Gillette Foam shaving with a Straight Razor

[rbscebu]

This morning I started shaving with Gillette foam (Australian). Millions of men shave with it every day. It can't be that bad.

Ingredients are:

Water​

Triethanolamine​

Palmitic Acid​

Stearic Acid​

Laureth-23​

Butane​

Isobutane​

Sodium Lauyrl Sulfate​

Propane​

Fragrance​

BHT​

I'm no chemist but it looks like this foam is perfect for Vegans and Greenies. No animals or plants have been harmed with the ingredients.

​

First shave this morning, I prepared as normal by washing my face thoroughly with Pears Transparent (India) soap. Rinsing well, I squirted some Gillette foam on my hand and wiped it onto my whiskers. I then performed my normal WTG + 2 x XTG passes with a Titan 1918 ACRO T.H.70 straight razor, reapplying the foam before each pass.

Normally I would expect a DFS+ result when shaving with "real" soap. Not so with Gillette foam. The best I could get is a CCS result although it wasn't that comfortable. The foam was not as slick as my normal soaps (Proraso cream, ARKO stick, tallow Tabac stick, Palmolive cream, etc.). It also left a very oily feeling on my face that needed a lot of rinsing to remove.

Tomorrow I'll try applying the foam with a brush and see what difference, if any, that makes.

 

[Lightcs1776]

If it works for you, then move forward full steam ahead. Isn't that what matters?

 

[Herrenberg]

Wow, talk about taking one for the team.

The best part is that, after that, you're going to shave with it again.

 

[rbscebu]

If it works for you, then move forward full steam ahead. Isn't that what matters?

Having it work and enjoying the shave with it are two entirely different things. So far, it is not doing either.

 

[rbscebu]

One thing that I forgot to mention is that the can needs a thoroughly good shaking before use. If you don't, it's not foam that comes out but rather a white milky thin cream. One day I might try it that way (as a thin cream) with a brush to see if that helps.

 

[Lightcs1776]

Having it work and enjoying the shave with it are two entirely different things. So far, it is not doing either.

That is too bad. However, I will admit that I personally prefer a good brush and a shave soap. But I would never criticize someone using a can of goo.

 

[sarimento1]

have had a good SR shave with Barbasol foam, no problem whatsoever!

 

[rbscebu]

have had a good SR shave with Barbasol foam, no problem whatsoever!

View attachment 1377380

I'm happy to hear that. I unfortunately do not have ready access to Barbados foam. My comments only relate to Gillette foam (Australian). This can of Gillette foam was found in the back of the bathroom cupboard in the farm cottage where I am currently residing.

I am also not about to go out and buy different types of canned foam to compare. I already have enough shaving soaps to see me out probably to the end of my life.

 

[Lather and Razors]

Gillette shave foams varies by region. Some barbers do use the foam for shaving instead of brush and cream/soap.

 

[mattps1]

This morning I started shaving with Gillette foam (Australian). Millions of men shave with it every day. It can't be that bad.

Ingredients are:

Water​

Triethanolamine​

Palmitic Acid​

Stearic Acid​

Laureth-23​

Butane​

Isobutane​

Sodium Lauyrl Sulfate​

Propane​

Fragrance​

BHT​

I'm no chemist but it looks like this foam is perfect for Vegans and Greenies. No animals or plants have been harmed with the ingredients.

View attachment 1377337

View attachment 1377336​

First shave this morning, I prepared as normal by washing my face thoroughly with Pears Transparent (India) soap. Rinsing well, I squirted some Gillette foam on my hand and wiped it onto my whiskers. I then performed my normal WTG + 2 x XTG passes with a Titan 1918 ACRO T.H.70 straight razor, reapplying the foam before each pass.

Normally I would expect a DFS+ result when shaving with "real" soap. Not so with Gillette foam. The best I could get is a CCS result although it wasn't that comfortable. The foam was not as slick as my normal soaps (Proraso cream, ARKO stick, tallow Tabac stick, Palmolive cream, etc.). It also left a very oily feeling on my face that needed a lot of rinsing to remove.

Tomorrow I'll try applying the foam with a brush and see what difference, if any, that makes.

Palmitic Acis is palm oil, LSL gives people skin problems and is usually avoided in quality skin products, and butane is refined fossil fuel and Propane? Lol. What part is appealing to the greenie crowd exactly??

 

[lasta]

I frequently shave with Foamy. Works great, better yet if you wet your hands and add a bit more water after applying.

 

[rbscebu]

Palmitic Acis is palm oil, LSL gives people skin problems and is usually avoided in quality skin products, and butane is refined fossil fuel and Propane? Lol. What part is appealing to the greenie crowd exactly??

I thought that none of the ingredients were derived from plants. Greenies love plants and don't want them harmed. It looks like I am wrong. The poor palms are hurt getting their oil.

Environmentalists are another matter. They of course would not be happy with the ingredients.

 

[lancre]

This morning I started shaving with Gillette foam (Australian). Millions of men shave with it every day. It can't be that bad.

Ingredients are:

Water​

Triethanolamine​

Palmitic Acid​

Stearic Acid​

Laureth-23​

Butane​

Isobutane​

Sodium Lauyrl Sulfate​

Propane​

Fragrance​

BHT​

I'm no chemist but it looks like this foam is perfect for Vegans and Greenies. No animals or plants have been harmed with the ingredients.

View attachment 1377337

View attachment 1377336​

First shave this morning, I prepared as normal by washing my face thoroughly with Pears Transparent (India) soap. Rinsing well, I squirted some Gillette foam on my hand and wiped it onto my whiskers. I then performed my normal WTG + 2 x XTG passes with a Titan 1918 ACRO T.H.70 straight razor, reapplying the foam before each pass.

Normally I would expect a DFS+ result when shaving with "real" soap. Not so with Gillette foam. The best I could get is a CCS result although it wasn't that comfortable. The foam was not as slick as my normal soaps (Proraso cream, ARKO stick, tallow Tabac stick, Palmolive cream, etc.). It also left a very oily feeling on my face that needed a lot of rinsing to remove.

Tomorrow I'll try applying the foam with a brush and see what difference, if any, that makes.

I've found that spraying a little canned goo into my lather bowl and then building lather with a brush, adding water as I go gives me slicker lather. The can just replaces the loading process.

My experience is based on only 2 choices, Barbasol foam and Nivea Gel, so with only the 2 data points, the results might be suspect.

 

[Borderboss]

I think so many people use it because that's all they know. Also, for them the morning shave is just something to get over with. Those of us on this board aren't in that category. The last time I used that stuff, it felt like I had shaved with broken glass compared with my normal results.

 

[rbscebu]

This morning's shave was the same procedure as yesterday except that I used a damp brush to lather the foam that was applied to my face. I added water as necessary to get to a typical consistency that I use for SR shaving. I still needed to reapply more foam and brush before each pass.

The resultant shave was an improvement on yesterday's shave but still not up to my liking. The rinsing off of the lather residue still felt like trying to rinse off used sump oil. This shave, I decided to was it off with Pears Transparent (India). That worked.

While shaving this morning, I was thinking, what is the purpose of canned goo if you have to use a brush to lather it. It is, so far, nowhere near as good as my regular creams and sticks. I'm not sure how many more shaves I can take using this Gillette foam.

Perhaps I need a SR with a built-in slime strip.

 

[APBinNCA]

what is the purpose of canned goo if you have to use a brush to lather it.

I believe it's intended purpose is to clog up your cartridge faster so you have to change it sooner.

 

[Kyle89]

I can get a nice comfortable shave with Barbasol applied with a damp brush. It's not as fun though. I think the time I used it with a straight razor I couldn't get the shave as close as I normally can though. It's fine if you're in a pinch/rush, but in that scenario a straight razor might not be the best of choices haha. Haven't tried this with the Gillette foam however.

 

[Chandu]

For me the area most canned foams fall down in is slickness. I have Nivea Men Sensitive Cooling gel and find it superior to any of the foam products I have used. If you ever are in the market for a gel, give it a shot. (The name says cooling, it's not a menthol, I think by cooling they really mean soothing)

I do think as far as canned product goes, I have moved on to the gels.

 

[Steve56]

+1 @Chandu

The best foam that I used was a French drugstore product when I got separated from my shaving bag for a day. It was surprisingly good, and usable, but almost any decent straight razor soap would beat it.

 

[SydneyShaver]

Agreed with the rest. Canned foams and gels don't feel as slick on top of having questionable ingredient lists. I try not to be a snob but a cheap shave soap like Col Conk were better than any canned product I've ever used. They are like $3 for a can though that literally does last over half a year for most people so financially most people find it to be good enough for the price. I personally prefer the non-aerosol variety of supermarket/pharmacy shave gels like King of Shaves. Better performance, better formulations and travel friendly.