Face Skin Care – Ultimate Comfort Shave Cream

Tags

6/10, non-lathering, shaving cream, unscented

The creation of Face Skin Care’s Ultimate Comfort Shave Cream was prompted by a business decision of another company: the 2010 reformulation of Lab Series Maximum Comfort Shave Cream. Jim over at Face Skin Care had been using the Lab Series Product since 1991, and apparently quite liked it. However, once the reformulation occurred, he found himself quite displeased with the quality of the shave he was getting from the new stuff. (Personally, I didn’t like it all that much either) Like many that I’ve seen on the internet, when he switched over to the new stuff, he experienced an increase in razor burn, irritation, and pain while shaving, and also laid a lot of the blame on the removal of one key ingredient in the former formulation for the Lab Series cream: benzocaine.

Benzocaine is a topical anesthetic, often used in cough drops, and amusingly enough on some condoms, designed to allow gents to last longer by reducing the sensitivity of the penis. Anyhow, I can certainly see how it could be useful for folks prone to irritation and razor burn to mask the symptoms of those maladies.

So, long story short, after not being able to find a new shaving cream that had some Benzocaine, Jim decided to recreate it himself. He ended up using Lidocaine instead of Benzocaine, as it’s supposedly safer to use. Similar effects though.

Thus he ended up with is a non-lathering shave cream, designed to “gently desensitize the skin to reduce the pain”. It’s a decent thickness, providing a good amount of cushion with a good amount of lubrication. Certainly not quite as excessively thick as the stuff I tried last week was; at least with this stuff I could rinse most of it off my razor with ease, although it still looks to be mostly non-water soluble, and there was a big that didn’t come off easily, mostly in the nooks and crannies of the razor.

It did have a bit of a tendency to act like a lotion, rubbing it on the face would lead to some of it being absorbed by the skin. Not quite to the degree that I saw with the One Shave cream, but it was still there.

As for the effects, well, after the fact it did leave my face feeling really nice and refreshed, moisturized, etc. Was it the Lidocaine, or the other stuff in the cream? I don’t know about that. I mean, personally I usually avoid razor burn and irritation simply by using quality shave products and good technique with a DE razor. I don’t feel that adding a pain-killer to my shaving cream is something that is really necessary to avoid pain when shaving. I suppose that some others might not be quite as able to shave pain-free via the same methods, and might feel that this stuff is more helpful than not. Everyone’s face is different after all. All in all, it’s a pretty decent shave.

And finally, it’s only available as an unscented shaving cream. Anyone who’s been following my reviews knows that I consider the scent of the shaving product to be a rather integral part of the shave experience. What scent was left was fairly neautral, and not strong.

• 5/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 3/10 Scent Strength
• 8/10 Lather Cream Quality

So, I’d say it performs pretty good for a non-lathering cream, but the lack of any scent would be enough to make me avoid using it on a regular basis. Fortunately, I don’t really feel I need pain killers built into my shave cream. Feel free to adjust accordingly if you think you do. 6/10.

• Cost: I was provided these samples free of charge by the manufacturer for the purposes of this review. The cream comes in a 8 oz jar for $29.99 and a 3.4 oz travel tube for $15.99.

Gear used:

• Razor: 1966 Solid Nickel Gillette Tech
• Blade: Big Ben Super Stainless

Ingredients: Purified water, Stearic acid, Propylene glycol, Propylene glycol stearate, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Cocos nucifera(coconut) oil, Triethanolamine, Glycol stearate, Glycol distearate, Stearamide AMP, Butyrospermum parkii (shea) oil, Cetyl alcohol, Aloe barbadensis leaf juice, Butylene glycol, Centella asiatica (gotu kola) extract, Avena sativa (oatmeal) extract, Urea, Panthenol, Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) root extract, Allantoin, Chamomilla recutita (Matricaria) extract, Calendula officinalis (Calendula) flower extract, Anthemis nobilis (Roman chamomile) flower extract, Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower) flower extract, Tilia cordata (Linden) flower extract, Eucalyptus globulus (Eucalyptus) leaf oil, Tocopheryl acetate, Dimethicone, Lidocaine hydrochloride, Zinc oxide, Titanium dioxide, Mica, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, and D & C Bronze

One Shave unscented shaving cream

Tags

5/10, Discontinued, non-lathering, one shave, unscented

Edit: It looks like this stuff has been discontinued.

I was contacted by the owner of One Shave Cream, who wanted to know if I’d do a review on his product. I warned him that I, in general, am not too much of a fan of either unscented shaving creams, or of non-lathering shaving creams, and his product was both. But he wanted to go ahead with it anyways, so here’s the review. In short, for an unscented and non-lathering shaving cream, it’s not too shabby.

It’s a bit of a weird shave; kind of like a shaving gel and a lotion rolled into one. If you rub a small amount in, it will work its way into the skin much like a lotion would. One thing I found is that this made it a bit difficult to get an even coating of the cream across the face. It provided a good amount of lubrication, and a fairly protective / cushioned shave, for a non-lathering cream. Which is still to say a bit less than I prefer, for thickness and cushioning. In fact, of the non lathering creams I’ve tried thus far (others being here, here, and here), I think this one does provide the best shave. It also has very good moisturizing properties, which is enough to bump the “lather” rating up to 7/10.

And for those to whom this stuff matters, the ingredient listing appears to be pretty much all “natural” ingredients, with many of them organically sourced. I suppose I should also mention the obligatory disclaimer when dealing with non-lathering products: you should expect to use a lot more of it per shave than you would with a soap or a cream. I find with most creams, an almond-sized amount is more than enough for a full 3 pass shave (adding that air and water into the mix goes a long way). Not so much with this, a fair chunk over that would be needed just for one pass.

As for the scent, well, it’s supposed to be unscented. You can still catch a whiff of some of the ingredients. Overall it smells kind of fresh, mostly from the aloe juice, with just a hint of citrus, combined largely with a less natural smell which I think is largely from some of the oils used. It’s not bad, but nothing that I’m going to want to sit around sniffing.

But that having been said, it’s rather weak; very lightly detectable in the background while you’re shaving. Which, of course, seems to be the intent of the cream.

As anyone who’s been following my reviews knows, I do rather consider the scent of a shaving cream or soap to be an integral part of the shaving experience. So, the fact that this is only available in the unscented will hurt the overall rating too. Naturally, should you not agree with me on the importance of the scent, feel free to disregard the overall rating and work solely on the “lather” quality rating.

• 6/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 4/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality

Overall, I think I’m willing to round up to a 5/10. It’s still the nicest shave I’ve gotten out of a non-lathering shaving cream, but I personally would not be reaching for it due to the lack of scent. Of course, your mileage may vary.

• Cost: This 2 oz travel size jar was provided to me for the purposes of this review. It would normally go for $9; also available in 4 oz ($17) and 8 oz ($28).

Gear used:

• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE81BL (Red)
• Blade: Gillette 7 O’clock Black

Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis (Organic Aloe) Juice, Cocos Nucifera (Organic Coconut) Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Organic Shea) BUtter, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Oil, Emulsifying Wax, Calendula Officinalis (Organic Calendula) Extract, Palm Stearic Acid, Vegatable Glycerin, Cocoa Butter (Natural), Lavendula Angustifolia (Organic Lavender) Distillate, Vaccinium Myrtillus (Organic Bilberry) Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (Organic Sugar Cane) Extract, Acer Saccarinum (Organic Sugar Maple) Extract, Citrus Auranium Dulcis (Organic Orange) Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Organic Lemon) Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Organic Cranberry) Extract, Carica Papaya (Organic Papaya) Extract, Ananas Comosus (Organic Pineapple) Extract, Glycolic Acid, Malic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Olea Europaea (Organic Olive) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Organic Jojoba) Oil, Citric Acid.