AOS First Try SUCCESS!

[Clovis Man]

Yesterday, I was given a sample kit of AOS -- oil, shaving cream, and balm. Tried it this morning, and I probably did it all wrong, but I don't think I've had this nice a shave in twenty years!

First I applied the oil to my face, then the shaving cream -- and it reminded me of cold cream as I put it on -- and then used my brush (that had been soaking in hot water) to lather it on my face. When I was ready for the first pass, it looked like whipped cream on my face! And SLICK!

After the first pass, I re-lathered and went ATG, then XTG, and it's STUNNING! Got just a little bit of razor burn on my neck, probably more from my technique than anything else. The included balm helped a bit with that, but since it was all unscented, I felt I had to put a bit of Old Spice A/S on afterwards.

All in all, a GREAT experience, and now I'm thinking I need an AOS kit -- well, maybe not, I can buy each individual item from various brands and possibly do better than the $100 or so for a kit...

​

 

[Optometrist]

Yesterday, I was given a sample kit of AOS -- oil, shaving cream, and balm. Tried it this morning, and I probably did it all wrong, but I don't think I've had this nice a shave in twenty years!

First I applied the oil to my face, then the shaving cream -- and it reminded me of cold cream as I put it on -- and then used my brush (that had been soaking in hot water) to lather it on my face. When I was ready for the first pass, it looked like whipped cream on my face! And SLICK!

After the first pass, I re-lathered and went ATG, then XTG, and it's STUNNING! Got just a little bit of razor burn on my neck, probably more from my technique than anything else. The included balm helped a bit with that, but since it was all unscented, I felt I had to put a bit of Old Spice A/S on afterwards.

All in all, a GREAT experience, and now I'm thinking I need an AOS kit -- well, maybe not, I can buy each individual item from various brands and possibly do better than the $100 or so for a kit...

​

Not used AoS creams but if the soaps are anything to go by, you should be in your element. I noticed your second and third passes were ATG and XTG. In that order? That could explain the redness in the neck area.

David

 

[Clovis Man]

Probably true. I've been using the carts for so long -- and it really doesn't seem toi matter with them. The DE is a different story.

 

[orchestrion]

Both the soaps and creams are top notch. I have pucks of the Lemon and Lavender soap and Sandalwood is one of the first things on my "to buy" list.

I got my dad a tub of the Lemon cream for his birthday and he loves it. You really can't go wrong with either one.

 

[Optometrist]

DE shaving is totally different to carts but we all know the pleasure in ditching those overpriced carts. If you are face lathering, nothing wrong in the way you did it, but many tend to swirl a squeezed brush over the cream in the tub, ie load the brush with cream, then take it to the face, occasionally dipping the brush in water in the sink to add more water as necessary. Also, DE shaving is a reduction process, reducing the hair length with each pass. Carts just go all out in one pass. Map your beard growth. The face, I'm sure, you will find easy but the neck area usually has hair changing directions frequently. This is usually the cause of redness and starting out with DE, I'm also sure most would agree when I suggest not going ATG on the neck until you are happy with WTG and XTG. Keep at it. You will be rewarded with fantastic shaves with a little practice as it all falls into place

David

 

[Clovis Man]

but many tend to swirl a squeezed brush over the cream in the tub

Well -- this was just a sample pack. Each individual item was in sort of a paper envelope and no tub was involved. Nevertheless, this experience shows the direction I think I want to go in. The only problem is that I just unwrapped a new cake of VGH, there's another one in the cabinet, along with a cake of Williams and two cakes of Dr. Conks! The problem being -- WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL THIS STUFF???

 

[Go West Young Man]

Well -- this was just a sample pack. Each individual item was in sort of a paper envelope and no tub was involved. Nevertheless, this experience shows the direction I think I want to go in. The only problem is that I just unwrapped a new cake of VGH, there's another one in the cabinet, along with a cake of Williams and two cakes of Dr. Conks! The problem being -- WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL THIS STUFF???

Throw it all away! Once you've tried high end stuff like AoS, it's hard to settle for Col Conks again.

 

[Tom Ford]

AOS is great stuff. Both their creams and soaps are simply awesome.

 

[Clovis Man]

Having read the following here, I immediately rushed down to Bath & Body Works to do a price check. FIVE DOLLARS and so I bought a 1.7 oz tube. I figured $5 US is going to be about the cheapest I buy ANYTHING in THIS hobby!

I suspect the Proraso/Bigelow should give similar results, but I don't have any pre-shave oil. Perhaps that bottle of cheap olive oil will do...

I walked into Bath & Body Works a while back looking for the C.O. Bigelow shaving cream that's really Proraso in a nicer tube,

 

[gaj90027]

Try shaving without the pre-shave oil. I don't have statistics but I would be willing to bet most of us do not use oil.

Bigelow is a nice slick cream, be very generous with the water and you will be rewarded.

Having read the following here, I immediately rushed down to Bath & Body Works to do a price check. FIVE DOLLARS and so I bought a 1.7 oz tube. I figured $5 US is going to be about the cheapest I buy ANYTHING in THIS hobby!

I suspect the Proraso/Bigelow should give similar results, but I don't have any pre-shave oil. Perhaps that bottle of cheap olive oil will do...

 

[Jwolf24601]

The Sandalwood cream is amazing, best sandalwood out there imo

 

[Clovis Man]

Try shaving without the pre-shave oil. I don't have statistics but I would be willing to bet most of us do not use oil.

Bigelow is a nice slick cream, be very generous with the water and you will be rewarded.

I did so this morning. While the Bigelow is slick, it doesn't seem to be quite as slick as the AOS sample I used yesterday. Either one beats the stuffin' outta' a cake of VGH, though!

Tnx
Earl

 

[orchestrion]

I've found that the AoS creams perform much better than Bigelow. Others might think otherwise. Your mileage may, of course, vary.

 

[Clovis Man]

Yes, I could tell the difference while still lathering. The thing is, for me to acquire AOS cream, I have to either mail-order it or else drive ~100 miles to Lubbock, while I can run down to the Mall and buy the Bigelow.

I suspect that I'll purchase a container of AOS cream the next time I find myself in Lubbock.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Yes, I could tell the difference while still lathering. The thing is, for me to acquire AOS cream, I have to either mail-order it or else drive ~100 miles to Lubbock, while I can run down to the Mall and buy the Bigelow.

I suspect that I'll purchase a container of AOS cream the next time I find myself in Lubbock.

Sign up on the AoS website for their email alerts - they run periodic sales and sometimes have free shipping offers.

 

[texaninkc]

i've been wetshaving for 3+years now and only started with safety razors in August when i found B&B. before coming on this forum i only used AOS products. i've tried their lavendar, unscented, and lemon. they are fantastic creams. i really love the balms even though some guys here think it leaves their face a little too milky. a little bit of the balm goes a long way. i love that stuff. i would advise against buying their kit. their pre-shave oil is worthless when you do a good prep (kyle's prep, followed by AOS products is fantastic).

i always thought their stuff was overpriced but i loved AOS products so i dealt with it. i've only felt ripped off by them when they sold me on their hardware. thankfully i found the fine folks here to help me with my DE AD.

 

[goby]

Throw it all away! Once you've tried high end stuff like AoS, it's hard to settle for Col Conks again.

Agree. Cheap stuff sucks. Life is short. Spend the money on the good stuff. It's really not that expensive.

 

[FL shaver]

I think AOS Lemon is possibly the best cream I've tried, but that is said after shaving 6 hours ago with it. I have also recently used KMF Key Lime, Macca Root, Musgo Real, Tabac, and Proraso creams. It has been several months since I used my Truefitt & Hill and Trumper's samples. They are all very good performers, but the AOS doesn't take a back seat to any of them. I get a very dense and slick cream with a small amount of product on the tip of my best badger brush. It helps any sharp blade get through the whiskers while protecting and moisturizing your skin.

Which flavor did you get samples of?

 

[Clovis Man]

The sample kit I had was all unscented, which I think is a good thing for samples. It lets you evaluate the actual lather, etc., without any distraction from a scent that you either can't stand or else can't stand to be WITHOUT.

 

[TMH478]

AOS has fantastic soaps and creams! Not to much of a fan of their "hardware".