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Taylor's Herbal Pre-Shave a strange product...

First just wanted to say hello to everyone again... I've been so busy with life and work (and my now expecting wife :thumbup1: ) that I haven't had much chance to jump on here lately...

Anyway, back on topic... I wanted to take a moment to talk about Taylor's herbal pre-shave gel...

A long time back Michael (aka LeisureGuy) was polite enough to donate a jar of this to me. I had replied in a post about pre-shaves, and mentioned that I had never tried it. Michael told me he had a jar and he had never really cared for it. Next thing I know, it showed up in the mail for me. (Thanks again!)

I have used this many time since, and finally feel like I can give a pretty accurate description of it, and the description is... Well.... Odd... Let me explain...

I'm a pretty die-hard Proraso pre-shave fan. In fact, other then the taylors, it's currently the only thing (other then normal hair conditioner) that I've used. It seems to work really well (especially if applied in the shower).

Back on track with the Taylors... The first time I used this stuff I think my impression was "Terrible" :lol: Regardless, I still had a good shave so it wasn't a total loss...

A few days later I tried again... Nope, this stuff was still terrible. Let me explain what I mean by terrible. When you use the Proraso, you can physically feel how much softer the whiskers get. With the Taylor's, you couldn't feel any difference at all. It creates a sort of "film" (feels like glycerin) on your face, but that's about it. Just terrible... Yet again I managed to get a good shave, so again, not a total loss...

The next try was the same... But once again I got a great shave, so at least... wait... wha? huh? Is this a coincidence?

EVERY single time I used this stuff, it felt like it wasn't doing anything at all, yet I couldn't ignore the fact that each and every time I got a terrific shave... Hrmmmm...

Maybe the glycerin content? So I tried using glycerin in place of it... Nope... That wasn't it... Proraso was certainly far better then the glycerin... In fact, the glycerin (using it only as a pre-shave and nothing else) were the worst shaves I've ever had...

I couldn't explain what I was seeing, so I did test after test... Constantly and consistantly I was getting better shaves with the Taylor's DESPITE the seemingly little to no effect it had on softening my whiskers...

I still can't explain it, but I've done numerous tests over and over and they've proved out time and time again.

So if you haven't tried this stuff, it's worth a shot... If you have tried it, try to pay attention to the shave, not it's affect on your whiskers.

As always your experience may differ, but I've grown to really love this stuff. :tongue_sm
 
Interesting review. I've been looking to add a few Taylor's products to my shaving line up anyway and the herbal pre-shave might just find it's way onto that list. I'll do some digging around and see if my normal sources carry it.

Lately those trouble spots on the sides of my throat have been acting difficult with everything short of a straight razor or a slantbar w/ a Feather blade. I know I could just stick with those two approaches and be done with it but half the fun of wet shaving is experimenting with all the great products. :biggrin:
Jack

P.S. Congratulations on the upcoming baby!
 
Choose one?!? This is shaving man! We buy everything!!! :biggrin:

Seriously? hrmmm.... That's really a tough question. Like I said, I can't in any way shape or form deny the results I've seen with the Taylor's, yet the Proraso also gives great results and well... It just has that something special... Maybe it's the cooling tingle of the euclyptus?

I'll put it to you this way... On the mornings when I wake up late, or got a shower before bed and don't intend to take one in the morning, I usually go for the Taylor's. I can rub a little in, and by the time my lather is ready I'm good to go.

On mornings when I take a shower, I always grab the Proraso. If you haven't slathered this stuff on your face while in a hot shower, it's quite an experience to say the least.
 
Rusirius,

I've had this product for a while and have used it numerous times but I never could see a difference in my shave. IMO it is too expensive. I've had better results with the Proraso.

How do you apply the Taylor gel. To a dry or wet face? I've tried several different methods but nothing seemed to work.
 
Rusirius,

I've had this product for a while and have used it numerous times but I never could see a difference in my shave. IMO it is too expensive. I've had better results with the Proraso.

How do you apply the Taylor gel. To a dry or wet face? I've tried several different methods but nothing seemed to work.

You know, I hadn't even considered cost, I haven't even looked to see what the Taylors costs!

When I use it my procedure is as follows.. ;)

A) Rinse head and face (I shave my head as well)
B) Apply small dab of Taylors and rub into my wet face
C) Shave head (takes about 3-4 minutes or so)
D) Fill bowl / soak brush
D) Rinse face again
E) Apply another small dab of taylors and rub in
F) Prepare cream
G) Lather up and shave, rinse repeat G for each pass


Now I've also tried using the taylors between each pass, and surprisingly didn't really notice any difference.

Now here's one more thing to consider. When I use the taylors, a lot of times it's when I'm in a rush... This usually means I'll restrict it down to two passes... One with the grain, one against the grain... Yet I still seem to get a CLOSER shave, yet less irritating shave with those two passes and the taylors then I get with the proraso and 4 passes... Strange huh? Maybe it's all in my mind, or maybe it's some combination of effects from less passes etc??
 
You know, I hadn't even considered cost, I haven't even looked to see what the Taylors costs!

When I use it my procedure is as follows.. ;)

A) Rinse head and face (I shave my head as well)
B) Apply small dab of Taylors and rub into my wet face
C) Shave head (takes about 3-4 minutes or so)
D) Fill bowl / soak brush
D) Rinse face again
E) Apply another small dab of taylors and rub in
F) Prepare cream
G) Lather up and shave, rinse repeat G for each pass


Now I've also tried using the taylors between each pass, and surprisingly didn't really notice any difference.

Now here's one more thing to consider. When I use the taylors, a lot of times it's when I'm in a rush... This usually means I'll restrict it down to two passes... One with the grain, one against the grain... Yet I still seem to get a CLOSER shave, yet less irritating shave with those two passes and the taylors then I get with the proraso and 4 passes... Strange huh? Maybe it's all in my mind, or maybe it's some combination of effects from less passes etc??

Ah...I see what I've been doing wrong! I haven't been shaving my head! :001_tongu :w00t: I bought some a while back from Classic Shaving for $19.95.
 
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