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Dr. Carver's Easy Shave Butter Review

The Set-Up:
So, I was roaming the interwebs and found myself perusing dollarshaveclub.com. You know, the one with that video that went viral. Well, I decided to see what the fuss was all about and ordered their 2 bladed razors (5 for $1 a month). I also saw they have something else that isn't a razor and is pretty new: Dr. Carver's Easy Shave Butter. I'm game for anything, and with it only costing $8 for 6 oz tube, I pulled the trigger. When the goods arrived, I have to say, the blades are pretty nice, but I don't know if they replace my DE, but "The Butter" surprised me.

The Equipment:
My shave consisted of a Merkur 180 long handle, saddled with an Astra SP blade. The preparation of the face was cold water and Naive aloe face wash. The shave cream/soap of choice was, of course, The Butter. The aftermath was a splash of T N Dickenson's witch hazel and Jack Black moisturizer with SPF.

The Play:
After face prep, I squeezed out a blueberry-sized amount of butter and rubbed it into my 2 week-growth of a beard, which was wet. Based on how it feels and works, a brush wouldn't really do you any good, and it seems like it might harm the brush with how it lathers. The butter doesn't really foam up; as in, not at all. The butter goes on and lathers like applying room temperature butter. Nice, but weird at first. My shave consisted of two WTG passes, then a XTG, and finally a ATG pass, with a new application of butter for every phase. And while my first and final pass were with a wet face and butter, my second WTG and XTG passes were just on a dry face with the stuff. Reason was that the instructions didn't say anything about water needing to be in the mix. Which is better: water and butter, or just plain butter? Hard to tell really. Both give little friction when passing the blade over, and only the water mix lasted a bit longer in not drying out, which was only by a few seconds. When I finally finished up and splashed cold water on my face, I was surprised with how smooth, conditioned, and nick-free I was. I was almost afraid to apply witch hazel in how well my face felt.

The Score:
This was a perfect BBS i have ever had. Most might find that insane, in how a traditional shave consists of a brush and mixing up an awesome lather is the way to a awesome shave (which I still find to be just grand). I mean, this is an amazing deal, with some fine ingredients, and perfect travel cre, err... butter to keep with you on the lonely road. It sorta gunked up my razor, but nothing some stream of water could fix. I suppose hot water would fix that easily, as I shave cold. Also, I liked the smell, but there are those who would not care for it. Not that it is a love it or hate it type of smell, but some just might not like it. For me, I can't imagine this not being in my shave setup from here on out, plus the idea of smearing butter across my face is awesome. It is a foolproof, conditioning, and close shave product, definitely worth the low price. Give it a shot. The butter will make your blade like a hot knife through... well, you get the idea!

Pictures soon to come.
 
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Sorry about taking so long! Busy times these are.

Ingredients:
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cyclopentasiloxane, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Oat Kernel Extract, Willow Bark Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Algae Extract, Papaya Fruit Extract, Pineapple Fruit Extract, Camelia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Panax Ginsing Root Extract, Propanediol, Cyclohexasiloxane, Dimethicone, Phospholipids, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Hydrolyzed Barley Protein, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract, Orange Peel Extract, Rosemary Leaf Oil, Lavender Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Dimethiconol, Potassium Sorbate, Hydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexyglycerin, Phenoxyethanol. No parabens, no animal testing. Ingredients seemed pretty decent, though, if there are any we should worry about, please feel free to imply the knowledge for us!

And 2 weeks growth of a beard? Hadn't shaved in a couple of weeks, with work and finals coming up. Plus, it put the product to the test :biggrin1:.

Plus, here is a link to the FAQ with plenty o' info on it: https://www.dollarshaveclub.com/faqs.
 
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Hippie, That was a great review.

I've been a regular user of Dr. Carver's Easy Shave Butter for two months now and I haven't doubted my choice to lose the cup, brush and soap.

Like you, I didn't see much difference between the use of water and no water so I've opted for no water. Clean up is easy using hot water and since the price is OK and I don't have to worry about running out of "butter", this was the logical choice for me. btw...The shave butter now comes in a 3 ounce TSA approved travel size for those who are more mobile than I.

I used to use the DSC 4x blade which worked well for me but now I've upgraded to the 5 blade "Executive". I was afraid 5 blades would be overkill but once again, I feel I made a good choice. The blades last a week which seems to be just right for me.

My transition to DSC is now complete as I also purchase the One Wipe Charlies which is something I wouldn't have been caught dead using just a few months ago. Now, it's a luxury that I don't want to be without.
 
I was wondering if this stuff was any good. I'm not interested in paying high $$$ for carts, but hate buying cheap disposables as they clog up quickly when I shave (not every day, which I know doesn't help). I was considering a new shave cream/gel/whatever anyway. Perhaps DSC is at least worth a try. I'll probably go with the mid-tier option if I do. Looks like the blades won't clog up as easy as the others.
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
Two-year old thread, but. This is one product I have finished, and bought more.

It WILL clog a cart, easy. And heavily beslime your DE razor.

It does work well as a preshave, though. It is some slick stuff... Better than foaming goo, but not the end of the world.


AA

EDIT: hey, previous poster- check out my highly-prized Danish after shave ... was over there last month.

 
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A friend at work told me about Dr. Carver's easy shave butter. I'm not a member of the Dollar Shave Club, so I decided to buy a sample off of EBay. I used it along with my Gillette Aristocrat No. 66 safety razor, and I have to say I was impressed! At first, it felt quite strange not to have actual lather on my face, and I thought the shave butter would not give me protection. My blade glided quite easily on my face. No tugging nor pulling. The most sensitive spots on my face are right below my chin (areas of my neck), and these areas are prone to razor burn. Normally, I shave two times. With the grain. Then, against the grain. Against the grain with the shave butter on my face was quite easy to my surprise. Afterward, expecting to feel some burns on my sensitive areas, I splashed some Aqua Velva on my face. No razor burn! This was probably the best shaving product I ever tried, and it left my face feeling nice and smooth without the irritation. I am considering to use it every time I shave. Will it replace the soap and brush? Maybe. Maybe not.
 
Does anyone know how Dr. Carver's compares to VDH Shave Butter?


Based on Amazon reviews of the Van Der Hagen product, Dr. Carver's Easy Shave Butter has better lubrication than Van Der Hagen. I'll admit I'm still new to shave butter, and the only product I have tried is the one from the Dollar Shave Club. I may consider to try Van Der Hagen in the near future. It seems rather cheap than Dr. Caver's product; however, the actual selling price for it on the Dollar Shave Club is about $8. Same selling price, as it seems, for the other one namely on the EBay market.

Even though I've used Dr. Carver's Easy Shave Butter only once so far, I really like it. The only drawback for me is its selling price. On EBay, people are ripping others off. $19 for only one tube? Then, another one is selling two for $30? I think that's highway robbery if you ask me. I don't understand why people should pay for more than what it normally sells for.
 
I tried DSC as a quick option for days I am shirt on time. I found the 2 blade cartridge painful to use compared to similar cartridges but I ordered a tube of dr carvers pillowy shave lather which is recommended for hand or brush application. I wasn't overly impressed with its performance but I liked the minty (not menthol) smell and feel. Very cooling stuff. I keep it for days I'm in a hurry. Today I treated myself to a cold water shave with my slim adjustable and I decided to add some mint to to the mix. I created an über lather, adding the dr carvers lather cream to my Tabac loaded brush. The scents did not compliment each other nor did they clash too horribly but the performance and feel was outstanding. Huge fluffy lather. Tabac added slickness and the carvers cream added cushion for a massive lather. If you are a DSC member I recommend trying the pillowy shave lather. I'd also really like to know how their pomaded and other hair products perform.
 
I tried DSC right before switching over to DE and found the carts to be nothing worth mentioning. I did add a tube of the shave butter to my first order since the description intrigued me and like how it performed, but I haven't used it since I switched. I might have to pop it open once I'm done running through my numerous samples of shaving soaps/creams. If you do use it and have a problem with it gunking up your razor you can add a couple drops of dish soap to the water you swish your razor through. Instant degunking.
 
I also tried DSC before switching to wet shaving. The shave butter was the only product that impressed me. The "Humble Twin" (two bade cartridge) was easily the crummiest razor I ever tried to shave with. It made my Gillette Trac II look like a he-man's tool in comparison. I had no idea that plastic could be shaved so thin, almost lighter than air, until I saw the DSC's Humble Twin.

The One Wipe Charlies is a good idea but poorly executed. Too small. Way too small for a man's hand. And in that situation, you want a big wipe, not a small one, trust me.

The Shave Butter was pretty cool. Very, very slick. Great protection, excellent glide. But I prefer to whip up a lather with a brush and a bowl the traditional way. But I can see how some men would prefer it.
 
I used to shave with the shave butter before I got into DE shaving. I used the 4x blades. I ended up getting irritation often on my neck. I tried the humble twin and it was a decent shave but the blades seemed to really scrape my face. I switched up to an EJ DE89, and a long with it got a nice shave brush and Geo F. Trumper limes skin food and shaving cream. After finally figuring out the lather, I really enjoyed it. The derby blades I got with the EJ didn't do good on my face, really not smooth and it cut me a few times. I switched to astra sp's and feathers with much better results. After I got really good at shaving I brought out a derby blade to make sure it wasn't just technique. I did better with it, but it wasn't as smooth as the Astras. When I was rummaging through my drawer I saw an almost brand new bottle of dr. Carver's shave butter that I had bought before I switched. I hate to waste stuff so I thought I'd try it with the derby. Plus i didn't feel like whipping up a lather.

The results were interesting. I'd only ever used it with a cart. It was almost too slick if that's a thing. The derby glided very well. But it seemed to just coat my whiskers making the blade just glide right over them. And I found myself having to go over spots several times during my touch ups. I did a WTG, XTG, ATG and touch ups.

I don't think I'll be throwing it away. It'll be good for when I don't want to whip up a lather but I much preferred the feedback and lather from the GFT shave cream. I also used to like that the shave butter went on clear, but now I don't. I couldn't remember what spots i shaved and what I didn't shave. Scent is nice, but nothing special. May try it again in a couple of months.
 
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