Friday, September 3, 2010

Shaving foam, gel, cream or oil?

Last Christmas, a friend gifted me with a pack of what looked like beauty products. It wasn't actually for me alone since some of the products in the package were obviously for women, hence, for the Clairvoyant. At least 3 products though were clearly usable for men and one was particularly useful for me. These three products were a shampoo/body wash, a facial wash, and shaving oil. The last was most useful for me as I had to shave every other day (unless I happened to want to grow a beard and moustache - mostly when I found the growth pantay and wanted to see again what I would look like with balbas and bigote).

I've heard about Human heart Nature from friends, particularly those who were into organic or environment-friendly body care products. The Clairvoyant has also mentioned that the products were available in a store in Serendra in Bonifacio Global City. She has passed by the store more than once but procrastinated on making any purchase, always thinking twice if she'd wanted to try some of the products. So it was a very welcome gift this package in Christmas that contained a sampling of Human heart Nature products.

I've practically tried all kinds of products to make the shaving experience an efficient and pleasant one. Since I've started shaving when I was a freshman at university, I've usually applied shaving cream or foam lent to me by father who taught me how to shave. The most popular brand then and now is Gillette, the same brand of my razors. The only thing with Gillette's cream or foam was the packaging. In the old days, the foam (which I preferred) was dispensed out of a large can. As I grew older and more aware of the environment, I became conscious of having to throw away large cans even if this was done every other month. Plastic tubes for shaving cream also wasn't so envi-friendly. But then I didn't like to use cream on my face as it felt oily and whenever I used cream, they have the habit of sticking to my razors and making them difficult to clean after every shave.

I first tried using cream again when the Clairvoyant bought a tube from a popular store selling products that did not employ animal testing. I quickly re-discovered why I stopped using cream in the first place, wasting maybe a couple of razors before I decided to give away the cream to my brother who seemed not to mind using it. Fortunately, I found that my preferred brand came up with a gel that turned into foam when it was rubbed on your face. The cans were significantly smaller than when they contained foam, obviously the outcome of a more innovative way of storing the product.

My preferred brand, though, became more expensive through the years and I couldn't bring my can on trips as I was afraid they'd be confiscated if I happened to forget to place them in my check-in baggage. So when I went on trips, I had to bring a new disposable razor - again usually from my preferred brand (though nowadays I happen to use another brand I discovered when I was studying in Japan). That way, I was sure I wouldn't get nicked by an old razor.

I was pleasantly surprised when I started using the shaving oil in the gift bag and found it also lubricated my razors that they became much easier to clean. The oil was also based on virgin coconut oil (another pleasant surprise as I didn't read the label when I started using the oil) and that scored a few points considering I supported the renaissance of products derived from coconuts. My use of the oil resulted in what I believe was the best shave I've had in years. In fact, it also moisturized my skin and had this nourishing effect on my face. I am quite happy with my shaving oil and I hope that they continue manufacturing this product so that there will be more smooth shaving days ahead.

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