I understand why something like Barbasol or Foamy comes in a pressurized can, but what exactly is gained by having shaving gel in a can? You still have to lather up shaving gel somewhat, by working it into the skin, it isn't like an airy foam. What exactly is the pressurization doing to the gel?
Why does shave gel come in a can?
- Thread starter FireDragon76
- Start date
Because it would dry up if it came in a paper bag. 
Sorry, that was just an attempt at humor. Good question. I don't know the answer. I would gas that pressurizing the gel in a can is the most efficient and effective packaging.
Sorry, that was just an attempt at humor. Good question. I don't know the answer. I would gas that pressurizing the gel in a can is the most efficient and effective packaging.
There are two separate LPGs in a typical can of shave gel. One - the drive gas - is between the walls of the can and the inner bag. This forces the gel out of the bag when the can is activated. The other - the blowing agent - is dispersed in liquid form (as it is under pressure) in the gel in the can. When the gel is dispensed from the can the liquefied blowing agent then "boils" and helps form the lather.
There are gels that come in squeezable plastic lotion-style tubes, e.g Bulldog.
For the others, I wonder if it's partly a customer expectation thing? Back when I was using cartridge razors and shaving foam I would shop by visual pattern-matching as much as the label, or to put it another way, I wouldn't even have looked at gel in a tube, because I expected all shaving lubrication products to come in a can. I hope that makes sense? It probably doesn't because my last coffee has worn off
For the others, I wonder if it's partly a customer expectation thing? Back when I was using cartridge razors and shaving foam I would shop by visual pattern-matching as much as the label, or to put it another way, I wouldn't even have looked at gel in a tube, because I expected all shaving lubrication products to come in a can. I hope that makes sense? It probably doesn't because my last coffee has worn off
- Thread starter
- #5
There are gels that come in squeezable plastic lotion-style tubes, e.g Bulldog.
For the others, I wonder if it's partly a customer expectation thing? Back when I was using cartridge razors and shaving foam I would shop by visual pattern-matching as much as the label, or to put it another way, I wouldn't even have looked at gel in a tube, because I expected all shaving lubrication products to come in a can. I hope that makes sense? It probably doesn't because my last coffee has worn off
That makes sense, and would be my assumption as well. They are tailoring products for different markets, and in our US market, shaving products in a can is the default (unless you go upscale, then it's fairly common to get shaving gel in a tube or a tub).
I wonder why Nivea, for instance, has their sensitive cooling gel in a can and not a tube, when they do have other shave products in tubes.
I really like Nivea's sensitive skin cooling balm, so I may end up buying the canned gel to try out.. But I think it's strange for me personally now days to get shave products in a can. It feels sort of kitschy, like buying cheese in a can.
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India's market has a lot of shave gels in tubes that lather with a brush. That's an interesting concept to me and would love to hear more about it.
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
i think it makes it easy to use and is familiar in terms of packaging like the foam stuff.
- Thread starter
- #8
I'd be curious to learn more about this, most Indian shave products I have tried are made from saponified fatty acids and glycerin, similar to European shaving creams.
OK.
I think that a light-switch has just clicked on about these gel products in cans, so thank you all.
I have a couple of them to re-try.
I think that a light-switch has just clicked on about these gel products in cans, so thank you all.
I have a couple of them to re-try.
- Thread starter
- #10
I've used a few years ago when I got fed up with the soaps that were available at the time (mostly triple milled stuff or melt-and-pour glycerin soaps). You can lather them with a brush. It looks wierd to have a can on the counter rather than a soap mug, but it works.
I remember Edge was goopy, not the slickest but much more protective than the sort of lathers I was getting with my harder water and soap. If you lathered it in a bowl and added a bit of water, you could get a slicker lather. The big thing for me was that the post-shave feel was good.
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I have a very small tube of Gillette shave gel in a tube from India. I've played around with it a little bit but haven't shaved with it. It lathers with a brush, but I wasn't too thrilled with the lather.
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- #12
I'm going to have to get some of that, I'm always curious about Indian shave gear. For the price, most of what I have tried has been good in terms of performance, even if it isn't necessarily as luxurious.
I agree with you. I've tried all three types of Godrej creams, Dettol Cool, and Biotique Palmyra. All of them are fantastic to me. The Biotique Palmyra and Dettol Cool are my favorites of the bunch I've tried. Godrej Menthol is a close third place. It is by far the biggest face freezer cream I've ever tried. I still have to try Park Avenue and Yardley. Indian Gillette, both regular and lime are both good; but I still prefer the regular over the lime. I don't really like lime anything very much.
I tried squirting a bit of "Mach 3 Complete Defense Sensitive Gel" into a 500ml food container, added warm water, and whipped it up with a brush. There wasn't much of a lather, so I added the same again.
After applying the stuff to my face, it still looked very thin and feeble, but I got a good shave with a Rockwell 6S on R5. The slickness was better than a Wilkinson puck, or Palmolive stick soap.
I think this product needs better instructions.
Meanwhile, I will be trying cream in tubes.
After applying the stuff to my face, it still looked very thin and feeble, but I got a good shave with a Rockwell 6S on R5. The slickness was better than a Wilkinson puck, or Palmolive stick soap.
I think this product needs better instructions.
Meanwhile, I will be trying cream in tubes.
- Thread starter
- #15
Most commercial shave creams or gels in a can work better applied to a wet face and worked in well. Out of the can they are a bit dry.
I have ordered some Everyman Jack Sandalwood Shave Gel to try out, but it's also available at some Targets. It comes in a tube. It's supposed to make a low foam lather.
Marketing. Canned shave creams are $billion+ market, whereas other lather products account for relatively few dollars. S.C. Johnson simply elected to follow Willie Sutton's dictum of going where the money was with a demonstrably differentiated product in the category.
By marketing it in a can, it's clear to the American public that it's "brushless."
Brushless creams (in a tube), largely disappeared from U.S. shelves generations ago.
So a product in a tube might be assumed to require a brush.
Most general-market shavers don't peruse the selections very carefully.
If they want foam or gel, they're going to look at cans only.
There's nothing that I know of to prevent it from being packaged in a tube.
It's about expectations.
Would you buy a gel-style toothpaste if it came in a can?
Brushless creams (in a tube), largely disappeared from U.S. shelves generations ago.
So a product in a tube might be assumed to require a brush.
Most general-market shavers don't peruse the selections very carefully.
If they want foam or gel, they're going to look at cans only.
There's nothing that I know of to prevent it from being packaged in a tube.
It's about expectations.
Would you buy a gel-style toothpaste if it came in a can?
If I must use a gel, I prefer Edge due to the fragrance being at least tolerable. But yes, it's goopy. OTOH, the type of Gillette gel I tried felt on the goopy side, too. Edge uses soybean oil, and you can actually get a whiff of it.
You can't package Gillette aerosol shave gel in a conventional tube.
Are all gels this way? Have notice some foaming with Gillette when foaming on the fingers, but haven't with Edge until I'm working it into a lather on my face.
