Thread: Valobra Shaving Cream

In these days I am in Milan and I finally had the time to visit a shop which is very popular in Italy and known for selling shaving equipment. It was such a long time since I bought Valoba shaving cream, so I finally found it in this shop and bought the two of them. You probably know Valobra is one of the revered soap maker here in Italy, making excellent shaving cream. It is not very easy to find them - at least, not in my city - but if you happen to be in northern Italy it is easier to get. Valobra Shaving Creams are also available in many e-commerce sites, as far as I can
The guy at the shop was also very kind in giving me three samples of shaving creams: Geo F. Trumper Rose Shaving Cream, Geo F. Trumper Coconut Oil Shaving Cream and Forester Xpec Original Shaving Cream. I will try them all, although the catch of the day was of course the two Valobra creams, the classic almond scent and menthol scent.
I will post later about these creams as soon as I will use them for shaving. For the moment, here it is the INCI (list of ingredients) for Valobra Shaving Cream:

aqua, potassium cocoate, potassium palmitate, potassium stearate, glycerin, palmitic acid, sodium cocoate, stearic acid, sodium palmitate, sodium stearate, cocos nucifera, parfum

As you can see, these shaving creams are made with asolutely natural products, that is, the kind of shaving cream I like the most.

Virgilio Valobra Crema di Sapone da Barba Purissima alla Mandorla
(Virgilio Valobra Extra Pure Shaving Soap Cream Almond Scent)

Producer: Virgilio Valobra, Genoa, Italy

Type: Soft Shaving Cream.

INCI (List of Ingredients): aqua, potassium cocoate, potassium palmitate, potassium stearate, glycerin, palmitic acid, sodium cocoate, stearic acid, sodium palmitate, sodium stearate, cocos nucifera, parfum

Excellent ingredients, all of vegetable origin, no chemical or synthetic elements. Score: 10

Pakage: Cardboard box. The cream is molded in a bar and wrapped in paper and nylon film. As the cream is very soft, being wrapped in paper and nylon film it makes things pretty uneasy to manage and to keep. Score: 4

Quantity: 150g (5.2oz)

Smell: Almond, quite strong but not excessive, very Italian barber's style. Score: 9

Lather: Easily makes an abundant, rich, creamy, stable and long lasting lather. With just a peanut size quantity of cream it has been possible to get very abundant lather, more than enough for my usual three passes. Excellent water retention. The lather is creamy and wet. Score: 10

Shaving: The sensation on the skin is simply wonderful. Creamy and wet, with an abundant and very stable lather, remaining wet during all the pass, no sign of dried lather. The razor easily slides, no skin irritation, leaving the skin very smooth and soft. Score: 10

Conclusion: An excellent shaving cream, very effective and velvety. No skin irritation, at the end of three passes it seems you do not need any post or after shave treatment, leaving a smooth skin and pleasing fresh and clean sensation. Although the package may look like "traditional" and "old fashioned", the very soft consistency of the cream wrapped on nylon film makes quite uneasy to keep it for a long time because of the repetitive unwrapping and re-wrapping. It is probably better to transfer the soap on a bowl. Score: 8

razorguy,

I agree with your assessment. Valobra is one of the best.

It is recommended, however, that the bar be placed in a shaving mug or bowl, where it can be pressed to fit; something that is not hard to do since it is so soft. That's what I do.

Then you don't have to keep unwrapping and rewrapping it.

I concur, have been using valobra almond for months now. A perfect shaving soap!

Originally Posted by jhenry

It is recommended, however, that the bar be placed in a shaving mug or bowl, where it can be pressed to fit; something that is not hard to do since it is so soft. That's what I do.

Then you don't have to keep unwrapping and rewrapping it.

Yes, of course, this is necessary. My review is only based on what the producer provides with the soap and to make a comfortable use of it you need to put the bar n a bowl. This means you must have a spare bowl at hand and this is not always possible. Besides that, in my opinion, this is one of the very best shaving soaps around.

Unpacking Valobra Soap

Virgilio Valobra Crema di Sapone da Barba Purissima al Mentolo
(Virgilio Valobra Extra Pure Shaving Soap Cream Menthol Scent)

Producer: Virgilio Valobra, Genoa, Italy

Type: Soft Shaving Cream.

Quantity: 150g (5.2oz)

All the good things I wrote about the almond scent shaving cream is absolutely confirmed for this one. The scent of this soap is as good as the other one with a fresher sensation on the skin, very pleasing. Maybe the menthol scent is more a summer shaving cream, however a great soap for every season, just like the almond scent one.

Originally Posted by razorguy

In these days I am in Milan and I finally had the time to visit a shop which is very popular in Italy

Which is the shop you describe rasorguy?

Originally Posted by Slur

Which is the shop you describe rasorguy?

It is Coltelleria Lorenzi, Corso Magenta, 1 - Milan

Originally Posted by razorguy

It is Coltelleria Lorenzi, Corso Magenta, 1 - Milan

The best shop in via Montenapoleone

Is there another one in via Magenta?