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A tale (and comparison) of two creams: one big house and one artisan

(TL;DR version at the bottom.)

I used creams at the very beginning of my wetshaving journey, back in 2009 and 2010, but thereafter I moved on to soaps and never looked back. Until now. For some reason, I decided to try them again. So I asked Santa for creams for Christmas, and he delivered two creams.

The two creams were T&H West Indian Limes and Stone Cottage Soap Works Bay Lime.

I have now had the chance to shave with each cream at least five times, and thus am ready to make some comparisons.

Price: The Truefitt cream came in a tube containing 2.6 oz. It cost $22.
The Stone Cottage cream came in a wide-mouth tub containing 6 oz. The cost was $18.
Cost per ounce was therefore $8.46 per ounce for the T&H and $3 per ounce for the Stone Cottage.

Scent strength: On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being 'can barely tell it is scented' and 10 being 'very potent,' I would give the TandH cream about a 3, and the Stone Cottage about an 8.
I know scents are very subjective. I really like the West Indian Limes but wish it were a little bit stronger. I am less enamored of the Stone Cottage scent (although it is growing on me). I wish it were toned down just a bit.

Lather quality: Both creams make a fairly nice lather. The Stone Cottage lather is a little bit richer and more protective; it also seems to be a bit more stable and to break down more slowly.
Slickness of the two creams is good, and they are close enough that I can't really say that one is better than the other.
Residual slickness is not a strong suit of either of these products, but the Stone Cottage is better.

Post-shave face feel: Neither of these has the rich post-shave that many of my soaps have, but the Stone Cottage product leaves my face feeling a bit softer.

Ingredients list: Truefitt and Hill creams have methylparaben and propylparaben, which are problematic for some people. Stone Cottage creams are paraben free.

Final thoughts: I enjoy both of these creams quite a bit, but I think the Stone Cottage cream is superior in several ways, with its richer/more stable lather and its better skin softening. It is also considerably less expensive.

If you are looking for a cream that shaves way above its price point, find a scent you like at Stone Cottage and give it a try, especially if you enjoy strong scented products.

TL;DR: I got two creams from Santa. Overall, the Stone Cottage Soapworks cream is not only considerably less expensive, but it is also a superior product.


Now for a few pics (the top lather pic is Stone Cottage):
 

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To be fair, I’ve found the Truefitt creams to be better from their tub vs tubes…

One of the selling points for me with T&H is their rich, clean and non-lingering fragrances. It reduces any potential for splash clash.
 
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