Preshave battle: baume.be versus Grooming Department?

[CzechCzar]

I have and love the GD preshave. However, I note that it gets runny as time goes on. I have been eyeing baume.be as a replacement.

Is anyone able to compare the two? On whatever points you like - price, quality, post-shave skin care, etc.

Let me know your thoughts, and thanks!

 

[Phoenixkh]

I have no experience with Grooming Department pre-shave but APBinNCA (Aaron) recommended the Baume.be pre-shave. I bought some and did a few tests... first of all.. it was wonderful with Baume.be shaving cream. I tried the Baume.be without their pre-shave and could tell a big difference. I've been using it ever since... with every shave.

I like it so much... I bought another tub. The tubs are small and I use a snurdle with every shave so it won't last as long as the soaps and creams I have. Amazon had it along with Baume.be cream when I was looking. They might be out of stock now. I haven't checked lately.... OK, I just checked.. Amazon has Baume.be pre-shave.. not the cream.

 

[CzechCzar]

Any other thoughts?

 

[CzechCzar]

I have no experience with Grooming Department pre-shave but APBinNCA (Aaron) recommended the Baume.be pre-shave. I bought some and did a few tests... first of all.. it was wonderful with Baume.be shaving cream. I tried the Baume.be without their pre-shave and could tell a big difference. I've been using it ever since... with every shave.

I like it so much... I bought another tub. The tubs are small and I use a snurdle with every shave so it won't last as long as the soaps and creams I have. Amazon had it along with Baume.be cream when I was looking. They might be out of stock now. I haven't checked lately.... OK, I just checked.. Amazon has Baume.be pre-shave.. not the cream.

And, @Phoenixkh, thank you!

 

[sanookd]

I have used both. I love Baume. Be shave cream and the balm. I used to use the preshave gel but for the price it didn’t last very long. I’ve been using GD preshaves for several years now. I know what you mean that after time they become a bit runny. They are not too runny for my taste and still remain very slick even if not firm. A small tub of GD product lasts me much longer than Baume. Be preshave did.
For me or was economics. In other words more bang for your buck. .

 

[CzechCzar]

I have used both. I love Baume. Be shave cream and the balm. I used to use the preshave gel but for the price it didn’t last very long. I’ve been using GD preshaves for several years now. I know what you mean that after time they become a bit runny. They are not too runny for my taste and still remain very slick even if not firm. A small tub of GD product lasts me much longer than Baume. Be preshave did.
For me or was economics. In other words more bang for your buck. .

Many thanks for this.

Your take is what I had supposed. It will be hard to justify the price difference, because the GD from even a few years ago is so outstanding. I understand that he has made further improvements since my initial purchase.

 

[sanookd]

Many thanks for this.

Your take is what I had supposed. It will be hard to justify the price difference, because the GD from even a few years ago is so outstanding. I understand that he has made further improvements since my initial purchase.

No problem, glad I could provide my insight for you.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I have used both. I love Baume. Be shave cream and the balm. I used to use the preshave gel but for the price it didn’t last very long. I’ve been using GD preshaves for several years now. I know what you mean that after time they become a bit runny. They are not too runny for my taste and still remain very slick even if not firm. A small tub of GD product lasts me much longer than Baume. Be preshave did.
For me or was economics. In other words more bang for your buck. .

Thank you for replying to Czech's thread. I love the Baume.be but as you mention, it is expensive. I didn't want to take a chance on another unverified product. I'll keep GD in mind when I run out of the Baume.be.... they also have one of my favorite creams and it doesn't irritate my skin.... a Huge side benefit.

 

[pierrelortie44]

Baume.be is a slightly coloured clear gel, slightly thinner consistency than petrolatum, masculine marine (blue) scent. Contains glycerin so moisturizing on contact. It can be spread thinly, very oily/greasy quality, therefore very protective and doesn’t wash off easily. I can still feel it on the skin after a 3 pass shave. Highly recommended.

 

[Phoenixkh]

CzechCzar,

I have some Grooming Department Pre-Shave on order... I'll add my opinion on the comparison after I use it a couple times. It is much less expensive so if it works as well for me as it does for Sanookd, you'll have two recommendations for GD's pre-shave.

I'll still use my Baumbe.be until I'm out of it.... but will rotate the two if the GD works equally well.

I'll let you know.

 

[TheBurgh]

very oily/greasy quality, therefore very protective and doesn’t wash off easily. I can still feel it on the skin after a 3 pass shave.

I'm following this thread with great interest, having seen few up-to-date pre-shave postings of wide participation on this and other shaving forums.

I've been using Proraso (red) pre-shave with satisfaction, primary happiness being the lack of "greasiness" on my oily skin. (Ergo, my hesitation with the Baum .be product.) I love experimenting with shaving products. Arriving this week will be several GDs, so I'm looking forward to trying those.

Thanks to the above participants!

 

[CzechCzar]

Baume.be is a slightly coloured clear gel, slightly thinner consistency than petrolatum, masculine marine (blue) scent. Contains glycerin so moisturizing on contact. It can be spread thinly, very oily/greasy quality, therefore very protective and doesn’t wash off easily. I can still feel it on the skin after a 3 pass shave. Highly recommended.

CzechCzar,

I have some Grooming Department Pre-Shave on order... I'll add my opinion on the comparison after I use it a couple times. It is much less expensive so if it works as well for me as it does for Sanookd, you'll have two recommendations for GD's pre-shave.

I'll still use my Baumbe.be until I'm out of it.... but will rotate the two if the GD works equally well.

I'll let you know.

Thanks very much guys, I am very curious to see a comparison.

 

[pierrelortie44]

Proraso preshave is very different. It is almost identical to shaving soap, as you can see from the ingredients, so it rinses off with water. It just doesn’t lather, maybe because it has more glycerin and less soap. I think it softens the whiskers, but just becomes part of the lather as soon as you apply it.

Oil as preshave get into the skin, and hopefully stays there protecting and preventing moisture loss during the shave.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Baume.be is interesting in that regard.... I rub it in with my hands and they feel oily when I rinse them off... but my face never feels oily. As I've mentioned a few times, I made my own shave oil, but I just mixed the raw ingredients by hand. It was horrible as a pre-shave but my wife loves it as a moisturizer. Go figure. It really gunked up my razor and that isn't easy to do. So there endeth that experiment.

The Baume.be doesn't mess up my razor... other than improving my shaves, I seems to be neutral. I've tried several soaps with and without it and it really does make a difference while shaving. I didn't notice any difference in my post shave feel though. That might be due to the fact I'm using Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream as CzechCzar recommended months ago. That stuff is amazing.

Since this is a Grooming Department thread as well.... I did order some Hydro gel from them as well... well, not from them, they are out of stock... but West Coast Shaving had it in stock... Mohammad let me know they had it and it was currently on sale. So, I'll be doing another battle: Neutrogena Hydro Boost vs. Grooming Department Hydro Gel. It should be interesting.

 

[CzechCzar]

Baume.be is interesting in that regard.... I rub it in with my hands and they feel oily when I rinse them off... but my face never feels oily. As I've mentioned a few times, I made my own shave oil, but I just mixed the raw ingredients by hand. It was horrible as a pre-shave but my wife loves it as a moisturizer. Go figure. It really gunked up my razor and that isn't easy to do. So there endeth that experiment.

The Baume.be doesn't mess up my razor... other than improving my shaves, I seems to be neutral. I've tried several soaps with and without it and it really does make a difference while shaving. I didn't notice any difference in my post shave feel though. That might be due to the fact I'm using Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream as CzechCzar recommended months ago. That stuff is amazing.

Since this is a Grooming Department thread as well.... I did order some Hydro gel from them as well... well, not from them, they are out of stock... but West Coast Shaving had it in stock... Mohammad let me know they had it and it was currently on sale. So, I'll be doing another battle: Neutrogena Hydro Boost vs. Grooming Department Hydro Gel. It should be interesting.

Please, tell me which one comes out on top!

 

[Phoenixkh]

CzechCzar,

I'll report back here.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Ok... I tried the Grooming Dept. Pre-Shave today... and I have to say... it's a bit slicker than the Baume.be. On the oily scale, they seem to be equal... neither left a film on my face after the shave.

I did make one mistake. I changed soaps back to Acca Kappa Barbershop. One too many variables. I'll switch back to Canada Shaving Soap next shave to take the soap out of the equation. Sorry about that.

The GD hydrating gel seems to work very well too... as well as Neutrogena Hydro Boost? I'm not sure yet. My face is smoother. the Hydro Boost leaves my face soft to the touch but if I glide my hands over it... my fingers drag a bit. With the GD Hydrating Gel, my skin is soft... but my fingers glide over it. I'm trying to describe a subjective feeling and I'm struggling to do so.

I'll keep updating this thread as I continue to use the GD products.. both are unscented, btw.

 

[bobmsp]

I’m a big believer in GD pre shave. However, on a day-to-day basis, I tend to use Crown Shaving pre shave more often. It comes in a pump bottle and is a non-oily gel. So it’s much easier to use. It doesn’t bump up the performance of my soap the way that GD does, but it still improves my shaves and is something to use quickly when I get out of the shower.

 

[Phoenixkh]

OK... I'm still loving the GD Pre-Shave.... I think it will replace my Baume.be Pre-Shave.... though I will use up the Baume.be, of course. It's very good but the GD is slightly better and is much less expensive.

Now.... the shootout between GD Hydrating Gel and Neutrogena....I regret buying two containers of GD Hydrating Gel. It's not always available hence the decision to order two. I've used it twice now..and used Canada Shaving Soap today to get a more scientific data collection point. Neutrogena is much more expensive. The GD HG doesn't calm my skin down nearly as well, unfortunately. I ended up just putting the Neutrogena over the top after a few hours. GD does recommend adding it to their pre-shave and I think I'll try that. I don't want to waste it or just bin it.

One thing I did notice, the GD pre-shave does tend to dry out the soap a bit so I need to use more water when lathering up my soaps. But it's an excellent product.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I did some reading here on B&B last night..... and learned, the Hyaluronic acid serum (which the GD Hydrating Gel is, basically) is supposed to used on a damp face... then you need to add a moisturizer. The Neutrogena is a combination of the hyaluronic acid with moisturizers. GD sells an additional moisturizing product.

I think that's why my face feels good after using both products together. I have some hmmmmmm stand alone hyaluronic acid on the way. I'm going to compare that with the GD hydrating gel.

As always, I'll report my findings here. Of course, it will remain one man's opinion and experience.

Here's one of the sites I read last night... worth the time to read it all the way through:

Hyaluronic Acid Is Magic For My Post Shave Skin | It's A Game Changer

I've been using this stuff since late October, long enough to feel like I can recommend hyaluronic acid without reservation. What is it? How did I come across it? How is it used? What does it do? I was told about it by Frank. Apparently it's a component of many high end skin care products...

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