I found this at Walgreens and wondered if anyone had used it. It seems pretty thick and didn't lather well for me.
Tim, 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 but you must understand what it is and 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 like it 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.
Gary has it all covered. The shave butter crème is part of my regular rotation. I really enjoy the stuff. I don't suffer from razor bumps nor any other severe shaving afflictions, but I do enjoy the way my skin feels after I use this (as does my wife). The scent some find off-putting and no, it does not lather. But it does provide a very nice razor glide. I spread it on like cool butter with a boar brush—but after reading Gary's insight on the subject, I'll be switching to a synthetic. The shave butter crème is also inexpensive—especially at 40-50% off on sale.
I appreciate all of the information. I do have problems with ingrown hairs due to my extremely curly hair (on my face now since I have no hair on my head!) This could work as a pre-shave creme perhaps? I will have to give it a try.
I didn't like this at first but I have learned to love it. It makes my skin feel amazing and it is perfect when I am in a rush. I just rub it in with my fingers so there is no brush clean up. It is super slick and it is incredible at leaving my skin moisturized and smooth.
I actually just picked this up at Walgreens today, and I was pleasantly surprised. My beard is very wiry, and I'm prone to serious razor burn at times, but I found that despite the lack of lather, this cream gave me a good, close shave in combination with my Mach 3 and a boar brush. I might consider combining the cream with a TOBS soap for an even better experience.
I have used this for a couple years before WS and just rubbed it on. Was always a great shave. Working it back in the rotation. Good product.
I also use this and their post shave balm. I've never gotten it to lather for me and usually just rub onto my scalp. I prefer lather so I only use it occasionally just to vary my routine but I do like the way my skin feels after using it. And I do tend to get nice close shaves using it. I can also recommend their post shave balm/elixir. It's more like a "splash" but its all natural and contains witchhazel. It stings like heck for second if you've got any nicks but it helps prevent ingrowns. And the witchhazel helps stop any weeping nicks.
