Artisan Shaving Balms that has the most good stuff

What's your favorite artisan shaving balm that has a lot of good ingredients yet still inexpensive?

My current top would be Ginger's Garden, closely followed by PAA. Ginger's is awesome because the bottle is huge and it doesn't turn runny on me even when the room has become hot.

PAA has a lot of great stuff but the bottle is small, and they are a bit sensitive to heat.

I recently bought one from Stirling and it's own it's way, so I am excited about that too.

I'm not about to go out and buy a bunch of balms to try them out. Costs too much. Few samples. Not sure its worth the effort.  However, I did buy some Soap Commanders and found them good and its one product I would not hesitate to buy again. I have no idea if it has good ingredients, whatever that means, but I like it. I also got some L'Occitane balm but since getting the Soap Commander, haven't been using it.

There is also a company called Sampson that calls itself all natural. http://www.sampsonsallnatural.com  Its one of the few places that sell balm samples (as well as the usual soap samples).  These are very convenient because the product contains no water and is like a semi-hard balm. A little goes a long way and because of the size, is easy to carry anywhere. I think I had a reaction to the scented balm but the unscented balm worked fine but I think was a bit heavy in that its good for the winter. But the soap commander has a touch of menthol good for the summer.  

Soap Commander containers are big. You leave them after using them. Sampson samples are tiny but concentrated. You can carry them in the winter.

Chatillion Lux, a well known vendor here, sells some great balms that I use mostly in cold weather season. They also sell sample sizes of their balms. Fantastic scents.

Stirling and Soap Commander have the best balms I've tried, with Reef Point right behind them. Excellent ingredients and moisturizing properties and great value.

The Sapone Di Paolo balms are also great, IMO.

L'Occitane balms are my favorite in skin care and how fast they get absorbed. I formulated my balm with that in mind

Reef Point Soaps followed by Soap Commander are my two favorite aftershave balms out of the ones that I have tried. Very good ingredients and a very nice scent strength with both of these balms.

Chatillion Lux, a well known vendor here, sells some great balms that I use mostly in cold weather season. They also sell sample sizes of their balms. Fantastic scents.

I second this one. I have it in the Champs de Lavande scent, and it is excellent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I just started leaning more towards balms when I got into straight shaving. As a newbie to that skill, my face needs extra care as I work on my technique.
Having said all that, I really like Wet Shaving Products balm. It has a small hint of menthol that feels great, and leaves my skin smooth. Another one that works great for me is good old Proraso - I like both the Green and White, but I haven't tried the newer Red pre/post cream yet.

I also have the Chatillon lux 'salves'. Currently the best for me and small to keep in a drawer at work and travel with too.
Other item is the SV pro victis skin repair. Although a little pricier, a little goes a long way and This is unscented so good if you like colognes or stronger scents added.