We were walking around the mall looking for a gift for our mothers and we ended up in one of the typical soap & fragrances shops.
Well It turns out that these shops don’t just cater for women or men who like the more floral smelling products.
They may also house shaving products and on this occasion Bath & Body works had C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream, which we’ve decided to review.
So carry on reading to find out what we thought of C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream.
C.O. Bigelow Premium Shave Cream for Men with Eucalyptus Oil, 5.2 Ounces
Features
- PREMIUM SHAVE CREAM formulated to prepare and help protect skin for an exceptional shave. Concentrated cream requires only a small amount for a rich lather and clean, close shave.
- SOOTHE & COOL SKIN with Camphor & Menthol. Hydrate and moisturize with Coconut Oil and tone and purify with revitalizing Eucalyptus Oil.
- SOFTENING LATHER HELPS PREVENT RAZOR BURN by hydrating beard hair, stubble and facial skin. Reduce knicks, cuts and irritation with a close and comfortable shave.
- USE WITH HANDS OR SHAVING BRUSH with water for a rich, creamy lather. Apply to face, shave, and rinse for a superior shave.
- MADE IN ITALY with beautiful packaging that makes it a great gift for men, fathers day, birthday, as part of a first shaving kit, or year round.
What to look for in a shaving cream
We know it can be hard to know what to look for in a Shaving Cream, let alone to know if that shaving cream is going to be the best for you.
That choice is made even more difficult when you take in account the vast abundance of products available all claiming to better than the rest.
So we’ve decided we are going to give you some advice that will help you out the next time you standing in the Shaving Cream aisle or when perusing online so if a hidden gem like C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream shows up, you know what to do.
One of the very first things you should consider when you’re looking to buy a new shaving cream is the ingredients.
What ingredients does it contain? It’s best to find Shaving Creams that mostly contain natural ingredients that than being loaded with chemicals that don’t provide much benefits for your skin.
We personally keep an eye out for Shaving Creams that contain natural oils such as coconut, avocado, almond, jojoba and natural essential oils which in the case of C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream we were very happy to find many natural ingredients.
I know we just mentioned oils a fair amount, but let’s be clear these ingredients are oily at all.
They tend to evaporate upon contact with your skin.
As far as essential oils are concerned, these should be 100% natural and made from concentrated essences of plants, roots, fruits or flowers.
It common to see shaving creams that contain essential oils like Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Cypress, Bergamot, Lemon, Lime, Patchouli, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Vetyver, Lavender and Rose.
Many of these essential oils offer skin nourishing qualities, but they also help create the scents of the Shaving Cream.
You will want those essential oils to be blended into a base that natural as well.
For those of you that have sensitive skin, you may want to keep an eye out for shaving creams that have aloe vera listed as one of the key ingredients.
There are even some shaving creams that have a base of aloe vera.
Aloe vera has amazing healing qualities, it’s been used in many ancient civilizations including the Romans, Persians, Indians and Greeks.
These ancient civilizations would often use the aloe vera as a first aid ointment for wounds, burns and various other skin related conditions.
We’ve just gone on about the importance of finding a shaving cream that contains natural ingredients, we can assure you that there is a method to our madness.
Synthetic shaving cream ingredients are not biodegradable and they do not work well with your body’s natural oils among other things.
If you’ve had a weird skin reaction after using a product, chances are its been because of a man-made ingredient (assuming you aren’t allergic to something).
As we mentioned earlier that certain essential oils add scents to your shaving cream, well this is important as you will most likely want a shaving cream that smells pleasant if you going to be slathering it all over your face on a near daily basis.
There are also certain skin types that may benefit from those essential oils as well as them smelling nice.
Heres a break down of the essential oils and the skin types that will benefit from them:
- Lavender, rose or scentless shaving creams are great for those with sensitive skin and have issues with razor burn, rashes or other irritation.
- Lemon, lime and bergamot is often used by shavers that have thinner skin that is easily cut and nicked.
- Cedarwood, peppermint and sandalwood smell great and have the added benefit of being a great cleanser, especially for skin that has frequent breakouts.
Pros and cons of C.O. Bigelow shaving cream
C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream is an offshoot of Proraso, which is a company which is a company that makes other formulations of shaving creams.
The big differences between the two brands are that C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream doesn’t use as much menthol.
It still has eucalyptus oil which makes both products absolutely fantastic, it’s also worth noting that Proraso can be rather difficult to find outside of Italy, so being able to pick up C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream in ubiquitous strip-mall locations , and even online is rather fantastic.
Enough of the setup, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
How well does it work? Well we’re happy to say that C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream works great.
You may have noticed that we here are aren’t really shaving cream guys, we prefer a good quality shaving soap, though we aren’t opposed to shaving creams, so we gave this one a go to see how it would work out.
C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream itself is nice and slick, whipping up with a good quality badger brush and it quickly creates a good lather, in a mere 30 seconds C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream fluffs up nicely in my shaving mug.
One thing we noted was the variability in the density of the lather all depending on how much work you put into your whipping.
I would go so far as to say C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream probably one of the more malleable shaving creams which really does put it ahead, as most tend to stay one density.
Applying the C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream is rather nice too; The menthol within the C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream really wakes up your skin, though its not too strong.
I don’t know about you, but me personally. I can’t stand a menthol heavy shaving cream.
They tend to make me feel like my face is on fire, so this shaving cream is a welcomed changed.
My skin really loved this shaving cream, quickly absorbing the essential oils and all the other lovely ingredients within.
The cream left no redness and no irritation after I was done shaving which is an added bonus.
All that was left was the refreshing residual menthol tingle, it was nice, though nothing special. but a worth mention.
The con for the C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream is the lack of “wow” factor.
I mean it did its job and it did its job fairly effectively. But it just didn’t dazzle us.
This is the kind of shaving cream I would normally write off in any other circumstance but as C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream did its job so well and costs so little that for us that’s win.
It’s a nice efficient product that has greater than average value.
Who’s the audience for C.O. Bigelow shaving cream?
I’ve said that the C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream is good but not an outstanding product.
Though there are quite a few people I would still recommend C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream too.
Firstly first-time wet shaves would benefit from C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream more than most.
There is a smaller barrier to entry to being a shaving cream as opposed to a shaving soap when first starting, it takes a lot less finagling and manipulation to make it into a lather.
It’s also a much milder cream than you would expect, so you won’t have to worry about getting a strong kick from the menthol.
It’s moisturizing elements are really good too.
On top of everything else is the price.
A 48ml tube of C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream was around the same price as a cup of coffee and 150ml roughly the same price as two cups of coffee.
That’s an awesome bargain, which is fantastic for those who are strapped for cash when their normal shaving cream runs out, or if they want a cheap backup just in case they need it elsewhere.
It gets the job done, and it does that job well.
It’s biggest crime is simply that it’s not a crazy high-end shaving cream that will blow your mind.
Hey! We’ve also got a great article on the top 11 best shaving soaps, you should check it out!
I would definitely recommend the C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream.
It’s wonderfully efficient and an understated shaving cream, they will give you a rather good shave at a very low price.
It you need a travel sized supplement to your existing shaving kit, just starting out for the first time with wet shaving, or you just need to pick something up whilst shopping so your mum doesn’t feel like she’s spending money alone.
Then I’d say the C.O. Bigelow cream is right for you.
The all-natural ingredients make your skin feel like amazing.
Just grab a bottle, put it in your travel case, and the next time you go on a business trip you’ve got a fantastic shaving cream to use.
Here’s what others have to say about C.O.Bigelow shaving cream
Loved the article? Why not check out more of our shaving articles or if you want, you can see more from shaving creams and shaving soaps
