WCS Jojoba Shaving Cream Review

The Jojoba Shaving Cream from West Coast Shaving whips up a rich lather with excellent skin-nourishing properties. The coconut and jojoba oil create an excellent base for this vegan shaving cream. This shaving cream needs to be lathered with a shaving brush to create a dense, protective lather. 

WCS Jojoba Shaving Cream Specifications:

• Jojoba oil formula
• Brush lathered
• 5 generous ounces of shaving cream
• 6 different scents 
• Price: $30 (and often on sale)

Ingredients: 

Stearic Acid, Water, Coconut Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Jojoba Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate and Glycerin

What makes a shaving cream?

You might be wondering what makes a shaving cream and how it differs from a shaving soap. A shaving cream, like WCS Jojoba Shaving Cream, is saponified like a shaving soap but with a few differences.

Shaving creams are softer in consistency and often contain more water. This makes them quick to load and whip up a lather. However, you can also go through it much more quickly than a soap as it loads easily onto the shaving brush. Shaving creams are often a first choice for new-to-lathering shavers as they are easier to whip up. 

Many love shaving creams for their ease of lather as well as phenomenal protective properties. You will still need a shaving brush to help whip up your shaving cream, but like a shaving soap the ingredients in these shaving creams are better for your skin and the environment than an aerosol can (which is mostly just air anyway).

WCS Jojoba Shaving Cream Benefits:

• Stearic acid - this long-chain fatty acid is an excellent emollient, surfactant, and emulsifier. It helps to soften and smooth the skin. It is also helpful in thickening the shaving cream and improving texture.
• Coconut oil - this oil is excellent for shaving creams because it locks in moisture, is full of antioxidants, and is composed of healthy fats and vitamins. It is particularly good at helping to create a good lather. Coconut oil is highly cleansing, antimicrobial, and anti inflammatory.
• Jojoba oil - This wax-like oil comes from a shrub native to the southwest US and Mexico. It is composed of healthy fatty acids, vitamin E, and antioxidants/anti-inflammatories. The composition of jojoba is similar to that of sebum (the human skin’s natural oil) so that makes this an exceptional wet shaving ingredient as it is absorbed easily by the skin. 
• Glycerin - This colorless, odorless liquid is produced naturally in soap-making, but it is often removed by commercial manufacturers as they can make more money selling the glycerin for other uses than leaving it in the final soap/cream product. That should tell you that there are definitely benefits to be had from this ingredient.   Most notably, it is a moisturizing powerhouse. But it is also known to aid in healing, soothe irritation, and fight the signs of aging. As an alcohol, it is also antibacterial. It has a preserving effect as well, keeping your shaving cream good for a long time.

Lather/Longevity

WCS Jojoba Shaving Cream explodes with lather using very minimal effort. This is a great cream for beginners because it is extremely easy to develop a dense, thick lather with good protection. It doesn’t take much at all - in effort or product - to yield a voluminous lather. A few swirls will likely load enough shaving cream to create the lather you need for a smooth shave.

Once you've got a good lather going it will last for a multiple pass shave. If you like to face or palm lather, this shaving cream will whip up easily. But it is always a nice option to use a mug or bowl if you want to keep a nice whip of shaving cream ready to go. If you use a ceramic dish, you can even warm it with hot water before you begin and it will help to keep your cream warm as well.

Glide/Protection

Of course, it is vitally important that any shaving cream provides protection; that is its most important job after all. This shaving cream does a great job creating the layer of glide and protection you need between the blade and your skin. 

The density of the lather and the ingredients in the shaving cream combine to raise the whiskers, nourish the skin, and create a smooth shave without irritation. The jojoba and coconut oil also serve to moisturize and soften the skin. The razor will glide more smoothly over properly prepped skin. This will result in fewer nicks and less irritation. 

Post-shave feel

This shaving cream has a nice post shave face feel as well. In spite of the fact that each of the scents has a matching aftershave splash, you might find that you don’t even need it. 

Because of the inclusion of jojoba oil and glycerin, you get an extremely moisturizing lather. This translates into a more supple skin-feel at the end of your shave. Unlike some soaps or cleansers, you will not experience the tightness/dryness common to those products. Instead, your skin will feel smooth and irritation-free.

The WCS Jojoba Shaving Cream Scents:

West Coast Shaving developed their scents based on the fragrance wheel created by Michael Edwards over 30 years ago. Edwards attempted to classify natural fragrances into “families”. While there are numerous nuances and blends, the four broadest categories are floral, oriental, fresh, and woody.   

• Chypre (Fresh): Citrus-Resin. Chypre scents are named for the island of Cyprus and traditionally have notes of bergamot-labdanum-oakmoss. The West Coast Shaving Chypre aroma supports the bergamot with lemon and lime creating a zesty opening. Floral heart notes combine with the resinous base of cardamom, oakmoss, vertiver, patchouli, and musk. This is a delightful aroma that will transport you to the Mediterranean.   

• Cologne (Floral): Dark Mossy Floral. Cologne is a perfume category defined by Italian perfumer Farina’s scent launched in 1709. It was first intended to smell like “a mountain of daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain”. Farina’s aroma was so popular that it launched an entire category of like scents, each attempting to recreate an Italian spring morning. West Coast Shaving choose a subtle citrus opening that blends into a rich, earthy, mossy aroma that leans more on the moss and cashmere-like musk than the sweet floral. This is a great one for a sophisticated night out. 

• Fougere (Woody): Herbaceous Forest. The fougere classification was created by Paul parquet in 1882 with the launch of his Fougere Royale. This scent was a representation of what a fern would smell like, if that scentless plant actually had a fragrance. As a “fantasy” scent there is a lot of room for the imagination, but the idea of woods, moss, and green are usually dominant. The West Coast Shaving scent is an aromatic fougere. This complex aroma has notes of juniper, cypress, rosemary, galbanum for a pungent start. Then a base of cedarwood and patchouli round out the earthy, woody scent.    

• Oriental(Oriental): Spiced-Rose Woods. This fragrance is an exotic blend that will transport  you to the Far East. Notes of musk, vanilla, and resins blend beautifully with rich woods and a lightly spiced rose. Truly a luxurious aroma.

• Pear Brr-Shoppe (Blend): This last scent offering for the WCS Jojoba shaving cream is a fun take on barbershop scents. These scents are often hard to classify because different people may have different barbershop experiences, but WCS played with some typically identified barbershop scents of geranium, oakmoss, and coumarin. Then they included hints of pear, vanilla, nutmeg, and mint to create an alluring aroma. With its menthol hit, you are sure to love this icy-pear treat.

Affordability

This shaving cream is a generous 4oz that will give you months of shaving. West Coast Shaving has priced this shaving cream at $30, but it is often on sale for closer to $20. With this shaving cream, you are really only spending pennies a shave as this product will last and last.

Bottom Line:

This is a great shaving cream at a great price. With a number of different scents and a vegan formula, this shaving cream should be in your regular rotation. Grab this sample pack so you can try all the scents. Or pick your favorite and get a full-size tub.