I am getting schooled lately! Recently i bought a tube of Burt's Bees shave cream... yuck! Next I bought a jar of Shea Butter shave cream from Target. I could not get either one to lather at all! They are just a thick cream paste that sits on top of my face. I don't care for it at all. If I could get it to lather, it just might be redeemable. Am I doing something wrong? I fill the sink with hot water, float a ceramic rice bowl in it, soak my brush, and put a bit in the bowl. I have swirled with a badger brush, and a stiffer boar brush... still no results. Can anyone help?
Burts....garbage it. Or use it as a paperweight. The Shea Butter, no clue but try adjusting your water/product ratio and playing around with it. I'm not sure of how it performs, so I can't judge it vs something like Proraso or Williams or any of the other brands I use.
Burt's is garbage as Justin said. The other one might be a brushless (ie: does not lather; just apply a thin layer by hand then shave).
I concur with the above comments. Sorry man, you might have been stuck with non lathering items. Best look for something that lathers better.
The Shea Moisture is marketed for use with a brush. They even sell a brush & cream set. They apparently suffer from delusions of grandeur.
Go to Walgreens,CVS,Walmart,RiteAid,independant drugstores or even some grocery stores and pick up a puck of Van der Hagan Delux. It's cheap,lathers easily and it works pretty good....
Here's a quick rundown of shaving products that may be available in your area. If there is an ethnic store in your area, hit them up. Often they will carry shaving creams from other countries. (i.e. Italian grocery stores often carry Prorazo products). CREAMS: Kiss My Face shaving cream: Some grocery stores carry this The Real Shaving Co. Shaving Cream (look for the 2x concentrated): Sold at Rite Aid Maca Root Shave Cream: Sold at The Body Shop C.O. Bigelow: Sold at Bath & Body Works Prorazo: Some grocery stores and pharmacies carry this SOAPS: Williams Mug Shaving Soap (which I would personally avoid): Sold at many grocery stores and pharmacies Van Der Hagen (VdH): comes in three varieties, Deluxe, Select, and Glycerin: Sold at Wal*Mart and other retailers. Dove (soap bar): can be used for shaving, works quite well. Pears (soap bar): was originally formulated for shaving. Has been reformulated, so I don't know if it still can be used for shaving or not: Found at Dollar stores.
As said the Proraso lathers very well, the scent is not for everyone but I like it, maybe the Proraso white as the scent is abit more for everyone it wont break the bank price wise and as mentioned you WILL see lather
We need to PIF this man some good soap/creams! Sadly I gave all my sample containers away to my father and another recently converted friend. Most of my samples were from the shave den shop. You should really go that route to try a bunch of things but not break the bank.
Proraso/ C.O. Bigelow is sold at Bath and Body Works. If you have one of those in a nearby mall, go there, make a beeline for the men's section and get yourself a tube. I tried it and didn't like it, but maybe you will. You won't know til you try.
I have been using the menthol C.O. Bigalow shave cream in the small tube. I like it quite well, especially when I am out on the road. Gives me a whole new meaning for LoL....Lots of lather! Thanks guys... I think I can say that I don't like lather-less shave creams. Too bad to. I really wanted to like the Shea Butter. Oh well... the up side is that I found out that I like their Badger brush. I doubt it is a high quality one at $8.00, but it gives me something to compare my Boar to.
The Shea Moisture Shave Brush is probably the highest rated "budget" badger brush out there. So don't feel that you are missing out. If you like it, that's all that matters. You lucked out, having a Target that actually carried one near you. None of the ones near me do, but then again, I've got enough brushes.
Is it the badger or the synthetic? I was in Target the other day and saw they are selling the synthetic in the badger box. Are the bristles white or black? Black will be the badger and it is a fantastic brush, especially for $8.00, if the bristles are predominantly white with a little bit of brownish coloring toward the tips you have their synthetic incorrectly marked as badger. If you have the synthetic, I'm guessing it too is good since you like it. If it is the synthetic, you owe it to yourself to try a badger still though.
For now. That boar, if shown proper love, can become as soft as some of the softest badgers out there.
That's almost certainly the badger. I have the same one, and yeah, it's a neat-o brush that seems to work really well for me. I also wanted to second PLANofMAN's sentiments on the brush-if the brush is making you happy and putting good lather on your face, than it's a good brush. Oh, and PLANofMAN, if you do want the Shea Moisture brush, the Target near my house carries 'em, and I;d be happy to send one on at cost plus shipping. Feel free to let me know.