Edit: It looks like this stuff has been discontinued.

I was contacted by the owner of One Shave Cream, who wanted to know if I’d do a review on his product. I warned him that I, in general, am not too much of a fan of either unscented shaving creams, or of non-lathering shaving creams, and his product was both. But he wanted to go ahead with it anyways, so here’s the review. In short, for an unscented and non-lathering shaving cream, it’s not too shabby.

It’s a bit of a weird shave; kind of like a shaving gel and a lotion rolled into one. If you rub a small amount in, it will work its way into the skin much like a lotion would. One thing I found is that this made it a bit difficult to get an even coating of the cream across the face. It provided a good amount of lubrication, and a fairly protective / cushioned shave, for a non-lathering cream. Which is still to say a bit less than I prefer, for thickness and cushioning. In fact, of the non lathering creams I’ve tried thus far (others being here, here, and here), I think this one does provide the best shave. It also has very good moisturizing properties, which is enough to bump the “lather” rating up to 7/10.

And for those to whom this stuff matters, the ingredient listing appears to be pretty much all “natural” ingredients, with many of them organically sourced. I suppose I should also mention the obligatory disclaimer when dealing with non-lathering products: you should expect to use a lot more of it per shave than you would with a soap or a cream. I find with most creams, an almond-sized amount is more than enough for a full 3 pass shave (adding that air and water into the mix goes a long way). Not so much with this, a fair chunk over that would be needed just for one pass.

As for the scent, well, it’s supposed to be unscented. You can still catch a whiff of some of the ingredients. Overall it smells kind of fresh, mostly from the aloe juice, with just a hint of citrus, combined largely with a less natural smell which I think is largely from some of the oils used. It’s not bad, but nothing that I’m going to want to sit around sniffing.

But that having been said, it’s rather weak; very lightly detectable in the background while you’re shaving. Which, of course, seems to be the intent of the cream.

As anyone who’s been following my reviews knows, I do rather consider the scent of a shaving cream or soap to be an integral part of the shaving experience. So, the fact that this is only available in the unscented will hurt the overall rating too. Naturally, should you not agree with me on the importance of the scent, feel free to disregard the overall rating and work solely on the “lather” quality rating.

6/10 Scent Pleasantness

4/10 Scent Strength

7/10 Lather Quality

Overall, I think I’m willing to round up to a 5/10. It’s still the nicest shave I’ve gotten out of a non-lathering shaving cream, but I personally would not be reaching for it due to the lack of scent. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Cost: This 2 oz travel size jar was provided to me for the purposes of this review. It would normally go for $9; also available in 4 oz ($17) and 8 oz ($28).

Gear used:

Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis (Organic Aloe) Juice, Cocos Nucifera (Organic Coconut) Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Organic Shea) BUtter, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Oil, Emulsifying Wax, Calendula Officinalis (Organic Calendula) Extract, Palm Stearic Acid, Vegatable Glycerin, Cocoa Butter (Natural), Lavendula Angustifolia (Organic Lavender) Distillate, Vaccinium Myrtillus (Organic Bilberry) Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (Organic Sugar Cane) Extract, Acer Saccarinum (Organic Sugar Maple) Extract, Citrus Auranium Dulcis (Organic Orange) Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Organic Lemon) Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Organic Cranberry) Extract, Carica Papaya (Organic Papaya) Extract, Ananas Comosus (Organic Pineapple) Extract, Glycolic Acid, Malic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Olea Europaea (Organic Olive) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Organic Jojoba) Oil, Citric Acid.