There’s a new kid on the mass-market shaving cream block in the US, Nivea Men Sensitive Calm Liquid Shaving Cream. How good is it? I picked up a bottle to try.
Nivea Men Sensitive Calm Liquid Shaving Cream
From the Nivea website:
“Does your skin feel dry or tired? Don’t let a busy lifestyle affect your skin! NIVEA MEN® Sensitive Calm Liquid Shaving Cream, enriched with Hemp Seed Oil + Vitamin E, helps soften hair and protect your skin from shaving irritation for comfortable and visibly healthy-looking skin. This liquid shaving cream has been dermatologically tested for skin compatibility….”
Ingredients: Water, Myristic Acid, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Disodium Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Citric Acid, Fragrance
What Others Are Saying About Nivea Men Sensitive Calm Liquid Shaving Cream
Nivea Men Sensitive Calm Liquid Shaving Cream is relatively new to the US market (a version has been available in Europe for a while) so there aren’t a whole lot of reviews out right now. Here are a few I found:
From one of the shave forums:
“I really like it. It lathers very easily and, if you add small amounts of water at a time, achieves very good slickness. Post shave feel is excellent.”
“I did a test lather with it couple days ago. Excellent lather… slick and creamy. It’s of mid-density and does fine for a mass produced cream. For the price and how much you get, I think this is a winner.”
“I tried it. Pretty dang good for like ~$3. I definitely got the cream-to-water ratio wrong, but it was still very serviceable and left the skin feeling nice. I will continue to experiment and will hold off on praising or condemning its performance.”
Amazon customers (affiliate link) give it a 4.5 out of 5 score (with an 87% positive sentiment from over 200 ratings).
My Experience With Nivea Men Sensitive Calm Liquid Shaving Cream
Broadly-speaking this shave cream reminds me a lot of Lucky Tiger’s shave cream (Amazon affiliate link): liquid consistency, mild scent, brushless but brush-friendly, surprisingly great performance.
As this cream comes out of a pump bottle it’s quite a bit “runnier” that the typical shave cream–I would call it a lotion, like a lot of aftershave balms.
From the bottle I get a mild, vaguely soapy/citrus scent into my admittedly very insensitive nose. Lathered on the face I get nothing–it’s basically scentless to me.
The lather itself is very good when applied by hand (brushless) and improves a bit more with a shave brush. I would classify this as a “brush-friendly” cream like Truefitt & Hill No. 10 and Pacific Shaving Caffeinated shave creams.
Performance is surprisingly good for me, almost to the level of the best traditional creams and it easily holds its own with other good, widely available brushless shave creams like Cremo, Pacific Shaving, and Jack Black. Lubrication/glide and cushion/protection are both excellent.
Summing Up
It’s great to see a shave product that works really well on the shelf of my local “brick and mortar” store. I think Nivea Men Sensitive Calm Liquid Shaving Cream is definitely worth picking up if you happen to see it and it might even appear on Sharpologist’s Best Shave Cream list soon!
Found this at CVS for about $5. I actually like most Nivea products but find the smell strong and cloying. More on that below.
I’m currently test-driving this, the Barbasol 1919, and the Thayer’s brushless side by side. My weekday shaving discipline fell off hard during covid and I’ve become terrible about skipping weekday shaves out of laziness. I have been looking for something easy and straightforward to pair with a Schick injector specifically to get out of the weekday rut.
Compared to the other two, it takes a brush well when you want to, whereas the 1919 or the Thayer’s don’t seem to be motivated in any way by use of a brush. It’s also slightly less cloggy than the other brushless creams I’ve tried.
The smell to me is basically the same as all other Nivea men’s products, just milder and more fleeting in a way I much prefer. The smell is gone from the face almost immediately but I can smell it in my hands for maybe about an hour after.
I tried this shaving cream some time ago and found it okish to use with my straight razor, but I felt it didn’t give my face as much protection as my usuals, which are Arko shave sticks or Proraso white soft soap so I won’t be buying it again for home use but it should be ok when traveling.
I alternate between Mitchell’s wool fat soap and a TOBS cream. Wife gave me the Nivea some time ago and I’d forgotten. Poured some on a brush and also lathered in a bowl. Excellent cushion and slickness. Right up there with my other two. Just different with the liquidity. Find the right amount of water and off you go.
In Australia it is listed as NIVEA MEN SENSITIVE PRO LIQUID SHAVING CREAM + CLEANSER. The local reviews are mostly positive although a bit hit and miss to date.
HI,
Sounds like something very worthwhile especially for travel.i hope we see this in Canada as well? Thanks Tony
I loved the old Nivea SC in the blue tube. Sadly they reformulated the smell from Nivea to citrus. Still performs great but I miss the old one
Been using this on and off for months. Your review is spot on. Used it with a brush and was very impressed. Cheap too. Unfortunately, Walmart no longer stocks it or its after shave balm.
Check different Walmarts, I have found different products at various stores. I will have to keep looking for this shave cream!
Thanks. Been looking for a good travel shave cream and I think you found it for me. The bottle looks as if it will fit into my Dobb kit and from the linked YouTube video it performed very well.