Shea Moisture Shave Butter - achieved very slight lather and great shave

I know the Shea Moisture Shave Butter gets no love, but I bought it before i saw the negative opinions and I feel i'll use it up since i kind of feel ia kindered spirit with it as my first purchase as a wetshaving cream and i think it does a satisfactory job regardless of the lathering ability.

So this was my second or 3rd shave with it. The first 2 were about a month ago with a cart and they weren't bad at all, hand applied, little to no lather (kind of like Cremo). earthy smell, i don't mind, but it's definitely not a fancy smell, but ingredients seem to be very beneficial to the skin. I wonder if this is what the method shaving hydrolast stuff kind of smells like...

I tried to bowl lather the butter and was moderately successful with about 1Tbls of butter and a little bit of water. I was able to paint my face with it and it was what I consider a lather, though not as thick/voluminous as other lather, but it did stay on the face and had a nice texture. It felt moist and good portion of the lather was stuck in the brush, but i could drag the brush over the side of the bowl and it came out, enough for the 1st and some of 2nd pass and squeezing out the breech allowed for the full 2nd perhaps some touch-up. I only did 2 passes with the EJ89L which was close enough for me for last nite.

The actual shave result with it was pretty good. it did feel a little tingly on the skin, but skin wasn't irritated as far as i could tell. My skin felt nice & smooth after everything was said & done. I followed up with some alum and all was alright.

It's not definitely not a traditional lather, and I probably wouldn't recommend it if someone wanted a monster lather (probably would not buy it again either), but i felt it had enough cushion and glide alongside the good ingredients to warrant using it up as part of the rotation.

If it works for you, there's nothing wrong with using it, or using it up even if you don't intend to replace it when it's gone. A satisfactory shave doesn't require a monster lather. You just have to decide if it does enough of what you want a shaving cream to do to warrant using it at all. I've never tried it, but I have read some of the negative reviews and trust their opinions enough to not go out and get it even though it's only about $5 at Target. Also, Shea butter is supposed to be good for your skin, and is in a lot of good quality products.

Thanks for the comments. it just got such negative reviews and then I saw some posts talking to a different poor lathering cream and the person realized they had lathered it not in the right way and gave it a second chance.

This product seems unique with the african black soap, which i haven't really seen elsewhere, but gets phenomenal reviews if you research about it.

I just wanted to formally review it and let others know it's definitely usable and perhaps it's ingredients may be very beneficial in skincare.

I too picked up some of this stuff prior to reading the poor reviews. It doesn't work like any shave cream I've experienced, but it has good moisturizing qualities. I didn't want to waste it, so I experimented with it a little, and had a couple successes.

- A hot shower is my preshave prep. I tried lathering my face with the butter as I start my shower, and wash it off just before getting out. It seemed to do a good job moisturizing and made my skin feel good.

- I also combined it with VDH and am pretty happy with the results. I melted half a puck and added a couple spoonfuls of butter. It didn't mix together uniformly, and it stayed soft even after cooling. I set it aside in a sealed container for about a week before I returned to it. When I opened it, there was about a teaspoon of pure oil on top. I drained that off, and lathered up with it, and it was really nice. I produced a very creamy. thick lather that worked with a DE and a straight.


I wouldn't recommend buying this stuff, but if you already have, I think it can be put to good use.

I decided to post pictures of my experience with this stuff. It is no way a glowing endorsement of the lathering ability of this product. It definitely does not have a lot of volume as a lather, but nonetheless i consider it lather (weak). and perhaps I am not such a great latherer, anyway...

I can tell you the shave feels pretty smooth and my skin feels really good after a 2 passer with a Feather AS/derby extra. no nicks or weepers and a CCS. I am very happy with tonite's shave.

The shave butter

finger lathered on my arm

my bowl and butter







lather pulled from the breech

Looks like lather to me. I picked up a jar of this on clearance and I haven't used it yet. I think you just convinced to try it with my next shave.

_MementoMori_ said:

Looks like lather to me. I picked up a jar of this on clearance and I haven't used it yet. I think you just convinced to try it with my next shave.

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It is a very moist quality without being runny.

It just seems like you have to use a ton of it compared to lathering shave creams. I didn't get a terribly unbearable shave when I tried it, but I didn't exactly enjoy it either.

I have a tendency to use too much and end up sending a bunch of lather down the sink. L like I said earlier I was trying to figure out how to lather this and I am just learning to lather in general and get decent results. I think I could have used half and been okay. When I start out it doesn't look enough but in the end it is clearly too much.

Once again it is a case of "if it works for you, then it is OK. Being a thrifty soul, I have a phobia about pitching a product that does the job, but not with the great feelings, or results, just OK results. From the reviews, I would have to say I would not try it, unless it were very cheap, say only a dollar or so, then I probably would.

I still remember my experience with my Grandmother's lye soap from the early 1950's. It was an excellent shave, nice lather and all that. (probably the chicken fat part of the mix) So you'll never know until you try it!

Just a reminder, I have seen many barbers in past years, lather up a face, then wring out a hot towel, place it over the victim's - er customer's face, and then shave it with almost no hint of the lather left. The customer seemed satisfied.
(I didn't ever order it, it cost too much in my opinion at the time).

So goforit, if it works for you, it is the right thing!

My point in posting the pics was to just show the lather, albeit weak in volume, was obtainable. This would not be my first choice of soaps, but it actually functions well in a practical purpose. I thought this was cheap enough at $5.

I really think this product is mismarketed. I can't explain it without potentially offending people.

I wanted to mention that I was able to do some minor touchups around my jawline without relathering after 2n'd pass and my skin did not resist it as it sometimes does with other lather.

Well, this is still strictly speaking a latherless cream - it's not intended to provide the consistency that good lather from traditional shaving soap or cream does. It's not like Kiss My Face, where a brush isn't required, but makes it explode into lather if you do use one. The "lather" you get from this is more or less stretching the cream into a wetter consistency. I'm not knocking it (for that reason, anyway) I'm just explaining it.

I have used this stuff, and was able to get through a shave. However, I would say without hesitation nor apology, if this gives you a more protective and smoother shave than does lather from traditional soaps or creams, you're doing it wrong. My VDH makes better lather (and probably outlasts this stuff).

I totally understand the desire to make a cheap cream work for you - I previously mentioned Kiss My Face, which is an excellent cheap cream. It's usually available at the likes of Earth Fare or Whole Foods (as well as some of our beloved online retailers). If you have a RiteAid near you, grab a squeezie tube of The Real Shaving Co CREAM (not gel). It's made by Creightons, who makes creams for Trumper's, and Truefitt & Hill.

I've tried this stuff as well -- horrible as a shaving cream. Works pretty well as a pre-shave layer in the shower. I'm almost out of the tub I bought, but it's definitely functional as a pre-shave softener.

I'd have to be REALLY hard pressed to use it as an actual shave cream, though.

JPDyson said:

Well, this is still strictly speaking a latherless cream - it's not intended to provide the consistency that good lather from traditional shaving soap or cream does. It's not like Kiss My Face, where a brush isn't required, but makes it explode into lather if you do use one. The "lather" you get from this is more or less stretching the cream into a wetter consistency. I'm not knocking it (for that reason, anyway) I'm just explaining it.

I have used this stuff, and was able to get through a shave. However, I would say without hesitation nor apology, if this gives you a more protective and smoother shave than does lather from traditional soaps or creams, you're doing it wrong. My VDH makes better lather (and probably outlasts this stuff).

I totally understand the desire to make a cheap cream work for you - I previously mentioned Kiss My Face, which is an excellent cheap cream. It's usually available at the likes of Earth Fare or Whole Foods (as well as some of our beloved online retailers). If you have a RiteAid near you, grab a squeezie tube of The Real Shaving Co CREAM (not gel). It's made by Creightons, who makes creams for Trumper's, and Truefitt & Hill.

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no real desire to make this work for me, it's okay.. not great...
The instructions also say not to expect lots of lather, and i wasn't disappointed since my expectations for lather were low.

my vdh-dlx is good, stock it works well and I am happy with it. When I added some glycerin, aloe, EVOO & EO, to another puck of VDH-dlx the lather was okay, but thickness was not there for some reason. I have a bunch of creams, like KMF Shave Moisture, Cremo, Bigelow. I have felt quick lathers and more cushiony lathers and superlathers in between....

again, just wanted to post some pics so others can get a better appreciation for the state of the lather.