New best-in-class: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream - an absolute game changer

[CCS]

The question of shelf life came up earlier in the thread so I steeled myself for a call to Neutrogena's customer service number and was, of course, connected to a script reader in the Philippines who was very difficult to understand (me being an English speaker and all). She advised me the law does not require an experation date on cosmetics but she initially said, 3-4 months up to 36 months from date of manufacture. This is determined from the lot number. The Costco purchase I made was produced in April so she decided it was good through April 2024. Considering the ingredients, I suspect the shelf life is, potentially, far longer and, at worst, it could lose some effectiveness (but I doubt it). Considering how many of us buy vintage cologne and shaving soaps like Old Spice, for instance, I'm not too troubled by their off the cuff answer. So long as it doesn't smell off, I'm good.

 

[Phoenixkh]

ahhh thanks
yeah repeating myself but when I got it the neutrogena the wife took a jar I mean HEY there were two of them hahaahhah
its her fav things now for her eyes she says
but yeah again beating that dead horse this stuff is magic for me and some others here

I am trying to use up my balms but then I think they are just nivea fairly inexpensive just get on with the stuff I truly love !!!!
not sure if others go through that or not


also my cerave body is a cream not a lotion OH guess that to us is like triple milled or cream ahahhahahah

OHHH one day will have me a SV brush to go with my soaps the turtle color pewter brand is calling me I can hear him from here

I am more a minimalist guy but do like making sure which is a odd balance so I am feeling close to narrowing down this shave stuff and face stuff

I am kinda leaning toward getting into cologne/perfume whatever ya call it which blows my wife away cause again that was never me before and since the AS goes away so quick just use a few I like or just the NHG and then put the $ into quality scents I really love

I know what we like about shaving brushes varies all over the place. I only have 6 badger brushes but 4 of them are SV brushes. That should tell you how much I love them. I bought one of them here from @SgtCrppls / Doug. As I've mentioned, it is fully broken in and is amazing. My new ones really do get better with every use. If they end up like the Bog Oak handle one I got from Doug, I'll be ecstatic. They are already approaching that, so I'm fairly confident they'll all end up matching in performance.

The problem with a recommendation like this... or one from anyone else is... what do they value in a brush... and do you have the same preferences?

 

[Ckmaui]

I know what we like about shaving brushes varies all over the place. I only have 6 badger brushes but 4 of them are SV brushes. That should tell you how much I love them. I bought one of them here from @SgtCrppls / Doug. As I've mentioned, it is fully broken in and is amazing. My new ones really do get better with every use. If they end up like the Bog Oak handle one I got from Doug, I'll be ecstatic. They are already approaching that, so I'm fairly confident they'll all end up matching in performance.

The problem with a recommendation like this... or one from anyone else is... what do they value in a brush... and do you have the same preferences?

for my love SV soap so far # 1 on performance and I love the looks and packaging so much to me sometimes companies details are nice as a full time photographer and used to do commercial advertising I appreciate that wife has been a full time graphic artist her whole life so creative types so I do think that has some bearing where I reckon an engineer would appreciate the way something is designed etc...

your brush pics and some things you have said and a few others pretty sure it was you that yet has no SV soap though ahhahaah if I am correct at that memory ya need to fix that for the love of your brushes

like anything in shaving its one of those ya just have to get it try it and see cause that is the only way to know !

I love to hear the desc and thoughts though cause ya know enable me to my wife ;

this guy on the forum has 4 and loves em I am just getting one to try
hahahahahahah

 

[Phoenixkh]

for my love SV soap so far # 1 on performance and I love the looks and packaging so much to me sometimes companies details are nice as a full time photographer and used to do commercial advertising I appreciate that wife has been a full time graphic artist her whole life so creative types so I do think that has some bearing where I reckon an engineer would appreciate the way something is designed etc...

your brush pics and some things you have said and a few others pretty sure it was you that yet has no SV soap though ahhahaah if I am correct at that memory ya need to fix that for the love of your brushes

like anything in shaving its one of those ya just have to get it try it and see cause that is the only way to know !

I love to hear the desc and thoughts though cause ya know enable me to my wife ;

this guy on the forum has 4 and loves em I am just getting one to try
hahahahahahah

Yeah, that's me.... 4 SV brushes but none of their soaps. I need light or non-scented soaps and most people say SV uses strong scents but that it doesn't bother their skin. I haven't had the courage to test it.

 

[Ckmaui]

Yeah, that's me.... 4 SV brushes but none of their soaps. I need light or non-scented soaps and most people say SV uses strong scents but that it doesn't bother their skin. I haven't had the courage to test it.

look at those 4 lonely brushes they thirst to lather the SV for which they were created

I think all my artisan types have been way stronger you can smell the SV but in a more natural way to me

 

[Ckmaui]

so my Neutrogena body came in and did a quick test

in quick: no way to replace the face not even close IMHO anyway

the wife did her legs to feel it and even she said yeah its still a bit sticky like you can feel it if you rub them like a normal lotion would be and kinda is there a small bit not gross or horrid just not like the face does on your face

did my legs one with the cerave cream I have and one with the NHG body and they are very very close to each other in feel and how it goes on and now a bit later how they feel again that you can rub your fingers into our skin and transfer it back to your fingers a bit like you used a lotion if you know what I mean by that they are so close its hard to say

on to my face !
to compare to the NHG face vs the NHG body
I did the back of my hands my forehead and my cheeks
for sure did not absorb as well and left that feel of something "ON" a bit like some balms have that something is on my face feel
I then had a damp washcloth and just did a wipe on my cheeks to get a touch off see what the feel was like and hard to say but the NHG body side seemed to have all wiped off had more of that damp skin where your fingers kinda do that stick glide stick glide traction feel

the forehead and back of hands was more to see it shiny or not ? and feel it result again has a bit more of that on me feel with the NHG body and a touch more of that shiny look going on

well worth a try reckon for $9 just going to keep it around and wife can try it and I can do try to compare again

here was the really odd thing I never noticed had the NHG body on my left hand palm the NHG face on my right ran them under water as I was going to get them wet to use soap
and the body side the water all sat kinda on top of the skin like a layer that made it stay on top !then kinda pulled away leaving a shiny coated looking
the face side I could make out all the fingerprints and patterns of skin in my fingers like the water just kinda absorbed naturally did not have that sheen look no beading up etc. !

while wet I rubbed them its like the right side was natural feeling
the left had that slick feeling of something ON (think a bit of shave soap and your finger tips slide super easy)

for me the face wins hands down for the shave thing and use on my face

but hey the body seems to be good for what it says the body

reckon after a month of use comparing the Cerave and NHG body on the arms and legs and wife trying it we can decide going forward which was best

so will be curious if others feel its not as absorbing ? some of the reviews did also state this greasy feel

 

[Ckmaui]

follow up on the NHG Body
had a shower last night put it on legs and arms post shower thinking maybe that will show a difference and again impossible toe notice anything unique or dif both were great
so figure overnight and got up this morning yup about the same cant tell any difference in the two

 

[Ron R]

ASRazor shave, August 9th 2022, 2nd use of the Neutrogena hydro boost as a shave beard balm, I applied it slightly different with small daps over the area of the shaven beard and then moved it around more evenly in this area of the freshly shaven area. The Hydro boost results are similar to my CeraVe moisturizer lotion balm but I did get a small reaction of like a Alcohol burn feeling that dissipated after a few minutes that I usually never get with other balms and that took me off a little wondering but it settled down and results where reasonable hydration like it should be with the Hyaluronic acid IMO.
Bottom line it works but not at par to my CeraVe moisturizing lotion as a shave balm but will test some more this winter after I use up my remaining CeraVe moisturizing lotion and Neutrogena hydro boost is a reasonably priced moisturizer with good results also. I think most of fellows are using the better concentrate formula of Neutrogena which is better one no doubt and should be for its price and for the OZ amount you receive. Looking at reviews also on Amazon it is liked mostly by its users of the Hydro boost I'm using and that tells the tale also.

Razor : Ever-Ready 1912 with a modified Gem Micromatic handle, Mfg 1936- 53, nice mid range, well built and takes the modern Gem blade still. Joy to use and easy to shave the face with.
Blade : Gem Personna SS PTFE(2) very sharp, excellent longevity, smooths out nicely + predictable.
Soap : Speick- nice mild spicy scent with excellent lather qualities. Triple milled soap in a stick very nice.
Brush : Yaqi Bali 24mm silvertip badger, new brush, excellent lather generator, heavenly pillow like soft tips, nice gentle scrub + excellent lather painter.
Pre shave : (Dedicated Cashmere synthetic)Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser with a dollop of clear Aloe Vera on the cleaned beard area.
Prep : Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups. WTG + ATG + pickups.
Post shave : Ach Brito Lavanda with witch hazel + a dollop of Neutrogena Hydro boost moisturizing lotion(scentless)testing).
Results :CCS,DFS,BBs + no irritation + no weepers=

excellent shave with my Ever-Ready1912 with a coated Gem blade.

Have some great shaves!

 

[Ckmaui]

so 18yr old daughter now loves the face boost so bought another 2 pack at coscto today
she also loved the Neutrogena body so it will get used win win

 

[CCS]

After using this for a few days now, I won't call it game changing or life changing but it's a very good moisturizer and a little goes further than I expected. At the Costco sale price of 2 for $20, it's a reasonable value. I like it. But I also like GFT skin food and T&H aftershave balms. Not sure if those products compare as moisturizers to the Hydro Boost to I like I can use both products together and not feel like I've over applied stuff after I'm done shaving. I can use less of the GFT and T&H on top of the Hydro Boost base.

 

[Ron R]

After using this for a few days now, I won't call it game changing or life changing but it's a very good moisturizer and a little goes further than I expected. At the Costco sale price of 2 for $20, it's a reasonable value. I like it. But I also like GFT skin food and T&H aftershave balms. Not sure if those products compare as moisturizers to the Hydro Boost to I like I can use both products together and not feel like I've over applied stuff after I'm done shaving. I can use less of the GFT and T&H on top of the Hydro Boost base.

I bought some straight hyaluronic acid in a small bottle and tried applying just that to my face like some folks claim works and makes your skin more youthful looking and reduces wrinkles and all that good stuff......... no significant change for myself I thought visually.
So I did a experiment with the Hyaluronic acid if would make a difference in my Nivea sensitive balm that I used for years and knew its performance very well, so I add a few drops to my Dollop size Nivea balm to see what happens.
With in that short 1 hr later it was amazing the feel of my skin hydration
& with just regular Nivea balm does not really reach that level of smoothness & nice face feel.
So I added a few drops to my daily Nivea balm post shave routine and I was sold on the Hyaluronic acid but it is expensive adding it to the Nivea balm so I looked for a lotion with Hyaluronic acid already added and CeraVe moisturizing lotion seemed to have what I wanted and it has been proven by millions of folks around the world and also the reviews were mostly solid good so I bought a jug and it was excellent and less expensive than a small bottle of that Hyaluronic acid and also the Nivea balm + it was scentless so not to interfere with aftershaves scents.
Find what ever balm that contains Hyaluronic acid that is added to the lotion and it could be what a person is searching for is my suggestion!
(This is the Hyaluronic acid I use..............Some Excellent CeraVe products.............Latest Neutrogena Hydro boost I tried.)

Have some great shaves!

 

[Time Bandit]

After reading this thread I was curious to say the least.

So, I went ahead and picked up a few items from the Hydro Boost line to try them out for myself.

So far I'm really liking the face wash, body lotion and the Gel-Cream. The one with SPF is for my lady and the Water Gel was free due to a mix-up from the retailer. I'll use it for comparison sake at some point so I can't complain.

 

[thombrogan]

Some days, I’ve used pure dimethicone oil in place of Neutrogena Hydro Boost and it seems just as good. Points to the Neutrogena for not having the pure dimethicone’s faint-yet-off putting odor and points to dimethicone for costing a lot less.

 

[Time Bandit]

Some days, I’ve used pure dimethicone oil in place of Neutrogena Hydro Boost and it seems just as good. Points to the Neutrogena for not having the pure dimethicone’s faint-yet-off putting odor and points to dimethicone for costing a lot less.

But the Hyaluronic Acid???

 

[thombrogan]

But the Hyaluronic Acid?

You’re correct. It ain’t there in the bottle only dimethicone. And it works great. It’s even a good pre-shave if your brush is synthetic or your cream is brushless, but I’m just using it for post-shave for the moment.

 

[Time Bandit]

You’re correct. It ain’t there in the bottle only dimethicone. And it works great. It’s even a good pre-shave if your brush is synthetic or your cream is brushless, but I’m just using it for post-shave for the moment.

Yeah, that's cool. There's nothing wrong with what you're doing. Using straight Dimethicone is and interesting idea.

Thanks for the suggestion to use it as a pre-shave. That thought had never crossed my mind.

 

[thombrogan]

It’s why I originally bought it. @Whilliam is always finding a hair conditioner with dimethicone and I sometimes can’t research them before buying, so I had a lightbulb moment. Definitely good for sealing existing moisture in skin if a traditional lotion doesn’t seem to help.

And if your pet rodents ever give you ringworm and the ringworm triggers an episode of pompholyx dishydrotic eczema…. Well it helps a lot.

 

[Time Bandit]

And if your pet rodents ever give you ringworm and the ringworm triggers an episode of pompholyx dishydrotic eczema…. Well it helps a lot.

Where did this come from?
Do you have pet rodents?

 

[Cino]

Dimethicone is only a barrier as far as I know. It prevents moisture loss but otherwise does nothing for your skin. It's basically car wax for your face. Hyaluronic acid helps to moisturize the outer layers of your skin. Although, I'm no dermatologist.

 

[thombrogan]

Do you have pet rodents?

Not anymore! Had rats for over 20 years (different ones - they don’t live long) and finally had our first bogeys from domestic rats.