Manscaping Review: Neutrogena Razor Defense Shaving Gel and Post-shave lotion plus shaving brush and soap-what a difference

by Tris Hussey on April 26th, 2008

I’ve been using a couple Neutrogena shaving products all week and now I’m ready for my review.

This week I’ve been using Neutrogena Razor Defense Shave Gel followed by Neutrogena Razor Defense Post-Shave Lotion. Like the Nivea products I reviewed last week, I gave these a test using the same procedure I always do. I try to keep the variables to a minimum (though I do need to get new blades for my Fusion).

I didn’t try the Neutrogena pre-shave face scrub, but I tried it this morning (more on that later).

Only one chance to make a first impression

My first impression of the gel was that it smelled good, always important, of course, I used about the same amount of gel as I normally would and this is when the Neutrogena product let me down a bit.

The Nivea product gave me lots of nice lather with little effort or needing a lot of product. Sure both smelled good and both gave a pretty good base for a shave, but the Nivea gel had a nicer feel to it.

As far as a premium shave gel goes, it is good. Feels nice, no irritation even as your razor loses oomph, all those good things. The scent didn’t get the “mmm yummy” from Janette though (strike!).

To finish the shave I tried the post-shave lotion.

This was again a nice product, not better than the Nivea, not worse either. Didn’t past the sniff test from Janette either (always going for “mmm yummy’, it’s okay … is better than yuck though).

Final words

At $5.25 for the shave gel and $5.99 for the post shave lotion, I don’t see these as good of a value as the Nivea products. That said, if the Nivea products don’t work for you (rash, itch, etc), then these are certainly worth a try.

Not Manscaping approved?

Nope. The reason is the value. If I’m going to pay that much for a shave gel it should perform better all around than cheaper stuff. Also if it only really works if you start with the pre-shave scrub, then that doesn’t work for me either. I don’t think most guys have time for a whole scrub then shave routine.

Trying a different routine

This morning I tried something different. I started with the Neutrogena pre-shave scrub, little surprised at it. Smelled nice, but I wasn’t expecting the grit that helps scrub the skin clean. It was a good scrub though. Rinsed nicely, which is key. So my skin was all prepped for something really new. Rather, something I haven’t tried in a long time: shaving brush and traditional soap.

Amy from Kala Style sent me an amazing assortment of imported shave creams and soaps to try. Wow, this is real treat.

I’ll talk about all of them over time, as I try them, but today it was the Cella shave soap with the Omega natural bristle shave brush.

Being pretty inexperienced with a shave brush, even though I had used one before, I did a little research and I found a great video at Em’s place on using a shave brush the right way. Big, big help. Turns out I’d been doing it pretty much all wrong the whole time. Too much water, not enough brush prep (it needs to warm a soak a bit).

For the Cella soap I used the hand-technique illustrated towards the end of the video (I don’t have have a bowl or mug yet).

It took me a while to get the lather right. Chalk this up to user inexperience not product issues because when I got the lather going … it was great.

Couple things to note, the shave cream doesn’t smell perfume-y, it’s more natural. I think it is really to give a nice clean smell to be complimented by your aftershave/cologne of choice. The next thing of note is the feeling of bristles on skin. Frankly the whole shaving brush bit takes some getting used to. I don’t know if my skin was quite ready for it. The whole action of brush and soap work together to get both your skin and beard ready for a nice, close shave.

So was it? Yep. Okay I noted to myself, yet again, that I needed new blades, but still a nice shave.

I finished off with the Neutrogena post shave balm, this time with sunscreen (I expected to be out a but today). My face feels smooth, maybe a tad tender. Brushed I guess.

Will I keep trying?

You bet. Tomorrow … Valobra shave stick!

Ciao!

Tags: manscaping 101, Men's Product Reviews, mens grooming, Neutrogena, Neutrogena aftershave lotion, Neutrogena shave gel, shave soap, shaving brushes, shaving products, shaving tips

b5media.com

Manscaping 101 Men\’s Grooming Tips from head to toe for looking and smelling great