Acca Kappa 1869 tube (Glycerine) shave cream
I used this cream today in my shave (and SOTD post) and following that our Robert made a kind comment on knowing more about it, so here we go:
Hardware: DEs and once with a straight.
Brush: Various, boars and badger brushes.
Lathering method: Face.
Latherability: This cream lathers very well, no issues whatsoever. I have very hard water here and a fair amount will produce enough lather for two passes.
Shave Quality: A well prepared and luxurious lather gives a very easy shave with no nicks or cuts. In my personal opinion this cream, although veggie and without lanolin (compared to its tub brother) easily compares to more expensive creams and gives an outstanding shave. When shaving with a straight, it gave me a much better shave compared to other veggie shave creams I have tried before.
Scent: Very fresh, slightly flowery and clean, mainly for summer months, you won't find something very similar to it and to me that's a big plus. No relationship whatsoever to its tub brother (almond scent and lanolin in the formula). A descent scent that will suit many and may possibly put off very few.
Packaging: Traditional in any way, but with major points to note. The box is outstanding, thick cardboard, slightly corrugated, much more protection than you will ever need. The tube screw-in cap attaches to the recyclable plastic tub but fails to hold itself strong when screwed-in too far, so mine has failed/cracked (this has happened to me with one ToBS screw-in cap as well.) Not good, beware.
Cost: Pretty high, got it locally, paid around Eur 15 ($20) last year for 125ml (4.4 fl. oz.)
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Misc.: I do have the Acca Kappa 1869 tub (with lanolin). The comparison is very interesting. The tub version is quite different in the following areas:
- scent: very almondy scent, quite strong (to me).
- texture: quite more thick and 'sticky', behaves like a soft soap.
- latherability: harder (for me) to get the right balance between water/soap ratio fast.
- moisturizing properties: the tub version scores much better here; the lanolin works exceptionally well. However this does not mean the veggie tube version is inferior than the overall competition.
- cost: not really a difference here, but you do get a bigger amount of product, 200ml (6.7 fl. oz.)
- packaging: much better, safe closing tub with internal plastic transparent lid.
Overall: Highly recommended. An underrated cream that will not disappoint you, assuming you feel the cost is reasonable.
Thanks for reading, posted here as apparently I could not post it in the 'Reviews' (possibly due to my low number of total posts). Mods pls feel free to move if deemed necessary.
