Why does shave gel come in a can?

[ChopOff]

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's about how I see it too. In my view, the gel would be best, and much more handy, in a tube (like shaving cream or toothpaste).

 

[Raissermesser]

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?

The first was Edge, appearing in the 1970s, IIRC. Back then, aerosol cans ruled the shaving day in the US, so maybe it was continuing an old format. OTOH, there were brushless creams in tubes not that many years prior. Just speculation, but maybe to keep it from seeming old fashioned?

 

[Scouser]

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.

Up until the time I retired from the industry I was unaware of any aerosol shave gel product that was significantly different. In other words they all contained LPG blowing agent.

 

[FireDragon76]

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.

In many premium skincare brands, brushless products in a tube or tub are actually more common now, for both men and women.

 

[FireDragon76]

The first was Edge, appearing in the 1970s, IIRC. Back then, aerosol cans ruled the shaving day in the US, so maybe it was continuing an old format. OTOH, there were brushless creams in tubes not that many years prior. Just speculation, but maybe to keep it from seeming old fashioned?

It's almost a class thing. Younger, more affluent people are perceiving cans as lower-class, old-fashioned, or not good for your skin. There are alot of premium brands that are brushless and non-lathering or low-lather (like King of Shaves, Bulldog, or Everyman Jack). Barbasol is going after the more price-conscious, traditionalist consumers.

 

[BrushJockey]

It's in the can because shaving in the living room would make a mess.

Ba-dum

Thank you I'll be here all week. Try the veal.

 

[FireDragon76]

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.

My can of Nivea gel comes out a little frothy but no real foam. I'm pretty sure you could put this type of product into a tube easily. It's basically a shave cream that has low strength surfactants added to cut down on the foaming, bulk up the product, and give it some slickness.

It squirts out about the amount that's the size of 2-3 almonds.

The auto-dispenser on this can is a minus, though. It spits out a pre-measured amount of cream, about enough for one or two passes plus a little extra. I much prefer measuring my own. Stlil, it's dirt cheap as far as shave products go, the only thing cheaper is probably shaving with Williams or Barbasol Original.

 

[ShaverAZ]

According to the stuff I have on hand, the gel comes in a pressurized can. Squirt some out & it foams and expands. Creams come in a tube. Squeeze some cream out of the tube & it just sits there (except for the Neutrogena, which makes a runny puddle.
I've brush lathered some gel from a can & it was plenty slick & shaved better than if just rubbed on my face from the can.
Creams can be either bowl or face lathered. I have yet to find any other soaps that are as slick as my Cremogena blend. And it lathers densely, too.

 

[FireDragon76]

According to the stuff I have on hand, the gel comes in a pressurized can. Squirt some out & it foams and expands. Creams come in a tube. Squeeze some cream out of the tube & it just sits there (except for the Neutrogena, which makes a runny puddle.
I've brush lathered some gel from a can & it was plenty slick & shaved better than if just rubbed on my face from the can.
Creams can be either bowl or face lathered. I have yet to find any other soaps that are as slick as my Cremogena blend. And it lathers densely, too.

So I guess the pressurized can makes the gel a little easier to work in, by spreading out the product with air. Sort of like hair mousse. It's basically a light hair gel in a can, and I guess the idea is to spread out the product better. It just seems like a bit of an expense that only saves a tiny bit of time, though. But that's apparently what is popular in the US, and the high demand combined with scale of manufacturing actually makes it cheaper here than many other shave products.

Environmentalists like to make a big deal about disposable razors in landfills, but I'm guessing the average can isn't that much easier to recycle, even if most are aluminum now days, they also contain plastic parts.

 

[Halfblade]

You can't package Gillette aerosol shave gel in a conventional tube.

Um, you can. Gillette has done it, just without automatic foaming.. I have a tube of Indian Gillette gel which is intended to be applied with a brush. It is identical to the stuff that comes out of the can, but because it is intended to be lathered with a brush, it does work better. Not quite up to the mark of premium shave soaps, but not all that far from them either. It seems to be quite non-allergenic too, which is why I use it .

A little googling gets me this.

All Gillette Shaving Creams, Gels & Foams | Gillette India

We are more than willing to show You all Our products from the Shave Creams, Gels & Foams category. Find what makes them great and how to use them!

www.gillette.co.in

:


I have this one: -

https://azcdn.voyager.pgsitecore.com/en-in/-/media/Gillette_IN/Images/Products/PreandPostShave/SensitiveTubeShaveGel/sensitive%20skin%20tube%20shave%20gel%20TSGSen25g49024306516461desktop.jpg?w=460&v=1-201705311549

 

[Legacoid]

Environmentalists like to make a big deal about disposable razors in landfills, but I'm guessing the average can isn't that much easier to recycle, even if most are aluminum now days, they also contain plastic parts.

Here in the UK, German discounter store ALDI sells a can of shaving gel for not much more than 50 pence (0.5 GBP). It doesn't have the smell of a good soap / cream, it certainly doesn't provide the same experience as whipping up and using a great lather, but from a purely functional point of view it works really well. For the budget-conscious shaver probably only the Palmolive shave stick beats it on a cost per shave basis! However when you compare what you're left with after it's done (plastic top, plastic and metal fittings, the can itself, unused gases and remnants of product etc) vs what's left after using a shave stick or puck (a small cardboard box? a bit of foil wrapping? a thin plastic bowl or stick base?) it seems incredibly wasteful, and I'm no tree-hugging green.

 

[Scouser]

Um, you can. Gillette has done it, just without automatic foaming.. I have a tube of Indian Gillette gel which is intended to be applied with a brush. It is identical to the stuff that comes out of the can, but because it is intended to be lathered with a brush, it does work better.

Sorry - you can't. The formulation of Gillette's aerosol shave gel is significantly different for their tube product. Quite apart from differences in the base gel formula, the aerosol can product contains in excess of 2% of what they called "blowing agent" which is a mixture of liquefied isobutane and isopentane. This is why the product has to be in a pressurised container. When this gel is dispensed from the can the effect of relieving the pressure combined with the heat generated by your hand as the product is applied to the face causes the blowing agent to effectively "boil" whcih helps generate a lather.

 

[FireDragon76]

Here in the UK, German discounter store ALDI sells a can of shaving gel for not much more than 50 pence (0.5 GBP). It doesn't have the smell of a good soap / cream, it certainly doesn't provide the same experience as whipping up and using a great lather, but from a purely functional point of view it works really well. For the budget-conscious shaver probably only the Palmolive shave stick beats it on a cost per shave basis! However when you compare what you're left with after it's done (plastic top, plastic and metal fittings, the can itself, unused gases and remnants of product etc) vs what's left after using a shave stick or puck (a small cardboard box? a bit of foil wrapping? a thin plastic bowl or stick base?) it seems incredibly wasteful, and I'm no tree-hugging green.

We've got ALDI's too in the US, at least on the east coast. They stock alot of German stuff, like mulled wine.

 

[kingfisher]

If you want a non-lathering gel, they are available on the market, and they come in tubes. I personally think they are better for shaving than the foaming gels like Edge and the like (the best of those is Aveeno, IMO).

King of Shaves makes a nice non-lathering gel in a tube, although it's rather pricey. I found a similar product at the local Bed Bath and Beyond, and, although it is marketed as a product for women to use in the bikini area, it shaves exactly like King of Shaves gel and has essentially the same ingredients list. These products are heavy on the aloe vera.

 

[Chandu]

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.

Yup, a wet face and work them in for about a minute, add a bit more water if not slickery enough and you will have a great shave. No mop, or bowl required.

We've got ALDI's too in the US, at least on the east coast. They stock alot of German stuff, like mulled wine.

Here in MN the Aldi stores I've been to carry one triple blade disposable and ZERO foam/gel/soap to use them with.

If you want a non-lathering gel, they are available on the market, and they come in tubes. I personally think they are better for shaving than the foaming gels like Edge and the like (the best of those is Aveeno, IMO).

Either work well but I do like the non lathering maybe a little better. If you want a quick no fuss, no muss shave that is as close as any soap you whip into a lather they work great.

I can get a great shave with anything that provides a bit of slickness. It can come from a can, a puck a stick or a artisan made bowl, the end result is the same, but with more time and cleanup required with a brush.

 

[Halfblade]

Sorry - you can't. The formulation of Gillette's aerosol shave gel is significantly different for their tube product. Quite apart from differences in the base gel formula, the aerosol can product contains in excess of 2% of what they called "blowing agent" which is a mixture of liquefied isobutane and isopentane. This is why the product has to be in a pressurised container. When this gel is dispensed from the can the effect of relieving the pressure combined with the heat generated by your hand as the product is applied to the face causes the blowing agent to effectively "boil" whcih helps generate a lather.

I have both the Indian tube version & the Indian canned version. Apart from that aerosolizing agent, the formulation is identical. Possibly it's a regional formulation?

Formulation for some of their other canned gels are a little different though.

 

[Scouser]

I have both the Indian tube version & the Indian canned version. Apart from that aerosolizing agent, the formulation is identical. Possibly it's a regional formulation?

Formulation for some of their other canned gels are a little different though.

I can't understand why you think the formulations for the Gillette tube shave gel and aerosol shave gel are identical. They may be based on similar ingredients but the fomulations differ significantly.
To put some sort of perspective on this: when a batch of tube shave gel is made it is a gel - exactly as you see when you dispense the product from the tube. A batch of aerosol shave gel concentrate is however not a gel - it is a liquid. At the point of filling into the aerosol can this concentrate is blended with the blowing agent in a closed pressurised system using a static mixer. The blowing agent (a low pressure LPG blend) emulsifies into the concentrate forming a microemulsion which gives the gel structure.
It may be of interest to some to know that the original Gillette tube shave gel was quite a different beast formulation wise. It was based on a potassium soap but the formulation did not pass the test of time. It required the potassium soap to be as near as damn it exactly neutral - ie no excess potassium hydroxide or fatty acid. For a number of reasons this was rather difficult to achieve. There were other issues with the formulation that I don't want to go into but eventually it was subject to a major reformulation - based on a TEA soap which could tolerate a certain level of free fatty acid. This was easier to make (but still not without difficulties).

 

[xiletero]

You can lather the Nivea shave gel that "squirts" out of a can, put it in a bowl add water and it will lather.
Barbasol has a cream in a plastic tube now...
Probably all local marketing schemes.....

 

[FireDragon76]

I got some Indian Gillette shave gel in the mail and I tried using it today, but I'm not sure exactly how much to use. The tube says a drop, but I tried that and it didn't seem to lather very well- the lather would disappear quickly. Of course my face was somewhat dry so maybe my skin just absorbed it. I ended up having to finish the shave with Barbasol, and I could tell there was alot of skin protection and glide from the gel, despite the wierd lathering. I think a better preshave that was oilier could have helped, rather than simply face washing.

It looks a bit like the stuff you get in a can, except it's not as puffy, and comes in a 40g tube. The ingredients list is similar, with triethanolamine as the second ingredient. It has a Cool Wave type fragrance.

I may try again later this week. It's definitely easier to lather the gel in a can.

 

[TAM340R]

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.

I have one also....it is stipulated to use a brush...the shave was really great!

tam