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WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
BBA Shave Cream - It's a lathering shave cream.
APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
Being a lathering cream, it's a case of either transfer some cream to a bowl, add a little water as you swirl the brush until you get a good lather, or apply cream to a brush and build on your face, but more on that in a little while...
British Barbers Association make a point of highlighting several key ingredients, namely Dragon's Blood, Defencil and Blackcurrant Seed Oil. These offer powerful anti-oxidants, emollients and anti-inflammatory properties respectively.
SCENT:
The scent of the BBA Shave Cream is at first impression a light, yet modern cologne type scent. Nothing too heavy, not undetectable, a nice middle ground. It doesn't distract you from the shave, and is neutral enough that it will not impact on any fragrance should you go straight to that post shave.
LATHERABILITY:
The BBA Shave Cream, being a lathering shave cream, needs to be easy to lather, and it is. One interesting point of the product is that it comes with a small bowl integrated as part of the lid. If you own small brushes, or need a convenient travel pot, this pot is ideal. For larger brushes, you're better using a bigger bowl or face lathering, which leads me to how well it lathers.
In a bowl or on the face, it lathers up a treat. The packaging suggests a walnut sized amount of cream. I use a bit less than this (but not much) and I get more than enough lather for four full passes. I could probably use a tad less and get much more from the pot. The cream takes on a good amount of water, which for me is a very good thing, as it ensures plenty of hydration during the shave. No faults here.
PERFORMANCE:
A lather can look good, but it's almost pointless if it doesn't perform. Walking the walk is all important, and this cream comes ready equipped with a fine set of shoes for walking said walk. Slick, cushioning and luxurious. The various razors I've tested with the cream have found no issues. From a mild(ish) Merkur 39C, to the aggressive Muhle R41 and the uber agressive 1/2 DE shavette, the cream allowed for a comfortable and importantly, drama free shave. I honestly cannot knock the cream here at all.
POST SHAVE:
If you've read any of my reviews, you'll be familiar with my desire for a superb post shave feel. Any dry feeling, I'm not happy. Any tightness, I'm not sold. So how does the BBA Shave Cream fare? Well, it's not at the bottom of the pile. It's not in the middle. It's right at the top. I've experienced some of the best post shave feel from this cream, in fact, as creams go, it is the creme de la creme.
CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
In short, it is a very good cream. At £16 for 150ml (10.6p/ml), it is comparable in cost to many of your high end creams, and it performs to their equal, and beyond in some areas. On that basis, it offers good value for money. The performance and post shave are the highlights of the cream, but that's not to take away from the scent and ease of use, for these are very good too. The key point for me is, would I buy the cream with my hard earned cash? I say this because I was kindly provided the cream for free, and the answer is yes I would. It compares well to my currently owned favourite cream (Truefitt & Hill 1805, £16.99 for 190ml (8.9p/ml)) on price, but actually out performs the cream.
BBA Shave Cream - It's a lathering shave cream.
APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
Being a lathering cream, it's a case of either transfer some cream to a bowl, add a little water as you swirl the brush until you get a good lather, or apply cream to a brush and build on your face, but more on that in a little while...
British Barbers Association make a point of highlighting several key ingredients, namely Dragon's Blood, Defencil and Blackcurrant Seed Oil. These offer powerful anti-oxidants, emollients and anti-inflammatory properties respectively.
SCENT:
The scent of the BBA Shave Cream is at first impression a light, yet modern cologne type scent. Nothing too heavy, not undetectable, a nice middle ground. It doesn't distract you from the shave, and is neutral enough that it will not impact on any fragrance should you go straight to that post shave.
LATHERABILITY:
The BBA Shave Cream, being a lathering shave cream, needs to be easy to lather, and it is. One interesting point of the product is that it comes with a small bowl integrated as part of the lid. If you own small brushes, or need a convenient travel pot, this pot is ideal. For larger brushes, you're better using a bigger bowl or face lathering, which leads me to how well it lathers.
In a bowl or on the face, it lathers up a treat. The packaging suggests a walnut sized amount of cream. I use a bit less than this (but not much) and I get more than enough lather for four full passes. I could probably use a tad less and get much more from the pot. The cream takes on a good amount of water, which for me is a very good thing, as it ensures plenty of hydration during the shave. No faults here.
PERFORMANCE:
A lather can look good, but it's almost pointless if it doesn't perform. Walking the walk is all important, and this cream comes ready equipped with a fine set of shoes for walking said walk. Slick, cushioning and luxurious. The various razors I've tested with the cream have found no issues. From a mild(ish) Merkur 39C, to the aggressive Muhle R41 and the uber agressive 1/2 DE shavette, the cream allowed for a comfortable and importantly, drama free shave. I honestly cannot knock the cream here at all.
POST SHAVE:
If you've read any of my reviews, you'll be familiar with my desire for a superb post shave feel. Any dry feeling, I'm not happy. Any tightness, I'm not sold. So how does the BBA Shave Cream fare? Well, it's not at the bottom of the pile. It's not in the middle. It's right at the top. I've experienced some of the best post shave feel from this cream, in fact, as creams go, it is the creme de la creme.
CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
In short, it is a very good cream. At £16 for 150ml (10.6p/ml), it is comparable in cost to many of your high end creams, and it performs to their equal, and beyond in some areas. On that basis, it offers good value for money. The performance and post shave are the highlights of the cream, but that's not to take away from the scent and ease of use, for these are very good too. The key point for me is, would I buy the cream with my hard earned cash? I say this because I was kindly provided the cream for free, and the answer is yes I would. It compares well to my currently owned favourite cream (Truefitt & Hill 1805, £16.99 for 190ml (8.9p/ml)) on price, but actually out performs the cream.