This is a strange product. It's a cream but it comes in a box wrapped in paper like a soap. It's much firmer than other creams making it seem almost like a bar of soap but you use it my pinching pieces off and whipping it like a cream.



Price: It costs 10$ for 150 grams making it a similar value to Proraso and more costly per gram than some value brands like KMF and Tom's



Quality: The product has no quality issues. Texture and color are even.



Scent: Soapy, a natural Ivory soap sort of scent with a light Menthol touch. A very nice light clean scent. In the same "scent category" as proraso but not nearly as peppy and exciting.



Lather: The cream is firm and concentrated and the snurdle of cream doesn't break up immediatlely in the bowl, even so lather "explodes" and begins to form immediatley. A small pinch of cream makes a big overflowing bowl of lather. It may not be the best cream to lather on the face because it is thick and needs a good mixing.



Efficacy/Moisturizing: Not as rich or slick as some creams. Lubricating but maybe not too cushiony The lather rinses easily. Non-drying.



Packaging: Here is an interesting one. I don't feel the packaging is really the best from a functional standpoint but I still gave it a ten for aesthetic reasons. The packaging is what drove me to buy this product. To put a cream in a box rather than a tub or tube seems very "old world" to me and sets this apart from other items. There is a simple label on the front in Italian. I took a point away because the cream is wrapped in plastic wrap and I might have preferred wax paper.









Packaging:

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Quitting tobacco is the most important thing you can do for your health.

A great product that gives me nothing less than great shaves

I really love this stuff. It has absolutely no fragrance, the lather is amazing, and has just the right amount of menthol to cool without freezing my face off. The packaging however, comes under the heading of "what were they thinking?". It has the consistency of peanut butter and sticks to fingers the same way. I used a spatula to scrape it out of the waxed paper wrapper and smush it into a container, where I treat it basically like a soap (hit it with a damp brush and lather on my face). Why they don't put it in a plastic tub like Proraso is beyond me.

I tried Valobra thanks to suggestion from friends and some hints lurked on Badger&Blade. Take only a few days to be stocked in a big profumeria in Padua (taly). This is a great cream, I love it. Latherability is good. The scent (or lack thereof) is a little too subtle (it's practically unscented) anyway the menthol give a great kick of refreshing sensation. The lather is very thick and the lubrication is really amazing. Only problem is the packaging, ok it's an untouchable classic, but a cream wrapped in waxed paper inside a paper box... If the famous English creams can tolerate a plebean plastic (oh, my..) jar, why not...

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Razor: Fatboy, Slimboy, Tech, Knack.
Brush: Kent H8, BK4, Omega boar (small, big).
Soap: Woolfat, C&E Nomad, Proraso Green, Tabac, Cella.
Cream: Valobra Mentolo, TOBS Sandalwood.
Aftershave: Floyd Blue, Proraso Pre-Post, Dopobarba, Crema.
Other AS: Chimique Clinique, Capucci, Cerruti 1881.
All items top to bottom in my taste- YMMV

I was less than thrilled about my new acquistion of this "stuff". The brick that I got was basically unscented and lacking greatly in the menthol kick that I have become to love so much. The amount needed to lather up is very small and takes a bit of work to get it going. I scoop a bit off and but it in the bowl and started lathering. Once it got going and holy smoke! Great shave and not overally cushiony as mentioned before. The packaging is horrible! Why anyone would put a soft putty like form into a box I have no clue. I paid $12 at Colonial Drug which is the going rate but wouldnt suggest it to anyone. Its a nice novelty product but can find much better for you money(PRORASO!!)

I use Valobra like a soap, not a cream. I put the brick of soft soap in a procelain bowl that have a clear plactic lid. Before shaving I put hot water on it which i discard when working with the brush to get lots of thick cushiony lather.

The package is biodegrable which is a plus for me

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Paco
Viva el Sebo!!

Shaving Essentials was nice enough to send this along as a sample, so I'm giving an n/a for price and packaging. The "soft soap" has a nice sheen and feel to it. It is sort of a nice experience to mold it into a bowl and build a later there. As some have said, the lather "explodes". However, the lather seems to have a "dry" quality to it. I may try again tomorrow, but I did not get a creamy dense lather, but rather a thin bubbly lather that didn't last long on my face. The menthol provides a nice numbing sensation, but the soapy smell is tough to tolerate. I got a nice close shave with my Gem Micromatic, but I was disappointed with this soap's slickness - the razor just didn't glide like it does when I use a TOBS cream or glycerin soap.

Guys, Valobra is a soft soap, and most emphatically not a cream.



You shouldn't treat it as a cream, so no 'putting a snurdle in the bowl' or whatever. You'll just be making life very difficult for yourself. Instead treat it as it is: malleable soap. Cut off a chunk, press it into your favourite container (I use cheap glass desert bowls which I got for €1 or so), and load your brush as if you are using a hard triple-milled soap. Italian manufacturers have a tendency to make these malleable products: Cella and P.160 are two others which come to mind. They are a godsend: no more grating a hard soap into a container, but just a quick jab with a knife and done. That is also why the packaging is so 'weird', but it makes perfect sense to sell the product like this.

And once treated like a soap it works wonderful...

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Paco
Viva el Sebo!!

OMG this stuff is excellent. Puts the other creams/soaps to shame.

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www.hjsna.com

Originally Posted by MasterP

OMG this stuff is excellent. Puts the other creams/soaps to shame.

$10 is an incredible price for a wonderful performer. I didn't know what to think of the product when I opened the packaging but the cream is like play doe and is easily maluable and fit easily into a plastic tubs that I buy for my soaps from mama bears. Latherability, cushion and slickness is where the product shines. It makes some of the richest, slickest lather of any shave product that I've used at any price point. Easy to produce lather that was more than enough for 3 passes. I would not hesitate to buy this product again.

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Mike - - Hookem

Wonderful stuff. This seems to find it's way into my rotation no matter how many new ones I buy.

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kap49

As this is menthol I can use it (no almond). The scent is very light, but nice. Lathers fine, razor glides well, and gives a good feeling after the shave. I like it as it is a good and "pure" product. Too bad it is a bit on the expensive side. But one to be tried

I have been an P.160 user for years and have just recently found Valobra. The texture of the soap is much more moist. This is not a problem if you are used to using Italian soaps. I thought the quality is superb. It lathers with the best and the lather is very slick and luxurious. The scent was not strong and the menthol was almost non existent until the last face rinsing. Then I felt a faint cooling sensation and I must say, it was very refreshing. I would highly recommend this soap to everyone.

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-Rich-

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost

I was excited to try out Valobra Menthol. The product, in my opinion, smells horrible. I let it air out for a few days and that helped. It lathers easily, but for my skin, it did not work well. Whenever I shaved, I would get a few weepers.



It didn't matter if I facelathered, bowlathered, added more water, added less water, added more product, added less product, it didn't matter. If I shaved with this product, I would get weepers, and that is why I stopped using Valobra.



I will say that the menthol kick is a little lacking, as is the moisturizing properties.



I sold Valobra after a few uses. It seems to work for a lot of people, but not for me.