Jason 6-1 Beard & Skin Therapy

Here's a review of Jason's 6 in 1 Beard & Skin Therapy Aftershave. After a few weeks using this stuff I've been meaning to put a review up.

In the constant search for great shaving products that only those of you reading this review would understand, I bought this aftershave without any prior experience with products from the Jason line. Though I admit I'm not much of a health food/organic product person, I love to peruse the personal care aisles of such stores. While looking through such an aisle of the health food store on my college campus, I saw a bottle with the words "After Shave" and the price of "$4.99." Everything became a blur and the next memory I have is that of me sitting in my dorm room twenty minutes later and five dollars poorer wondering what had just happened. The following review will hopefully help you make a better-informed decision than the one I made. Either way, however, I don't think you'll be disappointed.



Price
This stuff definitely gets a 10 in the price category. It sells for $3.72 plus a reasonable shipping rate at Vitacost, but if you have a health food store anywhere nearby you can probably get it for under five dollars. For me, it cost $5.34 with Indiana's 7% sales tax included. For 8 ounces of product at $5.34, the cost per ounce comes out to around 67 cents. That's a pretty good price if you ask a poor college student like me.

Quality
Like I said before, I haven't used any other Jason product, but this particular product deserves a 9. It comes out of the bottle pretty easily as it has a gel-like consistency. It's a bit thicker than Trumper's skin food but not as thick as, say, Art of Shaving's aftershave gel (if anyone besides me bought the stuff). It's a perfect middle ground between a splash and a balm. The instructions on the bottle recommend adding a few drops of water to a palmful of gel. In the original review, canman suggested applying a straight palmful of gel to a wet face. After using each method for a week respectively, my opinion is that canman's method works better. Whichever way you choose to do it, this stuff is going to get the job done. It's heavily aloe based and one can definitely tell when using it. Witch hazel and glycerin round out a pretty impressive ingredients list. Here's a picture I snapped of the ingredients along with the directions for application:



Fights Razor Burn
There's not too much to be said for it fighting razor burn other than it does. That's why it gets a 9. I'm not one to intentionally give myself razor burn, but I am one to get a bit overzealous or impatient and either do too many passes or shave too fast. This stuff neutralizes any irritation I've ever irresponsibly given myself and I've never felt any lingering irritation after using it. It does better than a simple alcohol-based splash in my experience. The only thing stopping it from getting a 10 is the fact that I've used products that get rid of irritation from razor burn more or less on contact with my skin. Some of this is most certainly a case of "your mileage may vary," but this stuff is definitely near the top tier in terms of fighting the burn.

Cooling Sensation
Since this is an aloe based product the high cooling sensation is definitely there. There is no alcohol and only a slight amount of menthol, so there's no evaporation effect or face-freezing sensation one would get from an aftershave with a high menthol content. I still rank it much higher than, for instance, an alcohol-free balm (like Art of Shaving's balm) or a menthol-free alcohol-based splash like Old Spice. For these reasons I think it is deserving of an 8.

Scent
Ahhh, the most subjective category of any review. As a disclaimer, I'm basing my rating of an 8 off of the fact that this is product is intended to be as natural as possible and therefore be as close to "fragrance free" as possible. I will say that this product is close to "unscented" in the sense that, well, there is very little fragrance added*. There is, however, a fairly strong aloe smell one may detect upon smelling the product from its container. I, too, can pick up on this smell. While it's not completely unpleasant, it may be off-putting to some. Have no fear, aloe-despisers, for the scent all but vanishes once you put it on! While there are some minor hangups in the scent department, I think that it ultimately succeeds at being an "unscented" product.

*Some people's interpretation of "fragrance free" or "unscented" may very well be different than mine. If you have questions or want further clarification, don't hesitate to PM me!

Efficacy
I think this is the most widely-interpreted category of the review section. When I first joined B&B I had no idea what "efficacy" was and for the first few months I just ignored the "Efficacy" section of reviews. At the risk of insulting anyone's intelligence, I also don't want to assume everyone should know what I'm talking about. Here's the Merriam-Webster definition of "efficacy:"


Now let's look back to that close-up shot I posted:



It says "Naturally soothing, refreshing, healing, and moisturizing."

Is it soothing? Yes. Is it refreshing? Very much so. Is it healing? As I highlighted earlier, yes. Is it moisturizing? Yes (more on than next). Based on the dictionary definition of "efficacy," I would say that this product produces the desired effects of being soothing, refreshing, healing, and moisturizing. In my opinion, a product that does exactly what it sets out to do deserves high marks, in this case a 9.

Moisturizing
Unlike an alcohol-based aftershave product, this stuff does not dry my face out in the slightest. While that alone is grounds enough for a high rating, I've found that my face is more moisturized after using this product compared to the more "neutral" amounts of moisturization I've experienced using other aftershave products. Then again, however, I've used balms that are slightly more moisturizing than this. I give it an 8.

No Alcohol Burn
Perhaps the biggest draw of this stuff. Other than price, it's the only other 10. As stated on the product's label, there is no alcohol. If you want more proof, alcohol is notably absent from the ingredients list. It provides the benefits of a heavy cooling effect without the stinging or drying caused by an alcohol-based splash. What's more to love?



**Although packaging isn't a recognized category in the Aftershave review section, I want to cover it. It's a thick plastic bottle with a push-down lid. Perfect for squirting out the right amount. Some may cry foul over the fact that it's not glass, but I think the plastic bottle is an important contribution to the low overall price of the product.

Just for fun, I took a picture of the normal amount I use. This much added to a wet face and neck is the perfect amount for reaping all of the product's benefits without the stickiness or tackiness that may result from a balm or skin food.





Eight ounces of a well-performing product for less than a dollar per once? There's really not much to lose. There are a few websites that sell this stuff that have very reasonable shipping rates. If you have a health food store near you than you're in an ever better (and harder to resist) position to try this out. The best way to check is to use Jason's own product finder.

So what are you waiting for? Skip the latte for a morning or dig under the couch cushions. A good product at a great price. You can't ask for too much more.

At the suggestion of Austin, I recently ordered this for less than $10 from Vitacost.com and it was delivered cross-country in two days. The price is pretty good, but it is even better if you can find it locally (I live in the sticks apparently even though there are 150,000 people in my town). This is a high quality product with no frills. The cooling sensation is okay, but could be better. There is no scent except for a brief soapy scent. Not terribly moisturizing, but it is slick. There is no alcohol. This is a must try even for dedicated splash users.

This has become one of my go-to aftershaves. I love the way it makes my skin feel all day, it's inexpensive, and I can find it locally.

Price - Less than $10. Can be found in most organic-type stores.

Quality - Excellent. Seems like it is mostly aloe but the blend is very good.

Fights Burn - Yup - aloe has long been known for this.

Cooling Sensation - Cooling as in the soothing you get. It has no alcohol or menthol otherwise.

Scent - There isn't really one which is why I rank it high.

Efficacy - Excellent for my skin type (combination).

Moisturizing - Very.

No Alcohol Burn - Nope. None in there.

The JASON site somewhat sucks, so I had to surf around for the ingredients. I found this at Vitacost.com:

All Natural After Shave. Aloe Vera Gel
Alcohol Free. Naturally Soothing, Refreshing, Healing and Moisturizing. Soothes redness and irritation with calming, certified organic aloe vera gel, chamomile, comfrey and ginseng extracts plus super-soothing allantoin. Combats dryness with olive-derived squalane, exotic vegetable oils and nourishing seaweed extracts. Your skin will be soft and smooth but never greasy.
Protects freshly shaved skin from the environment with healing Vitamin E and sunscreen for UV protection. For best results, they recommend that you shave using JASON 6-IN-1 Shaving Lotion with certified organic aloe vera gel. They promise - you will see and feel the difference. Satisfaction guranteed! All natural. Bio-Degradable

Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis Gel*, fucus vesiculosis (seaweed extract), anthemus nobilis (chamomile extract)*, glycerin (vege), xanthan gum, polysorbate 20, hamameles virginiana (witch hazel), panthenol (vit. B), corylus avellana (hazelnut oil), hedychium coronarium (awapuhi extract), lavandula angustifolia (lavender oil), NaPCA, Oleth-10, squalane (vege), tocopheryl acetate (vit. E), retinyl palmitate (vit. A), beta carotene, menthol, botanical fragrance of mixed citrus flower oils, passiflora edulis (passionflower extract), panax ginseng (ginseng extract)*, symphytum officinale (comfrey extract)*, allantoin, methylparaben, oxybenzone, benzocaine, propylparaben, natural color.
*Certified Organic

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