Pre-Electric Shave Lotion Reviews

While it’s perfectly fine to use a standard shaving cream with wet electric shavers that state this is OK, there are actually many products on the market that have been designed specifically to prepare your skin to meet with an electric shaver.

If you want to have a wet shave and want something that is designed specifically to work with electric shavers, these are some real options.

I’ve compiled a list of some popular pre-electric lotions right here as an alternate to the shaving creams I reviewed here . I’ve put the top choices at the top, but the rest aren’t in a particular order.

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BEST OVERALL:
Aramis Lab Series for Men Electric Shave Solution

Aramis is the fancy-pants brand that everyone knows from their fragrances and aftershave splashes, but the company also has the Lab Series products that compete with the Nivea’s of the world and promise better skin care for men. You’ll be hard-pressed to spot the Aramis name on the packaging though, since it seems “Lab Series” branding helps keep the Aramis brand pure. After all, this is not an expensive product, but rather in line with the pricing of a basic product such as Lectric Shave.

This comes in a lovely, premium-looking bottle and is a clear blue liquid. Like Lectric Shave the promises here are modest – a closer shave by causing hairs to lift, vitamin E for refreshment, and slick lubrication to stop the foil or rotary heads from scratching the skin.

Inevitably, since they are not too far apart in price, people compare the Lab Series product directly with Lectric Shave, which is almost the Old Spice of pre-electric lotions.

Just about everyone agrees that it represents a solid upgrade over the Lectric Shave. It’s not as oily as Lectric and smells far less strongly, which means that maybe it’s the better one to go for. However, there’s something to be said for the popularity of Lectric Shave, even if this is technically a better product. If you want something more refined than Lectric Shave and don’t mind paying a few dollars extra, the Aramis Lab Series lotion is for you.

BEST VALUE FOR THE MONEY:
Mennen Afta Pre-Electric Shaving Lotion

This two-pack of Mennen Afta lotion is priced to go. At only about five bucks a pop this is right near the bottom of the price range. This also means that it will appeal to budget-conscious people who may also be using electric razors from the lower end as well. It’s ironic, but if you have a cheap razor I’d actually recommend that you get a better quality lotion to compensate for it. If you had a really good razor you could get away with a basic or even no lotion at all.

In any case, my expectation of this lotion is going to be a bit higher since it probably has to make up for a razor that’s not the best in town.

Mennen says that this lotion has a very creamy texture, akin to traditional shaving cream. However, it has been formulated so that it doesn’t clog your electric razor, which is a problem we sometimes get with traditional shaving cream.

The lotion contains skin conditioner, but lacks substances that sometimes causes rashes or other irritations. It also has no oil, which is sometimes also a problem for some people.

In general people are pretty positive about this pre-electric lotion. Many people report using this lotion for years with no skin issues and good performance.

It’s not all good though – it seems that in looking for alternatives to some of the mainstream chemicals that you won’t find here, they decided to use something with a weird smell. Most people don’t have anything bad to say in this regard, but it seems that the smell just doesn’t work for a minority of buyers.

Luckily this stuff is so cheap that you won’t lose much buying a bottle and smelling it for yourself. Chances are you’ll find a new cheap champion on your hands.

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Buy on Amazon

OLDIE BUT GOODIE PICK:
LECTRIC SHAVE LOTION REGULAR

The big green itself, Lectric Shave is probably one of the best-known pre-electric lotions on the market. It’s not the cheapest, but the price isn’t bad for the volume you get.

Lectric Shave is not claiming that this is the most-amazing secret ingredient filled magic lotion in the world. They just promise a closer, smoother, and more comfortable shave with your electric shaver.

Lectric Shave has been around for years and many people have been using it over long periods of time. The formula is maybe a little outdated compared to other newer products, but many swear by it.

I have seen complaints that it’s too oily, smelly, and a bit of a bother to wash off. Yet people still go back to it time and time again. It seems that it’s becoming harder to find Lectric Shave in physical stores, so if you want to try a classic, picking up a bottle online may be the only way.

Shiseido UNO
Pre-shave Lotion for Electrical Shaver

This Japanese lotion comes in a cool looking bottle that’s pretty exotic from a Westerner’s point of view. So if you want something with a little international charm this is already looking pretty good.

Unfortunately my Japanese is a little rusty, so we have to rely on the descriptions that come with the product catalogues rather than the bottle itself. According to Shiseido this lotion has no odor and no oil, which is truly pretty amazing. It’s also a quick-drying formula, which is great for people like me who hate greasy, wet residue or just lotions in general.

What happens is that the lotions turn into a powder on your skin before the shave even begins, acting as the lubricant.

Overall people seem to agree that Shiseido has delivered on its promises, but there is a significant number of people who don’t like their take on pre-electric lotion at all.

Apparently the product is in effect very similar in performance to the Afta lotion that I chose as my top budget pick. It’s just more expensive, so really there’s no reason to get this and I would start with the Afta instead.

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Buy on Amazon

Bump Terminator
Anti Bump Pre-Electric Shaving Lotion

Razor bumps are the main thing we want our shaving lotions to help us avoid. Walking around all day with itchy, bumpy skin is really not my idea of a good time and I don’t think anyone else likes it either.

While this is being marketed as “Bump Terminator” and sold by “Bump Zapper”, the bottle clearly states that this is Breej Belezza Black Luxury Shave, I guess that’s not so snappy for a U.S. audience. The name is not particularly important. If this is marketed as being specifically to prevent razor bumps then we have to expect that it will be better at that job than other pre-electric lotions. It’s not cheap, either, at almost twenty bucks for just short of seven ounces.

Unlike the other lotions that are oil free this is oil rich and contains a long list of extracts to that effect. I’d scrutinize the ingredient list for specific allergies if I were you.

It seems not too many people have tried this lotion, but Breej does offer a money back guarantee if it doesn’t work for you. So if other lotions have not managed to keep the bumps at bay this may be a option.

Kanon Klassic by Kanon for Men

Now we’ve moved up into the pricier segment of the market. This Kanon lotion is only four ounces and costs about thirty bucks, so already I assume it is supposed to be something special.

The bottle certainly is fancy, with a sort of wooden cork top. It looks more like expensive perfume than shaving lotion. The liquid itself is amber in color, which is not something I’ve seen. There is very little in the way of details about what this lotion is supposed to do, so I guess we’ll have to rely on witness accounts.

Not much help there either I’m afraid. Just people saying that it worked great – tightens the hairs to make them easier to shave and it smells wonderful. Is that enough to recommend just dropping thirty bucks to try it out? I think not.

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Buy on Amazon

ShaverAid Electric Shaver Pre-Shave Review

There’s certainly nothing fancy or attractive about the packaging this ShaverAid lotion comes in. It looks like the kind of thing that the government would give away for free, to be honest. It’s not the cheapest, though, at eight bucks for only four ounces. On that score, better-known products such as Lectric Shave and Afta have it beat on a per-ounce basis.

One thing to note is that people complain about the packaging being inadequate to handle shipping, with the bottle having popped open and spilling lotion on arrival. Just looking at the picture of the bottle I was already worried about this, but these complaints just confirm those suspicions.

This lotion is marketing itself mostly on its conditioner, saying that both your remaining facial hair and skin will be softer after the shave is done.

I’m a little worried that the instructions say that the product should be applied liberally, since most other lotions only need a tiny bit to work. That suggests the four ounces will not stretch very far at all.

The lotion is odorless, but very dilute, which is why I guess you have to use lots. Interestingly, some people tried it to get away from the smell of Lectric Shave, but found the ShaverAid to be too ineffective. Avoid this one.

Reviews Conclusion

In general these lotions seem to be a good solution to the issue of preparing your skin for an electric shave. Whether they are in general better than simply using a traditional shaving cream will really be down to personal preference.

For the most part, these lotions are not as messy or lathery as a shaving cream and so may be more appealing on that front. On the other hand, they also don’t do all the things shaving cream does so you’ll have to decide how important some of those added benefits are. To learn a little more about what shaving creams do, be sure to check out my shaving cream buyer’s guide(LINK).

The biggest problem I have found with pre-electric lotions is that there just aren’t that many on the market. The few leading products have not needed to change their formulas for many years and really just depend on a loyal market of existing customers. I guess electric shaving just isn’t popular enough yet, but as more people start switching from manual razors, perhaps we will see the rise of shaving lotions specifically meant for those of us who prefer electric shaving.