Are Expensive Creams better than Cheaper Ones

mpf9ret

mpf9ret

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Having returned to DE shaving a year ago, and more recently been dabbling with SE.
Which in itself, is a revelation.

During this time, i have used some Creams,starting off with Palmolive. After reading
the Forum, tried Proraso [nice], and Lea Menthol, and more Lately Ingrams. I seem to
get on well with all of them.

I read about TSR members,waxing lyrical about a whole raft of other creams, made
in Uk and Overseas. Are these more expensive creams so vastly superior
to the run of the mill variety that I use, that the extra expense is justified.

In the main I spent some money on getting Razors and Blades that suited me,
coupled with Soaps and creams, that seemed to assist in getting a comfortable Shave.

What would readers recommend as a Really Great Cream,to splash out on ?
 
joe mcclaine said:
> Are Expensive Creams better than Cheaper Ones?

Yes, they smell better.

I would have suggested Acqua Di Parma Colonia, but that's changed, or Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet in the jar, but that's no longer made.

So, that leaves Geo. F. Trumper's Coconut and Truefitt & Hill's 1805.

Enjoy.
Click to expand...
OK thanks. But do they improve the Shaving Experience in any way,other than
smelling nicer?
 
I find I get a much better, more protected shave, as it were, when I use Wickhams Super Smooth as opposed to Palmolive or Ingrams. It just seems to make the head of the razor glide that little bit better.
 
mpf9ret said:
I read about TSR members,waxing lyrical about a whole raft of other creams, made
in Uk and Overseas. Are these more expensive creams so vastly superior
to the run of the mill variety that I use, that the extra expense is justified.

do they improve the Shaving Experience in any way,other than
smelling nicer?
Click to expand...

Hi there,

Some creams are better than others when it comes to how the lather looks or feels. Some will smell great and provide a thicker, denser kinda texture with very tiny bubbles. Tight and good looking fluffiness! Those products can be on the pricey side. Most others might be lacking in some way.

The thing is, most creams have a slight, but important weakness. It's tough finding one with lots of slip. Yep, most creams are just a bit short in that department, but there's a few that are very good and those are not the inexpensive ones.

So yes, there are some creams that will provide a better performance than others for sure. It's not very noticeable but it's there.

I would recommend things like Castle Forbes, Penhaligons, and J. Peterman as some of the best performing creams still being sold.

Martin


Oh, I should mention that soaps are the way to go if you are looking for a slippery and best overall product. Generally speaking, a good soap will be slicker than a good cream. Those are worth a serious look. Nothing beats a top tier soap with lots of others better than most creams.
 
Still don't think you can go wrong with Proraso green cream. When I go back to it after using several artisan soaps it never fails to impress me with its slickness. An absolute bargain IMHO.
 
dodgy said:
mpf9ret said:
I read about TSR members,waxing lyrical about a whole raft of other creams, made
in Uk and Overseas. Are these more expensive creams so vastly superior
to the run of the mill variety that I use, that the extra expense is justified.

do they improve the Shaving Experience in any way,other than
smelling nicer?
Click to expand...

Hi there,

Some creams are better than others when it comes to how the lather looks or feels. Some will smell great and provide a thicker, denser kinda texture with very tiny bubbles. Tight and good looking fluffiness! Those products can be on the pricey side. Most others might be lacking in some way.

The thing is, most creams have a slight, but important weakness. It's tough finding one with lots of slip. Yep, most creams are just a bit lacking, but there's a few that are very good and those are not the inexpensive ones.

So yes, there are some creams that will provide a better performance than others for sure. It's not very noticeable but it's there.

I would recommend things like Castle Forbes, Penhaligons, and J. Peterman as top performing creams still being sold.

Martin


Oh, I should mention that soaps are the way to go if you are looking for a slippery and best overall product. Generally speaking, a good soap will be slicker than a good cream. Those are worth a serious look.

Martin
Click to expand...
Martin,
Thanks for that. Probably am a bit lazy using creams. Actually really like Tabac when i use it. In the olden days, used Yardleys Black Label,which was great.
 
Yes some more expensive creams are not on par with cheaper ones performance wise. It's the same with soaps.

For example for me Erasmic soap gives thicker and slicker lather than Proraso red at a price 50% or about less.

Creams are similar, Biotique Palnyra is a better performer than L.Cade and cost abiut 75% less.
 
A more expensive cream may have a nicer scent or skincare qualities, then again it may not. I like Speick and icoloniali, you can't go wrong with Castle Forbes either.
 
A colleague and I both have Truefitt and Hill No10 shaving cream and are very impressed with it. We were both discussing if their more expensive creams would be even better judging by the difference in price ie £8 and £17.
Has anyone tried both and can give an opinion please?
 
Greetings

My view is that there is little if any correlation between price and performance, there is however a huge difference in the really nice fragrance of some of the expensive creams.

Is is worth paying more for the fragrance? Every individual can only answer that for themselves, for me it is not.

My take on creams is that Speick is my number one, I really like the scent a lot but it would not be unkind or unfair to say the scent is somewhat odd.

To combine a nice fragrance and reasonable value perhaps the answer lies with the T&H creams. But they will not perform (IMHO) as good as Speick.

Regards
Dick.
 
I think sometimes you are paying the for the brand name. Look at the Jack Black range, for example, its all about the name, the shave cream is what, £25 for a tub? Way too much for a shaving cream.

Proraso is one of the best if not the best shaving cream I have ever used so far, the value is great too, 150ml for £5.95 lasts me 6 months guaranteed, and you don't need loads of it, I use a 2cm amount and its more than enough for 2 passes.

I used to use the Palmolive one for £1.58 at the local Wilko and that was pretty good, and Bulldog's sensitive shave cream for £3.49. However Proraso performs better than both and more than happy to pay for it, as it offers outstanding value too.

Haven't tried many of the "premium" creams but the Edwin Jagger creams are nice, offer nice lather and scents, whoever rubbish value, £9 for a 75ml tube/£12 for a 100ml tub? BB Revenge is another one, £9.99 for a 100ml tub, fair enough it lasts ages but still, bit overpriced and overhyped.
 
dodgy said:
mpf9ret said:
I read about TSR members,waxing lyrical about a whole raft of other creams, made
in Uk and Overseas. Are these more expensive creams so vastly superior
to the run of the mill variety that I use, that the extra expense is justified.

do they improve the Shaving Experience in any way,other than
smelling nicer?
Click to expand...

Hi there,

Some creams are better than others when it comes to how the lather looks or feels. Some will smell great and provide a thicker, denser kinda texture with very tiny bubbles. Tight and good looking fluffiness! Those products can be on the pricey side. Most others might be lacking in some way.

The thing is, most creams have a slight, but important weakness. It's tough finding one with lots of slip. Yep, most creams are just a bit short in that department, but there's a few that are very good and those are not the inexpensive ones.

So yes, there are some creams that will provide a better performance than others for sure. It's not very noticeable but it's there.

I would recommend things like Castle Forbes, Penhaligons, and J. Peterman as some of the best performing creams still being sold.

Martin


Oh, I should mention that soaps are the way to go if you are looking for a slippery and best overall product. Generally speaking, a good soap will be slicker than a good cream. Those are worth a serious look. Nothing beats a top tier soap with lots of others better than most creams.
Click to expand...

I agree with Martin.
I love the protection of a thick, slick lather that Mitchel's wool Fat gives you. For me it's the best soap i have tried. It comes in a lovely ceramic shave bowl at around £19.50 replacements are around £7.50. The soap should last you a long while though. If your're feeling really extravagant Tabula Rasa cream comes in at £19.50 but it's well worth it IMHO. There are 10 different fragrances and the soap is hand made in Berlin. Available at.....
http://www.thegentlemansgroomroom.com/t/brand/tabula-rasa

Dave
 
Re: RE: Are Expensive Creams better than Cheaper Ones

Al H said:
T&H £18 tubs are better than their no10 range
Click to expand...
Thanks Al, we are impressed with the No.10 but didn't want to risk more than twice it's cost on a punt.
 
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