I rather fancy myself when it comes to the art of Shaving. I feel I have experimented more on the subject than any man dead or alive. And yet its the kinda subject you just cant ever have enough of. I remember when I first put a razor against my skin more than a score years ago it was all about Denim’s famous ad the Man who doesn’t have to try too hard showing a lady’s hands sliding all over the Man’s torso. Then there was Instinct cream / After Shave lotion with tastefully shot B&W video of almost Kamasutra proportions showing the girl licking off that fat blob of lather from under the man’s ears.
Needless to say this got me ambitious. But it was an ambition that didn’t go too far. I soon realized that with Denim the man might not have to try too hard with the ladies but their aftershaves will make his beard so though that he will have to try too hard to get a smooth shave. I learnt that ladies hate the lather lube and if they don’t, they are plain faking it !!! And that even the dogs wouldn’t dare come near me with all those synthetic aftershaves on. You see, with shaving its like either you keep others happy or you keep yourself happy. I chose the latter.
During the last 15 years I had stuck to using Emami’s For Men, followed by Park Avenue followed by Palmolive Lemon and lately Trumpers Violet/TOBS Avocado. It was therefore a pure accident that I chanced upon the Biotique Bio Palmyra while visiting Spencers last year. I had run out of shaving cream and the one I had ordered wouldn’t be delivered until a couple of weeks. I would have ignored it in favor of Palmolive had it not been the lure of the "tub of soap" format, something I have grown rather fond of these days.
I picked it up almost without any expectation and boy was I surprised. I would now stick my neck out to say that currently this is the best shaving cream manufactured in India. Emami’s For Men might have been a close 2nd but its no longer manufactured. And it’ll hold its own against the TOBS/Trumpers/Prorasos of the world any day. I am halfway down the tub and here’s what I found :-
The cream comes in 180 gm ’soap’ tubs (like all good creams do) costing Rs.180 bucks each. You’d think this was expensive. But it isn’t. On the contrary its rather cheap, especially in view of its fantastic quality. A tub of Bio Palmyra easily outlasts at least three 70gm shaving cream tubes. The main ingredients are not specified on the package but palmyra extracts, coconut oil and a bit of mint/neem make their presence felt almost as soon as you use it.
Shaving cream/soaps have 3 very important functions - lubrication, hydration and healing.
(1) Lubrication - With a fingertip-full of Bio Palmyra cream you could whip up a massive volume of high quality lather. The lather is wonderfully smooth, neither too buttery for the razors edge to glide on without cutting the strands, nor too dry to impede the razor movement. This also ensures that strands are properly exposed to the razor and therefore closely cut. And those embarrassing 5 o’ clock shadows are avoided.
You must have noticed the marketing gimmick for best results use only XYZ brushes with XYZ creams. Incidentally Biotique does not manufacture razors/blades/shaving brushes, although it does manufacture after shave lotion/cream. So what does the cream go well with ? If your goal is to attain shaving nirvana and money is no object, you’ll likely do well to compliment this cream with Omega badger brushes, Merkur Razors and Merkur/Feather blades but if you’d rather keep it down to a budget, I’d suggest a Brush with good quality Tynex bristles (used in better synthetic brushes like Ajay, Nivea, Palmolive, etc). The choice of brush is important because shaving creams are "the" most important ingredient in that "perfect shave" and the performance of creams largely depends on the brush used.
(2) Hydration - Palms are famous for their hydrating properties and this product lives up to their time-tested reputation. I’m amazed at how a tip full of cream could release so much hydration. And mind you its not the kinda hydration that disappears under the skin soon as it is applied. The skin stays hydrated for a long time or until it is subjected to oppressive conditions.
(3) Healing - If you shave daily this is perhaps the most important attribute. And the Bio Palmyra doesn’t disappoint. I gave it the "scorching sun test" and it handled the mild inflammation caused by shaving very well. No burning sensation or raw/red skin. The mint bit gives it the much needed coolant effect.
(4) Fragrance - The fragrance is rather mild and comes mainly from the palmyra plant. It doesn’t exactly set the house on fire like say the Trumpers Violet would but its not a bad fragrance unless you are allergic to plant fragrances.
The best part of using this cream is that because it excels in most things, it obviates the necessity of pre shaving cream or aftershaves. This thing is a complete package in itself. At the most you could apply a dash of Suthol (an outstanding antiseptic for the money) to round off the shaving.
Getting the Biotique Bio Palmyra however, isn’t the best solution. And here’s why. Recently I had one of my cousins’ 10 year old kid intently watching me shave. He was remarkably engrossed in my shaving activity especially when you consider how difficult it is for kids to concentrate on one activity for long. All of a sudden he said he wanted to shave. I put down my razor with the air of a man who’s about to save another from committing hara-kiri. I began my explanation - "shaving isn’t as simple as it seems. There are just too many difficulties involved. If a man shaves too much, his skin suffers and starts to sag; if he shaves to little people call him unkempt and dirty; if he uses aftershave, his beard gets tough, if he doesnt he doesnt smell good, if he uses soap, people call him old fashioned, if he uses cream he runs the risk of turning his skin into a battlefield of chemical experiments; if he uses only downstrokes his shave isnt clean enough, if he shaves against the grain, he get inflamed skin; badger brushes are better for his skin and working up a lather but synthetic brushes dont shed hair and last longer." "I could go on and on but thats hardly the idea…." - I said almost panting for breath.
The kid listened all the while. Finally he spoke - "Is it really all that problematic ? If it is….DONT SHAVE !!!"
Well this is the best solution I’ve come across in all my shaving years. Don’t shave if you can help it. But if you must, get the Biotique Bio Palmyra.
It’ll make you want to shave everyday. Well almost….:-P