Coate's Tea Tree Shaving Cream

Sesto Senso's website has listed Coate's as "out of stock indefinitely."

For what it's worth, The New York Times ran a story about Coate's creams as an insight into the wetshaving trend this past summer.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE0DF153EF932A35754C0A9619C8B63 .

With all of the other products available, too much stress over this makes no sense--but I would have liked to try stuff from Coate's considering how much I've liked the other English creams I've used.

I spent some time tracking this down because I'm a great believer in the magical properties of tea tree oil. Tea tree, in case you didn't know, has antiseptic properties and was used by Australian aborigines to treat cuts and infections and and also helps skin problems like eczema and dandruff. It's ahrd to imagine anything better suited to a shaving product.

Unfortunately Coate's seems to be a rather neglected sub-brand owned by one of the other manufacturers and it's really hard to find, even here in the UK. There seems to be only one online stockist, JonnyRainbow's on eBay and at £12 a jar this stuff is anything but cheap. There's also not as much in the jar compared to Taylor's but you might miss this as Coate's label by volume not weight.

All that negative stuff aside this is great stuff. There's clearly quite a big slug of tea-tree oil in there which makes for a lovely smooth cream. You'll neither love nor hate the scent of tea-tree, (it's like a very gentle menthol), but you wouldn't be using this for the smell anyway.

The lather is quicker and slicker than with the Taylor's creams I've tried and doesn't dry out so much. It also seems to give a surer "grip" between the razor and the face. There's no irritation and I feel as if I could just keep on shaving with it for any number of passes.

This is all well and good but the main pay off is afterwards--my face feels smooth and moisturised with no irritation or anything. Apart from the fact I have no stubble, I don't even feel like I've just shaved and don't bother with the aftershave.

All in all an excellent product but the price is quite an ask. Having said that I think I may have "found my brand" so hopefully they'll keep making it.

Great lather, even better shave, ok scent. Still, everyone should try it. Makes your face feel great.

I want to like this cream much more than I do.

It's not cheap, but it does what it's supposed to do as good as any.

This is a very high-quality cream. Nothing skimped on this one and you can tell when looking at it.

This stuff lathers like crazy. I have hard water and a lot of soaps and creams take a little bit of work to get going. The Coates stuff seems to laugh at my hard water and make tons of lather efortlessly.

Decent moisturing. I have oily skin so I'm not usually that concerned about it. Nothing remarkable about it, but nothing bad about it either. For my skin, it works well.

It's super-slick, protects my face well, and soften's my beard. What more can you ask for?

You could ask for the scent to be better, that's what! Oh, how I wish this smelled better. As the previous reviewer said, there's a strong medicinal scent to it. That ruins it for me. My wife was rather displeased as well. Two strikes and you're out at my house.

Coate's Tea Tree Shaving Cream is much like the funny kid who is not popular for some reason and is thus picked last for a group function. However, upon being picked this particular kid demonstrates that he or she is capable of kicking the rumps of the opposing side without breaking a sweat.

In short, this cream just wants to be liked amongst the roses and sandalwoods and allowed to do its job.

For a shaver with sensitive skin, this is an excellent cream to have.

Price: $29 (plus shipping) for a 5.8oz tub is quite a bit steep in my book. However, there is a lot more cream in the tub than meets the naked eye (I have been using it for almost three weeks straight and have not noticed a dent yet).

Quality: The cream is produced with an eye to quality. Upon opening a tub, be it new or in use, the cream glints with a freshness and moisture that beckons my brush in the morning. The cream is neither too hard nor too soft and feels very slick on the fingers. I am also rating this cream a 10 in quality due to the manufacturer's care with the scent (see below).

Scent: Tea tree oil is very potent stuff and I thought I would be blown away by the pungent odor of the oil when I cracked the tub for the first time. However, I was surprised and very pleased to find out that Coate's has taken their time to work on the scent to such a degree that one can tell it is tea tree oil yet not have to crack a door or window. The scent is telltail tea tree oil, yet along the lines of a very mild, medicinal smell like something your grandmother would use if you had a cold and still needed to sleep without VapoRub keeping you up all night. When heated in my scuttle and swirled around, the scent changes to an almost deep lemon scent. The smell passes along on the brush yet once it comes in contact with your face the scent goes away. Simply put, this cream wants to get to work helping you get a BBS. Sure it may not be a delicious sandalwood or exotic smell, but it is a reassuring and good smell in the morning (at least to my nose).

Latherability: Toss it into a warm moss scuttle and this stuff will coat your face and brush like an exploded Stay Puff Marshmellow Man. I use a little bit more water than usual with another English cream but the ratio is pretty easy to figure out.

Efficacy: For sensitive skin this cream is amazing. The antiseptic properties of the tea tree oil protect my face during the shave, while the hydration and slickness of the cream puts my Murkur HD onto a patch of smooth, safe ice. If I get a nick it is usually taken care of before I finish the pass, and at the end of the shave a splash of something with alcohol does not make me want to pound my head into the wall. My alum block seems to like this cream as well since there is a reassuring tingle from problem spots instead of the two second burn. My face also looks clearer from use of the tea tree oil and shave bumps have become a thing of the past for me.

Moisturizing: This cream works so well for me that it leaves my face a smooth, non-scented and soft platform for me to apply whatever sort of A/S or balm I wish instead of reaching right away for something to relieve dryness (as with TOBS Lime). I need some sort of aftershave or mild moisturizing, but it works in harmony with whatever I choose leaving my face just right vs. too "wet" or too "dry".

Packaging: A computer beige tub w/ green lettering that feels pretty solid yet plain. I do appreciate the notches in the twist lid that help to get the tub open with wet hands.

I think this is an excellent product, perhaps not for everyone but yet deserving a chance and worth of whatever respect you give it after extended use. In a way I am glad that the Coate's which is often looked down upon is the first Coate's cream review on Badger & Blade.

Discussion Thread: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=70839#post70839