Van der Hagen is renowned for good quality at a reasonable price, and this Van der Hagen shaving soap review is no exception.
Our Top Pick: Van Der Hagen Deluxe Shaving Soap
Van der Hagen Shaving Soap Review
The first thing that stands out about Van der Hagen shaving soap is the cheap price. In fact, we named Van der Hagen “scented luxury” shaving soap the best budget shaving soap in our list of the best shaving soap. That’s quite a track record for Van der Hagen considering we reckon the Van der hagen safety razor might be the best safety razor for beginners.
Price
The price is what you would expect from a drugstore brand. Indeed, Van der Hagen’s availability is such that you can quite easily find it in a lot of high street shops which can be preferable to online-only brands for some customers.
But what does that say about the quality? The first thing that stands out about this hard puck soap is that it lasts. A single puck lasts for months and you can buy refills in sets of three. That means nearly a year’s worth of shaving soap with a single purchase. As this is a puck soap it comes wrapped in paper and you simply add it to your shaving mug as a shaving soap refill.
How Does Van der Hagen Shaving Soap Perform?
In terms of performance, it does require a little bit of blooming as with any puck soap. That means at the same time that you are soaking your shaving brush to soften up the fibres you should add a layer of water to your shaving soap to soften it up as well. Once you start swirling the shaving brush in the shave soap it lathers up nicely.
Need a new shaving brush? See our top picks here.
A good lather is stirred up very easily from a puck of Van der Hagen shaving soap and you’ll probably have enough for multiple passes if you like to follow up a first pass with the grain by then going across the grain and even against the grain. If you don’t, see our ultimate guide on how to shave with a safety razor here.
Does it Protect The Skin?
So just how well does Van der hagen shaving soap protect the skin while shaving? Admittedly it’s not as slick and smooth as a lanolin-based shaving soap like Mitchell’s Wool Fat but you’re guaranteed a good quality shave that isn’t going to be accompanied easily with razor burn – although if it does here are some remedies. Afterwards the skin feels calm and nourished and not dried out like some hard soaps.
The scent is very mild and more of a powdery rosy or citrusy aroma depending on your taste. It’s mild enough to be unoffensive for its critics but present enough for people who like a good scent with their shave. That’s not going to be as metholly and invigorating as Proraso shaving soap and not as old-fashioned as Taylors of Old Bond Street Sandalwood shaving soap.
On the other hand if the scent really isn’t to your taste Van der Hagen offer an unscented version.
Best Shaving Soap For Sensitive Skin?
While Van der Hagen’s luxury shaving soap is a great cheap cheap shaving soap, the Deluxe version offers a better. Each hypo-allergenic deluxe shave soap contains 40% moisturizers, including aloe vera and shea butter.
Despite the “Deluxe” label this doesn’t cost much more than the standard Van der Hagen shaving soap.
Ultimately with all shaving soaps it comes down to what works best for you. And at such a low price you really have nothing to loose with Van der Hagen shaving soap. But if you’re not convinced, why not see our other choices of the best shaving soap?
