Does Shaving Cream Matter? Which One Is Best?

I never thought much about shaving cream until I got a sample of a high-end shave cream in one of my Birchboxes a while back.

 

Honestly, I always bought the cheapest shave cream/gel I could get, sometimes even using men's shaving cream (Barbasol!) because it was so much cheaper. If I could score a sale on "femininely scented" shave cream or gel, all the better. But it really didn't matter much.

Then came my run-in with First Aid Beauty (FAB) Smooth Shave Cream.

 

My first thoughts: "Oh, great. Shave cream. *sigh* Why couldn't they have sent me some makeup instead?"

But, I put it in my shower after removing my current cheapo shave gel: Barbasol's Pure Silk.

When I first used the shave cream, I was less than impressed. Sure, it had a soft scent that I liked. But really?

"Oh well, I'll just use it up and be glad that I haven't been missing out on anything all these years."

 

But, the next day, as I rubbed the FAB in my hand, absent-mindedly, I noticed that it started thickening.

"Hmmmm. That's odd. It's thicker. It seems to glide onto my legs easier now that it's thickened up. I'm a little more impressed. Barely."

I repeat the extra "lathering up" the next day and discover that it takes about 10 seconds of rubbing to achieve this thickening. So now I know what to do. And my shave seems closer, somehow. The razor glides more smoothly over my body than it ever did with my old shave creams and gels. But still. Maybe it's all in my head?

 

Then, sometime that very week, my husband says, "Wow. You're legs are so smooth." My husband has NEVER commented on my legs' smoothness. Ever. Sure, he's said I have such soft skin, in general. But he's never mentioned the smoothness (or lack of hairy-ness) of my legs.

"Hmmmm. He noticed. He's never noticed before. Ever. Maybe there's something to this FAB shave cream."

 

I keep using it and notice for myself how my legs seem smoother. Then, about week two or three, I notice something else. I don't have to shave as often. I can skip a day and still have NO STUBBLE.

"What the heck?!?!"

Now, as a matter of full disclosure, I admit that I don't usually shave my legs every day. I usually shave every other day. I can feel stubble, but you can't really see it, so I just don't worry. But now, I feel no stubble on Day 2. I can now go ANOTHER day without shaving. So instead of every other day, it's 2 days of no shaving. Who doesn't love that?!?

 

Okay. I'm sold. I want more of this stuff! But, alas, the cost is high.

The full size (6.8 oz) is $16.50 at Sephora.

It's really hard for me to go from $1-2 for a can of the standby to $16.50 for a tube of this stuff. My wallet can't take it. I scour the web, even Ebay, looking for cheaper ways to get it. I can't find any, unfortunately. I hope upon hope that I might find some on Ebay before my current sample tube runs out.

 

This stuff lasts a good while...if you take the time to lather up properly, as I described above. This amount is enough to lather up both legs fully:

This is how it looks on your legs after lathering properly:

This is PLENTY to take care of both underarms and bikini line with a bit left over:

I got about 2 months out of the 2 oz. sample/travel size tube I received, by being a bit of a Scrooge and limiting my amount used to just what I could get by with.

(This smaller size sells at Sephora for $7.50)

 

Skip ahead to a trip to Bath & Body Works for my favorite body cream, where I notice the line also has a shave cream. Ooooh, maybe this will be as awesome as the FAB! I'll buy it.

So, when I ran out of the FAB, I put this True Blue Spa (TBS) Silky Smooth Shave Cream in my shower, along with my high hopes.

 

First, I didn't like the scent. It smells like very strong soap. You know, typical soap scent. Not my thing. Then, I lathered up the same way I did with the FAB. It also seemed to need the extra lathering time, but it never thickened up quite as well as the FAB did. And I had to use more, too, to get the needed coverage.

Then, I rubbed it on my leg. It did seem to be about the same on my leg. And as I shaved, it seemed to be close to the FAB in "slip factor". My razor glided across smoothly. Not AS smoothly as it did with the FAB, but close.

 

My legs didn't feel quite as smooth with the True Blue Spa Shave Cream as they did with the FAB Shave Cream. And I became aware rather quickly that I had to go back to shaving my legs every other day. Sigh. Still better than the old Barbasol, but nowhere as good as the FAB. Back to scouring the net for good deals on FAB. Still haven't really found any.

 

I used up the entire tube of the TBS Shave Cream a lot quicker than I would've thought. It doesn't last as long as the FAB (of course, you are shaving more often).

Now that I'm back to finishing off that old can of Barbasol Pure Silk, I feel like I'm "making do". I want some more FAB shave cream. But, I just don't think I can justify the cost. Not in these economically troubled times.

 

The other day, in Walgreens, I spotted a new shave cream that is on my list to try when I run out of the Barbasol. It's called EOS Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream.

I found it online at Walmart.com for only $3.49 although I've never seen it in Walmart. Only in Walgreens.

 

My hopes have been rekindled. Perhaps it will come close to FAB? We shall see.

Have you ever used EOS? What did you think?