I know nothing about shave creams or shaving soaps. I have no idea how they are made or their ingredients and frankly, I am not interested in learning. I am a consumer interested in the final product and that final product is a smooth shave. During the process of achieving that, I want the process to be pleasant smelling and not a chore.
Until a few weeks ago, I had never made a lather from shaving cream. I am seeking what the best shaving cream or soap is for me. This might be entirely different than what is good for you. I am not one to just buy one product and stick with it, good or bad. Life is too short to be boring. I am willing to try most things once. So I am buying a group of samples. To give back to the community, I will provide my findings on my journey to find the ideal cream or soap for me. I am looking for something with a scent I like that lasts the length of the shave with a resulting baby smooth face.
I am sure everything I am about to experience has been done before and reviewed to death before by someone. Ive read so many reviews that my brain is stirred mush from reading. But all the reviews in the world mean little to me if we have a difference in values. What is expensive to me might not be expensive to you. A scent I find pleasing might be abhorrent to you. While the more people that find a product good might indicate a trend, there is no substitute for first hand experience.
Ive read many reviews and see they all score things on more or less the same scale and set of attributes. I will use a scale to 100 but I look at things holistically, not by individual attributes. Its the final experience that matters to me, not any one attribute. For example, fancy packaging means nothing to me. I have eaten some of the best food at restaurants that were not fancy. Sure money matters but important to me is scent. I want to smell the cream or soap during the shave, not just when opening the tub. And, it has to be a scent I like, which might not be what anyone else likes. Why the emphasis on scent? Because memories comes from scents and most of those memories are childhood ones. Of course the final result is important and cannot be ignored. If I do not like a product, it might be someone elses #1 pick (YMMV). And that is OK. If we were all the same, life would be boring. And just because I did not like a product in no way implies that it is a good or bad product. It only means that it is my opinion.
I also want to make this journey in a consistent manner, using the same process/technique for each cream or soap using the same tools. For example, if I buy a new brush, I dont want that to influence my findings so it will not be used in my journey. I am going to start with creams. My technique is simple.
1. Fill the bowl with hot water from the tap and let it stand.
2. Place the brush in the bowl to absorb the water.
3. After a few minutes, squeeze out the water from the brush and give it a few shakes.
4. Throw the hot water out of the bowl but I do not dry it letting any remain water stay.
5. Place a tiny blob of cream in the bowl. Im not picky about the size but try to be consistent and really dont care if I am wasting any. Its shaving cream, not gold. I keep reading size of an almond. So I use that as a starting point.
6. Quickly swirl the brush in the bowl to create a lather. If I think it needs more water, I dribble a few drops in from my fingertips after running them under hot water.
Here is an example of the final product. The shaving cream was The Art Of Shaving, Lavender. I dont own an expensive shaving brush, only a relatively cheap and small Edwin Jagger.
Is this the best technique? I have no idea but it is what I am using. Im probably not even doing it right but it seems to work and if my process is identical each time, then it should be reproducible. Each sample I have bought with my money and formed my own opinions. Yours might or might not be the same, and thats OK. Its all good. If I get some term wrong or do not describe things in a standardized way used in the industry or in other reviews on this forum or elsewhere, Ill learn as I go along.
In the end I hope to find the right 2 or 3 soaps and/or creams that I will be willing to buy in tubs. Then I will be a happy man. But for now, my journey begins. It will take however long it takes.
All comments, advice, constructive criticism, or just laughs are welcome. Feel free to tell me what I am doing wrong because I am totally new to all of this and I am sure I am making mistakes. This is how I learn. Dont feel insulted if I dont like what you love. Our tastes might be entirely different.
After opening each sample, I intend to actually use the sample before moving on to the next. Im also not going to throw them away. After all, money is money. The process will take however long it takes. Although some samples say they are good for 3 5 shaves, I have found that three is about right for me.
Until a few weeks ago, I had never made a lather from shaving cream. I am seeking what the best shaving cream or soap is for me. This might be entirely different than what is good for you. I am not one to just buy one product and stick with it, good or bad. Life is too short to be boring. I am willing to try most things once. So I am buying a group of samples. To give back to the community, I will provide my findings on my journey to find the ideal cream or soap for me. I am looking for something with a scent I like that lasts the length of the shave with a resulting baby smooth face.
I am sure everything I am about to experience has been done before and reviewed to death before by someone. Ive read so many reviews that my brain is stirred mush from reading. But all the reviews in the world mean little to me if we have a difference in values. What is expensive to me might not be expensive to you. A scent I find pleasing might be abhorrent to you. While the more people that find a product good might indicate a trend, there is no substitute for first hand experience.
Ive read many reviews and see they all score things on more or less the same scale and set of attributes. I will use a scale to 100 but I look at things holistically, not by individual attributes. Its the final experience that matters to me, not any one attribute. For example, fancy packaging means nothing to me. I have eaten some of the best food at restaurants that were not fancy. Sure money matters but important to me is scent. I want to smell the cream or soap during the shave, not just when opening the tub. And, it has to be a scent I like, which might not be what anyone else likes. Why the emphasis on scent? Because memories comes from scents and most of those memories are childhood ones. Of course the final result is important and cannot be ignored. If I do not like a product, it might be someone elses #1 pick (YMMV). And that is OK. If we were all the same, life would be boring. And just because I did not like a product in no way implies that it is a good or bad product. It only means that it is my opinion.
I also want to make this journey in a consistent manner, using the same process/technique for each cream or soap using the same tools. For example, if I buy a new brush, I dont want that to influence my findings so it will not be used in my journey. I am going to start with creams. My technique is simple.
1. Fill the bowl with hot water from the tap and let it stand.
2. Place the brush in the bowl to absorb the water.
3. After a few minutes, squeeze out the water from the brush and give it a few shakes.
4. Throw the hot water out of the bowl but I do not dry it letting any remain water stay.
5. Place a tiny blob of cream in the bowl. Im not picky about the size but try to be consistent and really dont care if I am wasting any. Its shaving cream, not gold. I keep reading size of an almond. So I use that as a starting point.
6. Quickly swirl the brush in the bowl to create a lather. If I think it needs more water, I dribble a few drops in from my fingertips after running them under hot water.
Here is an example of the final product. The shaving cream was The Art Of Shaving, Lavender. I dont own an expensive shaving brush, only a relatively cheap and small Edwin Jagger.
Is this the best technique? I have no idea but it is what I am using. Im probably not even doing it right but it seems to work and if my process is identical each time, then it should be reproducible. Each sample I have bought with my money and formed my own opinions. Yours might or might not be the same, and thats OK. Its all good. If I get some term wrong or do not describe things in a standardized way used in the industry or in other reviews on this forum or elsewhere, Ill learn as I go along.
In the end I hope to find the right 2 or 3 soaps and/or creams that I will be willing to buy in tubs. Then I will be a happy man. But for now, my journey begins. It will take however long it takes.
All comments, advice, constructive criticism, or just laughs are welcome. Feel free to tell me what I am doing wrong because I am totally new to all of this and I am sure I am making mistakes. This is how I learn. Dont feel insulted if I dont like what you love. Our tastes might be entirely different.
After opening each sample, I intend to actually use the sample before moving on to the next. Im also not going to throw them away. After all, money is money. The process will take however long it takes. Although some samples say they are good for 3 5 shaves, I have found that three is about right for me.