Member
Central Maine
Shave Secret clearly isn't a soap or cream, but an oil. To use it, wet the hand(s) and add 3-5 drops. Work it around between both hands and apply to the area to shave from the hands. If more passes are required add more water to the face, not more Shave Secret (SS from now on in the review).
OK, first the short story. I went into this thinking I knew what it would be like and I wasn't surprised. IMO it will never take the place of a lather worked up with a brush and soap. End of the short review.
To understand why I'm going to write what I'm about to write about SS one must first understand the functions of a proper lather. Lather protects the skin by cushioning the blade away from the skin, and also acts as a lubricant. In addition to that lather carries away the cutoffs. For me lather also has another effect... it just feels great to build lather on my face and is my pre-shave since it softens the whiskers. I consider lather to be an extremely important part of the shave; critical in fact.
Of those functions SS accomplishes only one of them. It does lubricate the skin. Since there is no body or thickness to it it simply can't cushion anything. There is no sensual feel as it's built up because it isn't built up into anything. It just coats the skin. There is no pre-shave quality. Since there is really nothing but water and oil present and very little of that to spare there is no action that carries away the cutoffs. The instructions even suggest hitting the razor against the sink to clear it. I stopped doing that years ago when I stopped using a cartridge; I haven't missed that and IMO it just means that the shave product isn't doing it's job if I need to do so.
The scent is pleasant, and the shave is better than using plain water or dry shaving. Those are the positives that I can think to write for it.
When the shave is finished just dry off the face. But I didn't get that far with it. After 3 strokes and realizing what was happening I'd had enough and built a proper lather to finish my shave. The lather cleared the razor of cutoffs. Basically I used the SS as a PSO. It might be OK for that but I never use a PSO.
The directions state that it can also be used as a preshave for an electric razor but I can't test that.
I'm not going to give it marks at all. But if I was going to give it possible points out of 10 possible It would get points for scent and lubricity. Of the two the scent would receive more points.
Where would it work? Possibly if one absolutely had to shave and had very little water it would work since it is better than plain water or dry shaving. The bottle is tiny and would take up little room in a backpack and it would certainly be light. Or if someone had never experienced a good lather it might be applauded. But I can't see myself using it again in my shave den.
If anyone reading this would like to experience far superior products without building lather just follow the directions on Kiss My Face or Bigelow/Proraso. I know we tend to use them with a brush, but the directions say that they can be "finger lathered" or some such. I think they're far superior than Shave Secret used that way. They certainly lubricate better.
I would send my bottle to anyone wanting to try it, but the postage would cost more than the item costs at retail. It was $3 and change at Wal-Mart. I'll hand my bottle to a local friend to get his private review of it. I just hope he doesn't wind up thinking that I hate him.
Sorry for a posting a review that has little good to say, but I won't sugar coat something that I think is inferior to what most of us presently use. It's only $3, but save the $3.
OK, first the short story. I went into this thinking I knew what it would be like and I wasn't surprised. IMO it will never take the place of a lather worked up with a brush and soap. End of the short review.
To understand why I'm going to write what I'm about to write about SS one must first understand the functions of a proper lather. Lather protects the skin by cushioning the blade away from the skin, and also acts as a lubricant. In addition to that lather carries away the cutoffs. For me lather also has another effect... it just feels great to build lather on my face and is my pre-shave since it softens the whiskers. I consider lather to be an extremely important part of the shave; critical in fact.
Of those functions SS accomplishes only one of them. It does lubricate the skin. Since there is no body or thickness to it it simply can't cushion anything. There is no sensual feel as it's built up because it isn't built up into anything. It just coats the skin. There is no pre-shave quality. Since there is really nothing but water and oil present and very little of that to spare there is no action that carries away the cutoffs. The instructions even suggest hitting the razor against the sink to clear it. I stopped doing that years ago when I stopped using a cartridge; I haven't missed that and IMO it just means that the shave product isn't doing it's job if I need to do so.
The scent is pleasant, and the shave is better than using plain water or dry shaving. Those are the positives that I can think to write for it.
When the shave is finished just dry off the face. But I didn't get that far with it. After 3 strokes and realizing what was happening I'd had enough and built a proper lather to finish my shave. The lather cleared the razor of cutoffs. Basically I used the SS as a PSO. It might be OK for that but I never use a PSO.
The directions state that it can also be used as a preshave for an electric razor but I can't test that.
I'm not going to give it marks at all. But if I was going to give it possible points out of 10 possible It would get points for scent and lubricity. Of the two the scent would receive more points.
Where would it work? Possibly if one absolutely had to shave and had very little water it would work since it is better than plain water or dry shaving. The bottle is tiny and would take up little room in a backpack and it would certainly be light. Or if someone had never experienced a good lather it might be applauded. But I can't see myself using it again in my shave den.
If anyone reading this would like to experience far superior products without building lather just follow the directions on Kiss My Face or Bigelow/Proraso. I know we tend to use them with a brush, but the directions say that they can be "finger lathered" or some such. I think they're far superior than Shave Secret used that way. They certainly lubricate better.
I would send my bottle to anyone wanting to try it, but the postage would cost more than the item costs at retail. It was $3 and change at Wal-Mart. I'll hand my bottle to a local friend to get his private review of it. I just hope he doesn't wind up thinking that I hate him.
Sorry for a posting a review that has little good to say, but I won't sugar coat something that I think is inferior to what most of us presently use. It's only $3, but save the $3.
Brian. Lover of SE razors.
