Price: 7/10: At $12.99 for a 4 oz puck, it's not a great value. It's not a ridiculous price, but when compared to Proraso or Stirling, it is a bit more pricy. Quality: 10/10: Good ingredients, like shea butter, coconut oil, and mango butter, and the shave is GREAT. Scent: 6/10: This is where Cryogen falls flat. Since it has so much menthol, there is no room for other scented ingredients. As a result, it doesn't have the best smell. It's very medicinal to me and kind of an overpowering straight up menthol scent. Lather: 10/10: This lathers easily and very slick. To me, it actually lathers a tad better than the Stirling Glacials. Efficacy: 10/10: It gives a great shave and delivers what it promises- a face freezing experience. I'm a menthol junkie and I've tried the Stirling Glacial Obsidian/Wintergreen, QCS Vostok/Iced Key Lime, TSD Iced Subzero, and Mama Bears Awakenings and while plenty cold, none of them really wowed me with the freezing (maybe I'm crazy, immune to it now, or both). However, Cryogen is FREAKIN' COLD and does beat the Stirling Glacials and everything else I've tried in terms of coldness. It gets colder during the shave and makes my eyes water, which obviously I love. Moisturizing:10/10: My skin feels great and healthy after the shave, so it seems the moisturizing is sufficient. All in all, a great soap and by far the coldest I have tried. One thing worth noting is that on the Chiseled Face Groomatorium's facebook page, they said that they messed up and added too much aloe vera to a batch of Cryogen, which made it more like a cream. I think that mine probably came from that batch because it was more like the QCS Vostok Cream. It was kinda pasty and required me scooping it from the container with my finger and putting it in my bowl.
If you paid $7.99 then you bought the tub that had dbl the aloe vera. If you paid regular price and you could see the menthol crystals on top then it was the regular batch. It is a crop top texture for the regular batch. I agree with you will all points in your review. I was able to add EO to mine, but it took a boatload of EO to override the menthol.
To me the Cryogen is definitely colder than the Glacial soaps but not by a heck of a lot. The Glacials to me have better skincare, although I must admit that the Cryogen's pretty good in that department also. It's true that no fragrance can survive because of the freakish menthol content, but the Glacial soaps' menthol content is just barely under the Cryogen's. Another small addition of menthol would have wiped out the scent of a Glacial soap as well.
After planting a food plot last night, I came in sweaty and hot; a perfect evening for some menthol A warm shower and a shave with the Cryogen. I really have to take my time shaving with this stuff, cuz my eyes water and my hands shake . After three passes the cold water rinse feels like getting hit in the face with liquid nitrogen! I love menthol, but this stuff definitely a little too much. I prefer the Stirling glacial soaps, which is just about right for me
I got mine from Maggard Razors for $12.99 and it definitely seemed very soft/pasty for a soap. Definitely a good product though. I used my Glacial Wintergreen today and it's not that far off from the the Cryogen in the freeze department. Spyder, you are definitely right on the cold water rinse. It's more frigid than a woman whose birthday was forgotten. With the temperatures approaching 90 here, it's been nice to shave with Cryogen, follow it up with a cold water rinse, put on some Stirling Glacial Wintergreen A/S balm, and get into the truck with the AC on.
I forgot to mention after the cold water rinse; I applied witch hazel, followed by a small splash of Alcolado Glacial, followed by a dose of Barbasol Brisk AS, which really finished off the menthol kick! And that Stirling glacial Wintergreen balm is really the dog's bollocks.
I picked up a sample of Cryogen today and I am looking forward to trying it. so far the coldest soap I have tried it TSD Iced Havoc that I put a spoonful of menthol crystals in. I have quickly become a menthol fan.
My friend, if you would have tried the Glacial Obsidian soap from the new batches you'd see there's very, very little difference in the menthol power. The cold hit me like a ton of frigid bricks. After finishing off with some Osage Rub, my face might need all day to thaw out!
I got a sample puck of the Glacial Obsidian, but finished it off a few weeks ago. Great stuff. Pretty cold, though not quite as cold as Cryogen to me. I will likely order the Glacial Obsidian A/S balm and bath bar next. Any idea how long the Stirling fullsize pucks last w/ shaving everyday (i also shave my head)?
I prefer Stirlings offering. I wasn't that impressed with Cryogen, I'll need to use it again I suppose. I did buy the "mistake" so that could be part of the reason.
I think the full size pucks are z~4 times the sample size if that'll give you an idea of how long it'll last.
I also prefer the Stirling. The lather is better ( imho) scent is certainly better. I also think the post shave is better. Stirling is a better price. But if freezing cold is what you're after; I think Cryogen wins that round.. I was seriously considering buying the"oops" soap, but I feel that it would spend most of it's life on the back shelf
Like many, I occasionally like a face freeze and when I do I go for Yeti Snot or Krampert's Frostbite. I'm wondering how Cryogen compares to these?
my review of the cryogen soap on their website: I recently purchased your Cryogen soap, after shave, and your Ghost Town Barber soap. The Cryogen soap broke my face! I love menthol, the colder the better, and this stuff delivers! It is definitley not for the weak. I always add additional menthol to all of my shaving products, via menthol crystals, or mentholated oils. This stuff is perfect! no need to mess with it. Only Manly men can handle this amazing soap handed down to mere mortals from the shaving Gods! If I can offer 1 tip to everyone who is going to use this, DO NOT USE THIS SOAP IN THE SHOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I now know where the phrase “I froze my balls off” comes from. YAHOO!!!!
I rank the Cryogen at 6 icons, but perhaps I should only rank it at 5. The new Glacial soaps are colder than they were originally.
Great review! I think I'll have to stay away. The Glacials are about as cold as I can take it in a soap. An aftershave though, bring it on...
The Cryogen after shave is really nice. It's very cold, but it doesn't dry your skin out like most others. it has aloe vera juice, and calendula, along with some other ingredients. I really like it. I'd say it's at least twice as cold as Osage Rub.
Exactly --Great Review, thanks. I have the "croapy" batch apparently. I do exactly as you - dab on my finger into a bowl and whipped up with a brush. I love it.