Anyone from Toronto, Canada and knows where I can buy any of these creams, specifically the Godrej menthol. I have called a few Indian grocery stores and super markets in the area. Non of the places which I have called have heard of these creams, nor do they carry them. Thanks for any help.
Indian shaving creams reviews
- Thread starter chinmusic82
- Start date
Has anyone tried Patanjali Herbal Shaving Cream (Not the Gel) ? Link to product is here
I've seen it in a small Indian Grocery store in Melbourne (Aus), but didn't buy since I had not heard of it.
If anyone's tried it, how does it compare to other Indian shaving creams, such as Godrej, Dettol, Palmolive, etc. ?
I looked at the packaging and it recommends that a brush is used, but based on the ingredients, I was doubtful that it could produce much of a lather. There's no mention of stearic or other acidy stuff that might help in creating a creamy lather (Photo with Ingredients). Maybe they use some other magical ingredient which makes a difference.
I've seen it in a small Indian Grocery store in Melbourne (Aus), but didn't buy since I had not heard of it.
If anyone's tried it, how does it compare to other Indian shaving creams, such as Godrej, Dettol, Palmolive, etc. ?
I looked at the packaging and it recommends that a brush is used, but based on the ingredients, I was doubtful that it could produce much of a lather. There's no mention of stearic or other acidy stuff that might help in creating a creamy lather (Photo with Ingredients). Maybe they use some other magical ingredient which makes a difference.
^^
I have one, and am guilty of hoarding it for months. Will test it tomorrow and report.
I have one, and am guilty of hoarding it for months. Will test it tomorrow and report.
Here you go -
For this first use, I bowl lathered. Maybe that was a mistake - I'll get to it later.
Took about a large pea size cream out of the tube. The cream is neither too thick nor very runny - just what I like. The colour out of the tube is pearly. Smell is nicely mild - seems like a mixture of floral + sandalwood.
Bowl lathered with a wet giant boar brush, and it soon whipped out a nice creamy lather. Here are the pics, though the pic quality is pretty poor being taken by cellphone -
Actually I could use whatever was there in the brush for my two passes, so everything in the bowl was just for show.
Lathered up the face and proceeded with the shave, and got a nice two pass DFS.
So what do I think?
Amount of lather - Lots of it, as you can see from the pics.
Consistency - It was slightly on the runny / airy side, despite looking good in the bowl / brush. I think that's due to user error though, since I face lather daily and and have almost lost touch of bowl lather. Also, for bowl lather, you have to depend on the looks instead of actual feel. Only way to check this is to face lather on another day.
Slickness - There's quite a bit of slickness, but I could feel the blade (again probably due to the lather being runny / airy) on my face.
Cushion - Almost non-existent, probably again due to more water.
Experience - Quite decent. I liked the nice mild aroma floating around, and there's some cooling effect to the cream - again not too much. I forgot to check whether it has any menthol in it, but feels like it.
I'll use it again soon, this time face lathering with a different brush and report my findings again.
For this first use, I bowl lathered. Maybe that was a mistake - I'll get to it later.
Took about a large pea size cream out of the tube. The cream is neither too thick nor very runny - just what I like. The colour out of the tube is pearly. Smell is nicely mild - seems like a mixture of floral + sandalwood.
Bowl lathered with a wet giant boar brush, and it soon whipped out a nice creamy lather. Here are the pics, though the pic quality is pretty poor being taken by cellphone -
Actually I could use whatever was there in the brush for my two passes, so everything in the bowl was just for show.
Lathered up the face and proceeded with the shave, and got a nice two pass DFS.
So what do I think?
Amount of lather - Lots of it, as you can see from the pics.
Consistency - It was slightly on the runny / airy side, despite looking good in the bowl / brush. I think that's due to user error though, since I face lather daily and and have almost lost touch of bowl lather. Also, for bowl lather, you have to depend on the looks instead of actual feel. Only way to check this is to face lather on another day.
Slickness - There's quite a bit of slickness, but I could feel the blade (again probably due to the lather being runny / airy) on my face.
Cushion - Almost non-existent, probably again due to more water.
Experience - Quite decent. I liked the nice mild aroma floating around, and there's some cooling effect to the cream - again not too much. I forgot to check whether it has any menthol in it, but feels like it.
I'll use it again soon, this time face lathering with a different brush and report my findings again.
Guru - I have been looking to purchase some hard to find cremes while here in Bombay to bring back to the States (worth breaking the yearly, IMHO) and last night while stopping in a Big Bazaar I was only able to stumble across Old Spice, Dettol, and Yardley. Not quite the exotic and hard to find cremes I was imagining.
Where do you find all of these cremes here in Bombay?
Where do you find all of these cremes here in Bombay?
Unfortunately, Biotique Bio Palmyra is hard to find OTC in Mumbai, but I think it's available quite easily around Delhi, so be on the lookout when you're there.
One of my favourites is Gatsby, but again is available only in some select pharmacy shops. Patanjali, OTOH has their own franchisee shops all over and this cream is available there.
One of my favourites is Gatsby, but again is available only in some select pharmacy shops. Patanjali, OTOH has their own franchisee shops all over and this cream is available there.
Thanks for the review Guru 
Your pics are fine - obviously with lots of lather. Maybe a bit too much water was used this time making the lather runny/airy. It might be worth varying the product/water ratio - maybe a little more product & less water. Its always difficult to make a judgement too early on, which is usually the case with any of the creams/soaps. Every cream/soap is unique, so there is a learning process during your first few attempts to create a lather with the right consistency.
Your first report did sound encouraging though. I look forward to reading your next report after you try face lathering
Your pics are fine - obviously with lots of lather. Maybe a bit too much water was used this time making the lather runny/airy. It might be worth varying the product/water ratio - maybe a little more product & less water. Its always difficult to make a judgement too early on, which is usually the case with any of the creams/soaps. Every cream/soap is unique, so there is a learning process during your first few attempts to create a lather with the right consistency.
Your first report did sound encouraging though. I look forward to reading your next report after you try face lathering
You lucky dog!
I had the same experience as Guru - I never found Biotique shave cream in a store in Bangalore. How long will you be in Bombay for?
If you are in Bombay for some time, you could order it online. That is what I did the last couple of times and I don't even bother looking for it in stores anymore. (Same for a few other creams - available only online like the Blue Stratos)
Good Luck buying some. If I can be of any help, just ask.
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Luckily, Biotique is one of the creams that is readily accessible Stateside so I can pick it up at anytime off of Amazon for $9. I keep hoping to walk into a big box store (Big Bazaar or the like) and stumbling across 5 or 6 creams that I've never seen (like most of those in this thread.) I think that would be enough to knock me off the restraint bandwagon, especially at around 60Rp a piece.
My buddy is originally from India and has given me a few tubes of Godrej in various scents. They are pretty nice soaps and can be had cheap at the Indian stores. Not bad for $4
Just to give you a basis of import pricing, I saw Godrej, Old Spice, Palmolive, and Park Ave a few days ago here in Bombay all 4 cost 97 cents each. Can you imagine if we had this kind of cheap variety in the US?
Wish I could get things at what are typical 'local' prices like this. Then I'd have a different shave every day!
Here's a problem I have with thinking globally and acting locally. There's a new Indian grocer just up the road from my office in a plaza I rarely frequent, but happened to find when mailing some letters. They had only just started up and the stock, they said, wasn't complete just yet. My wife loves making up Indian food (the basics like butter chicken and beef with basmati rice), and walking down the spice aisle had my mouth salivating at the possibilities. At the end of one aisle was a rack of toiletries like hair colouring and...hair colouring. No shaving gear. I spent a good fifteen minutes there and chatted with the owners who were eager to get my opinion on their stock and what I'd like to see in the future.
Was I wrong in not demanding right then and there a more complete selection of shaving supplies? A year ago I made visits to the many Indian grocers in our tri-cities area, and made it a point of asking for creams like Godrej, Dettol, Old Spice and so on, only to be given back a look of, "You want what??".
Maybe tomorrow I'll pop in for some samosa's and maybe off-handedly mention shave gear. I dread the inevitable, "You want what??".
Is importing such supplies a loss leader for small grocers for such a small market, which in my city may very well just be me? It would be handy to have a brick and mortar source nearby, but I doubt they could compete with the Internet shopping. A shame really. I haven't had any issues ordering through Amazon, and the prices have been terrific, but I'd still like to give these guys around the corner a fighting chance.
Think globally, act locally...but at what cost, is the question.
Was I wrong in not demanding right then and there a more complete selection of shaving supplies? A year ago I made visits to the many Indian grocers in our tri-cities area, and made it a point of asking for creams like Godrej, Dettol, Old Spice and so on, only to be given back a look of, "You want what??".
Maybe tomorrow I'll pop in for some samosa's and maybe off-handedly mention shave gear. I dread the inevitable, "You want what??".
Is importing such supplies a loss leader for small grocers for such a small market, which in my city may very well just be me? It would be handy to have a brick and mortar source nearby, but I doubt they could compete with the Internet shopping. A shame really. I haven't had any issues ordering through Amazon, and the prices have been terrific, but I'd still like to give these guys around the corner a fighting chance.
Think globally, act locally...but at what cost, is the question.
There are a multitude of Indian Grocery distributors. A small market couldn't make a profit, if they imported 24 boxes of toothpaste, each time they ran out. I'm sure that your local grocer can get his hands on shaving creams, but there may be a minimum order. He has to decide whether he can sell 3 cases of Godrej
Asking him doesn't hurt. By doing so, you're planting the seed. If he's smart, he brings in 12 cases of cream, plus the biggest cream-eating brushes he can find! Nothing wrong with enabling your customers So I popped into that grocer's shop today (why does that opening line read like something PG Woodhouse would've written???) and after buying a couple delicious samosas, I asked about the possibility of stocking shave creams like Godrej, Dettol or any other interesting products like those.
Yup. There was the confused "whatever for" look I've grown accustomed to.
The kind gentleman then asked where I had heard of such products, and I was "this" close to going into another wetshaving spiel, but I just said I'd heard that Indian shave creams were very good, and inexpensive.
Another confused look.
I'm going to stop beating my head against the wall on this, and stick to ordering online.
The samosas were damn good, by the way, so they've got me there at least. And if my wife needs stock up on spices and henna hair colouring.
Yup. There was the confused "whatever for" look I've grown accustomed to.
The kind gentleman then asked where I had heard of such products, and I was "this" close to going into another wetshaving spiel, but I just said I'd heard that Indian shave creams were very good, and inexpensive.
Another confused look.
I'm going to stop beating my head against the wall on this, and stick to ordering online.
The samosas were damn good, by the way, so they've got me there at least. And if my wife needs stock up on spices and henna hair colouring.
^ Sorry to hear that, Bruce!
This was the most logical answer I got in my largely fruitless search for Indian shave goods in the NYC metro area last summer.
I searched around suburban Chicago and found absolutely nothing. A few older men lit up a bit when I asked about Godrej, but only because they had fond memories of it a while back. I haven't been to Little India in Chicago yet, but would venture a guess that you could find some of the better known Indian brands there if you looked.
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