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Can Only?

Hello gents! Sometimes I use canned foam for my shaves.... I do it for variety. It’s convenient and quick, no brush to have to deal with. However who here uses a DE razor and shaves ONLY with canned products? I know there are more than a few of you and I’m curious to hear your thoughts about it. Also what brand of foam is your favorite?
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rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
In my many decades of shaving, I have only ever bought one can of shaving foam. That lasted three shaved before I trashed it. From there it was straight back to brush and soap.
 
I have to admit I was perplexed by the title. I read the word "can" as it is used in a sentence such as "Can you imagine?"

So when I read "can only" my first thought was "can only what?" lol

I never used canned stuff, so I'm not your target audience. About a week ago, when i was in a hurry, I used some cream that is intended to be lathered, but instead I just applied it to my face and worked it in as if I were using canned lather. It worked pretty well. It was, if anything, slicker that way. I know that some people use creams without a brush fairly frequently, and I am sure there are guys who use canned lather fairly frequently. I don't know if anybody on this site uses it EXCLUSIVELY, which I think is what you are asking.
 
I don't exclusively use a can. In fact I rarely use one. But I do keep a can of Nivea sensitive foam or gel handy for when I'm rushed. The shaves are just as good as with soap but find they dry my skin out a little compared to the soaps.

I have a tube of erasmic gel which is useless on its own but makes a decent uber-lather when I add a drop of it to soap.

I'd love to try Barbasol (for no other reason than Jurassic Park) but it's not avalible in the UK and is ridiculously expensive online.
 
I use to use the canned stuff a lot but then I found B&B about 8 years ago and I stopped using the can stuff. But just for fun about a year ago I picked up a can and wanted to see what it was like after not using it for about 8 years. It was lousy.
It felt like a plastic foam. I threw the can away after just one use. It might be good if you are in a hurry but otherwise it is just bad.
 
I don't exclusively use a can. In fact I rarely use one. But I do keep a can of Nivea sensitive foam or gel handy for when I'm rushed. The shaves are just as good as with soap but find they dry my skin out a little compared to the soaps.
I have a tube of erasmic gel which is useless on its own but makes a decent uber-lather when I add a drop of it to soap.

I'd love to try Barbasol (for no other reason than Jurassic Park) but it's not available in the UK and is ridiculously expensive online.

Believe me, you're not missing anything.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Wow this thread is totally unpopular... sorry I tried.
I’ll have to invent a new one.
I’ll contribute. I hate neglected threads. I used cam for years. I had no brand loyalty and would switch it up from old school like you’ve got there to the gel stuff. Ymmv so if it he can works I say go for it.
 
i did that years ago on my first attempt at wet shaving:laugh:it didnt work out to well was more effort to clean the gunk out of the razor after shaving than just using a disposable keep in my mind though i had no idea at all of what i was doing
 
I used canned soap for most of my life. That is what I used when shaving was a chore that just had to be done. I hated, hated, hated foam. Edge Gel was a little better but still sucked. On a whim I started using a brush and puck. I never looked back. I can not see ever going back to a can, not even when I am in a hurry. An electric would be better to me than a shave with canned soap.
 
I used Gillette Foamy, Edge gel and Barbasol regular for years when I used carts. When I found B&B I stopped using the canned stuff, but I bought a few cans of Barbasol in the 100 year anniversary cause they looked cool and have used it from time to time. Overall, it definitely works but I don't like the face feel as much as I do with my soaps.
 
I wouldn't use canned foam exclusively but I will use it occasionally. I only have my current can because it's the Barbasol 100th anniversary edition. I suppose once I finish the can I will not replace. One of the reasons I switched to creams is because they can be used with or without a brush.
 
When I shaved with carts, I tried the foam once or twice but couldn't figure out what it offered. Shaving in the shower with ordinary hand soap was easy-breezy. Now that I'm trying to live the safety razor romance, it would defeat that new purpose. I discovered that barbasol was great for preventing fogged-up mirrors.
 
well im going to admit that i started with the can of Squirt slap smear cream then when i got into de shaving i found the joys of real soap's and i wont go back never i say NEVER ok so dont ask me again .
 
I’ll admit the can products are not as good as a real soap or cream. They tend to dry out the skin. I only use mine occasionally. I do like the simplicity of using them however.
 
The only reason I could see for not wanting to use a brush is to limit the amount of stuff you're carrying if you travel. I have nothing against people who use canned foam, but why would I not want to use a brush? Even with Cremo I use a brush.
 
I’m surprised @Razorcan hasn’t chimed in yet. As the name suggests, he exclusively uses both. I can say personally i’ve got no quarrels with the can. I used Barbasol Aloe exclusively for over a decade and the Proraso can is a nice shave as well. I simply enjoy the brush and soap and perhaps its minimally better performance. But i do break out the can now and again for variety.
 
I used canned foam when I used carts. Then when I started DE still had some to use up before my proraso red arrived. I don’t feel a can is all that much faster. I put a dab of proraso on my face and lather up. So I can’t see going back to the Gillette foamy.
 
Back in the days when I was shaving to beat the clock, I used cans.

My attempts at face-lathering conventional shaving soap with a brush caused a lot of irritation, but once I'd worked out that bowl-lathering was perfectly OK, I drifted away from cans. Maybe there's some magical brush out there (a synthetic?) that I could face-lather with.

Most of the canned products available in the UK are too thick and dry. The "Skin Guard" foam was the slickest I tried, though still far from ideal.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
I don't exclusively use a can. In fact I rarely use one. But I do keep a can of Nivea sensitive foam or gel handy for when I'm rushed. The shaves are just as good as with soap but find they dry my skin out a little compared to the soaps.

I have a tube of erasmic gel which is useless on its own but makes a decent uber-lather when I add a drop of it to soap.

I'd love to try Barbasol (for no other reason than Jurassic Park) but it's not avalible in the UK and is ridiculously expensive online.
Save your money. It's no better or worse than anything you can buy there I'd bet.

That being said.....

When I'm in a rush, or my lungs are making me choose between a shave OR a shower, I will then shave IN the shower. I have a can of Barbasol in the shower. I should take a picture. I know it's rusty; it may have MOLD growing on it it's been in there so long!

The secret to using canned foam is this: use some bar soap as a "pre shave" and put the foam directly over it. Gives me as good a shave as anything else I've tried.
 
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