I picked up a tub of Sheamoisture. African Black Soap Shave Butter Cream. In a word it's good. That is it works well with some very special care and handling. First of all its NOT SOAP. It's butter. That's a nice way of saying its grease. Shea butter is a natural substance on par with white lithium grease. So let's take a step back. Shaving is basically scraping your skin with a sharp piece of steel hoping you shear all the hair off without scraping too much skin. You do that by lubricating the skin which makes the razor glide over the surface with little friction. Grease should be a good choice for reducing friction... Shaving soap does that with lather, brushes and fancy soap accessories. People get into trouble by adding water. Grease looses its ability to lubricate when you whip in water and air so all you have to do is first prep your face as normal. Hot shower, wash, etc. add a small dollop to your finger tips and wipe it on. Smear it around, go slow and get the areas covered. No need to over do it. A little goes a long way. Too much can actually clog the razor and cause it to not shave smoothly. It really is like greasing machine parts. Shave as normal and do touch ups. I found there was no need to reapply as the grease stays in place. It's an odd feeling but I could do more with a single pass and touch ups than my usual three pass. Partially because I could see what I was doing and not plowing thru lather. Partially because the lubrication stayed and wasn't scraped off with each pass. Now what to do with a "greasy face"? Wipe with a dry cloth, damp cloth or wash with soap and water. Your call. I went with the damp cloth and my skin is smooth and soft. After shave produced very little burn. I call this a win. Cons... You will be disappointed if you treat it like soap but thats the nature of this beast. Thanks for reading. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice review, Mike!. I found the ABSSBC does a great job of both providing good lubrication for the razor AND leaving your skin feeling soft & supple, post-shave. These are both a real plus. On the downside, not everyone is fond of the slightly circusy, earthy scent. It is thick and somewhat 'greasy' (well, it IS shea butter!) and requires a light wiping postshave unless one wants the 'shea butter shine' to to your face. I wouldn't recommend it for cart shaving or DE razors prone to clogging. For straight razors, this isn't an issue. I bought several tubs at clearance prices. and still have a tub nor two left. Not for everyone, but for the right price, the stuff does the job.
