Hey All, What exactly is a brushless shaving cream? A gel of some sort? I've read a little bit about Barbasol and Lady Tiger brushless creams but can't really figure out what it is, except that people say it doesn't lather at all. Any help? Thanks, E.W.
You just apply it directly to your face. It's usually just a cream that you rub all over your face. There's a lot of creams out there that you can use either with or without a brush like Proraso, Musgo, and Cremo Cream to name a few. It comes in handy if you're traveling and can't take your brush with you.
Brushless creams became popular after World War I (although the oldest, reputedly Euxesis, was made in the 19th century) as a timesaver. You just spread them on with your fingers and go. For some reason, they tradionally were somewhat more moistuizing (and perhaps more lubricating) than lather shave creams. They often had a heavy mineral oil content, which doesn't encourage lathering. I still like to use the brushless Barbasol in cold weather becuse it keeps my face from drying out. It's a much higher quality product than the familar canned foam, although whether you like it or ot is a matter of personal preference.
Burts Bees makes a nice brushless cream also. Thanks for bring this up I had forgotten that I had a tube of this hiding in the back of my cabinet that I need to dig out and use again.
Before I moved to a brush I was using Tom's of Maine shaving cream (although it responds well to the brush, it is now discontinued, but still available at Amazon) and then found Molle brushless at QED. It's made now by Luck Tiger and it is a very slick and comfortable shave which I turn to when I am pressed for time. Nathan
Since I just started I was using the Burts Bees shave cream. It's ok and did shave pretty well but after tonight when I broke out the Van Der Hagen soap that is made for a heavy beard I saw a big difference. The shave was easier and it did a better job than the cream. The cream sticks to the blade and you have to wipe it off with your fingers because the water pressure won't blast it off the razor. A small thing I guess but the soap seems to just work better for me. I think I will try Burts shave soap though.
