Barbasol Non-Aerosol Therapeutic Shave Cream

I'm absolutely in love with this Barbasol product - it proves that you don't have to spend big bucks to get a great shave.

I combine it with my Gillette Custom Plus disposable, and get a BBS everytime!

I'll always support Barbasol, as they've been around forever, and my hard earned dough is going to an AMERICAN company!

For every shave I always use an old-fashioned type brushless shave cream as a pre-shave cream in the shower and then as a base layer for every pass during the shave. These are often barber shoppe brands and I've found these type of creams work best for this purpose because all of them contain strong ingredients that are considered taboo for use in modern "metrosexual" creams which are obsessed with natural ingredients that are delicate on the skin. This includes generous helpings of mineral oil, lanolin and in the case of Barbasol brushless, petrolatum and paraffin wax.

I have a very heavy beard and consider these old formulas to be more "industrial strength" products and have found they are the best at preparing and softening my beard and skin for the shave. I get a smooth as silk shave every time with no irritation. In addition, these old formula brushless creams are usually very cheap. Others that fit into this category are Lucky Tiger Molle, Stephans Stay Smooth and Sheffield Brushless. These are all fantastic, however, I have found Barbasol brushless (aka Therapeutic) shave cream to work the best of all these.

Along with the shaving soap layered over top it helps to prevent almost all weepers and leaves my skin feeling very smooth and soft. Obviously this doesn't lather but it does not affect the lather of the soap or have any ill effects on the brush. This is also the most moisturizing cream I have used. I think this one works so well because of the petrolatum. You can feel it in the cream and it adds a good layer of protection and softening to the skin. The scent is very pleasant and is simply an industrial clean soapy smell.

This product is almost impossible to find in stores but you can get it online or order by the case from Barbasol directly. Give it a shot, I think you'll be glad you did.

I'm skipping all the numbers and percentage stuff in lieu of a ""

The only thing I'd note is that when I used this along with an Atra on my recent travels, the cream gummed up the razor and was tricky to rinse out. While my AHAVA brushless cream is similar in the first respect, it's easier to rinse than the Barbasol (I still need to post a review for the AHAVA; it's good stuff too). That said, the time saved from eliminating the brush prep/lather/rinsing/drying is greater than the extra time clearing the cream from the blade(s). I still have yet to try this stuff with a DE, so maybe that would be a better way to go when possible.

Cheers,
B

Have to say I have been really impressed by this product. Originally Barbasol was one of the first brushless creams and this current version apparently has the same ingredients as the original.

It gives fantastic protection during the shave, probably the best of all creams I have used. The razor glides across the skin great and this is really noticeable using a straight.

The moisturizing is great as the product contains both lanolin and coconut oil, just like any high end cream. The packaging is fairly basic, but I like the stripe pattern on the tube. I like the scent, it is nothing fancy just a soapy barber shop type scent. The price is also unbeatable.

Finally, the company is American owned and has all its production at home (like all Barbasol products in addition to the actual assembled product, all of the ingredients and components are American sourced/made), so for me that's another bonus to buying this cream.

All in all a great classic product that everyone here should be using.

Drugstore.com also carries Clubman Club Lather shave cream which I think may only be a couple bucks more and can be used with or without a brush. I think it's definitely better than the Barbasol. For some reason the Barbasol didn't rinse off easily for me and left a film on my face. Might be worth trying.

Recently I have been going through an effort to simplify my shaving processes. I had been doing an incredibly elaborate shave prep combined with making superlather and applying pre-shave oil between every pass. Then, post-shave, I would do a WWR, CWR, alum block, CWR #2, witch hazel, and then (finally) AS. While I did get wonderful shaves, it was far too long and exhausting.

I started out by cutting out the elaborate prep and the pre-shave oil. Just a shower and more hot water at the sink. Amazingly, my shave quality stayed high.

I then went on a trip and didn't want to take my tabac and brush with me. I wound up using an aerosol can of Barbasol and got great shaves with that. The fact that I got a great shave without using fancy soaps or brushes got me thinking. Now I don't want to go back to using aerosol goo, for so much of that is just air. Air doesn't make good protection for your face. So I began thinking about brushless creams. Doing a little history research (I love history), I found out that Barbasol was, originally, a brushless shave cream. In fact, I think that Barbasol might have been the first brushless cream invented. (I admit that I could be wrong about that.) That intrigued me. Unfortunately, the original formulation of Barbasol cream is no longer available, but this is the spiritual successor. So I ordered some and decided to give it a try today.

The price was great. I got it at drugstore.com, and it was only $4.49 for 5 oz. Shipping was free because my order totaled over $25. The packaging was unremarkable (I do like the Barbasol stripes, however).

After my shower, I left my face a little wet. I then squirted some cream out and spread it on my face. Now this cream will not lather no matter what you do, so don't even try. The scent was unremarkable. It was clean, but very light. I like that. I don't want anything interfering with my AS. It went on easily, and I noticed how slick and cushioning it felt.

The shave was fantastic. This cream was really, really cushioning. I finished three passes (rinsing my face and reapplying between each pass) and wound up with a BBS shave with absolutely NO razor burn on my neck. Moreover, the skin on my face was silky, silky smooth. When it came time to put on my aftershave, there was just a very minor alcohol burn. It was clear to me that this cream had really protected my face.

I am very impressed with this cream, and will continue to use it. I recommend it to anyone who has to travel, and doesn't want to bother with taking a brush. The price is fantastic, too.