Three Proraso creams and one soap reviewed

Discussion in 'Shave Creams' started by Demidog, Jan 3, 2017.

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Which line of Proraso is your favorite?

  1. Green

    22 vote(s)
    44.9%
  2. Red

    8 vote(s)
    16.3%
  3. White

    6 vote(s)
    12.2%
  4. Blue

    7 vote(s)
    14.3%
  5. I've never used Proraso

    6 vote(s)
    12.2%
  1. PickledNorthern

    PickledNorthern Fabulous, the unicorn

    My only real gripe is the white film. I do not think it is the slickest soap I ever used, but it lathers great, is slick enough, smells good, and can be found incredibly cheaply if a guy watches for sales.

    @Demidog - I am glad you have found a line of products that work well for you, and aren't melting your face.
     
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  2. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Me too. I couldn't be happier in fact. I didn't fully realize how much the constant burning was affecting my daily life. I haven't noticed any soap scum on my sink or on my razor yet, but I clean my razors very regularly and I don't mind having to clean the sink a little more often if it comes down to that.

    I'm still going to keep trying to find artisan products that work for me because doing business with them has been one of the most enjoyable parts of switching to classic shaving. Hopefully others will be able to enjoy the soaps and aftershaves that did not work out for me as I will be clearing those out pretty soon. At least now I know that I should stick to sample sizes when trying new products and I always have Proraso to fall back on whenever new stuff doesn't work.
     
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  3. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    You can keep 90% of the white film off your razor by drying it with a towel when you are done shaving.

    A dip in a barbacide solution keeps 100% of the white film off of your razor.

    It takes makeup brush cleaner to get the white film off your brush bristles in a few months. Using another soap in between latherings of Prorazo seems to help keep the white film down as well.

    There are plenty of good non artisan made shaving products. One you should try I think, is Unscented Kiss my Face Moisture Shave Cream. Despite the long and goofy name, this is one of the best shave creams out there for people with dermal issues.

    You get 11oz. for about $8. It lathers well too. Look for it in health food markets.

    Edit: I find it slicker than prorazo, though not quite as cushioning. I often add it to my Prorazo red when I use it.
     
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  4. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Kiss My Face is next in line on my shortlist. I almost picked some up last time I went grocery shopping but I wasn't sure if I should pick up the regular men's cream or the product you mentioned. Now I know. Only thing is I'm stubborn and I love scented creams and soaps, so I'm tempted to go for the lavender variety but like I said, I shouldn't be buying full size scented creams before trying them first given my history.
     
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  5. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Your thread has inspired me to have a Green is Good(cheesy I know) Week during my blade Focus. Proraso Green all week. HOOAH!
     
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  6. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    I just had a first-class shave with the Proraso green cream (C. O. Bigelow). I bowl lathered and performed a three pass shave only painting the whipped lather, not scrubbing nor face lathering whatsoever. Darn near slickest shave I have ever had. Buffing on both jaw lines without incident. The Proraso AS makes me long for Liguria...Genoa, sardine. One could make a great case for using nothing but Proraso Green Cream and Green AS in a desert island scenario. :)
     
  7. PickledNorthern

    PickledNorthern Fabulous, the unicorn

    The splash is FANTASTIC, that's for sure!
     
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  8. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    I had really high expectations of the blue cream, especially after John Beeman's comment. Today was the coldest and driest day of the season so far, and I was really tempted to use a cream or my regular pre-shave before lathering up. Since I'm striving for consistency and I'm trying to give priority to the performance of the creams alone, I decided against it. As usual, I shaved with a Slim set to a 5 and loaded with a Nacet (2). I followed up with Aqua Velva since it's my only full-size aftershave that doesn't cause any irritation.

    [​IMG]

    Ease of lathering: (10/10)
    It was a treat to go back to a cream after using the white soap. I used way more product than necessary just to ensure that I had plenty of lather, but I had no problem quickly whipping up a creamy, thick lather.

    Life span of lather: (10/10)
    I didn't have as much time to waste this morning as when I shaved with the white soap. In fact, I was kind of in a rush but I still spent an extremely long time shaving. I'm simply a slow shaver and I need to work on my speed but in any case, I didn't run into any issues with the lather drying up.

    Lubrication: (10/10)
    I definitely could have used a few more drops of water in the lather due to how much product I loaded into the scuttle, but I still don't have any complaints about the slickness. Residual slickness might have suffered a bit due to the low water to cream ratio this time, but that's user error.

    Protection: (10/10)
    The cream performed exceptionally well here. This Nacet definitely felt much rougher than the first one that I used from my sample pack and yet this was probably my smoothest shave with any of the Proraso creams.

    Scent: (10/10)
    The very first time that I smelled the creams, green and especially white really stood out to me. Blue quickly became my favorite shortly thereafter. It is the Picasso of aromas, straight out of his cubist period. I've never smelled pure aloe so the best I can describe the scent is like sweet oil paint. After lathering up, I caught hints of crayons and paper. I know that's a crazy description but it is a crazy, ambitious scent. Maybe that's what aloe smells like but I wouldn't know. Like the white soap, I think that it smells nicer before lathering and I also wish that is smelled more strongly after shaving like the green and red creams, but otherwise it is a fantastic scent. I can see why it might not be for everyone but I can't get enough of it.

    Post-shave: (10/10)
    The white and blue are the undisputed kings of this category. White is soothing and lives up to its anti-irritation marketing, and blue truly is moisturizing. I learned from using Ginger's Garden aftershave splash that aloe does wonders for my dry skin, and this cream is no exception. Every shave tends to remove moisture from my skin no matter what so in my case, it might be fair to say that this is the least drying product that I have used, both among the Proraso line and all of my artisan soaps. Even with the other Proraso creams, I believe that I always ended up applying cream at some point several hours after my shave. I have now gone an entire day without applying any additional moisturizer to my face and I don't feel too shabby. That's not to say that I couldn't use some cream, but given how dry my face was when I woke up and how dry it is today in general, this cream completely amazed me.

    Price: (10/10)
    Along with the green cream, this is in stock and on sale at one the cheapest prices I could find: around $7 shipped. A lot of my favorite artisan soaps cost around $4/oz before shipping. Some cost even more. Even at full price, these creams are under $2/oz. Other mass produced creams like TOBS, GFT, and D R Harris cost considerably more for the same amount of cream.

    Overall: (10/10)
    I gave the green a perfect 10 and even though the white soap scored the lowest, I think that both the white and the blue line are the real champions. The two problems that have plagued me since I started shaving again last summer have been irritation from fragrances and my very dry skin. All of the creams solve former issue but white takes it a step further by legitimately combating irritation even from poor technique, and blue solves the latter problem. I didn't think that I'd notice a difference between the various Proraso creams and I thought that all that marketing about anti-irritation and moisturizing on the packaging was really just that - marketing. The blue cream was definitely made for my dry skin and the aloe does seem to actually work. As with the white soap, I wasn't expecting menthol so I wasn't too thrilled about that, but it definitely felt a lot more subtle than the green cream and the white soap.

    ---
    Final thoughts: I put my faith in mass produced products to not cause any irritation and they delivered, with the white and blue line even exceeding my expectations. I thought that the scents would be mediocre at best but they are some of my favorite fragrances ever. When I'm home, I occasionally pull the creams out just to enjoy the aromas. Green is nostalgic and cool, red is earthy and warm, white is soothing, and blue is sort of artsy and ambitious. I particularly appreciate the red line for its lack of menthol, and white is a perfect match for my overly sensitive skin. Blue is perfect for the dry winter weather and I see myself reaching for it often as I have dry skin to begin with, even during the more humid months.

    I already have some green cream on the way, as well as some red pre-shave since I need a replacement for my trusty TSD pre-shave balm that is no longer offered. The red and white creams are out of stock at the discounted price, so I will hopefully be ordering some blue cream since it's more suitable for me at the moment given how dry it will be for the next few months. Based on the performance of the lather, I will be checking out the white and blue aftershave balms. I will also be looking into the green splash when it gets a bit more humid since it is very widely and highly praised. I couldn't be happier with the results and it's a huge relief to finally shave and not have any residual pain or irritation.

    Thank you to everyone for reading and commenting. I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and I had a great time this past week.
     
  9. Robyflexx

    Robyflexx Broke the Like button

    Awesome write up! :thanks:
     
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  10. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    Nivea up next?

    Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
     
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  11. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Thanks for sharing your experience. It inspired me to use the Green that I have. I also brought my Parker Silvertip brush out again. I retired it when I bought my Omega 6212. Sort of a retro week for me.

    :bounce015:
     
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  12. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    Thank you Roby.
    I completely forgot that Nivea even made shaving cream. Usually their aftershave balm gets all of the attention. I think someone suggested a long while back that I try it since it's great for sensitive skin. It might come after Kiss My Face though because I've heard that the latter has outstanding performance in addition to working really well with sensitive skin.
    Thank you for following along. My green cream should be arriving some time this week so I will be joining you in using it for a while, at least until my other three creams show up.
     
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  13. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    Nivea makes at least two creams (in addition to foams and gels), Sensitive and Original Mild. I seem to recall there may also be different regional formulations with/without tallow. $7-$8 online.

    Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2017
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  14. Spyder

    Spyder Well-Known Member

    Blue is my favorite. I think the scent is licorice.....
     
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  15. Puma

    Puma Well-Known Member

    I love Proraso green in the tube and the green aftershave as well. I really had high hopes for the green pre/post shave, but after using maybe 10% of the little jar I don't feel it adds anything to my shave. I am disappointed because I really love the other green label products. When I am permitted to post in the Classifieds on here I will probably offer it up for sale or trade unless I get rid of it before then some other way.
     
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  16. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Like you, I have the tube and A/S. Love 'em both. Never got into the pre-shave. Hot water and a hot towel does it for me
     
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  17. Demidog

    Demidog Well-Known Member

    I've since tried other Proraso products since writing these reviews and I actually think that the pre-shave is my favorite product of all. I only wish that they made a blue pre-shave as well. I can shave without it of course but I usually regret doing that. It does a better job at moisturizing compared to all other cremes and lotions that I've used and it adds considerably to the slickness of the lather.

    The pre-shave also has the added bonus of working really well with the aftershave splashes. Proraso splashes have good ingredients that don't dry out my skin too much but before the humid weather kicked in recently, the pre-shave helped a lot with my naturally dry skin whenever I wanted to use a splash.
     
  18. Puma

    Puma Well-Known Member

    Interesting. I feel like it actually creates drag for my shave. I thought slickness was better with just the cream. I am definitely not in the majority. It gets great reviews and I will be glad to give someone a really good deal on my nearly full jar.
     
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  19. crackstar

    crackstar Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    I gave away a Proraso Green pre/dopo jar to my brother-in-law and he says it's fantastic. I used a couple of times but it didn't rock my world either.
     
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  20. Puma

    Puma Well-Known Member

    Great avatar. I pity the fool who doesn't like it.
     
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