Worst Shave Cream
- Thread starter Tomlyger
- Start date
I've not found any that are terribly bad..... but then I've been following the advice I've found on the "Best Creams and Soaps" threads 
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Ben
.Ben
I wouldn't say I've come across a cream that I thought was the worst. I didn't like T&H West Indian lime because it irritated my skin and the scent was very overpowering.
The one really terrible shaving cream I've had some experience was a tub of DR Harris Arlington that I bought to replace a tub of the same product which was just about empty. The first tub was a pre-reformulation cream in the Taylor or T&H style package. Very nice stuff on all counts. The second tub, in the current style package, looked like it hadn't properly blended. The scent was off, it didn't lather worth a damn, and almost overnight, it seemed, the contents dried up to the point that a knife was needed to get any out. In more recent times the buzz on the forums suggests that everything is fine now, but since that experience I haven't purchased or used Harris shaving creams. At the time mine wasn't the only complaint about it. There were many.
After writing the above, I must mention that I've been a Greenpond sandalwood user for some time now, and it was a rebranded prereformulation product originally made for and marketed by DR Harris. It's still quite good and, last time I checked, was still available from Greenpond. This cream at Greenpond is probably 6 or 7 years old at this point and represents a chance to try a prereformulation cream. Once Greenpond sells out, it's gone for good. No more. For those who use and like the Harris sandalwood aftershave lotion, you'll find that its scent is a dead ringer for the shave cream.
After writing the above, I must mention that I've been a Greenpond sandalwood user for some time now, and it was a rebranded prereformulation product originally made for and marketed by DR Harris. It's still quite good and, last time I checked, was still available from Greenpond. This cream at Greenpond is probably 6 or 7 years old at this point and represents a chance to try a prereformulation cream. Once Greenpond sells out, it's gone for good. No more. For those who use and like the Harris sandalwood aftershave lotion, you'll find that its scent is a dead ringer for the shave cream.
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I'm not sure if inexperience is the issue or just the shaving cream.
Right now I hate "Every Man Jack" as it seems to be absolutely impossible to get a lather out of it. It ends up a sticky mess that clogs the heck out anything you try to shave with. While it didn't cause any razor burn, it just isn't at all what I expected.
My experience is only a weeks worth so far, so that is all the hating I can do at this moment.
I think I'm going to try picking up some of the C.O. Bigelo from B&BW. I have heard is better and still available without going online.
Untill I run into town, I will just have to use my VDH Deluxe soap. I have no problems lathering this up and it works good, but I'm excited to try new things to see what I like best!
Right now I hate "Every Man Jack" as it seems to be absolutely impossible to get a lather out of it. It ends up a sticky mess that clogs the heck out anything you try to shave with. While it didn't cause any razor burn, it just isn't at all what I expected.
My experience is only a weeks worth so far, so that is all the hating I can do at this moment.
I think I'm going to try picking up some of the C.O. Bigelo from B&BW. I have heard is better and still available without going online.
Untill I run into town, I will just have to use my VDH Deluxe soap. I have no problems lathering this up and it works good, but I'm excited to try new things to see what I like best!
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Similar to threads about "The Best" (of whatever), there is only what is best/worst in your opinion and experience, YMMV. I have preferences and soaps/creams that I may not but again (I only have so many years on earth to try and enjoy all the "better" products). I've done fine with Williams, Colgate, VDH, etc. on the lower end. Honestly, I have even used shampoo, hair conditioner and bath soap in a pinch when traveling (not anymore now that I have my travel routine and kit set).
Castle Forbes. There, I said it. There are far better creams out there for far less money that this one needs to be seriously rethought. I bought it on the hype factor when I was a lurker BBB (Before Badger and Blade).
Will not be replaced when I (finally) finish it off.
Used now more or less only to break in new brushes and for practice.
Will not be replaced when I (finally) finish it off.
Used now more or less only to break in new brushes and for practice.
some artisan creams have been the worst for me. scent was amazing, but getting lather was 
Three years of B&B have taught me that there really is only one terrible cream. That's Cade. There are usually 20-30 posts that say it suck, with one member liking it, and one person saying they superlather with it. Superlathers don't count.
BTW, you can't hate a brushless cream for not lathering. That's not fair. Everyman Jack isn't supposed to be lathered with a brush.
BTW, you can't hate a brushless cream for not lathering. That's not fair. Everyman Jack isn't supposed to be lathered with a brush.
This is true. I do like Ingram, but it is certainly a weird product.
RSC (Real Shaving Company). Lather was bad. Scent was bad. Stinging/Irritation was bad.
Casswell Massey is probably the worst. No one likes it. No one can make a useable lather with it. I found Simpson's to be pretty bad. For an unscented cream it smelled a lot like wet dirt, it provided almost no cushion despite being a very dense lather, and it burned my skin every time I tired to use it.
As mentioned in the book Cutting Edge, Gillette used to put DMSO into one or more its shaving creams and/or shaving products. This would probably qualify as one of the very worst shaving products ever because DMSO breaks down keratin, makes the skin more permeable, and the ingredients would have been absorbed right through the skin. DMSO all by itself might not be so bad (although it can cause mild chemical burns if it is not well diluted, I believe) but mixing it with anything that might bio-accumulate or cross the blood-brain barrier isn't a very good idea at all.
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True enough, if the product packaging indicates the cream is brushless. I've been burned a couple of times where the packaging was silent on this point, most recently with a tube of Tommy Bahama shave cream.
Murdock croap in the handy travel size: smells great, irritated the be-jeebus out of me and has since been relegated to the "Cupboard of Shame" to await the affections of a less discerning shaver...
True enough, if the product packaging indicates the cream is brushless. I've been burned a couple of times where the packaging was silent on this point, most recently with a tube of Tommy Bahama shave cream.
Oh, I never buy stuff like EMJ or Tommy Bahama. Unless it is something we love on B&B, it's probably crap. The only time I've been burned is $4 at the farmer's market. Oh, and the 99 cents for Williams.
I like all of the creams ive tried other than that African Shea Butter garbage I ran into at Target.
A Great Big +1 on this ... I wish more people were aware of this point.
