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Cheap Stuff that Really Works

OldSaw

The wife's investment
Instead of using an expensive Balm to moisturize after your splash or witchhazel (on days when your face is dry) use a dab of Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion. I recently compared the ingredients of this lotion ($3.50 for 10oz.) to T&H balm (around $30 for 3.4 oz.) and I felt more comfortable with the lotion ingredient list....works better for me too!

Good job kicking things off.

Aqua Velva.

:thumbsup:

Family Dollar "Old Spice" Aftershave

I'll have to try that one.

Clubman aftershave.

I think this one needs a little defense to support this claim. :001_smile

My list of cheap stuff that works very well:

VDH soaps
Aqua Velva
English Leather
I often use budget skin lotions in lieu of spendier ASBs it seems to work just fine
Also Ocean Lotion (marketed as an aloe based sunburn remedy) immediate cooling effect. I like the ice blue on this one
Dickinson's WH, available everywhere under $3 and works like a charm

:hand: One at a time please. That will will force you to make your best pick first and be able to give a good testimonial without getting too long winded.

Quality Triple Milled Bar Soap

It costs around $3 at Whole Foods and one bar lasts for about 2 months. In addition to showering with it, it does an excellent job cleaning/gently exfoliating your face prior to the shave. I therefore view it as 2 products in one. When comparing the ingredients to a Nivea facial scrub type product, I feel better about the bar soap. It's also better for the environment than shower gels and/or facial scrubs and it lathers like a quality shaving soap :w00t: The ingredients of my favorite one are:

Saponified Palm and Palm Kernel Oils, Vegetable Glycerin, Essential Oils, Lavender Petals, Shea Butter, Dead Sea Salt, Citric Acid, Salt, Vitamin E, and Plant and Mineral Pigments

Nice testimonial. :thumbsup:

VDH-$1.48
Delon Witchhazel -16oz .90 cents
Nivea Creme as a Preshave-13.5oz -$7
Manoj Indian Alum bar-.50 cents
Gillette Series A/S Gel-$1.97
:001_smile

:hand: One at a time please. See above.

Arko....love or hate the smell, the best shaving soap for well under $2.00

Another one that could use a little defense as this is a fairly polarizing product.

I keep a tube of Arko cream in my travel kit. :wink:

Does my $4 Tech count?

Of course it counts. :thumbsup:
 
V

VR6ofpain

Tabac shave soap. You can sometimes pick up a refill puck for $7 @ FragranceX.com. Simply the best soap ever made...at an amazing deal. The white glass bowl is pretty sweet, but unnecessary.
 
I'll go to bat for the Arko shave stick. I prefer Speick and Valobra for my shave sticks, but the Arko performs well and despite what some folks say, I don't mind the scent. I do prefer several other scents to Arko. And frankly, I'd really like an unscented small-sized shave stick. I travel with a cut-down stick of Speick, which, for $6.00, is a nice bargain I think, but still three times the cost of an Arko stick.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
I'll go to bat for the Arko shave stick. I prefer Speick and Valobra for my shave sticks, but the Arko performs well and despite what some folks say, I don't mind the scent. I do prefer several other scents to Arko. And frankly, I'd really like an unscented small-sized shave stick. I travel with a cut-down stick of Speick, which, for $6.00, is a nice bargain I think, but still three times the cost of an Arko stick.

Nicely done. I think that will hold off the "Arko smells urinal pucks" crowd from derailing the thread. I also don't mind the scent, but I have not replaced mine either.
 
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Dirt cheap and great razor; the new Lord LP 1822 with the merkur-like head.
I pay less than 9 euro's for them and I have yet to discover a better performing safety bar razor (and I do have a few, most of them better looking too).
 
Speick bar soap. $3.50. I use it in the shower, it makes an excellent pre-shave face wash.

The triple-milled soaps the TJ's sells are another favorite.

+1 on the TJ's. I love the Green Tea. I have a sample of the Speick bar; it's ok.

Does the original post count as a vote for Conk? If not, I'll throw it out there. I realize it's just rebranded VDH, but Conk Amber will always be one of my faves and hard to beat at $3.50.
 
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I'd like to throw Nivea shaving cream out there. I recently found it for $3 for a tube and it works as well as anything I've tried so far.
 
Dorco st300 blades. Just bought 400 hundred on ebay for $33 including shipping and handling. Comes out to about 8 cents a blade and just over a penny a shave.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
Dirt cheap and great razor; the new Lord LP 1822 with the merkur-like head.
I pay less than 9 euro's for them and I have yet to discover a better performing safety bar razor (and I do have a few, most of them better looking too).

Thanks for that one. I'm going to have to check this out.
 
+1 on the TJ soaps. I have the Trader Jacques plain Shea Butter soap, and it's every bit the equal of L'Occitaine--triple milled, French made, shea butter listed among top 3 ingredients.

Whole Foods, despite their Whole Paycheck rep, has some very good French triple milled, scented soaps. I paid $3.79 on sale for 8 ounce bars of Lemon-Verbena and Cedar-Vetiver, which are the equals of the $10 bars at L'Occitaine. A little more than Irish Spring perhaps, but they're not full of synthetics and won't disappear in seven days.
 
Dorco st300 blades. Just bought 400 hundred on ebay for $33 including shipping and handling. Comes out to about 8 cents a blade and just over a penny a shave.

+ 1
I continue to be surprized and amazed at all how well these blades work for me. I keep trying more expensive blades and keep coming back to these.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
I'd like to throw Nivea shaving cream out there. I recently found it for $3 for a tube and it works as well as anything I've tried so far.

I have a tube of this stuff that has been sitting in my drawer since I bought it in Italy two years ago. I tried it a few times and it never really rocked my boat. I'll have to try it again some day and see if I change my mind.

Since I got my new Omega boar brush last week, I have noticed that some of my stuff performs differently with it. Maybe that will be the key to unlocking the goodness of this item for me.
 
I think I paid about $2 for an alum block about three years ago. It's not even close to wearing out either. For me, it's a great antiseptic and helps close the pores and ease irritation. It takes some of the sting out of an alcohol splash as well. I'm a firm believer in it.
 
Arko Soap sticks - £1.50
Palmolive soap sticks - £0.79 (that's 50 cents!)

The huge Alum rock I bought in Morocco a couple of years ago for one Euro. It was the size of a goose egg, and I figure that it will probably last me another five years at least!
 
+ 1
I continue to be surprized and amazed at all how well these blades work for me. I keep trying more expensive blades and keep coming back to these.

I bought a pack of 300s and a pack of 301s. The 300s are the best blade I've tried, next to an Indian Gillette 7 O'Clock (black package). I get then for $1/10 pack local, with no shipping charges. I'm happy.
 
My other cheap stuff that works entry:

VDH or Burma Shave Boar Brushes

These can be had for under $5 each at Wal Mart (although, WM seems to be phasing out the BS for the VDH). They both can build a good lather with the soaps I've tried (Williams and VDH). They also can build a good lather with my cream of choice (Proraso). And for me the purpose of a brush is to get the lather to my face. They both do this well enough for me.
 
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