SCS Shave Creme

[Kyle]

This thread is for discussion related to this review.

[fisherc]

Does this cream contain any propylene glycol, TEA or parabens ? Any colorant ? And I presume the fragrance is synthetic. Correct ? Is Very V a "straight Vetiver" fragrance or is it more "complex" ?

Thanks,
Chris

[roughrider]

Nicely done Kyle.

[xChris]

This is what is listed on the SCS website--
http://wwww.saintcharlesshave.com/

Very "V" EDT: Masculine Soft, Smokey Vetyver and Lavender blended with Florals and Neroli with hints of Amber and subdued Musk.

Shaving Crème Ingredients: Aqua, Sodium Coco Sulfate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Almond Oil, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycol Stearate, Emulsifying Wax, Tetrasodium Salts, Fragrance. No Added Color.

[Sue]

Good Morning,
Chris, I see your questions have been answered, except; the fragrance is from fragrant oils in the cremes currently available.
Sue

[Ashe]

These seem to be very promising shaving creams! I will soon have to order some of the SCS products but I'm still reviewing what I want seen the fact that I can't simply order just a few products and have them shipped to Belgium for a small price. Once I have a final list of highly rated SCS products according to the majority of this memberbase, I'll place the order all at once to pay shipping costs only once.

Does anyone know whether any of these products can't be shipped by plane? Some products I ordered as CS weren't allowed to be shipped by airmail therefore I still have to wait a couple of weeks before they will arrive (other products I had ordered at the same time have arrived already more than 3 weeks ago).

Sue, it seems you'll get a nice order from me over the next couple of days!

[Sue]

Benjamin,
Would you be so kind as to post what you have ordered that cannot be shipped by plane? I would think every letter and parcel leaving the US would be via airfreight out of an international gateway airport. UPS and Fed EX also have their own fleet of freighter aircraft for this purpose. I read all the restrictions, (which vary by country), that I have shipped to and nothing that I have been asked to ship (so far) was on the restriced list. I use Global Priority, most often the parcels leave the states thru JFK airport in New York.

Are EDT's now restricted as they currently are for air travel passengers recent 'carry-on' regulations?
Sue

[Ashe]

Sue, the 2 products that were not shipped by airmail were the Proraso Splash and Proraso AS balm. CS informed me that they were shipped using International Surface which can easily take up between 4 to 6 weeks and possibly even longer.

If I would have known it would take this long, I would have ordered these 2 products elsewhere.

[Scotto]

Kyle, good review. Are you sure it is the water making the difference, or the fact that you are continually whipping more and more?

[Austin]

Another personal observation when using this shave cream is that I don't need a balm after my shave. My skin feels moisturized afterwards. My skin looks glass smooth at certain angles when I look in the mirror.

[Sue]

Benjamin,
I looked up the postal restrictions for Belgium using the United States Postal Service website. This is a list of the restricted items shipping to Belgium according to the USPS:

- Belgium

Prohibitions

Arms and weapons.
Bronze, copper, and nickel coins not legal tender in Belgium, unless imported for collections.
Human remains.
Live plants and animals.
Perishable infectious biological substances.
Radioactive materials.

Initially, I was worried after reading your post that I may have overlooked a restriction and shipped something that I shouldn't have.

The items you ordered certainly don't fall into any of the above categories, so I wonder why the shipper insists on slow surface delivery?
Sue

[Ashe]

Sue,

Thank you very much for the informative post. Here's a response I received from CS when I queried about the Proraso AS products a couple of weeks ago:

Hi Benjamin,

Yes, these items shipped separately, as they contain alcohol and cannot travel by air.

Customer Service Team
ClassicShaving.com

I do not fully understand why these cannot travel by air but I don't have any knowledge about shipping regulations I'm afraid.

[Kyle]

Kyle, good review. Are you sure it is the water making the difference, or the fact that you are continually whipping more and more?

Certainly the continued agitation makes a difference, however, I still believe the water to be the key. In my experiences, more water equaled less whipping and better lather.

[McNutt]

I have the Very V and the Lime. I find the lather to be incredibly slick and plentiful. I haven't played around with it enough to figure out the water secret, but I'll try tomorrow.

The lime scent is authentic, but not quite as strong as the soap.

Very V is my first vetyver scent and I don't think I'm a vetyver guy. The cream is good enough for me to keep trying to like vetyver. Maybe it will grow on me.

Good stuff at a good price.

[metzmo]

I have been experimenting with Sue's (SCS) creams now for about a month and have the following brief comments. I will post a more complete SCS lathering thread in a week or so (with Sue's prior review). Here goes! I was somewhat frustrated that I could not get consistent lather results using Kyle's technique. Since I had such great results sometimes and disappointing at others I vowed to find the secret. In a nutshell, I believe Sue's creams benefit greatly with a tad bit of water before hitting them with the brush. There is a great lathering thread in B&B that suggests leaving a small amount of water in the bowl/mug when dropping the "dollup" of cream in the vessel. My experience is that with Sue's creams, especially those that are very firm, you should break them down a bit with a tad bit of water and a little stir/agitation. I discovered this phenominon most impressively when I got a sample of Parma Violet that was a bit runny. It lathered up great! On the other hand I had problems when applying the brush to a firmed up dollup (I use 1/2 teaspoon) of New Spice. Apparently, the cream does not break down enough, soon enough, to allow for a really complete mix of water and cream until you water the cream down a bit. Also, some, including Sue I believe, suggest "whipping" the cream with the tips of the brush and not pushing down. The reason, I believe, is the same as the reason for softening up the cream in the first place. It allows for better infusion of the cream to the water before working up into the brush. In other words, it allows the cream to start working before being pushed up into the heart of the brush where it will just sit and do very little. I like my lather to be rather thick and rich. I found Kyle's lather too thin for my taste. Adding as much additional water as Kyle does made for a lot of lather but it lost its cushioning properties. In my experience, I work the cream/lather into a rather thin paste using the tad of water in the bown originally and the water from a medium size badger brush after a drip out and ONE shake. Remember, concentrate on the tips of the bristles. The lather will have that gripping/suction feel Sue describes. I add one teaspoon of hot water and continue to work the cream. At this point the cream is fully hydrated and you can push down on the brush more if you wish. Using the methods I have explained here I generally do not need much, if any, additional water with one caveat. I generally add a "touch" of additional water to the mix for each additional pass. Often I just dip the very tip of the brush in the hot water in my sink. The amount of cream described, along with the above technique, will create enough lather for four passes with a little extra for touch ups if needed. I hope to post an illustrated demonstration soon.