Just a little background. I've only been wet shaving 7 years but as fits my obsessive personality, I have over 6 years of consecutive BBS shaves. I won't stop a daily shave until I achieve BBS and until I perfected my technique, I punished my face many times. I have a coarse Italian beard and my current process is two ATG passes with the mildest razor being a Timeless .95 OC and the sharpest of blades. With improved technique, I now seldom experience weepers or irritation. I have tried over 200 soaps and have done testing for several soap makers. All that said, I was hesitant to try Wm. Neumann since it came in a pump bottle. My past experience with pump creams were brushless, latherless creams that made it very difficult to shave ATG without suffering and blood letting. However, the good reviews I read and Neumann's list of ingredients encouraged me to try it. It has been a very pleasing experience indeed.
Lather - 1 pump provided enough lather for 3 passes although I only use 2. The cream whipped up quickly, was creamy, and felt luxurious being applied with a synthetic brush. I'n not sure the lather would be as voluminous if I used my badger brushes or not since they suck up more lather. At first I added a little too much water and found the lather was not as stable as say XPEC, though performance was still very good. The lather was more stable as I learned to add a little less water.
Slickness/Protection - The lather was very efficient, allowing me to shave very close with minimal strokes compared to some of my tallow soaps. Slickness was good but I've used slicker. Protection was very good. I was able to get very close without irritation ATG.
Scent - Very pleasant old fashioned type of scent that Wm. Neumann is known for. The only disappointment for me is that the cream comes in a pump so I can't easily open the container just to take a whiff like I do with products coming in a tin or plastic jar. However, in shaving, the scent is mildly present and very enjoyable.
Ingredients - Neumann uses very effective and healthy ingredients not usually found in soaps or creams and more importantly, does not include harmful chemicals and preservatives found in many creams. In fact, I find their ingredients only matched by companies such as Grooming Dept., Tallow & Steel, Lisa's Naturals, etc.
Post Shave - Post shave for a cream is outstanding. Usually I have to use a very high end soap to find this level of post shave performance.
Value - The container is 8 oz and only 1 pump is required to get a scuttle or bowl full of lather. I am anticipating about 80 shaves from the container. This compares to about 45 shaves I tend to get from 4 oz of a typical artisan soap. Overall, I really like this product and highly recommend. I wish I had ordered the matching splash as it also appears to have outstanding ingredients.
Lather - 1 pump provided enough lather for 3 passes although I only use 2. The cream whipped up quickly, was creamy, and felt luxurious being applied with a synthetic brush. I'n not sure the lather would be as voluminous if I used my badger brushes or not since they suck up more lather. At first I added a little too much water and found the lather was not as stable as say XPEC, though performance was still very good. The lather was more stable as I learned to add a little less water.
Slickness/Protection - The lather was very efficient, allowing me to shave very close with minimal strokes compared to some of my tallow soaps. Slickness was good but I've used slicker. Protection was very good. I was able to get very close without irritation ATG.
Scent - Very pleasant old fashioned type of scent that Wm. Neumann is known for. The only disappointment for me is that the cream comes in a pump so I can't easily open the container just to take a whiff like I do with products coming in a tin or plastic jar. However, in shaving, the scent is mildly present and very enjoyable.
Ingredients - Neumann uses very effective and healthy ingredients not usually found in soaps or creams and more importantly, does not include harmful chemicals and preservatives found in many creams. In fact, I find their ingredients only matched by companies such as Grooming Dept., Tallow & Steel, Lisa's Naturals, etc.
Post Shave - Post shave for a cream is outstanding. Usually I have to use a very high end soap to find this level of post shave performance.
Value - The container is 8 oz and only 1 pump is required to get a scuttle or bowl full of lather. I am anticipating about 80 shaves from the container. This compares to about 45 shaves I tend to get from 4 oz of a typical artisan soap. Overall, I really like this product and highly recommend. I wish I had ordered the matching splash as it also appears to have outstanding ingredients.
