Why You Should Use A Shaving Cream and Not A Shaving Gel

Q: Does using a quality shaving cream or soap make much of a difference to your shave?

My name is Mark Garrity, I joined The Executive Shaving Company in September 2018 as a Digital Content Consultant. I have sported a beard for a few years as I think I look better sporting one and not out of laziness as I spend quite a lot of time and money on my beard grooming routine.
When I did wet shave I used a Gillette Fusion and usually, my dads Bulldog Shaving Gel. I only changed the blade once or twice a year and I wondered why I never enjoyed shaving!
I used to pull, tug and claw away at my face while dragging a blunt cartridge razor over my bristles more in hope than expectation of a clean shave. Afterwards, my skin was sore and irritated, my neck, in particular, would suffer from razor bumps and redness. Growing a beard was a better option than this torture.
Recently, I bought myself a Timor Safety Razor, a pack of Personna Blades and Executive Shaving Fresh Mint Shaving Cream and Aftershave Balm.
After four shaves I was less tentative and was able to do two passes in around eight minutes without bleeding to death on the bathroom floor. The results were far more comfortable than with my Gillette Fusion and Bulldog Gel.
How so? Personally, I think it’s as much to do with the shaving cream as it is to do with the razor, I know this as I have since gone back to my Fusion razor this time with a fresh blade and shaved with that and Fresh Mint Shaving Cream and in my opinion the shave was just as close as it was with my Timor Safety Razor.
Looking back before my time at Executive Shaving, I mostly used Bulldog Shaving Gel, so I bought myself a Bulldog Gel and shaved with that and my Timor Safety Razor three times, the results were terrible, my post-shave redness and irritation returned and took days to clear up. Once my skin healed, I went back to my favoured Timor / Fresh Mint combination and that worked a treat, zero post-shave irritation.
To test my theory I then shaved for three days with a Gillette Fusion razor and the Bulldog Gel and as I expected I suffered badly from post-shave irritation. Then I shaved with my Fusion Razor and Fresh Mint Shaving Cream for three days and experienced absolutely no post-shave skin problems.
I conclusively proved that in my case, it’s the shaving cream that is the most significant influence on my shave experience. The Gillette Fusion and the Timor Safety razor both delivered excellent results with Fresh Mint Shaving Cream and both delivered awful shaves when used with the Bulldog Gel.
Fresh Mint is rich in Shea Butter which delivers exceptional razor glide which in turn negates razor burn and post-shave irritation. There is no Shea Butter in Bulldog Gel. Additionally, Fresh Mint Shaving Cream is very dense, it needs to be whipped up with a shaving brush and water so only a tiny amount is needed for a two or three pass shave. At £18.50 for 200ml it appears expensive compared to Bulldog Gel at only £3.99 but I needed to keep reapplying the gel as it kept drying out on my skin, this resulted in me using a far greater amount of gel compared to shaving cream. I’m happy to pay more to get the results I need.
In Summary
My little, totally unscientific, experiment was spread over four weeks, for me it confirmed that a quality shaving cream will stop me suffering from post-shave irritation no matter the razor I use providing I use a sharp blade. Some men may get different results.