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Shave Like a Pro Without Emptying Your Wallet: Speick Men

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Speick

Times are tough, but shaving doesn’t have to be a wallet-breaker! You work hard, you play hard, but you shave with little to no pressure (right?). Like many wet shavers, the temptation to buy product is always looming, tantalizing. Such a cruel yet satisfying mistress. In an attempt to quench that thirst, I started combing the online shaving stores and reviews for some of the better rated, inexpensive shave creams.
What about shave soaps?

I don’t use them.

Yeah, but… but…

As a newbie, I never was able to get the hang of lathering a soap, so I switched to creams and have used them exclusively since. Perhaps I will try soaps one day.  So, for now, this will be a series of reviews of some of the more affordable shaving creams that I could find to fit my budget. I will be buying one or two new creams at a time as money (and the wife) allow. The price cap will be $15 (not including shipping) unless there is one that pops up that I have to try.
First up…

Speick Men

For my shaves I use the same prep and post-shave products each time.

Pre-shave: Hot shower, leaving beard wet; Truefitt & Hill pre-shave oil (but to be honest, I’m not sure it really helps); lather beard for at least a full minute.

Shave: 1948 Gillette Superspeed with an Iridium Super blade.

Post-shave: Warm/hot rinse, cool rinse; blot major drips of water with towel but leave beard moist; Pre de Provence after-shave balm.

Scent

The product brochure isn’t very specific on the scent notes:

Premium lavender oil has a relaxing effect. Speick Men shaving cream contains real beeswax and has a spicy fragrance for an indulgent shaving experience.

Basenotes does not have an entry for Speick Men, unfortunately.

From what I’ve read, I would have to agree. It’s definitely spicy. My nose detects some of the lavender, a black peppercorn-like note with perhaps a hint of something vaguely like cinnamon. The speick plant might have its own scent which could be the pleasantly medicinal quality I also smell. Not as barbershop as I thought it would be, but that’s not a disappointment. Quite a masculine scent. I love it.

Lather

This stuff lathers pretty easily with my Semogue 830 boar brush, even with the hard water in Los Angeles. The lather keeps its structure and moisture nicely through all passes (usually three for me). Feels nice and velvety.

Performance

Good as any high-end creams I’ve tried (Geo F. Trumper, Truefitt & Hill, Acca Kappa 1869, etc.). I only have one DE razor (shocking I know): a 1948 Gillette Superspeed with Feather or Iridium Super blades. The razor glided over my coarse beard with no dragging. I’d love to say I get a BBS shave (Baby’s Butt Smooth for the newbies), but since I’m one of the unlucky few whose skin is too sensitive for an against-the-grain pass, I got as near a BBS shave as one could get with Speick Men… consistently… even with a blade that has 3-4 shaves on it already. My skin was moisturized very well after the shave.

Value

I paid $6 for a 75 ml. tube — that’s ~2.5 fl. oz. for us Imperial folks — which I expect to last a few months. Absolutely worth the money.

The Bottom Line

I give Speick Men shaving cream an 9 out of 10 for its great scent and performance at a really great price.
Ingredients:

  • Aqua
  • Potassium Stearate
  • Potassium Palmitate
  • Potassium Cocoate
  • Glycerin
  • Sodium Stearate
  • Sodium Palmitate
  • Sodium Cocoate
  • Cera Alba
  • Potassium Myristate
  • Cetyl Palmitate
  • Sodium Myristate
  • Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
  • Valeriana Celtica Extract
  • Parfum
  • Potassium Laurate
  • Sodium Silicate
  • Sodium Thiosulfate
  • CI 15985
  • Limonene
  • Linalool

 

Kenny Haberman

Kenny Haberman

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21 thoughts on “Shave Like a Pro Without Emptying Your Wallet: Speick Men”

  1. DS

    Just wanted to mention that if you love the Speick scent, they make a cologne (well, eau de toilette, but close enough) for men (not that unisex stuff that is sold by american vendors, but a real man’s scent). I am not knocking the unisex stuff, but I think it is a little sneaky that it is marketed on shaving sites that do not sell the other as their cologne, when in fact Speick clearly identifies this as a unisex scent, and makes another offering specifically for men. This version smells fantastic, but is not overly strong or intrusive. You could easily wear it all day. I do not know why it is so hard to find here in the U.S., I ordered mine from an irish shaving site. here is the link: http://www.shaving.ie/products/Speick-Eau-de-Toilette.html

    1. Kenny Haberman

      Thanks, DS! I’m going to try and find a vendor here in the U.S. If anyone knows of one, let me know, please.

  3. Brian

    Total and complete newbie to this endeavor, but Kenny sold me on giving this cream a shot – just placed an order.

    1. Kenny Haberman

      I really do like this cream a lot. La Toja is also becoming one of my go-to creams, although the scent isn’t my favorite it lathers like mad!

  6. Peter

    How strong is the scent compare to tabac strong or weak ? and have you tried the stick version in term of scent

    1. mantic59

      In my opinion Speick is a little stronger than the average shave cream but not nearly as strong as tabac. For me the shave stick is not quite as strong as the cream (but close).

  8. Paul Wyand

    I love the Speick stick, though I cannot use it as a stick because it irritates my skin if I rub it directly on my skin. I have grated it with a cheese grater into a plastic tub and use it like any other shaving soap puck. I had to do this with Arko as well as I don’t seem to be able to take a stick directly on my face.
    I have heard that the cream is even better than the stick, I will include some in my next shaving order, that won’t be for a while as I have like 25 soaps and creams as well as a couple hundred blades. I am trying to cut my budget down to size.

  11. mister muleboy

    Please describe your lathering technique with shaving cream. I must confess that my weekday shave at the gym involves (oh no!) face lathering — I get decent to good lather if I’m careful about the amount of water I retain in my badger.
    How do you build your luxurious, creamy lather?

  12. Johnny

    I’ve been using the Speick shave cream and after shave lotion for a few years now and love it. Every once in a while I will use their bath bar but I cannot use their deodorant. It breaks me out something awful.
    I also recently purchased one of the Speick shave sticks and grated it in to a small tin. Makes an excellent shave soap.
    One of my favorite product lines.

  13. Ole

    Speick, is good quality products… I have tried the Shave Stick, Shaving Cream, Aftershave Lotion, Aftershave Balm and Duschgel, and i must say, the unique spicy scent, is really a pleasure.
    Give it a try folks, i doubt that you’ll be dissapointed.

  15. Dirty Texan

    If you aren’t certain about the pre-shave oil, use it tomorrow with close attention, and then don’t use it for a week. Next Sunday, use it again. The difference, if any, should be apparent. It may worth trying the oil on your last pass, with any trouble spots. Save that for a separate experiment.
    I love Speick. I thought it was mentholated, but then I remember seeing camphor on the box. It is very pleasant, but for me it is a Summer cream.

  16. jeeves

    I think the beeswax helps stiffen the whiskers some,
    stands’em up to better mow’em down.
    Always get a smooth shave from Speick s/c.
    A splash of Speick aftershave & a swab of their absolutely fantastic, effective & aromatic Men’s deo stick & I’m starting off a Speicktacular day.

      2. Nick

        The aftershave has witch hazel as well and so smells a little different. The cream has a stronger spice to it IMO. I like the scent and performance of the cream, and my wife likes the aftershave scent. Can’t lose.

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