Nick, the key to using aerosol foam or gel is to mix it with water. When aerosol foam came out in the 50s, most men still used a brush. They would spray the foam into the wet brush and work it into their beard. When done this way the cream hydrogenates and becomes really slick. Not much different than a soap. Also, you need to shake the can. The cream is highly concentrated and needs to mix before it's introduced to oxygen. Another thing that men did back in the 50s and 60s that has long been forgotten is to warm the can. Much like you bloom your soap when you're in the shower, you should fill the sink with hot water and set the can in it to get to a warmer overall temperature before you use it. As long as you're not getting it 300 degrees or hotter it's not going to blow up on you, despite urban legends to the contrary.
I just got my first safety razor a couple of days ago and didn't think to get a special shaving cream. I think I'll probably do all the stuff you mentioned except for maybe warming the can. Thank you for the advice.
Nick, I love your videos. I did the DE shave for a while and now I'm moving to straight razors. Your videos have been very helpful. I'm 48 and regret not being aware of wet shaving for the 30 years I previously shaved.
It ruins me when I stop and think about how life was pre-internet...When I was a teenager I wouldn't have had any way of knowing or learning about anything related to wet shaving or even where I could buy one for that matter
Yep. I learned to shave on two blade cartridge. I remember my grandfather either using his old plug-in Norelco or his DE razor. I never saw my father use anything but a cartridge (and then he grew a beard for the rest of his life).
I'm 35 and I started out on a DE razor. When I turned 13 my dad gave me 15 bucks and told me to buy a razor, blades and shaving cream. I bought a Gillette Superspeed with a black handle because honestly it looked cooler than the modern stuff. Pack of Wilkinson Sword blades (again, the sword illustrations on the pack looked pretty cool) and a can of Gillette Lime shaving cream and it was the best 15 bucks I'd ever spent. It's not much different than how I shave now.
Been using barbasol since I was old enough to shave... I'm 33 now always used the aloe sensitive skin works well and smells good. That and an old school safety double sided razor. Never any problems. Great stuff.
Nick, Barbasol is my " no time for a real DE shave, gotta hurry it up " cream and I use a BIC single blade disposable with that. Less nicks with a single (for me, anyway). Also, a single disposable is easier to clean out the hairs and any cream residue. Normally, I use a Mercur 34c Long handle razor, Dorco blade, Van Der Hagen 2 oz. soap puck (w/ shea butter and aloe), a Crown King shaving scuttle, and a Shaveway badger brush. I need to try the 7 o'clock brand of blades, but I usually don't like a really sharp blade: they nick me too much.
To tell you the truth, my favourite shaving cream brand is definitely Barbasol... That's been around since 1919, it's effective, smells good, and just popular. And I'm not even American!
So, after watching your videos for a few months, you convinced me to get in to the traditional shaving world. I went and bought the Van Der Hagen shaving kit which included a silo-door razor, shave mug, shave soap, cheap badger brush, and stand. I have since upgraded to a Merkur 38C, and a Semogue Owners Club boar brush. It takes a little longer to shower and shave now, but the time is well spent. Thanks for all the instructional videos you've made. Keep up the great videos.
been using Barbasol for years. Yes it is as cheap as chips, but compared to other foams and gels this wins hands down. it's great stuff, it wont harm you at all, the others that performs well for me are Proraso and Noxyema.
Actually, Nick, Barbasol originally came out in 1919 as a "brushless" shave cream, meaning not to be used with a brush. Most brushless creams have been discontinued but several are still available. They are very thick and I loved them. Often you have to add a lot of water because they are so thick. Stephans and Clubmans versions can be used as an aftershave as well. Barbasol brushless was great - I'd love for them to start making it again.
I put Corn Husker's lotion on my face after shaving. It works well at quickly squashing any skin irritation, keeps my skin soft/supple and it smells good too.
Thank you for your videos Nick. Your channel has encouraged me to make the switch to a safety razor. Started with the local department store version and this morning was my first shave with my new Merkur 34C and had the best shave of my life. I look forward to more amazing shaves and great videos!
Just ordered my beginner wet shave kit based on your video about what to get for a beginner. I currently use a Schick cartridge razor with the gillette pro fusion clear shave gel. I'm so tired of the neck irritation that I get from this set up. The gel doesn't even lather. Looking forward to getting my gear and learning how to shave with a safety razor. I've been contemplating switching to a safety razor for awhile and your videos sealed the deal. Thanks for the great content.
Yep, I use one cartridge razor for a MONTH usually. Crazy right? They are too damn expensive as well. Probably about a week out from getting the shipment.
I've done this as well because I had a bunch of shaving creams and gels. They all seem to do the job, and really comes down to personal preference. The choice of blades is the key difference! It's a fun thing to be able to have options I must admit with trying different blades, creams, soaps and it not costing a fortune or having to buy specific razors that only work for certain blades. But hands down if you watching this because your thinking about switching to DE blades, it's the way to go as far as cost and the closeness of shave you get with DE blades in comparison to cartridges.
Nick, I'm glad you picked a more modern option over just Barbasol! Great video. I'm with you that the brush soaps I use have better ingredients and offer much better slickness and protection. I have no desire to go back to the cans. I don't know the whole carbon foot print thing, but on the surface I have to think the land fills are better off with empty tins, plastic or metal, from brush soaps then all those cans. This is all especially true because one brush style soap lasts more shaves then a can of gel/cream.
Try the barbasol purple can with a already wet face. I'd say it easily compares to low to mid range shave soaps. If im a little pressed for time its my go to. I believe it has vitamin E, lanolin, aloe and a few other nice to haves. 1.47 a walmart.
I wish you would try this with the battery powered cartridge razors...Not because it would convince you to stop wet shaving , but I'd like to see your reaction to how different it is to shave with these type of razors.
In regard to the Barbasol not having much slickness, mentioning the people telling you to not shake the can, in my experience, it actually DOES become slicker with foaming shave cream if you kind of just let it sit, without shaking it each time. The pressure reduces, so you get a better balance of the actual wetness/the creaminess. Also, it does help to actually add water to it like another person commented on. Still, like you, I definitely prefer to do a true soap lather with a decent soap, now that I know how to properly do it. It's just much better overall in more ways than one.
I thought of Barbasol as the worst option at the store. My old favorite was Aveeno gel. I'd love to see you compare the best stuff available at the local supermarket to good wet shaving gear.
I do enjoy my "leisure" 2+ pass shaves with Stirling soap and my boar brush, but I used Barbasol for years before I came into the traditional wetshaving "hobby". I still use it for a quick daily one pass shave pretty often and I now prefer the "Sensitive Skin" version which is new to me, but may not be new to others. I always shake it and make sure I have a wet hand and a wet beard. I don't feel that the Sensitive Skin version dries the skin as much as the Original Barbasol.
I've been looking forward to this video Nick and can't wait for the final in the series. I applaud your courage in doing this and I thank you. Great stuff Nick! I use the proraso red shave foam from the can when I'm pushed for time and it works well.
Before I got into wet shaving I would just do 1 pass shaves with a cartridge and had no idea about beard reduction shaving in multi passes. Doing 3 passes makes a can of goo go much quicker!
I have been using Proraso shave foam in the red can and really like the smell and performance. Having switched from using Gillette Foamy and won't be changing back.
Hi Nick, Very good video, but the real test is to try wet shaving VS modern shaving products , on 3 or more of facial hair growth . Then I'm sure your conclusions will be much clear to the advantage of wet shaving.
Excellent comparison. I was curious about how these two types of shaving creams compared when it came to their performance. I'm not very keen on all of the chemicals that these products contained, either. Thanks for the informative video.
Yes! I get great shaves with the Gillette 7'oclocks. Something about those that make them all around solid blades. Which I believe I started using based on one of your blade reviews.
The Barbasols in the yellow and purple cans are MUCH slicker. I use the purple can when i dont have time to use a soap. It has a nice light lavender scent and is a totally different experience than the red can
It would be nice if for your last video you do another comparative shave (with three days growth): one side Gillette Fusion ProShield/Schick Edge -- other side Merkur 37C (or Mühle R41 or another efficient razor)/Barrister and Mann Latha (or Tabac or Geo F. Trumper 'Coconut Oil Soft Shaving Cream' or Taylor of Old Bond Street 'Avocado Shaving Cream' or another top performing soap).
You used ALLOT of shaving cream there with the Barbasol! That's more then I'd probably use for a full three pass shave. What I do is spend a little more time getting my face nice and hydrated with warm water and then use a half dollar sized amount of shaving cream and then spread it across my face and neck. Barbasol and Gillette Foamy with the old and new scents all work really well with shaving cream in a can. They have great cushion and really good slickness to them. Barbasol and Gillette Foamy are excellent choices to keep shaving affordable. I use both fairly often and always get good results with either product.
Cool series Nick. Before shaving became a hobby for me I used canned C.O. Bigelow from Bath and Bodyworks with a DE for some time. Got pretty good results. I think the razor is what makes the biggest difference. Excited to see how your all modern shave turns out.
Got into wet shaving last year and really like the shaving soaps and creams that are not in a can, i have yet to buy a puck of shaving soap and will do so some time this year. Anyways if in a hurry i will use arisol canned shaving cream Barbasol is my go to and i use Harry's shaving cream in a can and a Gillette Pro shield 5. Now having the knowledge i do about shaving i can actually get a better shave with a cartridge razor granted its not a cheap two blade one. A year ago i would use shaving creams like Edge, Barbasol and maybe one more brand the cheaper the better to me at that time. I was lazy with my shave usually settling for missing some spots or leaving a little stubble in certain areas. Now that I started wet shaving with DE blades I usually do two passes, one pass with a safety razor and second pass with a cartridge razor or safety razor.
What a difference between the ingredients of the canned stuff (really bad) to the s.c post shave balm (really good).It's nice to remember how good we have it in the wet shaving community.
Hey Nick, if I use Barbasol I use Barbasol extra moisturizing because it is made with lanolin oil. I also like to mix water into it with a brush in my shaving bowl to make up for the slickness! Just thought I'd give you tips if you ever wanted the quick Barbasol route again! ;)
Gillette makes a gel that also comes in a tube. I used to use that with a brush, and I got good results. Also, if you could, I'd like to see you review Noxema shave foam, that comes in a can, and perhaps the C.O. Bigelow can foam, or any similar canned foam whose makers also sell a tube cream.
A bit late to the show, but great video. Enjoyed the comparison. I've yet to use Barbasol, but been meaning to give it a try, though your assessment of lacking a bit of slickness isn't promising. I mostly use soaps and creams these days, but still use canned foam when rushed, and my recent foam of choice has been Noxzema Aloe and Lanolin. I guess you're not doing many canned foam comparisons, but if you ever get a chance to try it out, would be interested to hear your impression.
Thanks for this, Nick! I'll likewise stick to artisan soaps, but I genuinely appreciate you having some objectivity with the mass market brands. Great video!
of modern era canned products I much prefer the Aveeno, Nivea line or even Gillette fusion gel. these are often a little more but well worth it. Edge is a decent product if one can get beyond the aggressive smell. Never had much luck with Barbasol or other true foams.
Every time I used Barbasol, my face burned afterwards. I started using the Edge gel, but I got the burn when I started shaving everyday. My razor burn was 95% disappeared when I started using shaving soap. It was 100% gone when I stopped using cartridge razors and got a safety razor.
Pretty good video. I def agree with you that Barbasol isn't slick at all. It always leaves my face feeling really dried out. I have some TOBS Sandalwood coming tomorrow, can't wait to try it because I've had to use these canned creams until it arrived. Like your videos bro. Keep uploading
Hi Nick ~ Hope all is going well for you n yours! The thing with modern shave goo is that their ingredient list is so gross that it inherently causes skin reactions and skin dehydration. Sometimes severely so. My skin is quite a bit tougher and more "non-reactive" than most (even at my age) - but I draw the line at intentionally using detrimental stuff on my face and neck. So I respect your sense of experimentation! 👏
great video as always. is it possible that you get more slickness with gillette because you have to work up a lather? it looks as tho you take more time working in gillette rather than the barbasol. just a thought, well done.
Neptune51 i think he's mentioned that he uses a homemade bar soap in the shower before. not sure about the other stuff (though he's made videos about artisan deodorant and hair products he uses)
I will be traveling by plane in a couple of weeks and was wondering if blades and soaps are allowed as carry-on? So far I know the razor and brush is allowed and read that some people get lucky bringing blades. Any tips when travelling by air??
I'd love to see you try Shave Secret. I used it for a while as I switched from cartridge to safety razors. I used more than it says, and I got good results. Unfortunately, it is difficult to clean after the shave.
I think that the Trader Joe's honey mango shave cream is better than the edge gel. It doesn't lather and is thin but is very slick. It's translucent when you put it on and has a very nice scent. It didn't work well with my DE89 though.
Good video I would suggest retrying your experiment, however, using Gillette Shaving cream.. I've thought the Barbasol and Gillette would be interchangeable, however, I have discovered a noticeable difference between the two.. This is not to say the Barbasol does a bad job, but simply that the Gillette did a better (smoother) job. Because their was only about a $0.50 difference between the two, I simply decided to stick with the Gillette..
Out of the modern creams I couldn't get on with Barbasol at all. Edge was ok, used it when I was travelling once. I use Noxzema Shave Cream out of most of them but can't seem to get the Cocoa Butter scent any more which is a disappointment - unless I am in London or Barcelona.
Good test there Nik... I think a lot of these canned products also throw in some kind of silicon in there as well, especially foaming gels. I can't imagine that stuff is good for skin.
I have some concern about some of the ingrediants. That is why I often use soaps , where you can see what they use - not all chemicals. They are mass produced and some of those ingredients only a chemist would understand. Also the brushless creams I think are as safe as the soaps.
I swear, you’re me from the future. All the stuff you used to use is the same as what I used to use, and a lot of what you normally use is the same stuff I also use today.
Hey nick, I have a very sensitive skin. I use proraso pre shave and proraso cream for sensitive skin but I ALWAYS get some irritation speacially in the neck area...Some tips how to prevent? or do u have already a video where u talk about this subject? Thx ps: I use a straight razor to shave
Hey Nick. You said the barbasol didn't have much slickness. Id be curious if it might perform better if you applied pre-shave oil as an additional layer. I know that's not something most people using barbasol would do, but I am curious. Any thoughts?
Shawn G I used pre-shave oil with a cream two nights ago and had a terrible shave. I should've used a mild razor rather than a medium aggressive one. Ugh, my neck is still itching.
No offence to the cartridge razor users but I did laugh my socks off when you corrected yourself about the contradiction that is "cartridge razor technique" 😌👏 you're so right, they are designed to be entirely idiot proof and to be used in a way that requires no technique whatsoever to scrape the tacky bit of plastic across your face, plucking your hairs out as you go miserably along in your soul destroying cheerless venture that is cartridge razor shaving 😩🔫
Been a barbasol man for years. That gel junk turns me into one big giant pimple. Seriously. Just now getting into traditional wet shave. Had a straight razor a while back but the wife wont do it and the blade rusted. Been looking at the safety razor of old. Great vids.
hey Nick I just got a merkur 34c and I used it once (which was great) but I decided to take it apart in to three pieces to make sure it came clean. When I did that part of the base slid down oddly and now I cannot get it all back together. could you offer some advise? I'd like to think I didn't break the brand new razor I just bought
Try using a shave bowl/mug+brush+Barbasol. You'd be amazed at the difference. Make sure the brush is wet and the bowl has a bit of water. Mix up the barbasol and then lather....it works almost as good as something like Proraso. that being said, the ingredients in it are not good for you and if you have to shave everyday, try to stay away from aerosol shave creams/gels......I'd only use it for the speed/convenience.
For me comes down to everyday use. Modern products are good one offers but day after day shave after shave they don't hold a candle to a lanolin base or glycerin base soap/cream. I have very sensitive, dry skin so my opinion is jaded from years of not knowing better, but now that I do...I'll never go back to the future
Since we are on the topic of modern shaving gear, why not match it with the core oneblade razor. I bought mine on amazon for $20. Ken surfs just did a review on it.
Love your channel. I’m 68 and thought I knew how to shave. I have my old double edge razor ready to go as soon as the TOB Jermyn soap, preshave oil, brush and alum get here from Amazon. BTW, rawhide is bad for you dog. Give him bully sticks. Ask your vet.
I just recently realized that i get like a dark shade after shaving and sometimes get like little hairs that cannot remove using a cartridge razor, dont know if it's just me or how to fix it. I have never shave with a straight or with a safety razor, didnt even know that was a thing before finding this channel, don't know if anyone has an advice regarding that but im firmly thinking about changing to safety razor
I've had the same issue and I've found that work still needs to be done. How you shave and your race or ethnicity might matter as I'm afro Caribbean and had Pseudofacilitis on the back of my neck so I have to shave everyday but it explained why I had dark spots. Learn proper technique and good quality razors, blades and creams. I have a gillette 85 long adjustable and prefer feather and Astra blades due to my coarse hair (shave head and face), and have enjoyed Proraso Shaving foam cans as I make quick shaves for school and when at home to not hog it from someone else. When on a relaxing day I'll use the shave soaps which is more enjoyable taking precious time. Hope it gives an idea
