Wondering if anyone else has tried this? I picked it up earlier today at Target and it was the worst thing I ever used. Very little slickness, horrible protection, and I felt a slight burning sensation seconds after applying it. http://www.target.com/p/sheamoistur...pid=13972113&gclid=CKq0r7C1vMACFVQV7AodM3wAMQ
I have to say that I agree with you. I picked some up at my local Walgreens and I disliked it very much.
This is a special soap that is really not designed for lather but to apply a super thick layer of soap. It is designed people who suffer from pseudofolliculitis barbae (severe razor bumps) from ingrown hairs due to shaving. The majority of people affected by this situation (but not all) are Africans or of African ancestry. The founder of the company was originally from Africa. http://www.sheamoisture.com/Featured-Video_ep_46-1.html http://www.sheamoisture.com/About-Us_ep_7.html https://www.facebook.com/sundialbrands/info The soap provides a very thick layer to prevent the user from shaving too close to the skin to allow the hairs space to spring back out without reentering the skin to set up the ingrown. It is an excellent product for what it is intended for which is treatment of pseudofolliculitis barbae. It is not used by many in traditional shaving who can get closer to the skin without suffering in grown hairs and who want a thicker richer lather. I have used this product before and the best tool for application is a synthetic brush and extremely warm water (close to 140F) to allow it to thin out a bit to apply. This product is very thick upon cooling and requires extremely warm water (close to 140F) to clean the equipment. This is why the company that makes the product switched to selling a synthetic brush (discontinuing the original black/mixed badger brush) due to the abnormal wear on natural brushes upon cleaning with excessive heat. Here is my review of the current Shea Moisture brush. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/the-new-shea-moisture-shave-ultimate-shave-brush.31238/ The product is excellent for what it is designed to do, but you must understand what it is, how it works to see if it is right for you. If you do not suffer from in grown hairs you more than likely would be better suited to use a more traditional shaving product unless this works well for you. If you use this I would suggest using an inexpensive synthetic brush and an all metal razor to be able to apply enough hot water to clean the equipment after use. Kevin, @HolyRollah is seen using this product when he shaves with the R41 on his SOTD photos and seems to be the most prolific user on this site as far as I know.
The reason I bought it was because I do get razor bumps on my chin. I used very hot water on my brush and attempted to thin it out some, but I just couldn't seem to get it to work well for me. And, I may possibly be allergic to one of the ingredients in it, because it was causing a burning sensation on my skin.
It gave me an allergic reaction as well but in the form of little bumps, and these were not razor bumps.
For me it was the same feeling as getting a chemical burn. My skin was also left very dry afterwards and in need of a good amount of aloe to soothe it.
Joe, it sounds as if you've had a bad reaction to something in the mix. Yeah, I'm the oddball that actually likes the stuff. I came across it initially when it was on sale for 50% off so I gave it a try. No, its not shave cream—as Gary stated, it does not lather. Rather it goes on like a cool facial cream, either by hand or with a synthetic brush. What I liked most about was the skin conditioning. The fragrance is different; some really dislike like it, but I don't find it offensive. No irritation. I used it regularly with DE razors with very good results. I've not used it recently and not with a straight razor…yet. Now ya got me thinking I need to break out some of the ol' shave butter créme and give it a go, and put the fancy-pants French soaps aside for a bit.
Well I'm glad that it works well for someone. I should read over the ingredients and try to figure out what may have caused me to have such a reaction to it. As to the fragrance, I didn't mind it, but it wasn't exactly my favorite.
Howdy! I bought some of this a couple of years ago. I could hardly get past the smell of the cream. I only used it a couple of times. Always, Gene
I got fantastic results from the stuff once I realized it was not meant to brush on but to slather on rather thickly. Only razor it doesn't go well with is a Trac II...clogs it up bad. I'd use it again but it's a bit pricey so I didn't replace it when I ran out.
Well I think I found a use for this stuff ~I put a dollop in my shaving bowl and loaded up my brush with a some-what mediocre shaving soap. I actually got a very luxurious lather out of it and no irritation this time around. I think tomorrow I am going to try this with a bar of Yardley which contains tallow and glycerine. For some bizarre reason we have dozens of bars of Yardley lavender soap which no one uses. I doubt it would make a great shaving soap on its own, but if it works well with the African shave butter--I'll be set for life.
Some soaps that generate lots of sud (composition more like a bath soap) can be balanced out with a small amount of this Shea Butter Soap to provide more cushion and less suds.
I have one brand new tub and one slightly used tub of this "butter" that I'd be more than happy to trade for ANY other soap that someone may want to get rid of LOL Seriously though.
I have half a bottle of Dawn dish soap if you're interested. It's the only soap I would trade for that stuff
I gave it a try with the Yardley and it actually worked very well. It was slick, had a nice cushion and left my skin very moisturized. I used probably less than 1/4 tea spoon of shave butter and loaded the brush on the Yardley for about a minute or so. The lather was originally much better but I took the pic after my wet hands dripped water in the bowl during my 3 pass shave.
Agree with you. Sent the company a short note to give them a short review. Received a brief, curt note that if I didn't like it I could request my money back. So much for their products!
I was pleasantly surprised at the results that the combo produced. It was very much like some of the better creams I have used. Had I not known what it was--I would have sworn that it was a much more expensive product...It will definitely be a part of my regular routine.
