Brushless?

**NMMB** · 09-19-2006, 09:56 AM

So,

I've been a slave to the badger brush for a while now... not nearly as long as many here, but I think that I can safely call myself a "life-er" now (that is to say, I won't be going back to the canned goo).

Despite being a self-proclaimed badger-slave today I found myself looking at the tube of Aveda brushless cream that SWMBO gave me a few months ago. I asked myself, "Should I try it again?" (I tried it once when SWMBO first gave it to me and it has been sitting in the back of my cupboard since then)... and I thought, "what the hell, why not?"

Well, as it turns out I still love the scent of this stuff; without any doubt in my mind, this smells better than most products I've encountered... but I just cannot enjoy my shave with this cream. The "non-lather" is slick, but I find that it tends to run/drip a little if my razor is too wet after I rinse it (and I rinse it very frequently - after almost every stroke) - and I find that this leads to an uneven distribution of "non-lather", which I find to be incredibly irksome.

The resulting shave was, well, OK. A year ago I didn't know that a shave this comfortable was possible - but right now, well, it doesn't compare to a really good shave (you know the kind I mean).

To those who use brushless creams on a regular or semi-regular basis, is this the normal experience with a brushless cream? If you have used Aveda as well as other brushless creams, how do they compare (this is the only brushless cream I've tried)? I'm just looking for a little insight here before I give up on this beautifully scented cream.

**JAG** · 09-21-2006, 05:42 AM

Michael:

Might it work if you mixed it with a little J.M. Fraser's ? That has a light enough scent to not interfere too much and would make a better lather.

Possible best of both worlds.

Bob

**rtaylor61** · 09-21-2006, 08:13 AM

Michael,

The only brushless item in my stable is Cleanse 'N Shave from Appearances for Men, and I use is about once a month. This stuff is a gel, and is beyond slick. If you could use it with a brush, I'm not sure I'd bother with anything else.

Randy

**Stauff** · 09-21-2006, 11:19 AM

My only experience is Clinique. Stear clear because its crap.

**JCMH** · 09-22-2006, 07:47 AM

I have and still use on occasion American Crew Herbal Shave Cream w/ success...they say if you experience any drag to actually wet it without putting anymore cream on...to me based on what you are saying this is how it should be..the wetter the better...that's my two cents worth.

Hope this helps..

John

**Elmo** · 09-23-2006, 01:45 PM

I've uses Coates Rose in a tube for travel for years. Works great with a brush but lathers almost as well by hand.

**jbasl** · 09-23-2006, 02:10 PM

Nancyboy is made to be brushless...though I use a brush. It might work well as a brushless. I'll let you know if i ever give it a shot.

**rafikz** · 09-23-2006, 05:02 PM

Edge sensitive is pretty good ; and I'm not kidding

**NMMB** · 09-24-2006, 08:05 PM

Well, after the above complaint about brushless creams there was only one logical thing to do - try another brushless cream. That makes sense, right? It doesn't matter if you see the sense in it - SWMBO thought it was a bit of weird thing to do too.

Anyhow, I was at the local drugstore on Friday evening and saw a line of products called Ego Trip. I first encountered this brand about 2 years ago or so (before I was an enlightened shaver) and decided that it was of no value to me as it, like everything else I had tried, could not at that time deliver what I needed/wanted; a good shave. There was, however, one thing that I loved about the Ego Trip Shaved Ice-Mint Shaving Cream (and you may have guessed it from the name) - I loved the cool, tingly feeling. As I stood there recalling the wonderful tingle the cream delivered (but choosing to disregard the fact that it didn't give me a good shave back then) I decided that I should give it a try again. Why? Well, the answer is two-fold. First, it would allow me to try another brushless cream and see if I might like this one more than the Aveda one. Second (and probably more important), I like that minty tingle (as so many of us do).

As it turns out, I actually managed to get a decent shave from the stuff when I tried it on Saturday (I didn't post a SOTD on Sat though). No, it wasn't the perfect shave - but it was better than the shave with the Aveda brushless cream... and the minty tingle is out of this world (maybe better than Proraso - if not, it was a very close second place).

Maybe brushless creams are not all straight from the inner ring of hell as I had first guessed.