Gillette Foamy Lemon Lime shaving foam

Ok, Here is my little review of the shaving foam I'm using for my shaving with a safety razor.

After reading forums and blogs about shaving, it seemed unanimous that anything that comes out of a can is terrible. Most shaving enthusiasts, if there is such a thing, will recommend creams and shaving soaps that would require him to spend some time to whip up the rich lather you see on shaving commercials. According to most writings on the net, that is the only way to get nourishing, rich lather that enriches your shaving process. But is that the case?

I started off from shaving foams because that was one of the first things I saw in Watsons when I first started shaving. The price is reasonable. A can for less than $10 that lasts about half a year.

One of them I tried was this:

 The Gillette Foamy Lemon Lime Shaving Foam! It is the 175g can.

Simple Honest Classic were the 3 words Gillette described this foam.

I've used almost half the can before I neglected it for a year after getting my first electric shaver, the Braun MobileShave M-90. Only recently, did I picked it back up.

After picking up shaving with a safety razor, I also got myself a Schick Hydro Shaving Gel and an old skool Tabac Shaving Soap (an inexpensive soap that received high praise from the net). So, I'm going to compare my experience of this foamy stuff against them.

Convenience

In terms of convenience, nothing can be easier than using products from an aerosol can. Simply shake and use. Its advantage comes in the speed and ease of use compared to shaving soaps. I can see its use in travel situations, although you might want to get the smaller can to fit into your travel toiletries kit.

Smells and Notes
Well, it has the artificial Lemon Lime smell. It is a faint smell that is only confined to the foam. It goes away the moment you rinse your face. This is good when you use an artisan aftershave product and do not want a strange mix of smells on your face. The smell is easily tolerable if you don't like the smell of lemon, heck, there are other flavours if you want.

Quality

Well, it is foamy and smooth when it is wet and it certainly does the job of letting the blade glide over without much sensation. However, like the shaving gel, it does dry out quite quickly, requiring a constant re-wetting of the area before continuing shaving.

In summary, it is a really simple foam, nothing more. I probably won't buy it again now that I discovered shaving soaps and creams. The convenience is not exactly an advantage for me as I shave at night and there so many soaps and creams that provides a much higher quality feel at the same inexpensive pricing.

Shaving soaps and creams may be a little more tedious, requiring a shaving brush, high quality soaps and creams are rather inexpensive and very value for money because they last very long while offering lovely long lasting smells and nourishes the skin. My skin feels super every time I use the Tabac shaving soap. In fact, it feels so good that I may use it as my face wash!

Just so you know how I apply my shaving foam, here are the steps I follow:

Procedures for shaving foam

1) Shake well before using

Well, firstly, before you even squeeze the nozzle, you'll have to shake it quite a bit to ensure that the foam comes out nice and bubbly. It took me about 30seconds of shaaaking each time in order to get a decent foam.

2) Wet your face

Wetting your face is important because the foam dries out very quickly, leaving your face sticky and the razor will not be able to glide over your skin at all. I use warm water to help open up the pores and soften the hairs for an easier shave later on.

3) Spray it directly on your face or on your hand

My can is slightly old and doesn't give a rich expanded foam no matter how vigorously I shook the can. In order to spread it evenly on my face, I usually spray it directly on my face and massage it all over my bristles.

4) Start shaving

At this point, there should be no problems having a close shave with a cartridge or a safety razor.

5) Re-wet the skin

After shaving one side, the other side is bound to get dry after a while, leaving your skin unsuitable for shaving unless you re-apply water - just wet your hand and swirl around your face again will do the trick and that's all to it.