LEA Classic Shaving Cream and Aftershave Balsam - Bakelite Slant

First shave of 2017, and it's a "first impression" review! I shave with the LEA Classic shaving cream (lanolin and menthol), and follow up with the LEA aftershave balsam.
** Kit **
German Bakelite Slant with a Gillette Silver Blue blade
Semogue Owners Club boar brush (cherry handle)
LEA Classic shaving cream with lanolin and menthol
LEA aftershave balsam
** Intro and Outro **
Fall into 2017 along with "Spygame" by Parov Stelar, and then enjoy the fact that every end means a new beginning with "Booty Swing" by Parov Stelar.

[@user-qq4mg7um5u]

Based on your review I got some of this cream and I have really enjoyed it. Thanks👍

[@jonathanniccolls1592]

I am going to get to try the Lea shaving soap, soon. Thank you for the video.

[@christopherach4402]

Happy and most of all Healthy New Year Michael , Thank You for all Your very informative and great videos last year and for all Your kind advice for new wet shavers like me. it is always a pleasure. Please keep them comming this year , Your great talent of explaining things is very much appreciated.

[@mfreedberg]

Happy New Year to you, and let's hope we all stay healthy as well! You are very welcome, and glad you are still enjoying the videos - I do my best to explain myself as simply as possible, and not to worry, they should be coming all year long!

[@MichaelThomascga1996]

Michael, Happy New! I am a little behind on consuming my videos, but as always nice shave and thank you for sharing. I haven't tried LEA products, but may consider trying them.

[@marcosjesusmendez9293]

Happy New Year Michael...👍🏽AWESOME VIDEO👍🏽 Thank You.

[@mfreedberg]

Happy New Year to you too, glad you enjoyed it!

[@mopeer1]

Great shave and video there Sir. Good stuff all around.

[@mfreedberg]

Thank you for watching, and thank you for your kind words - I hope you will continue to enjoy them!

[@michaelmclelland8440]

Awe I forgot to tell you Michael hope you had a good Christmas and happy New Years

[@mfreedberg]

Same to you, I hope you had a great Christmas and here is to a wonderful 2017!

[@philipthomas8818]

I have the solid puck and its extraordinarily good. It lathers very thickly and easily and has a superb post shave feel. It's not that expensive but oozes quality. I'll buy, buy and buy again for sure.

[@mfreedberg]

I really liked this cream, I have the shave stick and it's really good as well (once they fixed the formulation again)!

[@icalexander]

Happy new year Michael! Looks like you had an excellent shave. I've tried a lot of things from your videos and loved a lot of it. With that said I think we have similar tastes in soap/AS/brush etc. Wishing you good health, success, happiness and of course great shaves in 2017.

[@mfreedberg]

All the best to you too in 2017, great shaves all around! Keep an eye out as we make our way through the year, I think you will find some new products to add to your current collection! I don't think I can use something new *every week*, but often enough I hope...

[@chrisbaskett808]

Happy New Year, Michael. More great products and another great video. Gave my daughters boyfriend a shaving kit for Xmas and since they live in DC, I told him to watch some Michael Freedburg videos for tips!

[@mfreedberg]

Chris, nice gift, and I hope he is enjoying his shaves! If he has questions or issues, point him in my direction, we'll get him sorted in no time!

[@WolfRanger2008]

Indeed, kicking off the New Year with a Mint 60s Eversharp Schick Injector and Russian Bakelite(Soviet Era) razors. They were Christmas Gifts to myself. Happy New Year!

[@mfreedberg]

Did you at least act surprised and grateful when you opened them (grin)?? Which Russian Bakelite razor did you pick up? Happy New Year to you too!

[@WolfRanger2008]

Of course! I AM grateful and a good actor too... :D As for the Russian Razor I don't know exactly which brand it is since all the lettering on its display box is in Cyrillic. Even the web page ad listed it as, "Vintage Russian Soviet Era Bakelite" with no further description/classification. This said, it looks almost identical to a known Soviet Razor the "Volga". It is solid black with a white accent on the base of the handle and the head is curved in a similar fashion as Mekur Red Bakelite Razor.

[@owenparratt4537]

Hi Michael. All the best to you and loved ones in 2017. Looking forward to more of your videos, good work. Owen in NZ 💈🇳🇿

[@mfreedberg]

Owen, thank you for watching, and all the way from NZ, too! Seriously, it is kind of humbling to think that people literally from all over the world watch these videos and I am immensely grateful for that, so thank you! Not to worry, if all goes well, one a week this year!

[@ThePrimot]

Thanks, Freedberg. I actually like this cream a lot. I use the stuff in it's jarred format. I'm sure it's the same as the tube. Great cream.

[@mfreedberg]

I was looking over the lineup today, and it does look like the Classic comes in both cream and hard soap format - I may pick up a shave stick and a puck of the Classic, that was really good stuff!

[@ThePrimot]

I was lucky enough to acquire most of the line-up, and plan on using them somewhat in succession. So far the Classic cream is a keeper. My hard puck is (still) in the transit, and I'm curious of the formulation. I learned recently the hard Classic puck has been reformulated, and is now veggie.

[@targetbuttmonkey]

Happy new year, hope you and yours had a great holiday season. Maybe in a future video, can mention what you did to cause a brush to fall apart so that others can avoid similar mistakes (unless this was already covered in a previous video somewhere). Best wishes, here's to a happy and healthy 2017

[@mfreedberg]

I did mention it in a previous video, but I will try to remember to cover that in the next video -- it was a simple mistake and easy to make and it all ended badly (at least for that brush!). Same to you, here is to a happy and healthy 2017 for all of us!

[@Mark_Ocain]

Happy New Year Michael and all the best to you and yours. Good points re lather for new players. Lather creation can be a bit of a journey as you try different soaps and creams. Even now I make "threshold moment" discoveries LOL. At the moment I have more or less abandoned blooming soap. Mitchell's would be about the only exception - that benefits from a quick soak.

[@mfreedberg]

Mark my words - 2017 is the year we put an end to soap blooming! Well, at least I am going to do my level best to get people to stop (grin)!! Mitchell's is on the list for this year, and I will have to experiment a couple times throughout the year with no soaking vs soaking.

[@michaelmclelland8440]

Awesome video there Michael I do three passes some times but mostly two passes and a clean up without shaving cream people say do not do that but I'm so good with light touch at the end and I got a bbs it's awesome once you learn how to master it

[@mfreedberg]

Depending on the soap and the amount of stubble left, I think a lot of people can get away with it, but I would not recommend it as a general practice - I would be afraid people take it too far with the inevitable razor burn or nicks. I imagine that, for a lot of people, two passes is probably already very good!

[@soncinr]

Happy New Year to you too.... I love Lea, it is one of my favorite scents, and the during/post shave feel is really good. I use the AS splash, which leaves the skin calm, moist and smelling really good, but I have some balm on its way. Lea is one of the best "summery" shaving product, and I think the scent is more sophisticated than you can expect out of an inexpensive product. BTW, my first shave of 2017 was with the new MDC Vetiver. one of the very best products I know of.

[@mfreedberg]

I think I will be picking up the new formulated LEA shave stick, and maybe some of the splash as well, given how well this cream worked! The balm was a big surprise, I normally don't like those thinner, more watery balms but this one delivered! I have only ever used an MdC sample, and am a little hesitant to order a full size container simply because I think I would have that soap for the next 10 years given how rarely I would use it and how little one seems to use for a single shave.

[@soncinr]

I understand your hesitation... sometimes I think I have gone overboard with all the soaps I got, my policy now is to donate the ones that do not get enough love, and stop buying more...

[@ktheodor3968]

Happy 2017. Good, sensible advice for people just starting on their double-edged shaving. Goes to show that the geometry of the head of a double-edge razor is much more critical than how heavy/hefty the razor feels in the hand. All these "plastic" razors, if they're efficient, work by how the head has been designed to shave and not by the weight of the razor. Good idea to try a bakelite razor.

[@mfreedberg]

Head geometry is clearly key, but I know that the razor weight for some makes a critical difference too, just look at the different Fatip razors or the 37C/39C, or even the many custom heavy handles. I know from experience that a light razor can make it seem like you need to compensate with pressure, but that is a BIG mistake with this razor. As for the brush loading, I think it's the fact that the soap is foaming up even with just a light touch that tends to throw people off. Load more!!

[@ThePrimot]

The stick I have is indeed the newer lanolin version, and it seems quality just as the creams are. Now, the scents are different between the Classic, the Professional and the Stick. The Professional and the Stick are sweet soapy scents. Both very nice and refreshing, somewhat modern.

[@mfreedberg]

+ThePrimot I have the stick on the list for this year, looking forward to it now!

[@Thomas.A1]

Happy New Year Michael and thanks for your videos last year. I did the next boarbrush step. A SOC 😊

[@mfreedberg]

Happy New Year! The SOC is a wonderful brush - did you get the cherry handle or the ash?

[@Thomas.A1]

Cherry it is. Compared to the Rod Neep "lignum vitae" boar knot...is there a big difference?

[@mfreedberg]

+Thomas A. The Rod Neep brush is stiffer with more backbone and less pronounced splay, I think the knot is closer in style to the Omega professional boar knots. I will try to remember to compare them in my next video!

[@Thomas.A1]

Ah...thanx, I like the Semogue knots more. But your lignum vitae looks wunderbar 😊

[@mfreedberg]

+Thomas A. That brush was a very generous gift from Rod Neep after my Semogue 1250 bit the dust, and it is simply a stellar brush.

[@KingofWisdom]

I can see why you're a fan of the Fatip Testina Gentile. I've had one for months now, but it's been neglected since I like to shave with my Fatip Grande. The Fatip Grande is smooth for an aggressive razor, but it's still an aggressive razor and you still feel the blade. I had a Gillette Silver Blue that had been used a few times, I expected it to provide a tuggy shave in my Fatip Grande, so I tossed it in my Testina Gentile... magic. I barely felt any resistance from the blade shaving my beard. This is a feeling I'm not used to, at all. Great little razor.

[@mfreedberg]

+KingofWisdom one of my big surprises last year, I did not know what to expect given how aggressive the Grande is. I think the Testina Gentile is sadly underrated and not getting the exposure it deserves. It will be up in my rotation pretty soon, not to worry!

[@KingofWisdom]

I think it's a number of factors. Many say the company that makes the Fatip razors has poor quality control, people complain of uneven or skewed blade alignment, inconsistencies in the manufacturing process, poor plating, etc. and then there's the reputation these razors have with their aggression. The Gentile may not be aggressive like a Fatip open comb head, but it's still aggressive compared to a 34c or DE89 (or so I'm told). It's aggressive enough to scare off people who don't know if they want an aggressive shaver, but not so aggressive that the Muhle R41 crowd is interested. But, for the price, the razors are really a steal. I have three Fatip razors, none of them have any issues aside from subpar plating. But, really, the shaves are worth it.

[@mfreedberg]

+KingofWisdom I agree, the quality control issues are frustrating *because the shaves are so good! I think they would be a much more popular choice if not for these nagging issues.

[@davidcoleman2463]

I love this soap . It just needs a bit more water to really work well .

[@mfreedberg]

A few drops here and there do often make all the difference!

[@ThePrimot]

Just wanted to follow up with you on the LEA line. Been loving this cream, but morning i decided to skip the menthol in th Classic cream, and try out the Professional tube. Long and short of it -- I would safely reccomend the professional as a good alternative to those who like the performance of the Classic cream but may not like the menthol. I found the Professional cream to have the same excellent performance as the Classic, but less costly and a different scent. The Professional is some great stuff! Out of curiosity, I also quickly hand lathered the stick, which seemed awesome as well.

[@mfreedberg]

Thank you for letting us know! Which stick version do you have, the new one with lanolin?

[@michaelmclelland8440]

Yes your right it is better to always use lather for safety

[@brianb.2894]

The pleasure was all mine Michael. I`m not so sure that Lea cream is for me. The lather seemed a little lame. Though not all bad seems there are a lot of other choices out there. Take care.

[@mfreedberg]

Pretty slick, though, and very good post shave skin feel! I could have used more, for sure, but where is the fun in THAT?

[@yesyes7605]

Hey Michael, would you recommend going to a badger or a boar from a synthetic brush?

[@mfreedberg]

It depends on what you want. If you want a really dense soft knot, you should go for one of the higher end badger brushes. The knot will be soft, but densely packed with great backbone. If you want a brush with less backbone but that will improve over time (soften up and open up), then go for a boar brush. Boar brushes, once broken in, can be every bit as soft as a badger brush, and can still offer good backbone. They do take work to break in, but the knots generally just get better and better. I love my badger knots, but somehow the boar knots just feel better to me. Synthetic brushes have a number of advantages over the natural hair brushes, though, and the synthetic knots keep improving too - unless you have your heart set on a natural hair brush, maybe stick with synthetic knots and get yourself some custom handles!

[@thorwulfx1]

The SOC boar brush is very hit or miss for me. I don't find it works reliably with creams, but if you really load up like you mean it, it can give a really nice performance. Mine, sadly, sheds like crazy.

[@mfreedberg]

That is a shame to hear, it does seem that the Semogue brushes do not hold up as well as the Omega ones. I do love my SOC and I use it for any soap type. What happens when you use it with a cream? Not enough lather? Shedding is not a good sign (grin), let me tell you from experience.

[@thorwulfx1]

A reliable cream, like TOBS, tends to produce thin lather, or require a lot more cream than would typically be necessary with the SOC Boar. It drops several bristles per shave, even after a significant break in period. I haven't had similar issues with the SOC badger version of the brush. That one performs just as expected. In comparing the two, I would say that the two-band badger is worth the additional money.

[@pfm68000]

Bonne année 2017, best wishes for this new year. I really enjoy your vids, i have learned a lot, specially how to get a good lather (mine were too dry). I'm curious, how often do you shave ? (shaving every day gives me, on long period, some irritations)

[@mfreedberg]

Best wishes to you as well, I hope you have a great 2017! I basically shave every day (Mon-Fri, skip Saturday, shave video on Sunday). If you find you need to shave every day for work, for example, but you get irritation, change up the routine every other day. Every other day, do a WTG pass and then two slightly different across the grain passes, skip the against the grain pass; let your skin heal up on those off days. Also, make sure you are really helping reduce your irritation with a good post shave routine. I have to say that one of the best products I used last year was the Myrsol Emulsion, try that as a post shave and see if that helps!

[@pfm68000]

Thank's, my irritations are light (only on the neck and the chin). In fact, when my shavings were not as close at now (in the beginnings) i didn't have these irritations. Yes, in french forums, Myrsol emulsion (as other Myrsol after shaves) are described as one of the best products. I will try the emulsion

[@mfreedberg]

+pfm68000 I hope you enjoy it, I thought it worked very well. Just make sure you are not allergic to lanolin :-)

[@bendycard]

Feliz año Michael (well you are using a Spanish cream). 😌

[@mfreedberg]

Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar! Holland says hello (grin)!!

[@bendycard]

Michael Freedberg ☺️

[@T-R.e.x]

Impressions with Lea Classic Tube. Excellent glide, cushion, not very impressive lather, but dense enough not to irritate your skin, believe me I have veeeery sensitive skin, great price, a total gem for me also. You should try the soap refill. Has tallow in its composition and it is even slicker than the cream. Top notch in my opinion. Amazing post shave feel(tallow you see..) Performance-wise, reminds me of other good triple-milled soaps such as DR Harris or Tabac. In Greece the refill costs 7 euro. With the wooden box(fantastic) the price is 19 euros. I want to try also my La Toja stick, which I bought a month ago and of course the 2 balms. LEA & La Toja. Excellent razor relief I believe from what I read in many reviews. I forgot to mention that Lea cream is EXACTLY the same with the bowl, SAME product in another package. images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/27/74d78c7cc21bfaa88fd3957ceea98313.jpg Check your cream to compare. This photo is the metallic bowl version.

[@mfreedberg]

The La Toja stick is really quite nice, with a unique slightly salty scent. I think the Lea shaving cream was more moisturizing, but it could be that I have forgotten exactly how the La Toja feels. 7 euro for a refill of excellent soap sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

[@T-R.e.x]

Yes, great price indeed. As for La Toja stick, I didn't use it yet because I don't know exactly how to use sticks and I am afraid of bad lather. I am used to bowl-soap loading you see!

[@masonbrw]

I have some lea tubed cream, sensitive skin, but it has no menthol or lanolin it's not the classic formula,it's the more modern version,and it has a more powdery barbershop scent

[@mfreedberg]

What do you think of the performance? Good?

[@masonbrw]

Michael Freedberg excellent

[@twofast7863]

don't get the puck . mine had no glide what ever I did . ended up a shower soap.

[@mfreedberg]

Ok, good to know, that was the puck version of the Classic?

[@davidcoleman2463]

Sorry but it is kind of stupid to use a razer you know will cut you . Just saying .

[@mfreedberg]

Well, stupid is a harsh word...every razor can cut you, but that should not stop you from using it. You just need to be aware of the danger zones, and forewarned is forearmed. This razor can give you a very clean, easy shave, but it can also bite you if you are careless. Like every razor :-)