🙋 Need help with brushless cream (ideal for travelling) 🙋

[DaveHStone]

Fellows,

I'm a die-hard brush and soap guy, but then I do realize travel has its limitations and so I'm seeking advice on brushless creams.

Never used one.

What I'd like to know is whether Cremo or King C Gillette brushless cream have any real benefit over traditional creams like T&H, Cella, TOBS, Proraso, etc when applied by hand, instead of brush. Any advice, special procedure, massaging it in, leaving it your face, making it wet/dry, tick, thin, etc... to get the best out of it?

Many tnx!

 

[JackJ]

I’ve got a small tube of Cremo that I’ve used brushless a couple times when in a rush. It works ok, but I haven’t compared it to a traditional cream used brushless. The “in a rush” part probably does more to compromise my results than the choice of lather product.

I’ll be curious what others have to say.

 

[Ivo4u2]

There is also brushless shave gel non foaming which is usable. I have even shaved with nuru massage gel. It simply works

If you have some soap at home simply rubb it on wet face and agitate it more with your fingers and give it a go. It might surprise you.

 

[xiletero]

For me cremo gets sticky very fast. I have used Trader Joes Mango Honey non lathering cream, very wet, do half a face then the other.....I just rub it with my fingers and if needed add a bit of water. This thing is very very slick....

 

[Southern_S]

Personally I have never used a brushless cream, however I use my normal creams such as TOBS/Proraso without a brush by working them in my hands for a couple seconds before applying to my face and rubbing in - then I just shave like normal.

Not an answer to your question per se, but food for thought.

 

[David John]

Cremo and a 5 blade Schick Hydra Razor do the trick when in a pinch, running late... I get descent results from that combo and use it only when I just don't have the time to lather and do 2 or 3 passes and touch up's with my Safety Razor which is not really often.

 

[Atlantic59]

The key I found was to use plenty of water with it. Get the face wet, apply with wet fingertips. You won't get any lather to speak of, but still agitate the cream on the face to rub it in and mix with water. You only need a thin film.

 

[shavefan]

When I traveled regularly for work my 'road kit' was a small tube of Speick or AoS cream and a Mach3. I never cared for brushless creams and the traditional creams worked great for me without a brush.

I did also pack traditional soap and a travel brush in my carry-on sometimes. Just sized down the container to an aluminum screw top.

 

[hairless wonder]

Just curious, have you considered a shave stick? They can be rubbed on a wet face for shaving. Some of them also build a lather if you apply a brush.

 

[sarimento1]

Fellows,

I'm a die-hard brush and soap guy, but then I do realize travel has its limitations and so I'm seeking advice on brushless creams.

Never used one.

What I'd like to know is whether Cremo or King C Gillette brushless cream have any real benefit over traditional creams like T&H, Cella, TOBS, Proraso, etc when applied by hand, instead of brush. Any advice, special procedure, massaging it in, leaving it your face, making it wet/dry, tick, thin, etc... to get the best out of it?

Many tnx!

Sir DaveHStone!
So lucky that you can travel during pandemic!

I've always found brushless shave creams LESS enjoyable than traditional lathering creams or soaps!
But there are so many travel-friendly forms and packages of creams, soaps, sticks to choose from!
Even if lathering with my fingers, still Much better than brushless, IMHO!

 

[annik]

 

[SRLNY]

Unless you've almost got literally no room for toiletries, I've found you can cut your travel kit down to almost nothing. See my pictures -- hardly taking up any space. Use soap samples (or perhaps a tube, see second pic) and AS samples. And my hands-down lather champion bowl, which I also use at home, happens to fold up to almost nothing, about a third of an inch thick (Stirling sells this lather machine). So, in the end the largest thing is the brush itself (such as this star synthetic Simpson) and it really doesn't take up much room, even in a holder. So, no need not to do some brushing on the road! Heck, you can even carry a small matching shampoo bar! Since I like to travel light and can often get away with just my carry-on bags the worst thing is not being able to take blades. Sometimes relegated to a Bic metal disposable. If someone had an idea of how to get around the no blade rule, I'd be really happy!

,

 

[linty1]

My rec on the brushless creams would be just to skip them. A smaller brush and a shave stick would work, even if not the whole shave stick, just chop off a little pat of butter sized one, and when you use it, use the palm of your hand as a makeshift bowl, stick the pat in your palm and palm lather it. When done chuck it, or dry it off and reuse. I also saw someone use an old empty chapstick container, grate and press and make a mini shave stick

 

[SydneyShaver]

Fellows,

I'm a die-hard brush and soap guy, but then I do realize travel has its limitations and so I'm seeking advice on brushless creams.

Never used one.

What I'd like to know is whether Cremo or King C Gillette brushless cream have any real benefit over traditional creams like T&H, Cella, TOBS, Proraso, etc when applied by hand, instead of brush. Any advice, special procedure, massaging it in, leaving it your face, making it wet/dry, tick, thin, etc... to get the best out of it?

Many tnx!

if you are worried about latherability and don't want to travel with a brush or be afraid of losing the product at customs or something...you could try the king of shaves gel. It's a non-aerosol tube of gel that to me is possibly the best non brush use product ever. Personally I love the scent, it is vegan, easy to travel with, slick as, non-irritating, hydrating and moisturising and is free of a lot of random preservatives or sudsing agents a lot of its supermarket peers are flooded with. I've used the original and the mentholated version. Can't be beat for price or convenience imo. Just squirt it into a travel container if it is too big to take in carry on etc. I'm basically a shill for this stuff at this point. It's fantastic, I try and push everyone I know onto it and everyone ends up a convert. No brush, no mess. Just squirt some onto your fingers, maybe two peas worth and apply to wet face.

 

[Tanuki]

I use Barbasol Sensitive (from the tube) and now Barbasol 1919 for traveling or for super fast shaves at home. Hot water to wet face, apply as little as possible (very thin coat). I keep my left hand slick after applying for adding a touch more to the face if needed. With a little cream in a film canister I can travel for a week with my whole kit (injector, blade refill, cream) in one of those little RazoRock razor cases.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

I travel (well, traveled) with a shave stick and a little tiny wee-scot-sized brush, takes up very little room in my kit. La Toja shave stick is hard to beat for performance, cost, and packability.

 

[Dovo1695]

I'm a die-hard brush and soap guy, but then I do realize travel has its limitations and so I'm seeking advice on brushless creams.

Never used one.

What I'd like to know is whether Cremo or King C Gillette brushless cream have any real benefit over traditional creams like T&H, Cella, TOBS, Proraso, etc when applied by hand, instead of brush. Any advice, special procedure, massaging it in, leaving it your face, making it wet/dry, tick, thin, etc... to get the best out of it?

Cremo will certainly get the job done, but it's not necessarily your best option. I used it almost exclusively for months many years ago. It is quite slick when adequately hydrated (it's thirsty stuff), but it's not as slick as a traditional shave soap. A better option is to face lather a traditional shaving stick with your hand in lieu of a brush.

Apply a stick like La Toja, Arko, or Mogno directly to your wet stubble, run a bit of water over your left hand, and use your left hand like a brush. The lather will be very thin, nearly translucent, but slick as hell. The lather won't last especially long because it lacks the layer of microbubbles that prevent evaporation, but it's plenty of time for a single shaving pass (60-90 seconds). The key is to keep adding water to your soapy left hand throughout the shave to maintain the level of hydration your want. It's not even necessary to add more soap from the stick between passes. Just the soap on your sudsy left hand is plenty enough for 3 passes. Just keep adding a dribble of water to the fingertips of the left hand throughout the shave to keep the slickness up.

Believe it or not, this is actually my preferred way to make lather. I don't know why it's so much slicker than brush lather, but it definitely is. I still use a brush ~50% of the time, but only because I really enjoy the process of making lather with a brush. It's never as slick as handmade lather though, even after many many years of trying.

Just my 2 cents. Your mileage may vary.

Incidently, if you go the shaving stick route, here is a nice little screw bottom container from West Coast Shaving to keep things tidy. It's only .75oz, so it will fit a 1/3rd of a normal shave stick. Another good option is to empty out a travel sized deodorant container from Walmart/Target and press some of a shave stick into it.

Twist-up Shaving Stick Containers, .75 oz

Twist-up Shaving Stick Containers, .75 oz- Available today from $8.00

www.westcoastshaving.com

 

[Egmont]

As others mentioned, keep face wet as you shave. The only special technique I found is to apply brushless cream in as thin a layer as you can. Process: smear on, scrape off ... being sure you’re only using a small amount and keeping face wet.

Pros:
- readily available and low cost
- easy to use (although I’m surprised at how many reviews I see of those who can’t..)
- fast (a plus for travel), smear and scrape
- effective (ymmv), slick and protective
- keep you’re brush at home ( I inadvertently donated my wee Scott to some hotel)

Cons:
- the brands I’ve used do not come in smaller travel size (Cremo and Trader Joe’s). I normally check bag, but like to have an option for shorter trips. I’m sure there are alternatives but I’m not up on what’s out there.
- not as aesthetically pleasing as brush shave
- with the need to keep face wet, some slick stuff ends up getting on the razor handle and on my hands. Have to stop, rinse hands and razor. Annoying. Slows smear and scrape technique.

Recommend: get some brushless cream (suggest something like Cremo because of wide brick and mortar availability) and use it at home exclusively for a couple weeks until you’ve mastered any idiosyncrasies and can get it working for you. Then decide if you want to travel with it.

What I use now: Arko stick, cheap synthetic, face cream with spf. But I think brushless is an excellent option for travel.


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[Bhugo]

I just use Proraso without a brush in a pinch. Works fine for me. You don’t need much.

 

[malocchio]

Brushless cream eliminates the need to travel with a brush and mug......My shaves with several brushless creams and Greek shaving powder are every bit the equal in quality to my shaves with a brush and soap/cream .... Stephan's Smooth Shave is a fantastic brushless cream. Comes in a hand sized tub, but you can put some in a smell travel jar very easily ...