Body Shop Maca Root Shave Cream

**cymric** · 09-30-2008, 06:40 AM

It is with some regret that I report that in my local Body Shop store (Amsterdam, NL) it is no longer possible to buy the old, yellow, fruity shaving cream made by this producer. The Body Shop have reformulated the entire 'For Men' line, including shaving cream, razor relief, and a bunch of other products. In their place are products enhanced with Maca root in dark blue tubes (or pots).

Before me is a tube of maca root shaving cream. The scent has in my opinion taken a turn for the worse, it now smells like cheap toilet air freshener. Gone is the warm, sweet fragrance of overripe banana: now a sharp zesty cocktail of lemon with some other stuff I cannot identify awaits you. Clearly a move to attempt to reach the general public.

The colour has changed as well: instead of yellow, there is now off-white with a faint yellowish sheen.

Ingredients are as follows: aqua, stearic acid, myristic acid, aloe barbadensis gel, potassium hydroxide, coconut acid, glycerin, triethanolamine, parfum, phenethyl alcohol, panthenol, caprylyl glycol, sodium hydroxide, bertholletia excelsa nut oil, creatine, sesamum indicum oil, tocopheryl acetate, tetrasodium edta, hydrolyzed lepidium meyenii root, 1,2-hexanediol, capryloyl glycine, citric acid. Quite a bunch of unfamiliar compounds, definitely a new formulation! The creatin is an oddity: this is normally added to hair products to strengthen the hair...??? However, old favorites---coconut acid, sesame oil---remain, while new ones---aloe barbadensis, betholietta excelsa (brazil nut), lepidium meyenii (maca root)---have been added. The cream is now also paraben free, and does no longer contain phenoxyethanol.

Price has gone up: where the old tub was €13, it now costs €14. Amount has remain identical: 200 ml. The tube is €9,50, but you now get 125 instead of 100 ml.

The lather seems unaffected, perhaps even somewhat denser, slicker and creamier than the original, but I'll have to use both creams in succession for a while to be able to pass a clearer verdict. I'll interrupt my TOBS shaving bout to give the new Maca root a go. Honestly, if indeed the shave is an improvement, why the hell have they spoilt it by giving the cream this yucky modern scent...?

But at least one conclusion can be drawn already: panta rhei, kai oeden menei...

**rafikz** · 09-30-2008, 09:54 AM

Maca?

To increase sex drive ?

**cymric** · 09-30-2008, 10:05 AM

If that doesn't bring in new wetshavers by the thousands, I don't know what else will, in any case. That said, maca needs to be ingested for its... ehm... 'stimulating' effect, and I doubt you'll eat shaving cream any time soon

**blade08** · 09-30-2008, 10:34 AM

I love TBS cream as it is, I hope the new stuff is as good...

**OldSaw** · 09-30-2008, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by cymric

If that doesn't bring in new wetshavers by the thousands, I don't know what else will, in any case. That said, maca needs to be ingested for its... ehm... 'stimulating' effect, and I doubt you'll eat shaving cream any time soon

Really? How do you know? The skin is a pretty good way to administer certain medications.

**cymric** · 09-30-2008, 02:12 PM

Oops, my bad. I read too hastily, it doesn't say so anywhere.

**OldSaw** · 09-30-2008, 02:54 PM

It's been a while since I bought anything. I might have to try this.

**edk443** · 09-30-2008, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by cymric

The lather seems unaffected, perhaps even somewhat denser, slicker and creamier than the original

I loved it enough already!

**Bobtrumpet** · 09-30-2008, 04:01 PM

I haven't checked any of the stores near me yet. They haven't updated their USA web site - it shows the older product.

**rafikz** · 09-30-2008, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by cymric

It is with some regret that I report that in my local Body Shop store (Amsterdam, NL) it is no longer possible to buy the old, yellow, fruity shaving cream made by this producer. The Body Shop have reformulated the entire 'For Men' line, including shaving cream, razor relief, and a bunch of other products. In their place are products enhanced with Maca root in dark blue tubes (or pots).

Before me is a tube of maca root shaving cream. The scent has in my opinion taken a turn for the worse, it now smells like cheap toilet air freshener. Gone is the warm, sweet fragrance of overripe banana: now a sharp zesty cocktail of lemon with some other stuff I cannot identify awaits you. Clearly a move to attempt to reach the general public.

The colour has changed as well: instead of yellow, there is now off-white with a faint yellowish sheen.

Ingredients are as follows: aqua, stearic acid, myristic acid, aloe barbadensis gel, potassium hydroxide, coconut acid, glycerin, triethanolamine, parfum, phenethyl alcohol, panthenol, caprylyl glycol, sodium hydroxide, bertholletia excelsa nut oil, creatine, sesamum indicum oil, tocopheryl acetate, tetrasodium edta, hydrolyzed lepidium meyenii root, 1,2-hexanediol, capryloyl glycine, citric acid. Quite a bunch of unfamiliar compounds, definitely a new formulation! The creatin is an oddity: this is normally added to hair products to strengthen the hair...??? However, old favorites---coconut acid, sesame oil---remain, while new ones---aloe barbadensis, betholietta excelsa (brazil nut), lepidium meyenii (maca root)---have been added. The cream is now also paraben free, and does no longer contain phenoxyethanol.

Price has gone up: where the old tub was €13, it now costs €14. Amount has remain identical: 200 ml. The tube is €9,50, but you now get 125 instead of 100 ml.

The lather seems unaffected, perhaps even somewhat denser, slicker and creamier than the original, but I'll have to use both creams in succession for a while to be able to pass a clearer verdict. I'll interrupt my TOBS shaving bout to give the new Maca root a go. Honestly, if indeed the shave is an improvement, why the hell have they spoilt it by giving the cream this yucky modern scent...?

But at least one conclusion can be drawn already: panta rhei, kai oeden menei...

The new formulation seems to have more moisturizers

**Akoni** · 09-30-2008, 08:01 PM

Well I just happened to be at the Body shop tonight and the sales girl also told me that their shaving cream for men was going to change. She had a whole box of these in the stock room and said that they were going to introduce them sometime next week. She then took a tub out and set me up with nice size sample. She mentioned that the company is trying to lean towards using more all-natural ingredients in their products.

Now the body shop cream was one of the first creams I bought and I think the stuff is great. Gives good shaves, easy to lather and for me its pretty moisturizing. Having said that sometimes I wished the scent had a little more (or a little less. Of what I don't know). It was nothing great but it was not bad either. Taking a whiff of the new cream when I rubbed some on my hand I kind of liked the change. It does go in to the more modern type scent I guess. And if you take a big whiff of it right from the tub you might briefly get a scent of it leaning toward that "air freshner scent" but not for long, especially when you apply it on your skin. For me the important thing is to see how well it shaves. If it does not go down in quality but rather it improves then I'll be happy. I'll find out tomorrow morning when I try it out. I guess those who like the old formula might get a good deal on it when they start clearing it out. I'd be ready to get some if they drop the price.

**htownmmm** · 09-30-2008, 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by cymric

If that doesn't bring in new wetshavers by the thousands, I don't know what else will, in any case. That said, maca needs to be ingested for its... ehm... 'stimulating' effect, and I doubt you'll eat shaving cream any time soon

you obviously have not been around us long!

marty

**seniorbrucio** · 09-30-2008, 10:53 PM

Man I remember BS shave cream from like 10 years ago. My mom bought me some along with a brush from the BS for Christmas. Totally forgot they had shaving cream there so in my effort to convert my girlfriend to use tub cream, brush and a DE razor I got her to by some last night. The stuff I bought smells exactly like the stuff I had 10 years ago. Not sure if its either of the 2 options mentioned above but its all they had over here.

**Milton** · 09-30-2008, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by cymric

It is with some regret that I report that in my local Body Shop store (Amsterdam, NL) it is no longer possible to buy the old, yellow, fruity shaving cream made by this producer. The Body Shop have reformulated the entire 'For Men' line, including shaving cream, razor relief, and a bunch of other products. In their place are products enhanced with Maca root in dark blue tubes (or pots).

Can you post comparison pics between the two tubs?

This is the only pic I could find:

Just a bit of poking around and I found this:
http://sharpformen.com/blog/2008/09/...ca-root-range/

Not a whole lot of info, but it says that the maca line is going to get introduced Oct. 9th.

**cymric** · 09-30-2008, 11:45 PM

This is the old pot.

Dfference of night and day

.

**cymric** · 10-01-2008, 12:08 AM

Yesterday evening I broke out the maca root cream and gave it a try. My first impressions are favourable. The quality of the lather appears to be more or less equal, and the moisturising properties remain in place as well. That said, your skin is not my skin, and the two may react differently. The odd quality that bits of lather would break off and float away on air currents is gone as far as I could tell, but I didn't leave the bowl of lather standing long enough to find out for sure.

The shave itself is pleasant and worthy of a quality cream, although as far as I could tell the cream is a little more concentrated, necessitating finding a new optimum for the amount of water one needs to add in order to build a comfortable lather. But this is a very minor quibble, easily fixed. And although I'll never truly like the new fragrance, it is possible to get used to it; on your skin the blast of sourly freshness wafting from an open tub or tube is mellowed. (That said, I gave my sweetheart samples to compare, and she preferred the scent of the older formulation.)

I think, overall, I'm a tad disappointed in the new cream. There is no sense of genuine improvement in shaving qualities despite a bunch of new moisturisers (aloe barbadensis, caprylyl glycol + 1,2-hexanediol bit) and plant extracts (brazil nut, maca), but at the same time the scent is clearly not something I'd favour. The cream gets thumbs up for removal of parabens, though.

I'll keep on shaving with both products side by side for a while and report my findings, perhaps even write a little review about it.

**Akoni** · 10-01-2008, 05:02 AM

Tried it out this morning and I agree with Cymric on most of his points. It lathered just like the old formula and it was a bit more concentrated which I think is a good thing.I think its great that they added "better" ingredients. To see if it makes a difference only time and use will tell. But I have to say, today was my best shave in the past 5 days. I had no problems and the blade was gliding smooth across the skin. Of course the old formula does this as well but I kind of felt this one was a little better. My skin right now feels great! I used a little of the Energizing cream sample for this same product line and it gave it an extra touch.
Now having said that SWMBO also said she liked the old formula scent slightly better although she did like the new scent. I can understand some maybe frustrated if they liked the old scent because this new one does not smell anything like it. But those who may have thought that the old formula shaved great but the scent was so-so may welcome this change. Either way it appears the quality is still pretty good.

**Pureslab** · 04-04-2009, 10:17 AM

So far this is the best shaving cream I have used and not sure what could be better.

**cymric** · 04-04-2009, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by Pureslab

So far this is the best shaving cream I have used and not sure what could be better.

That's what I've been trying to tell people too (albeit using the older formulation), but so far the success is limited :).

**Meerschaum** · 04-05-2009, 07:23 PM

I may have to revisit the Maca Root. It was one of the first creams i tried when I started a few months back.

Bought a sale tub of the old formulation Body shop cream and a small tube of the Maca root at the same time. I was (still am) a newbie and had no trouble lathering the OLD Body Shop cream right away, but couldn't get the Maca Root to work for me. Plus the Maca root smell seemed way too perfumy to me.

I gave the Maca to my B-in-L and he loves it. Maybe I should borrow it back and give it another go. But I've found so much stuff since then that I know is better than this Maca stuff, I'd have a tough time working it in the rotation I think.