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Dr. Bronner's Organic Shaving Gel: Lemongrass-Lime

I am perhaps known for lengthy and detailed product reviews. This product. however, can be summed in a single word:

YUCK

Other words come to mind. They rhyme and are the same length. HINT: One of them is not "duck".

It's hard to know where to start. The Dr. Bronnerer brand is widely known for their excellent castile soap and pure organic products. I have used the company's certified-organic "DR, BRONNER'S MAGIC SOAPS' continuously since the late '60s.

For those not familiar with their products, their names are quirky and ramble on. My 32 oz. soap bottle is called: "18-in 1 'ALL-ONE' PEPPERMINT PURE CASTILE SOAP MADE WITH ORGANIC OILS'. The label continues with an additional 3,000 words containing the company founder's sometimes bizarre philosophy of life, quotations from Confuses and other tidbits--all at odd angles in 4-point type. Dr. Bronner was apparently both a genius and a genuine odd-ball.

Back to the product. "DR. BRONNER'S MAGIC ORGANIC SHAVING GEL SMOOTH MOISTURIZING LEMONGRASS LIME" 7 oz. tube contains an odd smelling semi-liquid fluid that looks and feels like used motor oil. The color also brought to mind the juice I found inside the grasshoppers I squashed as a kid, or what I imagine the contents of an Old West spittoon looked like. Not pleasant.

The gel is nasty to use. It's not very effective as a beard wetter/softener, not very moisturizing, provides very little glide and no cushioning at all. Altogether, it's a noxious looking, unpleasant and ineffective mix. I can't recommend it to anyone but my sworn enemies.

But it is pure and organic. Here is the list of contents:

"INGREDIENTS:
Organic Sucrose*, Organic White Grape Juice, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Shikakai Powder, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Corn Starch, Organic Lemongrass Oil, Organic Lemon Oil, Organic Lime Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol"
 
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I unequivocally agree with your review. I love Dr. B's soaps, particularly the Peppermint in the summer. I, too, was hoping the shave gel would be equally good, even if it was a brushless product. My shaves were horrible, and the fact that the product was little more than a bad smelling, viscous goo only worsened the experience. I'd rather shave with concentrated gorilla snot than use the Dr. B shave gel again.
 
i tried it ages ago and had awful luck. i work with sucrose all the time (its primary ingredient). sucrose solutions are sticky sticky not slick.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
Its actually crap in a bottle....but their bath soaps and their liquid Castile soaps are outstanding. The shave gel gave me the worst shave ever.
 
I'm glad to have read this before wasting money on this product. Their Castile soap is a staple in our house. If I wouldn't have read these comments I would have purchased some if I saw it. Now I probably won't.
 
Thanks for the review! I also love the peppermint castile soap and would have probably bought the shave soap had I seen it before this.
 
I love the bar soap (especially rose) but I agree 100% with the shave gel review: YUCK. It is motor-oil looking
 
Two of the ingredients if too much is used will kill lather:
Organic Coconut Oil*, Organic Olive Oil*
These are number 3 and 5 so no wonder it is not very strong on lather.

Sucrose is sugar so maybe the confused shaving cream with cake icing. :tongue_sm
 
Man, and I'm a big Dr. Bronner Peppermint Soap fan. Oh, well.
I am, too. I now buy it by the gallon. It really is an "18 in 1" product. We use it for showering, cleaning counters, an wood, etc. It's even good for bathing the family dog--although he is not that wild about peppermint.
 
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I love Dr. Bronners castile soaps, and have happily used them for decades. Hate their shave gel/snot. I use their castile soap to shave all the time: easiest is to simply smooth it on, just lightly palm lathered directly on your face. If you want to use them with a brush, add a couple drops of lanolin to give the lather body and more skin shave-protection and post-shave moisturizing.
 
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Reported a similar experience a little over a year ago from both the Lemongrass and Peppermint products.
It's still on the shelf in the shower... I need to toss it.
 
Reported a similar experience a little over a year ago from both the Lemongrass and Peppermint products.
It's still on the shelf in the shower... I need to toss it.
I tossed mine right after I wrote the review. It seemed the nest thing to do with the stuff.
 
As an aside, all this talk of Dr. B's all natural shave cream has made me nostalgic for the old Tom's of Maine Natural Shave Cream. Now, that was a good product! It's a shame that the good die young.
 
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