Acca Kappa 1869

For the past few days I have been on a shaving cream kick. Normally, I use soaps or make an Uberlather with a soap, cream, and glycerin. However, I have had some of these creams for a while and thought I would try them alone.

Today's choice was a tub of Acca Kappa 1869 Almond Shaving Cream - a cream I purchased more than a year ago. I have less than an inch left in the tube and thought I would try it alone today. Boy, am I glad I did.

First, the lather it produces is not the thickest lather. But then again I am not one of those folks who uses a ton of product to make a pile of lather I then wash down the sink. Today my weapon of choice was a Muhle Synthetic 23mm Classic Shaving Brush. I wet the brush and swirled in around the tub for about 30 seconds (normally I take a small portion with a collar stay and put it in my scuttle. However, the cream needed some smoothing out from all the holes in it.) I then took the brush to my scuttle and made lather with it. The lather was not as luxurious as I get from a soap. But, without a doubt it produced one of the slickest lathers I have ever used. I first took the brush and rubbed the lather all over my face and neck and then gently massaged it with my fingers for a bit. I then washed all of the lather off with cool water and then reapplied the lather. The razor (a Gillette Red Tip loaded with a Personna Red blade for shave 3 with the same razor and blade) just glided over my face and neck. A BBS shave with my usual 4 pass shave.

This is one cream I will always have on hand - and it is available in the U.S.

Jim, AK 1869 is an excellent product that excels in every camp. Hence, a huge +1 on all your thoughts!

I have a tub of AK 1869 and just used it for the past couple of days. It is over a year old and seems a little dry in the tub, but I can't remember if it was always like that.

The lather in the bowl is not thrilling. I worked longer than usual and it still ended up a little on the thin side. The shave is great.

What I find amazing about AK is how my face feels 8 hours later. This is sneaky good stuff.

Has anyone tried the new formula?

Another one on the short list of 'must-try' creams.
I must admit to being one of those 'use a ton of product to make a pile of lather I then wash down the sink' people. How else am I going to get through all this product?

This is a very good cream, always a pleasure to use. Good stuff.

If your lather is thin use more product. Believe me you can easily get rich creamy lather from this stuff.

Whatever happened to the Acca Kappa 1869 tubs?

Prof. Moriarty said:

Whatever happened to the Acca Kappa 1869 tubs?

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They are still around. WCS sells them as does mensdirect.com.

Today I did an Uberlather of AK 1869, MdC, and glycerin. Incredibly rich and slick lather.

ackvil said:

They are still around. WCS sells them as does mensdirect.com.

Today I did an Uberlather of AK 1869, MdC, and glycerin. Incredibly rich and slick lather.

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Both are out of stock, as is shaving.ie (which has been out of stock since months)

I think the tubs are being reformulated. It's been posted on the shaving forums.

MickToley said:

I think the tubs are being reformulated. It's been posted on the shaving forums.

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I hope their reformulation doesn't screw up the performance of AK.

Acca Kappa in the tub is superb, the only other cream/croap that gets anywhere near it's performance is Acqua Di Parma.

The Acca Kappa 1869 shaving soap gets bad reviews because the lather collapses and vanishes in seconds. However, i get the feeling it is not meant to be lathered like other soaps. The soap paste in the loaded brush appears to be the useable lather. It definitely has the slickness and stability of other soap lathers, but is much creamier. The ingredients contain shea butter and beeswax near the top of the list. This is an intriguing, sophisticated and unusual shaving soap with the loveliest scent. It just doesn't like water.

pierrelortie44 said:

The Acca Kappa 1869 shaving soap gets bad reviews because the lather collapses and vanishes in seconds. However, i get the feeling it is not meant to be lathered like other soaps. The soap paste in the loaded brush appears to be the useable lather. It definitely has the slickness and stability of other soap lathers, but is much creamier. The ingredients contain shea butter and beeswax near the top of the list. This is an intriguing, sophisticated and unusual shaving soap with the loveliest scent. It just doesn't like water.

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Wow, intriguing! Will definitely have to try that next time!

Be forewarned that however thick and dense, the lather of the soap tends to disappear on the face. Yet, the thin invisible lather is as slick and effective as any shaving soap lather (as others have noted), and maybe even more so. I like it because I have tried many soaps and creams already and this gives me something new and different to play with. And it's one of those scents that turns men into brush sniffers. And, and, only the hard soap in the current Acca Kappa line contains shea butter and beeswax. The creams in the tube and the tub do not, although they seem to have other goodies. Still, the soap is odd and takes a little getting used to.

So for 9,50 euros this 1869 soap refill hard puck, worths it?