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Why all the hate for shave foam?

Humanity has an ethical obligation to be as environmentally sound as we can. This certainly extends to not using cans and aerosols when we have a product which works just as well, and in some cases better, with almost no environmental impact.

You need not worry about being "as environmentally sound as we can". Nature recycles everything, and extinction is a natural process. Steel can be recycled by humans, or rusted to nothing by nature--your choice. Be sure to leave some trash and junk behind for future archeologists to learn from. I wince at how much information future generations are losing about us as the environmentalists push recycling everything they can get their hands on. We learn about past populations by the trash that is left behind, your rusty Barbasol can could someday be a major breakthrough for future generations to understand how we shaved ourselves.
 
You need not worry about being "as environmentally sound as we can". Nature recycles everything, and extinction is a natural process. Steel can be recycled by humans, or rusted to nothing by nature--your choice. Be sure to leave some trash and junk behind for future archeologists to learn from. I wince at how much information future generations are losing about us as the environmentalists push recycling everything they can get their hands on. We learn about past populations by the trash that is left behind, your rusty Barbasol can could someday be a major breakthrough for future generations to understand how we shaved ourselves.

While yours is an interesting take, ancient Egyptians or Hittites weren't 9-f*****'-billions. Destroying the evidence we were here is necessary at this point.
 
I don’t hate it. In fact I’ve been shaving with foam this week instead of using creams. First on the list was Nivea. It was alright. Then I used the Lidl store brand Cien sensitive. I’ve gotten what I would call BBS with barely any feedback on using my alcohol based aftershave.

I talked about it in another thread, it’s very good and inexpensive stuff. Made in Germany.
 
Then I used the Lidl store brand Cien sensitive. I’ve gotten what I would call BBS with barely any feedback on using my alcohol based aftershave.

On the subject of aftershaves, I believe there is a Cien aftershave too? Do you have any experience?

I have a Lidl store almost next door, but always assumed Lidls budget products would be less than stellar after trying their toothpaste and shampoo with poor results.

Maybe I should give it a go though.
 
I use shave foam quite regularly, along with creams and soaps. In my experience, shave foam outperforms soap and creams on every metric, minus closeness of shave. So why all the hate for shave foam?
I used to use Gillette shave foam for decades, just as I shaved inside the shower for decades. I had a little for-free mirror in the shower and a small rack, where I had my Fusion razor and shaving foam, the one for sensitive skin... it was a daily routine, a chore. It was quick and practical and... it sucked.

Today, I don't hate the foam, but I enjoy face lathering, using premium products, namely for their vastly SUPERIOR:

1) Performance
2) Scents I enjoy
3) Residual slickness
4) Post-shave face feel / skin condition

If your experience has been of foam outperforming creams and soaps, there is definitely smth. wrong. IDK what it is/was, but I don't think you'll find a single sole on this forum to corroborate that statement. Even the cheapest of soaps, will far FAR outperform any canned goo.
 
...In my experience, shave foam outperforms soap and creams on every metric, minus closeness of shave. So why all the hate for shave foam?
In my experience, shave foam is the worst performer when it comes to slickness, residual slickness, cushioning and environment.
The need for a lubricating strip clearly indicates the foam comes short on performance. I won't comment on the environmental impact.
I have tried foam cans during a short period of time and all underperformed the soaps and cream used with a brush. On every metric.
 
...Be sure to leave some trash and junk behind for future archeologists to learn from. I wince at how much information future generations are losing about us as the environmentalists push recycling everything they can get their hands on. We learn about past populations by the trash that is left behind, your rusty Barbasol can could someday be a major breakthrough for future generations to understand how we shaved ourselves.
We use books and PDF files to convey information. For a literate individual that is. Neanderthals on the other hand... had to resort to cave paintings.
:biggrin1:
 
I used to use Gillette shave foam for decades, just as I shaved inside the shower for decades. I had a little for-free mirror in the shower and a small rack, where I had my Fusion razor and shaving foam, the one for sensitive skin... it was a daily routine, a chore. It was quick and practical and... it sucked.

Today, I don't hate the foam, but I enjoy face lathering, using premium products, namely for their vastly SUPERIOR:

1) Performance
2) Scents I enjoy
3) Residual slickness
4) Post-shave face feel / skin condition

If your experience has been of foam outperforming creams and soaps, there is definitely smth. wrong. IDK what it is/was, but I don't think you'll find a single sole on this forum to corroborate that statement. Even the cheapest of soaps, will far FAR outperform any canned goo.
Damn auto-correct... meant to say "fog-free" mirror and "single soul", not sole.

Anyways, to expand on this just a bit - if the lather is not built properly, then I can imagine experiencing a bad shave.
 
In my experience, shave foam is the worst performer when it comes to slickness, residual slickness, cushioning and environment.
The need for a lubricating strip clearly indicates the foam comes short on performance. I won't comment on the environmental impact.
I have tried foam cans during a short period of time and all underperformed the soaps and cream used with a brush. On every metric.
Well, I have been doing this for way to long, with way to many products to figure what that thing is. The market would indicate foam outperforms every soap on annual sales, so what ever short comings foam does have the market would indicate its doing something right. And remember foam began out selling cream about 70 years ago, so this isn’t a recent occurrence.
 
The same market would also indicate cartridge/multi blade razors outperform DE safety razors. Go figure.
Your experience is different than mine. So is your grammar.
 
The market would indicate foam outperforms every soap on annual sales, so what ever short comings foam does have the market would indicate its doing something right. And remember foam began out selling cream about 70 years ago, so this isn’t a recent occurrence.
Profit speaks volumes and convenience has made foams and gels the preferred product. Matched with a cartridge razor there is very little skill required, it gives an acceptable shave and it saves time, for the masses anyway. Hence the supermarkets fill their shelves with these products and make good profit from it.
When it comes to performance you have to wonder about the addition of five or more blades and lubrication strips. I prefer a close DE shave with lather made with brush and soap but accept many just want the chore completed and choose foam from a can as their source for lather. Some even use foam and a DE razor for their shave; horses for courses

This is a gentleman's forum so let us keep the language temperate everybody.
 
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Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
But a good foam, if thinned and hydrated properly, can give a great shave.
100%

Now having said that plastic is far more problematic, than any metal can will ever be
Also 100%. Probably best off buying hard pucks in paper or cardboard packaging and dropping them in a mug. The artisans with 31 flavors in plastic tubs actually contribute a lot to the waste as they are croaps and really can't be effectively contained in anything but plastic, glass or tin. Glass or tin would be better, but would drive cost up. So on the whole less choice of scents in a can that is made of metal is probably a sounder environmental choice in many ways. The big rabbit hole of course would be reserching all the ingredienets int he canned foam and the other soaps to determine how impactful the manufacture of those ingredients is, then you could further dive into how things are shipped and the foot print of getting it to your door.
 
Well, I have been doing this for way to long, with way to many products to figure what that thing is. The market would indicate foam outperforms every soap on annual sales, so what ever short comings foam does have the market would indicate its doing something right. And remember foam began out selling cream about 70 years ago, so this isn’t a recent occurrence.
@Darkknight79 the sales volume of Ford Mustang vastly outperforms that of Bugatti Chiron, but guess which one is a "better performing" race car... you're comparing apples to oranges... or more lieklly apples to carrots or beetroots...

A sales of any department store brand shirts, suits, pants outperform the sales quantity of similar items on Savile Row in London, too... go figure. Since when is the sales volume an indication of quality?

Traditional wet-shaving is a niche hobby endeavor (however mundane the task might seem), it's all about the quality of the experience. Canned goo + cartridge shave is, by contrast, a chore. It's like driving a bus, as a daily job Vs. driving a convertible on a sunny summer day for the fun of it.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
@Darkknight79 the sales volume of Ford Mustang vastly outperforms that of Bugatti Chiron, but guess which one is a "better performing" race car... you're comparing apples to oranges... or more lieklly apples to carrots or beetroots...
That's not a great analogy. When canned foam appeared it did not displace artisan soaps costing several times more (carrots, beets) it replaced pucks and creams (apples). This at a time when SE and DE razors were the tools of choice and lube strips were still a twinkle in some industry leader's eye.

Since then what's old is new again and disposable time and income have allowed hobbiests to take wet shaving in a direction completely different than a simply daily task.

Just as some love a razor others hate, it is entirely conceivable we all don't like the same shaving lubricants or maybe in the words of the Waterboy's mama consider some of them "the devil".
 
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