Hydrolast Ingredients

Jean posted this on the Enchante forum for those interested. Just passing it along as the question came up on a previous thread.

Hydrolast Ingredient Listings:


Hydrolast Wet Shave Conditioner:

Purified Water, vegetable emulsifying wax, vegetal oils, rose hydrolate, aloe vera gel, soy lecithin, vegetable glycerin, seaweed extract, botanical extracts, xanthan gum, sea buckthorn, vitamin e, rosemary extract, grapefruit seed extract, essential oils.

Hydrolast Wet Shave Shaving Paste:

Purified water, vegetal oils, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, glycerin, sodium cocoate, aloe vera gel, vegetable emulsifying wax, sea salt, rosehip seed oil, xanthan gum, citric acid, grapefruit seed extract, essential oils.

Hydrolast Wet Shave Cutting Balm:

Proprietary blend of vegetal oils; proprietary blend of essential oils

 

Excellent post! I've been wondering about those for a while - you solved the mystery :happy088

Thanks!

 

Yeah - I've always wanted to see that info too.

I saw on their website the other day something called the "activator" in a pump. Anyone know what that is?

I haven't tried method shaving yet but I have become familiar with it. If I am correct, you need: the cube, the paste, the cutting balm, the tonic sprays and the a/s, right? Don't know where the "activator" fits in.

 

The Activator is still fairly new and has proven to be very versitile. It acts as an emulsifying agent and makes a huge difference when you put the brush to the cube and start building a wet mix. It can also be used for finish cutting after the shave when mixed in hand with some "slag" off of the cube.

I think you can successfully get into method shaving with the cube, paste, activator, and a/s conditioner.

The cutting balm works well for spot cutting, but with the introduction of the Activator I have personally been able to get great results without it. The spray tonic is nice and adds a little extra to the finishing process, but you don't absolutely need it.

 

That's good to hear because I just scored some cube, paste and activator from someone. So I'll just add the a/s myself - which is something I was planning on trying regardless.

 

Good deal, I guess you snagged the stuff fisherc was offering up. Even if you don't find the method to your liking, the a/s conditioner is outstanding on it's own and definately worth picking up.

 

I wonder if Charles would come and do a question and answer thread one night......

 

Great idea Sue, that might make for some interesting discussion. I'll ask him next time I see him, probably this weekend. He has his own small forum set up where he usually refers alot of the online Q&A to me

 

It might be fun to be able to do something real time.. I know that Charles has a lot of knowledge and this could promote some excellent conversation.... Let us know what he says....

 

Yep, I bought his stuff - looked like an easy, cheaper way to give it a try.
He wasn't giving up the a/s though

Are they willing to work at all on the S&H charges? It's going to cost me $7.95 in S&H for them to send me a 2oz jar of a/s - that seems ridiculous. the total cost is going to be $43 for one a/s - I know the stuff is supposed to be great but that seems like flat out gouging.

 

I'd call the store directly and ask Charles or Jean about that one. While the stuff is pricey, I can say a 2 oz will last you much longer than you'd expect, you get your money worth on it.

 

Tell ya what, PM me your mailing address and I'll mail you a sample. Terrific stuff and a little really does go a long way.

--Mark

 

I wasn't too impressed with activator initially, but after "getting the hang of it" the stuff is pretty good. For finishing, hand-applying slag + activator works much better than slag + cutting balm for me.

--Mark

 

Dustbow,

I completely concur with Mike and Mark on the a/s conditioner. It will last you a long time. It takes just a small bit to go over your whole face/neck area. Infact, I've got some lime tonic (Hydorlast) that I'll use occasionally that spreads it even further (so, I use even less and get the same soothing, refreshing feeling!)

I find the Activator makes a my mix more velvety and the shave feels a lil less aggressive. Depending on your brush, or if you use too much Activator, or if there's too much air entering you mix, you might find Activator too voluminous. It seems that most people use between 2-5 pumps (I use 2 or 3, depending on the brush; I just got a bigger brush so the jury is still out concerning my current usage). It took a week or so to get the hang of how to balance the Activator with my setup. But once I got there, it was really nice (and still is!).

Hope you enjoy the Hydrolast line Dustbow!

-dave

 

Trader Joe was kind enough to give me a good deal on some of the a/s.

Tried my first method shave today - not good. I think my mix/lather was just too poor. I didn't make it right. I probably should have practiced first, I'll practice some tomorrow and see if I can get it better. Definitely not putting a blade to my face tomorrow though. It probably will be a while before I try a method shave again - I don't have the time in the weekday mornings to do it while I'm still learning (and it is quit messy too). And I will be out of town for Easter weekend and I'm not going to pack up all the required Hydrolast stuff for the trip. So I probably won't get another shot at it for 2 weeks - but hopefully I can spend some of that time practicing on building up the right mix for the shave.

BTW, on Friday I did my normal wetshave routine but used the Hydrolast peppermint a/s and I have to admit my neckline looked better than it has in a long time.

(Today my neck is a disaster area)

 

Keep in mind the Hydrolast mix is a lot thinner and slicker than what you're used to with regular creams and soaps. You have to light and focus on your blade angle a little more than you might be used to. The most common problem guys hit from the first try is the neck area.

 

Neck Area and Hydrolast

I've been using these products and method shaving for just a week,but I've found that reducing the blade angle in Q4 has cut down on the irritation. I'm still not sure that I've got the texture of the mix right, but it sure is slick. I think I need to go see Charles again.

One thing I had to give up from my regimen is the Alum block. OMG, did that sting after method shaving. Not sure if I can go back to it after my technique improves, but for now, I just use it to help hang on to my Futor when using these products. A quick touch on the block and I have much more control on the grip.

Brad

 

I didn't use the CAR cutting forms when I tried it. Honestly, I don't see the point as long as the products are doing their job. I don't go ATG anyway in my own method, just WTG and XTG, so I don't think it really matters in my case. I just need to work on getting the mix right.

Is alum a big no-no when using the Hydrolast products? I was wondering about that when I tried it.

 

The cutting forms are really only half the shave process. The forms are not intended to be the whole shave. I go through them quickly to get the reduction they are meant for. Cutting those three forms only takes me about 3 min at the most. After that I finish up against the grain using just the cube slag and a bit of cutting balm and Activator mixed in.

 

Method Shaving and Alum

I don't know about Hydrolast products alone, but I think the closer shave from the method shaving made my skin way too tender for alum. I think as I learn to reduce the pressure to zero, I may be able to use it again, but I am not sure I will need to. I really like how the aromatic mist and conditoner make my slin feel. Who needs alum, other than to help keep my hands from getting slick.