Here we go again with another mention of that Wicked Edge SubReddit. But I can’t adequately express how helpful that forum has been to me: it has shown me products that have, for the most part, been very useful for my shaves; it has allowed me to ask questions to get opinions and thoughts on products or issues I’m having; and it lets me share my accumulated expertise and Shave(s) of the Day.
I’d seen Proraso products there before my first experience with it. And what I’d learned from those posts was that generally everyone believes that they are some of the best available, and come in a variety of formulas to help with a variety of shaving challenges.
Each formulation is identified by its color primarily–white, which I use, as shown above (sensitive skin); red (thick or coarse beards), green (refreshing), and blue (protective for rough or dry skin). And each of those formulas brings their individual fragrance profile. For white, it’s oat and green tea, though their site says that there’s also an aroma of lime and apple…which I don’t get at all.
When I had my shavette shave at a barbershop downtown, I don’t think they used Proraso shaving cream–that was a hot lather shave, and I don’t know how those machines work, so I don’t know if you could just dump some of the cream in there and have it heat up and foam. But they did use Proraso green after shave splash and balm.
This, along with trying a few other splashes on my own, proved to me that after shave splashes are not good for my face–they’re drying and if I’ve had a particularly aggressive shave (which, I’ve learned is not necessarily a bad thing), an after shave splash can be very uncomfortable for a few hours after the shave.
But back to the Proraso experience…The balm part of the shave was very nice. It moisturized nicely and tried to help counteract some of the after shave sting. The fragrance of the Proraso green, though, was a little strong. It was a minty, menthol, eucalyptus mix that stuck around for a while on my face. It wasn’t unpleasant, just strong.
So between both Reddit and that shave, I knew I needed to try Proraso for myself, and in March 2025, my Proraso white products arrived: a pre shave cream, the shave soap in its own uniquely shaped and sized tub, and the after shave balm.
The pre shave cream is not what I’d typically consider to be a cream. Sure, it has that cream/liquid base that lets you basically rub it on your skin with your fingers or hands. But it’s also chunky…? By this, I mean there are tiny chunks or specs of…something…in the cream. And they don’t really go away what easily with more rubbing or water. But one thing I can say confidently is that it’s a very oil-rich pre shave because when I rinse my hands off after applying a thin layer of pre shave to my face, there’s a significant slick of oil on top of the water in the sink. The fragrance is slightly stronger than the soap, but this isn’t really a problem. One problem I had initially is figuring out how much to use, and really, it isn’t much more than a very small dollop on a finger’s worth, rubbed on each of the cheeks and the neck. At any rate, this gets applied to the skin as a lubricant for the soap to sit on top of.
The soap, when paired with the Proraso brush (which as I’ve pointed out elsewhere is made by Omega), lathers easily with the right load of water on the brush, and it really didn’t take me too much time to master how much water it took. It lathers up to a nice thick rich lather that goes on my face easily, smoothly, but not thickly–though on a couple of occasions, it has been thick enough to start to clog up my Henson razor. And again, this is a problem that is easily solved by rinsing the razor more frequently or adding just a little more water when lathering. But I prefer a thicker lather to one that is thinner and waterier. There is always enough lather loaded into the brush so that I can add more lather if I need it for additional passes, but usually, there’s enough lubrication from any leftover pre shave and soap to make a second or third pass comfortable.
The after shave balm is a dream. And maybe I’ll have to write up a post on after shave balms, but you need to try them if you haven’t. Not until my first use of a balm did I realize just how much my neck in particular wanted moisture after a shave. And I apply it until it feels like there’s an excess there, to a point where there’s still a feeling of the lotion on the skin, because I know that within 15-30 minutes, my skin will absorb it all and it will help the healing. The Proraso white balm has the strongest scent of the three products I have, and that probably makes the most sense. But it’s pleasant, not strong at all, and wears off within a couple of hours.
Here’s an oddity, or at least I think it is: I see people posting their SOTD and they’re using the Proraso pre shave with some other soaps or balms. Or the soap with other combos, etc. They’re mixing and matching with other non-Proraso products, and I can’t bring myself to do that yet. My Proraso shave day (usually Sunday, but I shave with that setup once a week, guaranteed) is just that–all Proraso. I know that I should probably use the balm after shaving with other products, but I just haven’t. I have the Dollar Shave Club cream and the Barbasol 1919 for those…One of these days, I just need to rebel.
I think part of the reasoning is that it’s a matched set, made to be paired with the other products in the line, and I feel like in order to get the full experience (or to use it “properly,”) I need to use all of the Proraso products together. I mean, there isn’t any real reason to just use the Proraso brush with the Proraso soap. I just do, because it’s the only one I’ve used with the soap, and it works perfectly.
The bottom line to all of this is that I love shaving with the Proraso products I have, and that they will likely be the first that I reorder when I start to run low. And I also want to try the Proraso shaving cream–it comes in a toothpaste-like tube, to be applied with a brush either lathered on the face or in a cup or bowl. They also have cans of foam, but I don’t think I’ll try that just because I have a hunch it will just be disappointing. I do keep finding myself debating about getting some of the other colored products to try, but the fragrance of the green makes me hesitate. Maybe someday I’ll track down some samples.
All-in-all, if you’re looking for a great complete pre shave/soap/balm experience, I highly recommend Proraso.
