Thread: Questions About D.R. Harris Creams

Hello all,

I recently was able to find a tub of the old formula of Harris lavender (the really purple stuff). I just got around to opening it for a shave tonight and I noticed it was hard, almost like a soap. So my questions are:

1 - Is this normal for Harris creams, old formula or new?

2 - If not, is there any way to rehydrate a shaving cream?

I usually use a snurdle for creams, but this was too hard. I just swirled by brush in the tub like I would with a soap and still got a great lather.

Or perhaps should I just leave well enough alone and use it as described above?

Thanks,

Ryan

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Hello all,

I recently was able to find a tub of the old formula of Harris lavender (the really purple stuff).
...snip...
Or perhaps should I just leave well enough alone and use it as described above?

One vote for: "Just use it the way it is."

You might leave five extra drops of water
in the tub before you put the lid back on.

Also is the label on the lid or on the tub?

It's not surprising if it's been hanging around a while. You could use it as you are, & create the lather on top, or you can indeed rehydrate it.
I'd do the second. Leave some water on top, it should be absorbed & soften it. When you use the softened layer up, do it again. Shouldn't be a problem.
Hope you're enjoying it!

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

Also is the label on the lid or on the tub?

If I'm not mistaken the label is on the lid. I just came home from work and am too lazy to run upstairs and check

Originally Posted by ben.mid

It's not surprising if it's been hanging around a while. You could use it as you are, & create the lather on top, or you can indeed rehydrate it.
I'd do the second. Leave some water on top, it should be absorbed & soften it. When you use the softened layer up, do it again. Shouldn't be a problem.
Hope you're enjoying it!

Thanks Ben, and the initial shave I had with the Harris "cream" was very enjoyable. Cheers!

I'm pretty much stuck on this one, seems 6 of 1 and half a dozen of the other. I'll probably end up trying both.


So I take it then that Harris creams are generally soft in nature?

Update:

I used the cream as is (as I would a soap) a couple times and this product is still a top performer. By the third or fourth use I decided I would try the rehydrate route, so I put a thin layer of water on top of the cream and closed the lid. I opened it for my next shave (a day or two later), and the top layer was softer than before, but not by much, and the layer was pretty thin as well.

If anyone has a better idea how to rehydrate (more water, more sitting time?) I'd love to hear it. Otherwise I think I'll just use it as is from now on, as the results are still superb.

Ryan, If it was me I would just treat it like a soap. I'll go in and choose my soap and splash a handful of tap water on it and leave it for ten minutes or more. Then I'll go in and shave after giving it a chance to soften up. I do this with all soaps and with creams that are stiff. I don't have a lot of experience with creams.

I have to use that method with Castle Forbes and basically treat it like a soap in that I load the brush the same way. Some creams like Salters are very soft and those I can drop a dollop in the bowl and lather up but if I were to do that with a stiff cream it would never dissolve. Using the stiff ones like soap works just fine for me. I'd be cautious about trying to re-hydrate the cream if it is working well as is.

+1 to what Jimmy said. To answer your other question, I only have one tub of DR Harris Arlington cream, and it is very soft and comes out easily with a snurdle. I bought it a little over 1 month ago.

I treat my old Harris lavender like a soap and load my brush directly from the tub. You can tell if it is the old version by looking at the lid. If the D.R. Harris name and emblem are printed directly on the lid, then it is the old. If the D.R. Harris name/emblem are printed on a circular label which is then applied to the lid, then it is the newer version.

Originally Posted by alabamalawyer

I treat my old Harris lavender like a soap and load my brush directly from the tub. You can tell if it is the old version by looking at the lid. If the D.R. Harris name and emblem are printed directly on the lid, then it is the old. If the D.R. Harris name/emblem are printed on a circular label which is then applied to the lid, then it is the newer version.

I just checked the tub, sure enough it's the old formula with the emblem printed directly on the lid. Good to know I'm not the only one lathering Harris this way.

Cheers,

Ryan