Dear fellow shavers,
I figured I would make a review of Vicco Turmeric shaving cream, since I recently was able to procure some and use it a few times, and also since there aren't a plethora of reviews on it already.
I got the version withOUT sandalwood. Just was easier for me to find/get than the sandalwood version. The tube I got doesn't have the goofy picture of the guy smiling on it (if you don't know what I'm talking about, just google image search "Vicco Turmeric Shaving Cream"), instead it's a nice looking royal blue tube with a matte finish. Really nice looking, but personally I almost wish I had the original tube design with the goofy looking smiling guy on it, just because.
Now to the cream itself, it's literally the color of turmeric, a deep, dark yellow. The scent is also like straight turmeric, earthy and warm. The fact that it looks and smells like turmeric is unsurprising since the cream is 16% turmeric oil by weight. The consistency is VERY thick, you really need to squeeze the cream quite hard to get it to come out. Basically it's as thick as a croap (ok, maybe not QUITE that thick, but it's close), which makes it a bit hard to initially lather. Once the cream starts to get smashed down a bit and water loosens it up, it lathers up really nicely, and unlike the brownish yellow color of the cream, the lather is white.
While lathered up, the scent of turmeric is pretty strong, but I quickly got used to it (possibly because I cook with turmeric all the time). I got a nice, dense, lather. Not the creamiest I've ever had, but certainly good in this respect. The shaves were excellent, and my face felt absolutely excellent post shave. The only quibble I would have is that there was the slightest tendency to want to dry out a bit while on the face, but if you know that, you can compensate for it.
So here's the summary of Vicco Turmeric, though keep in mind that YMMV:
Pros- Really great cushion, good slickness, excellent post shave feel,
Cons- A bit hard to get the really hard blob of cream to start lathering since it's so thick (though once it starts to loosen up, it lathers really well), tendency to dry a bit on the face if you don't take care
Neutral- The scent is really going to be a YMMV thing. Personally I really love the earthy scent of turmeric, but I'm absolutely certain that there's going to be loads of people that don't like it or even hate it.
Overall, I'd have to say that this is a great cream, verging on excellent (for me at least, based off the few times I've used it), with a few cons that can easily be overcome. If, like me, you want to try things from different places in the world, and you're not repelled by the scent of turmeric, this is absolutely a cream you should try to find good deals for. Hopefully I can get a hold of the sandalwood version too one of these days!
Just to wrap up, in case some of you are wondering why they use 16% turmeric oil in a shave cream, it's because turmeric is one of the most widely used spices in Ayurvedic medicine. This is from the California College of Ayurveda: "The most well known medicinal action of turmeric is its use as a powerful anti-inflammatory, the effectiveness of which is comparable to pharmaceutical medicines. However, it also acts as an alterative, analgesic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-allergic, anti-oxidant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, cholagogue, digestive, diuretic, stimulant, and vulnerary 6,8,10."
I figured I would make a review of Vicco Turmeric shaving cream, since I recently was able to procure some and use it a few times, and also since there aren't a plethora of reviews on it already.
I got the version withOUT sandalwood. Just was easier for me to find/get than the sandalwood version. The tube I got doesn't have the goofy picture of the guy smiling on it (if you don't know what I'm talking about, just google image search "Vicco Turmeric Shaving Cream"), instead it's a nice looking royal blue tube with a matte finish. Really nice looking, but personally I almost wish I had the original tube design with the goofy looking smiling guy on it, just because.
Now to the cream itself, it's literally the color of turmeric, a deep, dark yellow. The scent is also like straight turmeric, earthy and warm. The fact that it looks and smells like turmeric is unsurprising since the cream is 16% turmeric oil by weight. The consistency is VERY thick, you really need to squeeze the cream quite hard to get it to come out. Basically it's as thick as a croap (ok, maybe not QUITE that thick, but it's close), which makes it a bit hard to initially lather. Once the cream starts to get smashed down a bit and water loosens it up, it lathers up really nicely, and unlike the brownish yellow color of the cream, the lather is white.
While lathered up, the scent of turmeric is pretty strong, but I quickly got used to it (possibly because I cook with turmeric all the time). I got a nice, dense, lather. Not the creamiest I've ever had, but certainly good in this respect. The shaves were excellent, and my face felt absolutely excellent post shave. The only quibble I would have is that there was the slightest tendency to want to dry out a bit while on the face, but if you know that, you can compensate for it.
So here's the summary of Vicco Turmeric, though keep in mind that YMMV:
Pros- Really great cushion, good slickness, excellent post shave feel,
Cons- A bit hard to get the really hard blob of cream to start lathering since it's so thick (though once it starts to loosen up, it lathers really well), tendency to dry a bit on the face if you don't take care
Neutral- The scent is really going to be a YMMV thing. Personally I really love the earthy scent of turmeric, but I'm absolutely certain that there's going to be loads of people that don't like it or even hate it.
Overall, I'd have to say that this is a great cream, verging on excellent (for me at least, based off the few times I've used it), with a few cons that can easily be overcome. If, like me, you want to try things from different places in the world, and you're not repelled by the scent of turmeric, this is absolutely a cream you should try to find good deals for. Hopefully I can get a hold of the sandalwood version too one of these days!
Just to wrap up, in case some of you are wondering why they use 16% turmeric oil in a shave cream, it's because turmeric is one of the most widely used spices in Ayurvedic medicine. This is from the California College of Ayurveda: "The most well known medicinal action of turmeric is its use as a powerful anti-inflammatory, the effectiveness of which is comparable to pharmaceutical medicines. However, it also acts as an alterative, analgesic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-allergic, anti-oxidant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, cholagogue, digestive, diuretic, stimulant, and vulnerary 6,8,10."