I have really sensitive skin, so I get "Pure and Natural" which is a hypoallergenic soap made by the Dial Soap Company. I called Dial because I can't find a seller of this soap where I live and they sent me an entire case for $12 or something like that.

As far as fancy soap is concerned, I use old-fashiond shaving soap with a badger shaving brush (I also shave with a straight razor, believe it or not). I buy that from a company called Green Pond. They resell George F. Trumper and D. R. Harris & Co. products, both of which are excellent. They sell other makers also. Trumper's after-shave lotion is fantastic.

By the way, I got into straight razor shaving because I had tried everything else and had bad skin irritation or ingrown hairs along the collar or whatever. Learning how to do it is difficult. Its not just shaving that is tough at first, but you also need to learn how to properly strop the razor. Anyway, after the ordeal of learning how to use it (lots of little cuts), I am amazed at the comfort and quality of the shave you can get with one of these razors. No more skin irritation, and a closer shave than I was able to get with any other technology including the double and triple-blade saftey razors. The only drawback is that you can't carry one on an airplane anymore, and if you bring it travelling you've got to bring your strop, too.

I learned the proper technique from a 1934 edition of the American Standard Textbook of Barbering, which was hilarious reading. If anyone is intersted, I later found an online resource of the razor care and shaving section of this book.

Jim