Which creams are slickest?

[300ZXNA]

As a long time lurker, I decided it was time to start a thread and get involved in the discussion here. I began wetshaving in November, going from a Gillette Fusion Power to the following lineup:

Merkur Progress adjustable razor
TOBS Avocado and Rose creams
Nivea Cooling ASB
Pinaud Bay Rum AS
Tweezerman badger brush
Aveeno hand lotion (moisturizer that I apply after the AS)

I bought a razor blade sample pack, and like the Derby's and Feathers the best, though I think I am going to settle on the derby's primarily since they are a bit smoother on my face and are cheaper to boot.

While there are a lot of things I like about wetshaving over the Fusion, I still have a few problems that I am trying to iron out. The main problem is that I still get redness and irritation on my upper lip no matter what I try. I've tried all sorts of angle, WTG, ATG, etc, I've tried new, sharp blades, etc, but my upper lip just constantly is visibly red and irritated.

I tried some Mama Bear soaps, and the slickness of the soaps seemed to help, only problem is I was only able to do 3 shaves with the soaps before my skin broke out due to an allergy to the soaps. Therefore I sold them. Point being that my face seemed to respond well to the slicker soap as compared to the cream.

Comparing the TOBS creams, I have found that the Rose is slicker than the avocado, and reduces my irritation, yet I love the scent of the Avocado and don't want to give up on it. I am thinking of buying a TOBS soap to pair with the avocado, trying the Mantic "superlather" trick to make the creams slicker in the hopes of it finally eliminating my upper lip irritation.

So I guess I am here to ask for suggestions, as to what soaps are slick and would pair well with TOBS creams, or what straight up creams are perhaps slicker than TOBS and would possibly help me out on this.

Anyway, overall I have really enjoyed my conversion to wetshaving, and don't intend to go back, but I definitely need to figure out how to eliminate this irritation or I may be forced to go back as it makes me look pretty ragged.

Well, I'm all ears, let me know what the communal wisdom of B&B thinks!

 

[luvmysuper]

Try a Godrej cream.
Very very reasonably priced, usually can be found at an Indian Grocery Store, and quite slick and cushiony.

 

[cvac]

I'd wager there is still something wrong with your technique. The upper lip is very sensitive and you need to be extremely careful there. You also need to adjust your angle there compared to the rest of the face. Do you have very stiff hair there? Does it grow down and flat against the face? That is very common and most guys with this issue will just be too aggro on the upper lip in hopes of trying to get it super smooth. Try backing off and readjusting your angle. Shave the upper lip before the rest of your face. Also, make sure your lather is good, not too thick, not too thin. Don't forget to rinse with warm (not hot) water between passes. Proper prep will also help soften the whiskers on the upper lip and make them easier to cut.

TOBs Avocado is plenty slick, IMHO.

One thing I'd do is ditch both your AS for something more mild. The Pinaud is really high in alcohol and the Nivea Cooling has alcohol and menthol. Both of those things can irritate some people. I'd try a low or no alcohol splash or witch hazel, and an alcohol free balm like Nivea Sensitive. Also ditch the hand lotion. That's not meant for putting on your face and could also be a source of irritation.

For blades, did you try Iridium? I found the Derbys had a coating that leeched off and irritated the crap out of my skin. Other guys reported the same problem awhile back. I know lots of people love them but my face couldn't take them at all.

For the MB soaps, did you try the unscented variety? That might solve your
problem with respect to MB soaps if the fragrance was the problem.

For slick creams, I find LEA cream to be very slick. Gentleman's Refinery also makes a very slick cream, but it is expensive. The new Pacific Shaving cream is also quite slick, but cuts very close, so it might not be right for you.

One thing you could try is adding a few drops of pure glycerin and/or jojoba oil to your lather mug after you've lathered your cream to increase slickness.

I wouldn't bother with TOBs soap or any other soap like it if slickness is what you're after. I generally don't find the milled veggie soaps to be all that slick. Glycerin based melt 'n pour soaps like MB are generally much slicker, but they do cut closer than a milled soap because they don't have as much cushion in their lather.

 

[mdunn]

ive found T&H creams to be the slickets (followed closely by C&E Sienna)

HOWEVER, a good soap is far slicker than a good cream

 

[jakuda]

For slickest creams I find Nancy Boy and Proraso Green to be the slickest.
Art of shaving just a bit below.
TOBS below.
Penhaligons I find is one of the least slick...

 

[Aaron622]

JM Fraser and The Gentlemen's Refinery are the slickest I have used. I think Fraser's is basically the same thing as TGR but many times cheaper. However, no cream is going to be anywhere near as slick as a glycerin-based soap like Mama Bear's.

 

[drandall]

JM frasier. incredibly slick and reasonably priced.

 

[300ZXNA]

I'd wager there is still something wrong with your technique. The upper lip is very sensitive and you need to be extremely careful there. You also need to adjust your angle there compared to the rest of the face. Do you have very stiff hair there? Does it grow down and flat against the face? That is very common and most guys with this issue will just be too aggro on the upper lip in hopes of trying to get it super smooth.

I have tried adjusting the angle, as the hairs on my lip do seem that they are quite oblique to the skin. I've tried a really shallow angle, to the point where the razor doesn't even seem to be cutting, I've also tried different settings on the Merkur. FWIW I've been using setting 2 out of 5 (my progress actually zeroes at 1, so I'm on the milder end of the spectrum). I've also tried different pass directions. The one I have had most success with is WTG followed by what can best be described as across the grain, where I pull the skin tight by pulling from around the corner of my mouth, and then making downward strokes from the centerline of the face toward the corner of the mouth at about a *45 angle from WTG. I've also tried different speeds for the strokes. If they are too slow, the razor doesn't seem to have enough inertia and just drags and pulls.

Point being that I am fully open to the idea that it is my technique that is failing me, but I've tried all sorts of different techniques.

One thing I'd do is ditch both your AS for something more mild. The Pinaud is really high in alcohol and the Nivea Cooling has alcohol and menthol. Both of those things can irritate some people. I'd try a low or no alcohol splash or witch hazel, and an alcohol free balm like Nivea Sensitive. Also ditch the hand lotion. That's not meant for putting on your face and could also be a source of irritation.

I actually forgot to mention that I do have some of the Nivea sensitive and is didn't seem to make much of a difference. I was wrong in that the Aveeno I use is not the hand lotion, it is this one
. I've used it for 5 years now as my main aftershave, and never had any irritation when using the Fusion, in fact the Aveeno is what I switched to from Nivea AS. The Aveeno cleared up the razor burn I had been getting on my neck with the Fusion. I just ordered some Nancy Boy Signature scent AS that I was going to replace the bay rum with. Hopefully that will help, as I agree that the bay rum AS is extremely drying.

For blades, did you try Iridium? I found the Derbys had a coating that leeched off and irritated the crap out of my skin. Other guys reported the same problem awhile back. I know lots of people love them but my face couldn't take them at all.

This could possibly be a factor, but I haven't seen any improvement regardless of which blade I've used. I've tried Derby's, Feathers, Gillette 7 o'clock, bluebirds, and Merkur's with the Derby seeming the smoothest.

For the MB soaps, did you try the unscented variety? That might solve your
problem with respect to MB soaps if the fragrance was the problem.

Not a bad idea. Definitely cheaper than getting some TOBS soap. I was also thinking I would give Tabac a try.

One thing you could try is adding a few drops of pure glycerin and/or jojoba oil to your lather mug after you've lathered your cream to increase slickness.

Are there any common OTC places to get these, or will amazon or the like be a better bet?

I wouldn't bother with TOBs soap or any other soap like it if slickness is what you're after. I generally don't find the milled veggie soaps to be all that slick. Glycerin based melt 'n pour soaps like MB are generally much slicker, but they do cut closer than a milled soap because they don't have as much cushion in their lather.

Also good to know, glad I didn't drop money on some $30 soaps that wouldn't have solved the problem.

As for other ideas I've had, I would like to try a slant bar, see if the more efficient cutting action would help. Pre-shave oil was another consideration. I've also wanted to try and alum block, I've heard they can really tone the skin and reduce irritation . . .

 

[300ZXNA]

For slickest creams I find Nancy Boy and Proraso Green to be the slickest.
Art of shaving just a bit below.
TOBS below.
Penhaligons I find is one of the least slick...

Interesting you mention Proraso Green. I have some of the green tubed C.O. Bigelow version (from Bath and Body Works) and found it to be less slick than TOBS. Is there a difference between the regular PG and the C.O. versions?

 

[RILEY]

Nivea Moisturising Shave Cream = zero irritation

as well as Omega shave cream, must be the lanolin in it

 

[cvac]

Don't bother with an alum block. Alum is a powerful astringent with antiseptic properties. If you've messed up your face, which it sounds like you are doing, it will only burn like hell and could actually make the irritation worse.

Proraso Green and Bigelow Premium are the same thing. Slickness is all relative. Water quality, and cream to water ratio differences among users can make a bit of a difference in individual results. FWIW, I find TOBS Avocado to be slicker than Proraso/Bigelow myself.

Glycerin and Jojoba oil can be bought at your local health food store.

Slant? Bad idea. If anything I would go with a mild fixed head razor like an old Gillette Tech or Superspeed.

I still think you have some technique issues to work through. Trying different techniques is one thing, but what if they are all bad/wrong techniques? Again, I have a strong hunch that your technique is off - your razor technique and maybe your lather as well. What it sounds like you are doing is scraping your face then that leads to irritation around the lip/mouth. It could be that you are somewhat sensitive/allergic to one or more of your shaving products and the scraping is making it worse because you're taking off too much skin. That's very, very common actually.

Look around here, you'll notice that experienced members of this board can use a wide variety of soaps and creams and still get great shaves out of all of them. It really comes down to know how to use the product and knowing how to use your brush and razor. That's assuming the product functions on a basic level and you're not allergic to it. Trying to find something that will magically make up for technique problems isn't going to get you the results you want.

Personally, I would settle on a very basic setup and stick with it, then start over from square one as if you are learning how to do this for the first time. That might help break you from some of the bad habits you've picked up. Re-watch the Mantic59 youtube videos and check this out:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=130110&highlight=blade+angle

 

[johnmrson]

I haven't tried that many creams yet. Perhaps 6 or 7. So far I think Lush, Shave The Planet is the slickest. It's not the best but I think it was probably the slipperiest.

 

[300ZXNA]

I still think you have some technique issues to work through. Trying different techniques is one thing, but what if they are all bad/wrong techniques? Again, I have a strong hunch that your technique is off - your razor technique and maybe your lather as well. What it sounds like you are doing is scraping your face then that leads to irritation around the lip/mouth. It could be that you are somewhat sensitive/allergic to one or more of your shaving products and the scraping is making it worse because you're taking off too much skin. That's very, very common actually.

The more I think about it, the more I think that it is a mechanical (technique issue) rather than a chemical/allergy issue. My reasoning is that the rest of my face does fine. I have less irritation on my neck with the DE than I did with the fusion. If I was allergic, I would think that more than just my upper lip would be inflamed, especially since I have been mixing and matching trying to find something that will alleviate the problem, and have found that if the only AS I apply is the Nivea sensitive, it still appears red.

Also, it is probably worth noting that the irritation is not red localized bumps, but just an even vasodilation, like a mild sunburn. The skin feels smooth and intact to the touch, it isn't even sensitive or in pain, just red.

 

[WhosYerBob]

Prairie Creations tallow, Kiss My Face and Weleda are all quite slick.

 

[The Seeker]

I find Erasmic to be very slick.

 

[TiberiuR]

If you can find it, try a cream called Florena.
Nivea shaving cream is also very similar

 

[RBE17]

The slickest shaving product I've used is TOBS Jermyn Street. Musgo Real was pretty slick, too, but irritated my face. Vintage Blades unscented shaving cream is slick and super cushiony as well.

 

[Zepher]

I'd say the sllickest creams I've tried are TOBS Avocado and Frasers

 

[azmark]

Musgo is about the best in all properties of shaving with the only debate being the scent.

 

[media]

Musgo is about the best in all properties of shaving with the only debate being the scent.

+1 Musgo is my favorite cream hands down. I think the scent is amazing.

Ive been debating the asb for this reason.