For Men Razor Relief

I love this stuff.

Given the number of guys who rave about The Body Shop's shaving cream I was really surprised that only one of their ASBs had been reviewed and not even their basic two. For Men Razor Relief is their basic ASB that comes in a 3.3 oz tube and costs $14. At $4.24 it is one of the least expensive ASBs I've found that's worth a darn. I've been using this stuff for quite some time and really like it. Is it the best ASB out there? No. But it's available at any mall with a Body Shop and no need for mail order.

Here's a quick run down of the ingredients (sorry, no picture):

Aloe Barbadensis Gel, Water, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Cyclomethicone, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyle Alcohol, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alyky Acrylate Crosspolymer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sodium Hydroxide, Methylparaben, Boswellia Serrata Gum, Hydroxproply Methylcellulose, Propylparaben, Retinyl Palmitate, PEG-20 Stearate, Menthol, Disodium EDTA, Tocopherol, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Isobutylparaben

As you can see there are a lot of natural oils and ingredients (Aloe, Witch Hazel, Sesame Seed Oil, Soybean Oil) which is in line with most of The Body Shop's skin care products. There is a bit of alcohol in here but not enough to really give a burn. I've really shredded my face a couple of times and put this on and not much of a noticable sting/burn. It did cool a bit which is probably from teh Menthol and did an admirable job fighting razor burn. My face was left well moisturized and only one or two bumps after a serious hatchet job with a blade I should have tossed.

The consistency is pretty light. Not quite a milk but slightly more dense than Proraso's ASB. The scent is kind of bland. Not really much there. Even less that their shave cream. They have several other ASB scents if you're looking for more fragrance. I liked the lack of scent because it didn't interfere with my cologne.

Personally, when I'm using an ASB I compare to Proraso. I haven't found much that competes with it. This balm works about as well but not quite. Let's say 90% of the overall quality/effectiveness. At 90% of the price, I guess that's fair.