Item Description
This is interesting stuff. It is inexpensive -- a massive 16 oz tub costing only 3.25 from Appleton Barber Supply. On opening the plastic jar, I was greeted with a greenish substance that smelled pleasantly of coconut and pineapple. While pleasant, I have to say that the scent is more fitting for a sunscreen than a shaving cream.
With most brushless creams, I ignore the instructions and lather up in a bowl. This cream would not play that game, and formed no lather to speak of. So I gave up on that and followed the instructions, applying it to my wet face with my fingertips. And here is where I discovered the first, and possibly the only, flaw in this product -- it is not meant to produce lather. It instead produces a thin and very lubricative, but almost invisible film.
I found it somewhat disturbing to shave with no later -- lather acts as my guide, letting me know where I still need to shave. With this film, I had to pretty much just follow my routine and hope for the best. Luckily for me, my shave routine is down-pat. This cream/film would not be good for wet shave beginners who are still working on their shaving pattern.
Also because of the lack of lather, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was just shaving with water, and I fully expected to wind up with multiple cuts and razor burn -- Wow, was I wrong! After 3 passes I got an excellent shave with no nicks or burns. This is probably the closest shave I've had on my jaw line in quite a while. As an added plus, the moistening properties of Stephan survived my post shave routine of alum block, witch hazel and aftershave.
So, in all, this stuff works very well and gets high marks for the shave and its value, but it's really hard to get over the lack of lather. Also, I could do without the tropical fruit smells. I will use it again, but I don't know if I'll put it in regular rotation.
With most brushless creams, I ignore the instructions and lather up in a bowl. This cream would not play that game, and formed no lather to speak of. So I gave up on that and followed the instructions, applying it to my wet face with my fingertips. And here is where I discovered the first, and possibly the only, flaw in this product -- it is not meant to produce lather. It instead produces a thin and very lubricative, but almost invisible film.
I found it somewhat disturbing to shave with no later -- lather acts as my guide, letting me know where I still need to shave. With this film, I had to pretty much just follow my routine and hope for the best. Luckily for me, my shave routine is down-pat. This cream/film would not be good for wet shave beginners who are still working on their shaving pattern.
Also because of the lack of lather, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was just shaving with water, and I fully expected to wind up with multiple cuts and razor burn -- Wow, was I wrong! After 3 passes I got an excellent shave with no nicks or burns. This is probably the closest shave I've had on my jaw line in quite a while. As an added plus, the moistening properties of Stephan survived my post shave routine of alum block, witch hazel and aftershave.
So, in all, this stuff works very well and gets high marks for the shave and its value, but it's really hard to get over the lack of lather. Also, I could do without the tropical fruit smells. I will use it again, but I don't know if I'll put it in regular rotation.
