I was sent a couple of shaving products by David Wessell and asked to do a review on them after I had tried them for awhile. The products were made by a company called Baxter of California who I had never really heard of but was eager to give a try. I did a little research and found out the Baxter of California company was founded in the mid 1960’s, by Baxter Finley, who was in search of a quality skincare line for men. At this time men’s skincare products were not as plentiful as they are today. So Baxter, teaming up with a local chemist, created the first skin conditioner for men, Super Shape, an initial step for men’s specified skincare. In 2000 the company was sold to Jean-Pierre Mastey who designed the modern image of Baxter and runs the company today. Baxter of California was recently accredited with Best Shaving Cream from Instinct Magazines, Grooming Awards.
Well ok, so we have a little history but how does it work? The two products that David sent to me are the Super Close Shave Formula and the Baxter After Shave Balm. When I opened the box and took out the product the first thing I noticed was the interesting plastic bottles Baxter has designed for their product. They are an attractive blue with a white label featuring the Baxter evolution logo. I really like this no nonsense approach to packaging. You can tell it was designed for a man. It’s simple and to the point without all the foo foo frills that sometimes make you wonder if the stuff you’re using was designed for the missus instead of you, and makes it hard to pick out from all the assorted toiletries that clutter up most coed bathrooms.
I then popped the tops and wanted to see how it smelled. I was pleasantly surprised to find the scent was not strong and over powering the way some of the heavily perfumed products are these days but pleasantly light with a slight smell of peppermint. A quick look at the label shows that they contain tea leaf oil and surprise, surprise, peppermint oil. Not bad at all and it won’t muddy up your colognes the way a lot of products do. But let’s face it the true test is in the shaving right? So it’s off to the bathroom I go to see if this stuff is all talk and no show.
For this part of the test I got out my best Badger brush and shaving bowl with my Boker Red Injun all freshly honed and stropped up. I shaved after getting out of the shower when my beard was good and soft and fully moisturized. After some experimentation I figured out the right water to cream ratio to get the shave cream up to an acceptable later. It took a little more cream than I had expected to get a decent lather. Because it is labeled a cream I expected it to later up big but this product really produced a thinner lather that is very slick. So if you are a mounds of lather type of guy you may be a little disappointed at first. I lathered up my face and was again hit with a nice scent of peppermint and a slight menthol tingle. The lather gave good coverage and felt great on the skin. I shaved a full three passes, one with the grain, one across the grain, and one against the grain. I found that I had plenty of lather for the 3 passes, a little of this stuff seems to go a long way. After the shave I had no redness or irritation and no nicks. A quick rinse in cold water found my face BBS. All in all this was a very nice shaving experience.
I followed the shave with an alum bar. The fact that I had absolutely no stinging once again showed how well the shave had gone and then I used the Baxter After Shave Balm. It is also very pleasant with the same smell as the shave cream but is a bit stronger in the menthol department. It felt very moisturizing on my skin and dried without any hint of stickiness. The best way I can describe it is a nice gel, thicker than an after shave and very slick. Another secret I discovered by accident is that the balm is slicker than any shave oil I have ever used and if necessary is capable of supplying a wonderfully close shave all by itself.
I really enjoyed this product and found it to be something I would use on a regular basis. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate this product a strong 8.
As a post note, I found that this product does produce a much stronger lather without the loss of its other good qualities, by the addition of a few drops of glycerin and a small amount of unscented shave soap.
You can pick these products up from our good buddies at Straight Razor Designs.
Baxter review
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