I practically buy zero "health and beauty" products at the store. Other than for shaving, just bars of hand soap.
The single exception is shaving gel in a can, either Edge or Gillette. Both work perfect for their intended use and both products are nearly identical in every aspect.
Gel was basically invented to be a superior product to regular shaving creams like Barbasol. They are formulated to be a cartridge shaving replacement for fat laden DE shaving soaps.
Regular DE shaving soaps are about 45% fat, that is not water soluble. Because of this, they are not ideal for cartridge shaving because the fat clogs up the thin spaces between cartridge blades.
Because fats are not water soluble, they don't easily rinse from between cartridge razor blades.
Shaving gel is the answer to this dilemma. It goes on thick and provides a thick, dense layer of lubrication to shave with. Being water soluble, it just rinses from between the cartridge blades.
It works excellently for DE shaving. Like most things, there is a better technique to using it.
TV commercials show, dispensing a good bit onto your hands, rubbing it into a lather, then applying the lather to your face, by hand.
This is not only not the best way, but you end up using 2-3 times as much and not realizing the maximum benefit from the gel.
Water is essential. My pre-shave is a 3-5 minute period of moisturizing the skin and allowing the facial hair to absorb some water.
I don't stand there at the sink this entire time. I splash water on my face as I am engaged in other morning rituals. I make sure that at least three minutes or more has passed before I begin my shave.
I begin with a final face wetting. I then wet my hands and squirt a small stream of gel onto my fingertips. I then transfer the gel to both sides of my face and begin to rub it in and generate the lather directly on my face.
You don't need a "handful" of lather, like they show you on TV. When you do it that way you will use up twice as much (or more). This will result in your can lasting half as long. Good for Proctor and Gamble, bad for you!
Secondly, I want to put the thick gel in direct contact with my face, where I rub it in, as I rub it around on my already wet face. You adjust the amount of water you use to best suit your shave.
I am not looking for a thick shaving cream lather, like what you get from a can of Barbasol. What I am after, is a heavy dense layer of lather that is more like cake icing than foam.
I take my time applying it so that I have it spread evenly across my face and neck, covering just a bit more area than I plan to shave.
I preform a one pass shave, buffing as necessary. This is the same for every razor, from the DE89 to the R41. When I have finished going over an area or it dries out and no longer allows the razor to slide effortless over the area, I move on, using one side of the razor blade for each side side of my face.
I want to comment, that as long as there is sufficient lubrication, where the razor glides over my face without friction or pressure, it does not result in my skin becoming irritated.
When I have finished, I splash water on my face with both hands. My face is now clear but...
As I rub my hands all over my wet face, the slickness is still very much present. By moving my hands around, I can feel for any areas I have missed while re-hydrating my face.
I then do my mustache area and a clean up XTG pass. I re-wet my face again, which is still plenty slick, and execute a final touch up, sometimes a few strokes ATG.
Wetting my face yet again shows there is still a watery slickness present. I splash more water on, then use my Aqua Velva aftershave on my wet face.
Gillette and Edge gels are deceptive. You haven't any idea how much slick lubrication they provide, as specially after the initial lathering.
These currently retail for around $3.50-$3.75 for a 7 oz. (by weight) can. The can will last me 2-3 months.
If you are using an other shaving product, you can buy a can and apply a small amount directly to your wet face and put your other shaving product on over top. They will mix together and add the prolonged slickness you are seeking. They will continue to provide slickness after you have finished whatever regular shaving passes you usually do.
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