What Is The Most Popular Lathering Shave Cream?

I’ve often referred readers to Sharpologist’s Best Shaving Cream list.  But what are the most popular (by sales) “old school” lathering shave creams? I tried a little research to find out.

Methodology

[Note: Amazon, Grooming Lounge, Smallflower, and West Coast Shaving links are affiliate.  Geni.us links go to a “choice page” where you can select a number of different retailers to purchase from.]

My plan was fairly straight-forward: take a look at the major wet shaving retailers in North America, plus Amazon, to see if I could determine if specific “old school” lathering shave creams were frequently listed, based on their popularity (I excluded shave soaps.  That’ll be a different list).  Perhaps not a completely scientific method but I think a reasonable place to start.  Turns out most wet shaving vendors have stocklists that can be sorted by “popularity” or “best selling.”

First I took a look at the 800 pound gorilla of online marketing, Amazon.  Here’s their list as I write this:

1. Taylor of Old Bond Street (Almond)
2. Proraso Refreshing (green label)
3. The Art Of Shaving (Sandalwood)
4. CO Bigelow (Eucalyptus Oil)
5. The Art Of Shaving (Lavender)
6. The Art Of Shaving (Unscented)
7. Viking Revolution (Clary Sage)
8. Proraso Sensitive (white label)
9. Proraso Nourishing (red label)
10. Vikings Blade (Bali Zen)

Of course, Amazon is not the only player in the game.

West Coast Shaving has been a long-time major retailer for the wet shaving niche’.  Here’s their list as I write this article:

1. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Sandalwood)
2. Proraso Refreshing (green label)
3. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Eton College)
4. Speick
5. Proraso Nourishing (red label)
6. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Jermyn Street)
7. Proraso Sensitive (white label)
8. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Lavender)
9. CO Bigelow (Eucalyptus Oil)
10. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Mr. Taylors)

Next I took a look at another wet shaving enthusiast favorite retailer, Maggard Razors:

1. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Sandalwood)
2. Proraso Refreshing (green label)
3. Proraso Nourishing (red label)
4. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Jermyn Street)
5. Proraso Aloe (blue label)
6. Proraso Sensitive (white label)
7. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Eton College)
8. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Avocado)
9. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Grapefruit)
10. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Mr. Taylors)

Here is Smallflower’s list:

1. St. James of London Black Pepper & Lime
2. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Sandalwood)
3. Speick
4. Castle Forbes (1445)
5. Truefitt & Hill (1805)
6. DR Harris (Almond)
7. Taylor of Old Bond Street (Almond)
8. Trumper (Almond)
9. Edwin Jagger (Aloe Vera)
10. Cella

Another well-established wet shaving vendor’s list, Bullgoose Shaving Supplies, takes a slightly different tack:

1. Antica Barbieria Colla Almond Oil Shaving Cream
2. Taylor of Old Bond Street Cedarwood Shaving Cream
3. Asylum English Collection Shaving Cream (European Barbershop)
4. Speick
5. Asylum English Collection Shaving Cream (Charcoal)
6. Proraso Refreshing (green label)
7. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Avocado)
8. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Sandalwood)
9. Asylum English Collection Shaving Cream (Bay Rum)
10. Proraso Aloe (blue label)

Canadian vendor, Fendrihan:

1. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Sandalwood)
2. Proraso Refreshing (green label)
3. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Jermyn Street)
4. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Mr. Taylors)
5. Trumper (mixed)
6. Proraso Nourishing (red label)
7. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Lavender)
8. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Eton College)
9. Castle Forbes (Limes)
10. Proraso Aloe (blue label)

Another popular Canadian wet shaving vendor, Italian Barber:

1. Proraso Nourishing (red label)
2. Proraso Aloe (blue label)
3. Proraso Sensitive (white label)
4. Proraso Refreshing (green label)
5. La Toja
6. Palmolive (Classic)
7. Palmolive (Menthol)
8. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Sandalwood)
9. Derby (Lemon)

Finally, I looked at a more “mainstream” retailer, Grooming Lounge:

1. Proraso Refreshing (green label)
2. Truefitt & Hill (1805)
3. Truefitt & Hill (Ultimate Comfort)
4. Truefitt & Hill (Lime)
5. Truefitt & Hill (Trafalgar)
6. Truefitt & Hill (Grafton)
7. Proraso Nourishing (red label)
8. Taylor Of Old Bond Street (Sandalwood)
9. Proraso Aloe (blue label)
10. Trumper (Lime)

Takeaways

I think it’s pretty obvious which brands dominate these “best seller” lists: Taylor Of Old Bond Street and Proraso.  That is not particularly surprising to me since they’re both known as “value” brands that have a well-established history and a solid reputation for performance.

Taylor Of Old Bond Street (TOBS) Sandalwood is at the top of many of the lists.   Sandalwood was also at the top of Amazon’s list for a long time but for some reason Sandalwood ceded its Amazon top spot to Almond earlier this year.  I have no idea why.

Jermyn Street also seems to be a somewhat popular TOBS shave cream.  Perhaps because it is marketed as formulated for sensitive skin and allergen-free.  TOBS describes Jermyn Street as “a zesty scent with classic musk and patchouli undertones.”

The other best-selling wet shaving cream product is Proraso Refreshing (AKA “green label,” AKA Menthol & Eucalyptus).  Proraso “made their name” on this shave cream and it just keeps on chugging along.

Proraso Nourishing (red label) with Sandalwood is another product often listed in these best-selling lists.

Other Observations

As I mentioned earlier I limited myself to “old school” lathering shave creams but there are a few other shave creams worth mentioning.  Amazon’s list includes several Cremo shave creams, Pacific Shaving Caffeinated shave cream, and Gillette Pure.  While these products are not “traditional” creams they can be used with a brush and provide very good performance.

Conclusion

While they may not be the “best” shave creams, there are a number of popular, best-selling lathering shave creams that have many reviews and perform very well.

What do you think of TOBS Sandalwood and Proraso Refreshing?  Leave a comment below!