The best shaving soap you can buy by Lucas Coll on May 31, 2018, 2:01 PM The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase. 
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A lousy soap makes for a lousy shave, so choosing the right one is just as important as selecting a quality razor. Mitchell's Wool Fat is considered by many to be the gold standard of shaving soaps, and it's the best shaving soap that money can buy. Most men today probably treat their daily shaving routine as something of a chore. It's very likely that you also use or have used a multi-blade cartridge razor and canned shaving foam to get the job done when what you should be using is a good shaving soap, bristle brush, and safety razor. Quality soap is a vital part of your shave because it lubricates your face and whiskers so that your razor blade can move cleanly across your face for a close shave with minimal irritation. A good soap will also lock in your skin's moisture instead of drying it out and leaving your face with that unpleasant "tight" feeling. What makes a shaving soap different from normal bar soap is its composition, which consists of added fat — either from animals or plant sources such as coconut oil — and/or glycerin. These ingredients are used to give the soap a smooth, slick consistency so it works better as a lubricant while keeping your skin hydrated. A number of all-natural shaving soaps are also made today for people who want to avoid certain synthetic additives like parabens. Since every man's skin and facial hair is a bit different, it can take some time to dial in your wet shaving kit, but it's worth the effort if you want to achieve that perfect shave every time. Your personal soap selection largely comes down to preference, so your best bet is to stick to established soapmakers and try a few to find the one that's right for you. To help you choose, we've smoked out the five best shaving soaps, including our favorite pick along with a hard puck soap, a soft cream, a soap for shavers with sensitive skin, and a handy soap stick for when you're on the road. Here are our top picks for the best shaving soap you: Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.The best shaving soap overall  Why you'll love it: Mitchell's Wool Fat lathers, lubricates, and shaves exceptionally well while being gentle on the skin, making it the gold standard for wet shavers new and old. A select few shaving soaps can be considered "gold standard" options that every man should try, and one such example is Mitchell's Wool Fat, which has remained a wet shaving staple for nearly a century. It has set the bar for what a good shave soap should be. True to its name, Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap is made from the fatty substance secreted by woolly animals. In this case, it's domestic sheep, but rest assured that no animals are actually killed to collect this fat. Wool fat contains large amounts of lanolin, a waxy material that works especially well as a skin lubricant and moisturizer, so it's easy to see why it is ideal for use in shaving soap. Mitchell's started making its wool fat soap in England in the 1930's and has been exporting it all over the world since then. Although its regular wool fat soaps have remained in high demand, its shaving soap, in particular, has achieved near-legendary status among wet shavers owing to its great lubricating and lathering properties. Its all-natural ingredients are gentle on the face, and the wool fat is also very good for soothing and preventing irritation on sensitive skin. If there's one drawback to Mitchell's Wool Fat soap, it's that it can be stubborn to lather until you develop a good routine. A stiffer brush with boar or horse bristles will help, and some guys choose to soak the soap in a little bit of hot water for a few minutes — a process known as "blooming" — to soften it up a bit and make it easier to load your brush. Once you've got the hang of this, Mitchell's Wool Fat will likely prove itself to be the last shaving soap you'll ever need. It's available with a nice lidded ceramic bowl, and you can also buy standalone pucks to refill the bowl or to use with a favorite bowl or mug you already have. It's slightly expensive, but since it's a fairly hard puck, it'll last you quite awhile. Pros: Lubricates and shaves extremely well due to its lanolin content, all-natural ingredients with no parabens, made in England, and is available with a nice lidded ceramic bowl Cons: Can be tricky to lather, and the scent is very mild
The best hard puck shaving soap  Why you'll love it: Made in England and triple-milled for extra hardness, D.R. Harris is a historic shaving soap that is the easy choice for any wet shaver who favors the dense lather and long life that solid pucks provide. All of the brands featured among our favorite shaving soaps have been around for decades (or longer), but D.R. Harris might boast the most impressive pedigree of all. This family-owned company was founded in England in 1790, has held various royal warrants since 1938, and continues to produce high-quality soaps that are a favorite of wet shavers all over the globe, especially among those who favor hard pucks. As is appropriate for such a historic brand, D.R. Harris soap is made using old-school triple-milling. This process is the gold standard for solid soaps and results in a dense, hard bar that lasts a long time and creates a rich lather when worked properly. This extra processing makes triple-milled pucks a bit more expensive than other shave and body soaps, but they also last considerably longer — possibly for years depending on how often you shave and what lathering method you use. Due to its hardness, a soft floppy badger bristle brush may prove insufficient to easily produce a lather (higher-quality badger bristle should get the job done, however). A brush with stiffer bristles, such as boar or horsehair, might deliver better results with this soap. It comes in an attractive wooden shave bowl, and, like Mitchell's soap, you can also order it by the puck when it runs out or if you already have a bowl or mug you like to use. D.R. Harris shaving soap is tallow-based, made from animal fats for great lubrication and moisturizing properties. The thick, slick consistency of this tallow-based soap allows it to protect your face as you draw a razor across it, and it requires minimal water to work it up into a luxurious creamy lather in your bowl or mug. Even guys with hard water, something that can cause lathering problems with some soaps, have an easy time with this one. Pros: Triple-milled for extra hardness and longevity, whips up a highly dense lather with little water, tallow-based for good lubrication, lasts a long time, made in England, and is available with an attractive wooden shave bowl Cons: The hard triple-milled puck will lather best with a stiffer brush
The best soft shaving soap  Why you'll love it: Another of the oldest and most iconic brands in existence, Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving soap shaves beautifully, smells great, and has a soft creamy consistency that quickly works into a luxurious lather. Taylor of Old Bond Street is one of those household names you will see a lot on your wet shaving journey. Its old-school formula, which was first created in the mid-19th century, has been the favorite of men for generations. This pedigree is well-deserved and Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving soap remains an English classic for a reason: It's soft creamy consistency easily whips up a rich (not airy or bubbly) lather, it lubricates incredibly well, and hydrates your face for a smooth post-shave feel that doesn't leave your skin tight and dried out. The soft cream is incredibly easy to work with but won't last quite as long as a hard soap. Still, the generous 5.3-ounce container should still carry you for around five to six months. The plastic bowl has a nice classic aesthetic and the airtight lid actually screws down to ensure that the cream won't dry out between uses. Note that you only need a little bit of this stuff, so don't lather in the bowl. Scoop a dollop out with your brush and work it up inside another bowl or mug. You've got 15 fragrances to choose from, from peppermint to sandalwood, as well as an all-natural formula that's free of parabens and preservatives and is purpose-made for sensitive skin. Sandalwood is far and away the most popular among wet shaves as it's a classic, masculine aroma that simply smells fantastic, and it's one that your great-grandfather likely used. Pros: Made in England, the soft cream is incredibly easy to lather, lubricates and hydrates your skin beautifully, smells great, 15 formulas to choose from, and comes with a nice-looking lidded bowl Cons: The soft cream won't last as long as a hard soap
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