Thread: старт (Start) shaving cream and a Soviet shave

Just a quick little review, I have had about 5 tubes of this Russian manafactured cream for some time now which I ordered from the Voskhod.eu website. I used it today in my shave which consisted of the cream, an old Soviet era 'Sputnik' DE razor made in 1988 and a Voskhod Teflon Coated Blade. The cream has a slight green tint and a translucent/iridescent quality as it comes from the tube. I used my Ever Ready 100 brush which had been soaked in hot water for 10 minutes to whip up a bowl lather. This cream lathers as well as anything else out there and you end up with a very glossy, thick and stable lather considering you get your part right. The scent on this cream can only be described as 'institutional'. It makes me think of what the handsoap in the Kremlin bathrooms must have smelled like back in 1973, very utilitarian but fitting for a product from a country known for items like the Vostok Amfibia wristwatch and the AK-47. It gets the job done and does it reliably. (I actually like the smell for this reason). Enough lather was generated for a 3 pass shave with extra lather left in the bowl. Slickness was good, cushion also but the post shave feel was maybe a little dry feeling but what I consider just below average. For those already with dry skin I would recommend a post shave moisturizer or balm. All in all a decent cream if you can get your hands on it. Price was $2.32 per tube.

Have read quite a few comments on soviet era shave creams on other forums. Seems that they are very decent, as you say. I guess something like Palmolive shave cream in the west would fall into that category of gets the job done without any fuss or frills. Seems like the solid value our forefathers looked for.

Bob

Of course you know that stuff is made in Chernobyl. Even after the disaster they kept making it. Some say it gives you a glow.