already doing that. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/19 "2026-07-06T10:54:43Z")
Oddly enough I’ve been wanting to ask this same question. I’ve been using the same soap for years, and then they changed the size of the soap and it doesn’t lather up all that much. Half the time the soap disappears by the time I start shaving. I’m guessing they changed what they put in the soap a bit. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436/20 "2026-07-06T12:09:07Z")
Here’s a page that popped up on top when I googled “shaving soap ingredients” > **[How to Make The Best Wet Shaving Soap (Recipe Included)](https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/blog/the-best-wet-shaving-soap-recipe)** > > Join Veronica in her quest to make the best wet shaving soap recipe without using palm-derived ingredients, like stearic acid! This tutorial has you covered! Evidently they use coconut oil and soy wax to promote the foam, not yucca sap as I sort-of suggested. Here’s another > **[Shaving Soap (Cold Process)](https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/shaving-soap-cold-process/)** > > This homemade cold process natural shave soap recipe features castor oil and rich butters to make a bubbly, creamy, moisturizing bar! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436.md?page=2)