Using a traditional shaving soap is more arduous than new fangled creams, gels, and foams, but it’s also shaving as its most old school: rugged, manly, and skilful. It actually dates back a couple of centuries, long before David Beckham turned us all into well-moisturised metrosexuals, and is one of the original grooming essentials for men.

Usually produced as a small puck-like bar, shaving soaps are long-lasting – better value for money and often better quality than canned products – and demand some serious technique. Unlike shaving creams and gels, which come ready-hydrated and can be just slapped on (often straight from the can), shaving soap needs to be lathered with water, traditionally done with a badger-hair shaving brush in a shaving bowl, then brushed onto the face. This is grandad-approved grooming – shaving as a ritual as much as losing the five o’clock shadow. If you’re in a crippling rush to get to the office, it’s probably not for you.

As with all shaving products – whether we’re talking shaving creams, gels or foams – the point is to ‘cushion’ and lubricate: softening the hairs and protecting your skin. But shaving soaps offer extra hydration. The soap removes the natural oils from your hair and skin, allowing water to penetrate your hair and stop the razor from pulling on them as you shave. “

Soaps generally are considered to have a ‘slicker’ shave,” says Nick Gibbens, shaving expert from Bluebeards Revenge. “This is due to certain ingredients, such as tallow, lanolin, glycerin and bentonite clay that are added to the soap. This provides a smoother and gentler shave, especially for heavily bearded gents.”

Traditional shaving soaps are usually made from tallow, though there are vegan-friendly options made from vegetable oils. Tallow, rendered from beef fat, tends to produce a superior lather and creates a high percentage of oleic acid, which acts as an emollient and moisturiser. Be careful though – excess use can cause irritation.