Certain products comes along in the shaving community that develop a curiously strong and dedicated following. We see this often in all aspects of the shaving product world with allegiances made to a certain brand of razor, or soap, or brush. When it comes to post-shave products, the same situation occurs: users swear by a certain brand or fragrance, and become almost cultish in their product allegiance. One such product, an aftershave balm—touted highly by it’s users due to the high shea butter content—is Institut Karite from Paris. I recently pick up a bottle of this highly-regarded after shave balm. I have read many positive comments concerning this product on various shaving forums and looked forward to finally giving the balm a try. The Initial Balm Shell I discovered two things about this product: 1) it appears to be difficult for vendors to keep in stock, 2) and it is pricey. For a 250ml/8.45fl.oz bottle, you’ll pay anywhere from $25 to $32 US—plus shipping. Now Institut Karite is still less costly than other pricey balms (L’Occitan shea butter balm, $34/2.5oz, Art of Shaving balm, $40/3.4oz), but it is still nearly three times the cost of other post-shave creams and balms on the market today. The most prominent feature Institut Karite promotes about their product line is the generous use of shea butter. I am quite familiar with the benefits of shea butter for skin care, and I use it daily in creams. Institut Karite goes further to unequivocally state on their website: Institut Karité Paris® is unique thanks to : • An active principle transversal to all the line, simple and natural. (something was obviously lost in the website translation from French) • A high concentration of Shea Butter. • Perfumes of the best quality. So, products made high in shea butter and quality perfumes? Sounds promising! However, if you look at the list of ingredients in the aftershave balm, you best have some experience in cosmetics or a degree in chemistry to understand many of the THIRTY-THREE ingredients that are in this aftershave balm. Ingredients listed in Institut Karite aftershave balm, and their purpose: WATER MINERAL OIL GLYCERIN moisturizer PEG-7 GLYCERYL COCOATE lubricant, increases lubricity SHEA BUTTER moisturizer, hydrater PHENOXYETHANOL - bactercide, a preservative FRAGRANCE POLYACRYLAMIDE primarily used as a binder, film former and thickener PEG-12 DIMETHICONE promote spreadability, lubrication, skin conditioning agent ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER thickener, stabilizer C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN an emollient, thickening agent TRIETHANOLAMINE A pH balancer METHYLPARABEN a preservative ALLANTOIN moisturizing effect HEXYL CINNAMAL a fragrance additive LAURETH-7 surfactant, emulsifying agent DISODIUM EDTA a preservative, chelator and stabilizer ALPHA-ISOMETHYL IONONE adds fragrance CETEARYL GLUCOSIDE an emulsifier, helps skin retain moisture SWEET ALMOND OIL lubricant BUTYLPARABEN preservative ETHYLPARABEN preservative CITRONELLOL fragrance, floral smell ISOBUTYLPARABEN preservative PROPYLPARABEN preservative HYDROXYCITRONELLAL fragrance, floral smell BENZOIC ACID preservative GLYCERYL STEARATE SE a lubricant XANTHAN GUM increases in the viscosity of a liquid CINNAMYL ALCOHOL naturally occurring fragrance LINALOOL floral fragrance DEHYDROACETIC ACID preservative POLYAMINOPROPYL BIGUANIDE a disinfectant and a preservative SODIUM HYDROXIDE Ph adjuster I do not believe this long list is uncommon in the cosmetic/lotion industry, nor is Insitiute Karite unique in using such a wide array of preservatives, stabilizers, etc. Shea butter is listed as the fourth ingredient, and the labels claims ‘25% shea butter’ composition. There’s simply a whole lot of other ‘stuff’ in that remaining 75%! “A Balm by any other name would smell as sweet…” Upon opening the bottle and taking a sniff, my first impression of the scent is…it smells of rose-scented hand cream. Not what I was expecting for a ‘manly’ balm. Those French….but I digress. The balm is a thick, but easily spreadable white cream that initially feels a bit greasy on the fingers but is rapidly absorbed into the skin (thanks, Shea!). Post shave: with my face still tingling from an extremely close straight razor shave with methol lather, I applied a generous dab of the balm into each palm. I rubbed the balm thoroughly around my jawline, cheeks and throat. Very cool feeling and SLICK! This initial use yielded a comfortable, soothing effect on my entire face. Very pleasing. The shiney face I initially had upon the application settled down a bit as my skin absorbed the balm with some gentle rubbing. An hour or so after the shave and balm use, I found my wife and asked for her to ‘take a sniff’ of the new balm I had on. Post-sniff, she chuckled and said, “You smell like roses….” Really? She said it wasn’t “…strong or overwhelmingly flowery, but ‘nice’..” Several hours post-shave, my face still felt great. Not dry (a common occurrance), nor greasy. With most commercially-made balms, I always feel the need to reapply more at a later time as my skin is quite sensitive to climatic changes and tends to quickly dry. Not so with this balm. Hours later, my face feels as soft and smooth as it did when I initially applied the Institut Karite. Overall, I do like this product. The ‘rose’ scent may not be my favorite choice for masculine scents (check out Heartwood by Wm Neumann if you wish a manly-smelling balm!), but it is subtle on application. One can certainly find cheaper alternatives in skin balms (or make some yourself!), but I was impressed by the overall soothing performance of this balm. One good application in the morning lasts me the day, keeping my skin feeling great. I have no reservations on recommending it for those who really need a quality long-lasting balm.
Excellent review. I've heard that parabens are not so good for us... didn't Proraso reformulate there whole line to remove them?
Here's the FDA's observations on Parabens… Parabens "...FDA believes that at the present time there is no reason for consumers to be concerned about the use of cosmetics containing parabens. However, the agency will continue to evaluate new data in this area.
Institut Karite is one of my favorites and in my rotation. I only use balms and find it runny in comparison to many. I also find a small dab usually does it for me. A little product goes a long ways. My sense of smell is not strong. The rose scent must be subtle. More important, the ladies aren't complaining Nice review Kevin.
Kevin Another great and well written review, I think I might try some of this stuff. Thanks for another excellent review.
Nice review. I haven't used the balm, but have gone through a couple pucks of the shave soap. It works great, but I think it is a bit powdery. Not my favorite rose, but a nice product overall.
Thanks, all. Since I wrote this review in early March, I have about finished this bottle of balm and plan on ordering another soon. Good stuff! Note: my wife keeps stealing some to it. no wonder the bottle went quick...
Im thinking about replacing my Go2 Nivea sensitive aftershave balm with something else, this sounds VERY good... But I'm a little hesitant about the scent. How strong is it? =)
I personally don't find the scent overpowering or too strong. My wife doesn't either. I find her actually stealing some of mine so I bought her a matching bottle of the balm. Mild scent, but probably bit stronger than Nivea.
It sounds like a very good balm but i want something that doesnt clash with aftershaves. Does the scent last a long time?
I would not suggest pairing this balm with another aftershave as the fragrances—subtle as it may be— would clash. I tend to use balms alone or aftershaves, but not together.
Hmm.. This is what I'm trying to avoid =\. It's to bad I can't sample it in a physical store here in Sweden. I actually thought this would be what I was looking for. The search continues
