I did not see a review this old standby, so I thought I would make it my first.



Price



In just about any drugstore in the country, a 5 fl oz bottle can be had for under $5.00. I have yet to find availability to be a problem .





Quality



Bearing in mind that this is an inexpensive aftershave, I find the quality to be right on par with other offerings in this area.





Fights Razor Burn



I personally have found alcohol based after shaves to do a wondeful job as far as soothing razor burn is concerned, and this is no different. Of course, YMMV.





Cooling Sensation



This is one of the selling points of this particular aftershave. Like many alcohol-based offerings, Skin Bracer contains menthol. Boy, does it contain menthol. Not a "freeze your face" feeling, but when combined with the alcohol, provides a very, ahem, Bracing, cooling sensation.





Scent



A classic barbershop scent. Certainly not sophisticated, but simple and clean in a pleasing way.





Moisturizing



As far as drugstore splashes go, Skin Bracer is not as moisturizing as say, Aqua Velva, but by no means dries out my skin.





Alcohol Burn



Present in all its wondeful glory. While the burn certainly is not a bad as some, it is present, but I don't find this to be a neccesarily bad thing. It is a cooling burn, as described above, and one that I look forward to at the end of the shave.





Overall



I am a big fan of the simple offerings that one can find reliably at the corner pharmacy. I enjoy the old fashoined scents and the soothing sting of aftershaves like Skin Bracer, Aqua Velva, and Pinaud Clubman, so for me it's a home run. For the price of admission, I would recommend this often overlooked classic to all wet shavers.

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-Brian

I usually don't use alcohol based A/S (I have dry skin), but because of peer pressure I had to ( yeah, that's because of you guys )



-It's cheap



-I like the scent



-Burns a little first, but is cooling



-It's a tad drying for me because of my skin type, so I have to make sure to follow it with moisturizers



Overall very good stuff ; you oily-skinned guys are lucky to get away with alcoholic A/S withiut having to apply lotion afterwards

This is probably my favorite after shave. The scent is great and does not overpower me or anyone else. It's light but still there. The cooling is a delight. The lack of any major burn is definitely a plus (for me). For me, it just hits all the notes that I'm looking for. Plus, it's so easy to find and the price is even better. If I had a complaint, and it's a BIG one, I wish they'd put it back in the glass bottle. The plastic just makes it feel to cheap.



John

A classic brand, never out of style. I love the cooling sensation, It's like a fresh wave all over your face. It was my first AS when I was 16. I think there is also the blue version of it (sold here in the good old Europe )

What can I say? I love the smell, love the menthol blast. A dirt-cheap classic, but if it's still to pricey for you, CVS has a clone that's even cheaper (that's probably made for them by Mennen and is Skin Bracer with a different lable). My #1 A/S of all time.

Fellas: don't wear this crap.



Nobody thinks it smells good. 'Subtle' is not a word in this thing's vocabulary.



If you want to be talked about as 'the guy who reeks of cheap aftershave/cologne', by all means, have at it, and pour on some Old Spice to match.



I suppose it does what it's intended to; clean and seal skin.



I don't get razor burn, and hate to knock a product for something that I can't judge, so it gets a 10 there, and I'll even give it a 7 for efficacy, because it does the job. It just does so reeking of a 2-bit gigolo.

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Chuck: sorry he taunted Canadians since 2009

Posted about the famous Aqua Velva as my old man bought some for me in the USA and he also got me some of this aftershave as well.

Kinda reminds me of Brut but has a real menthol punch which really fights any roughly shaved areas of the face. I really like this one as well, my partner really likes it and she doesn't pass judgement lightly so its gotta be good.

Any of you born before 1975 should remember that tag-line. It was the commercial for Mennen Skin Bracer from the late 70's and early 80's.



And so goes the menthol of Skin Bracer! Much like Aqua Velva, this little gem is available just about everywhere for under $5.



If you can handle the instant burn, followed by the cooling menthol, this is it!

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Ted B.
"And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard" - Ezekiel 5:1

I did not like this stuff once because my dad liked it. Everytime I smelled the stuff, I thought of him. There was a time in my life that was an un-cool association. Besides, it was common and you could buy at any grocery store, drug store, KMart, Target, Walmart, etc.



Now I love it because I think of my Dad and I can get just about anywhere.



Strange how life does change.

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Dave LeBlanc
Of a thousand shavers, two do not shave so much alike as not to be distinguished.
Samuel Johnson: Boswell's Life, Sept. 19, 1777

First, why do we still have the "No Alcohol Burn" category?



Second, this has become my favorite aftershave, bar none (Master Bay Rum close second, see below). Love the scent; it's not too strong but you can still detect it hours later without offending others.



NICE alcohol burn and oh so sweet menthol blast. It's especially nice after a cold water rinse and then out of the bathroom into the cooler air of the house.



I know this "just" has propylene glycol instead of glycerin, but it is completely effective for me (slightly oily skin). Aqua Velva is right on par and Clubman dries me out like jerky.



I rank Skin Bracer as my favorite, closely followed by Master Bay Rum. Fortunately, my wife loves Skin Bracer. Unfortunately, she loathes Bay Rum. If it wasn't for that, it would always be these two ASL duking it out for lead in rotation.



Highly recommended.



Steve

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Anachronistic Shaving Equipment Guy

Still around!!!

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The Silver Fox

This is good stuff. In my opinion its significantly better than the Aqua Velva it typically sits next to on the drugstore shelf. Its not something I use every day, but I use it in my rotation each week.



PROS



Overall the smell is quite pleasant, nothing incredibly exciting but perfectly masculine.

It does really fight razor burn. This stuff has always calmed my skin down

Its very low price is great

It does not burn too badly at all. IMHO Aqua Velva is much worse

It is very cooling





CONS



Typically it does not moisturize so you will need to apply something else after it dries. I use Proraso usually.

Its bottle is a plastic thing which is too small. The effect is that the stuff looks cheap and nasty, which is quite a shame.

This has become my favorite after shave. I think the scent is great, though I can understand people thinking it is cheap. The scent while awesome is not complex. I do like it a bit, and it doesn't last all day, so it will not fight with a cologne.



Of all the after shave's I have, this is the only one I would call moisturizing. The rest can only be used during the warmer months where my skin seems to be more oily. During the winter I only use balms, but I can still get away with Skin Bracer.



Oh and this stuff is available everywhere and it is very cheap. The menthol cooling is unmatched by any other after shave. The only after shave I think is better than Skin Bracer is the Spanish Floid Vigoroso. This is only because it has better scent and the cooling effect is almost as good. The problem with Floid is how hard it is to get in the states (I buy from Vintagescent in Portugal), and the price.



My best way to describe this stuff is Skin Bracer is what Aqua Velva should be. This is coming from an Aqua Velva fan.

I took a flyer on Skin Bracer from the local drug store this week, and had my first go with it today.



I had never used this in the 70's, and I have been an Aqua Velva and Booster's guy since I got into DE shaving a couple of years back.



This is a decent product, easily the equivalent of AV, and the scent is pretty good.



For less than $4, it does what it supposed to: cooling, menthol, decent AS.



Like others, I wish it still had a glass bottle.

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There's something about an Aqua Velva man.

I freely admit that I like this aftershave, it works very well for me.



Price: 5 bucks for 7oz. is a steal considering it fights razor burn fast.



Quality: While it works well I'll subtract a couple of points due to the scent and the crappy plastic bottle with the funny lid that the manufacturer decided to go with.



Fights razor burn: like no other.



Cooling sensation: definitely there, good and healthy menthol kick for those who are into it.



Scent: This is the only down side. While not unpleasant it tends to be on the cheap smelling side. It smells nice and clean but it could use some improvement. On the plus side, it doesn't linger.



Efficacy: It works, fights razor burn like no other. Tones the skin and tightens those pores nicely.



Moisturizing: While it doesn't moisturize like, say, a balm, it does not dry my skin. I usually follow up with a moisturizer during the winter though, and you might wanna do the same if you have dry or sensitive skin.



Alcohol burn: Yup! it's there. I gave it a 10 because for me that's a plus. I enjoy a nice alcohol burn, followed by the cooling sensation, right after a how shower and a shave.