Here we go with another review! This time it is the Sandalor Pre-Shave Gel from Floid. I never used to use pre-shaves before but on a whim I ordered this stuff from TSD Store and gave it a shot. Overall I am pretty pleased with it.. so let's get into the nitty gritty! First off it comes in a nice squeeze bottle which allows for portioning on your hand so you don't use too much. It is hard to quite qualify it as a Gel.. it is looser than say.. Hair Gel. It does flow but it is by no means a splash. Kind of a nice middle ground. Oh and it is a semi-green colour.. which has no baring at all on the product but is cool to mention anyway. You apply it as you would any other product.. just rub it on your face and lather over it. It doesn't really have any scent to it and it doesn't really feel like anything going on which are pluses in my book. I don't want to have my face feel numb or smell like something else strong when I am lathering with ANOTHER scent on top of it. Would get confusing so I am glad they avoided that. As for performance it works pretty good too protection wise. I can certainly tell that it is there when you run the razor over your face, it feels more comfortable. It also really reduces irritation.. which is the point right? So both those things are nice too. So why the 5 in Improvement to lather? Read on.. I do have some gripes with the stuff though. I find it can dry out on you if you apply it too early. Normally you would apply and lather right over it.. but forget for a few minutes or if you become distracted by something shiny and the stuff sort of looses it's punch. That isn't so bad.. but what I find to be slightly troubling is that it tends to thicken and dry up a lather if you over apply the product. The lather tends to dry faster when mixed with the stuff and it also gets quite a bit thicker by the 3rd pass if you are using the product for every pass (which I find works very well). Luckily this does not translate to brush gunk.. but it does make the lather a little less creamy.. which can be a negative. Finally for price, I paid $19.99 plus shipping from The Shave Den Store here so it is getting into the range of expensive products. It comes NOWHERE near the price of T&H's Pre-Shave Oil (27 Dollars Locally at T&H Toronto) or Castle Forbes' Pre-Shave (39.99 Online) but for something you may NOT need.. it might be hard to justify. You get a good amount and it lasts! I ordered mine in February and use it EVERY pass of my shave and am just starting to run out. Pretty good value for the money. So overall, I say give it a shot if you want to try something new. It has really improved my shaves but the quirks it has make me wonder if I will try it again if I find anything better. PLEASE DISCUSS THIS REVIEW HERE.
This stuff is really weird. When I think of pre shave, I think of oily. While this gel does contain some oils, it doesn't feel the first bit oily. The consistency of the product is pretty close to that of "instant hand sanitizer" While this product does help with lubrication, where it really makes a difference to me is in the quality of lather. For me, it makes the lather entirely different. It seems to hold much more water, and becomes much creamier. Unfortunately, this product loses it's punch if you dilly dally around with your cream. Put on the preshave, and immediately work your cream up and lather it on. Really good stuff, and has become a mainstay of my head shaving routine.
Pleasant surprise Hello, everybody. Just ordered this from the Shave Den last week. I thought I would give it a shot seeing that I was running low on my AOS lavender pre-shave oil and really balking at having to lay out another $25 for a new bottle. What a delightful surprise. First thing I noticed was the pleasant smell... the smell of a barber shop - something I really can enjoy and appreciated. Second, was the spout. Just an enough of an opening to allow you to get enough without overdoing it. Good times. After a warm wash, I applied the pre-shave and again loved the way it smelled on my face. I was ready to lather up! I use the AOS cream with a boar-haired brush (sorry, don't know the specifics). The lather was exceptional. I tend to use too much cream as is but this pre-shave helped the cream lather so exceptionally well that I just knew I was in for a treat. (when I use the AOS oil, i feel it on my face when I am shaving, but it seems a bit too heavy for my beard - almost feels like it is weighing down the beard a bit. Not at all the case with this product.) I did the typical shave WTG and applied more cream (didn't feel like I needed any more gel) and went ATG. It made my crappy 7am blades shave like a dream. I can't wait to try with my Merkurs. I put a little splash of the Shave Den AS milk on and sealed the shave. I have been touching myself (face/neck) more than I ever should at work today and I really think it is because of the gel. Thanks Shave Den. I always look forward to shaving, but now I am obsessed.
