Stephan Stay Smoth Conditioning Shave Cream

Excellent cream for the beginner straight razor shaver (or anyone really). I came into contact with this as my barber uses it as a pre-shave. I bought a tub off of him and decided to use it solo. It's surprisingly easy to shave, even without a lather. I actually think it makes it easier since you can still see the whiskers through the cream, which can be extremely valuable while learning.

I really like MWF and this has lanolin. It's extremely moisturizing and long-lasting. There is not a cream or soap that leaves my face as well moisturized as Stephan's Stay Smooth - truly the world's smoothest shave.

Some folks may not like that it doesn't really have a strong scent, but I don't mind at all.

I may pick up a tub of this for SWMBO because she's expressed some interest in using my Lady Gillette.

I ordered some blades recently, and the place I ordered the blades from carried this, so I picked some up.

Price
$3.50 for a 16oz tub. If you want to get metric that's 473ml. Which makes it slightly bigger than a tub of Frasers for a little more than 1/4 of the price. That easily makes it the cheapest cream I've seen.
Quality
If you can get past the fact that this cream doesn't lather, you'll enjoy this cream a lot. It gives a very close shave. This wont replace my go to cream, but it was pleasant, I'll use it again, and when I run out I will certainly buy more. I imagine it would be very handy for people who want to trim beard or goatees, since you can see through it.
Scent
Smells like I would imagine a barbershop in the Caribbean would smell. Very tropical and fruity, but not overly strong. It smells a little different, but certainly not bad. I typically don't like fruitier smelling creams, but this one didn't bother me at all. I actually liked it very much.
Latherability
This cream doesn't lather at all. It wasn't intended to lather. You just rub it on like lotion, and get a good thin coating on your face (and I used it on my head as well) and start shaving.
Moisturizing Properties
A very moisturizing cream. Probably the most moisturizing cream I've used. I can't use ASB's, and I certainly noticed a difference after shaving with this cream.
Packaging
Well, it tells what's in the package, and best of all it holds a whopping 16oz. I call that darn good packaging if you ask me!

For those used to using lathering creams exclusively, this one may be strange to use at first. Since I use brushless creams (usually Alba) to travel, I took to this one easily.

All that's needed here is a thin layer. Without lather, it might be awkward for some since you can't easily see where you've shaved, but if your technique is solid, it's easy to manage. You can easily redistribute the cream over your face from other areas, so a little goes a long way - the added benefit of this is that you're constantly running your hand over your face and getting immediate feedback on your progress. I only had to dip into the jar again for a small amount to take care of the 3rd pass. A 16oz. tub will easily last several months.

Unlike lathering products, this is more forgiving when it comes to the amount of water used. Whenever it starts to feel dry, a few drops of water will wake it up again. You don't need to be as precise with water amounts as with lathering creams.

The sweet tropical scent may seem a bit peculiar, but I like it. It's not overpowering and it shouldn't clash with the other stinky stuff you put on after the shave.

Stephan has nice moisturizing properties, noticable even after the shave is complete. I could easily get away with not using a balm afterwards.

Even though this is not a lathering cream, I rated latherability a 7 so as not to drag the average rating down unfairly.

Cost of this tub was $6.99 plus tax, about half of where the higher end English creams start.

I'm not a fan of plastic packaging, so I rated down for that. Nice barberpole label, though.

This is a humble product without the cache of the English and boutique brands and, as such, it will probably never gain the respect it deserves. It's a very effective cream and at the very least would make a fun addition to your collection without breaking the bank or sacrificing on performance.

I discovered this interesting cream for sale at a local barber shop I visited for the first time this past week. I was told by the barbers there that they use it in the barber shop and that it was only $3.00. $3.00 for a hefty sized tub of shaving cream??? It was worth trying for the price alone. I usually try to shave on the cheap. They also had high praise for the product.

I have not graduated to Merkur razors yet. I used the Stephans Cream with a Triflexxx blade that works well for me. The cream is very thick and was easily applied to my face with my fingers. It is not a lathering cream, which takes some of the fun out of the shave. Also, as Zachster noted, the scent is of coconut and pineapple. I found it to be a pleasant scent that matches its barber shop origins.

The Downside:

Given the thickness of the cream, my blade required thorough washing with hot water between very short strokes. This proved to be somewhat annoying as most creams easily rinse out of my blade. I suspect this cream would work better with a straight razor. That's probably how it is used in the barber shop. I also found that while this cream moisturizes well, there is little lubrication. The blade does not glide easily over the skin with this cream. Thankfully it did not lead to any problems.

The Upside:

Notwithstanding the above-mentioned negatives, the results are solid. I got a VERY close shave with this cream. My face also felt well moisturized. Applying after shave balm was an added bonus. As a result, it's hard to dismiss this cream outright. In the end, it delivers.

Conclusion:

Is Stephan Stay Smooth Shaving Cream going to displace the more well-known stuff, no. A close shave can be accomplished, but to me, it's the type of cream you purchase for the fun of having an old school barber shop product. People on a strict budget will also like it for it's quality/price ratio as it really does produce good results. I would be interested in hearing how it works with a straight razor.

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.