Well okay, that title isn’t entirely true. The pre-shave isn’t Barbasol, but I don’t think they make a pre-shave product.
But, some backstory: The Barbasol 1919 line was released in 2019 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the start of the company and the production of its first shaving cream. It was apparently a fairly revolutionary product, as most men used soaps and brushes for shaving lather. And the cream didn’t really lather, either, being spread on the face and neck with your hands and/or fingers. Apparently, it had a fairly distinctive scent, too, which Barbasol products embraced and became known for.
I picked some up a while back at my grocery store because (a) it was on sale, and (b) I was looking for another after shave balm and figured I’d just get the shave cream too.
While I used the balm regularly and like it–it moisturizes nicely and has a strong but not overpowering scent–the shave cream sat on the shelf unused, and I’d never developed plans to use it.
But lately I’ve seen some reviews (video and posts), both older and newer, that have praised it. And I figured I needed to give it a try. Now why I slotted it into a week with a fairly aggressive shave, I’ll never know. That isn’t the kind of thing I normally do. Most reviewers note that the feel of the shave cream is similar to Cremo shave cream products–slick, thick, not really a lotion and not a traditional cream in a tube that you can lather with a brush. I’ve never tried Cremo (I may some day, we’ll see), so I can’t compare, but I’ll agree that the Barbasol is a very thick, slick, cream that really sticks to the beard hairs–and razor, and blade, and other things–and does what it needs to in order to provide a good shave.
Some shaves have me pondering whether I’ll go through with them or whether I’ll call an audible and change things, and this one certainly did, but I stuck with it and was rewarded.
The Rating
Shave #149. The All Barbasol 1919 shave.
The setup:
- Razor: King C Gillette
- Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented Stick
- Brush: None
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Barbasol 1919
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Barbasol 1919 After Shave Balm
This was an experiment in the grandest sense of the word. I almost backed out and called an audible to another soap or even to the Nivea setup. But ultimately, I’m glad I didn’t. The Barbasol 1919 cream works well–surprisingly so. It’s thick, though I wouldn’t call it rich, but it is slick and provides ample protection and lubrication. So much so that I was surprised that this shave didn’t feel as aggressive as the other two shaves with the KCG and the Bic. In fact, it was downright comfortable and smooth.
Now it wasn’t quite as close as the Proraso shave, but certainly matched the Stirling Soap Sheep shave, and was more comfortable than that, though I did need to go back and make a couple of additional passes to try to knock down some of the stubble, especially near the center of my neck. That resulted in slightly more sting with the alum, but it was acceptable and now that it’s settled out with the balm, it’s overall a very comfortable and close shave that I will return to.
I was worried that the fragrance, which is one of the strongest in my collection in terms of the balm, would only be reinforced and amplified by the cream, but that had a light fragrance that didn’t really seem to stick around. It was pleasant and was only apparent when the cream was on my face. Once I rinsed, it was mostly gone.
So overall, another very pleasant surprise that I’ll celebrate and revisit with other combinations later.
Comfort: 4.75 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.750 out of 5
Overall: 4.750 out of 5
