Trader Joe's Shave Kit

Here's a new one. Trader Joe's has a "shave kit" consisting of a puck, (in plastic "skuttle") brush and balm, all for $9.99.

The brush had a wood handle, and while the knot was on the small side, the bristles were tough. I would totally use it. Packaging didn't say if it were boer, badger or synthetic. Puck ingredients made no mention of lanolin or tallow.

Looked like a deal to me; and of course it's fun to see traditional shaving make an impact on mainstream retailers. I'll go back and take a picture of the product ASAP.

Pics, we crave pics.

Found this on the interweb. Says it's Sandalwood scent.

Very interesting hopefully they'll sell the soap separately in the future assuming it works well.

Thanks. Looks like your TJ's is more progressive than mine. I will ask them to get this on their shelves here!

BigJ said:

Thanks. Looks like your TJ's is more progressive than mine. I will ask them to get this on their shelves here!

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Good luck with that ... I've been asking my local TJ to bring back certain products for years and years and years.

It seems that once they get something I really like (Bison burger patties, Durham wheat cous-cous, Acidophulus cottage cheese, etc.) I can buy it perhaps twice and then its gone for good.

If my local TJ gets the shave-kit in, I ought to round up a 3017 supply.

ain't no trader Joe around here. I herd that he left town for good.

Found a photo on the net. As I said, the brush is on the small side, but if you like course bristles it's worth checking out.

I wonder if their soap is rebranded from another company. I might have to make a trip to TJ this weekend. I always like seeing traditional shaving products in brick & mortars.

Also apparently they have a brushless shave cream in a tube that many seem to like, seemingly made by alba.

There are some photos in my gallery: http://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/media/53188&catid=member&imageuser=23603

I will post more tomorrow but here are some quick notes. The brush is synthetic, about 20 x 51 mm, not very dense but very stiff. Cheap handle. The soap is soft, 170 g, with detectable menthol and a creamy-floral take on sandalwood. Lathered ok, and shaved well. It might be worth the price by itself. The balm seemed ok, nothing special to report. But I rarely use balms.

There's a guy on Reddit who bought a bunch of these and seemed convinced they're the same as the Parker synthetic brush. I don't know if it's true, just FYI.

I will look for this at my local TJ's. Thanks OP.

August West said:

I will look for this at my local TJ's. Thanks OP.

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Be interested to hear what you find. Closest Trader Joe's is a bit out of the way for me so not inclined to drive there without a bit more Intel, [emoji6]

TexFlood said:

Be interested to hear what you find. Closest Trader Joe's is a bit out of the way for me so not inclined to drive there without a bit more Intel, [emoji6]

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+1 ... the closest TJ is only about 10 miles away, but its off in a direction that I rarely travel. So when I go there, its specifically to go to TJ, a trip I make a couple times a year when I have extra funds in the food budget.

I was there about 2 weeks ago, to stock up on toothpaste, TeaTreeOil soap, Green Tea mints, Chocolate Espresso beans and other delicacies that only TJ carries. I wanted to get some deodorant stick, but they were out.

I looked at their shaving items, but the kit wasn't there yet. I'll look again next time I'm there, but I won't make a special trip for it. Next time I go will probably be when I get my Tax Refund next year.

Thanks dpm802. Pretty much the same situation here, not much further for me than for you, but very much out if the way in a direction I never go.

mblakele said:

There are some photos in my gallery: http://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/media/53188&catid=member&imageuser=23603

I will post more tomorrow but here are some quick notes. The brush is synthetic, about 20 x 51 mm, not very dense but very stiff. Cheap handle. The soap is soft, 170 g, with detectable menthol and a creamy-floral take on sandalwood. Lathered ok, and shaved well. It might be worth the price by itself. The balm seemed ok, nothing special to report. But I rarely use balms.

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Here is a slightly longer post, with inline images.

Yesterday evening I needed a shave, and some party supplies. I thought I was all set for the former, but while at TJ to pick up the latter I noticed the Close Shave kit. For ten bucks, why not? Once I was at home, I decided to risk using it.







Look closely at the hairs at the bottom center and you can see that sawtooth pattern that says "synthetic".



The photos do not show this, but the handle is very cheaply made. The brush wants to float, even loft-down in a small cup. It feels kind of like the Omega 10066 handle, but even lighter. At first I thought it was plastic with a faux wood grain, but it may well be cheap wood. Either way it has a clear coat, which is already cracking and bubbling. The bottom of the handle is a bit rough: not quite flat and roughly finished. Might make a good knot donor for a better handle, if you like the knot.

The tub seems sturdy and looks nice. It is full of a fairly soft soap, possibly a bit more than the labeled 170 grams. Full, mine weighed 230 grams without the lid.



For my shave I soaked the brush in a cup of warm water while I splashed water on my face and throat, then squeezed out the brush and loaded it for about 30 seconds. That was probably a bit long: according to my scale I loaded over 4 grams of soap. Next time I will try to scoop out a gram or two, closer to my usual amount with a cream.

I face-lathered, and I had some trouble with the brush. At 20x51 it is lofty, but the synthetic fibers are quite stiff. The tips feel very soft in a painting motion, but when I tried any splay I was fighting that backbone. It shed exactly one fiber during the shave. Overall it felt very springy, like first Mühle synthetic I used: lathering by Voit.

But after four or five minutes I had an acceptable lather. I could feel the menthol advertised in the ingredients, but not to any extreme. For the shave itself I used an English flat-bottom NEW with a T-series Spoiler blade and a BRW Bull Mastiff handle. I forget how many shaves are on that blade: at least eight, maybe a dozen. Did my usual three passes with good results, no surprises. I had to milk the brush for the third pass, and that core lather was dry enough that I hand-mixed it with extra water. Finished with a shower and applied a pea-sized drop of the balm. I usually use some witch hazel and then a splash, but this balm seemed effective.

It may be too early to rush to judgment, but so far I think the kit is a decent value at the price. The soap or cream may be worth the price on its own, and you get an acceptable balm and a usable brush thrown in gratis.

I'm amazed that's there's still anywhere in the US thats more than 5 minutes from at least one Trader Joe's!

I know that they are everywhere in California, but they are scattered in Texas. 45 minutes drive for me. If I'm in that area, I would pick up a couple, for Christmas presents. I would ditch the brush and insert a Burma Shave brush, for around $6. The packaging looks very nice and wouldn't make it look like it was a thrown together kit. Presentation and looks mean nothing to me, but to a new "Wet Shaver" it means a lot.

Go West Young Man said:

I'm amazed that's there's still anywhere in the US thats more than 5 minutes from at least one Trader Joe's!

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DaltonGang said:

I know that they are everywhere in California, but they are scattered in Texas. 45 minutes drive for me. If I'm in that area, I would pick up a couple, for Christmas presents. I would ditch the brush and insert a Burma Shave brush, for around $6. The packaging looks very nice and wouldn't make it look like it was a thrown together kit. Presentation and looks mean nothing to me, but to a new "Wet Shaver" it means a lot.

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Trader Joe's is based in California and has the -vast- majority of stores, 172 of them per their web site. The next biggest concentration is New York with 21. Illinois also has 21. Texas is a much larger state but only has 19 stores. States like Idaho and Alabama only have 1. Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming all have none at all.