Wrapping up Schaf Skin Care Products

I’ve now reviewed all five of the products in the Schaf line, so I thought maybe I’d wrap everything up with a capstone post.  I’ll admit when I first saw Schaf products online I was somewhat skeptical: there are a lot of well-established skin care product lines, and there was certainly a feeling of “oh yeah? what can you possibly offer?”  What do they offer?  All five of their products are fantastic for sensitive skin.  That’s the bottom line.  Even the stuff that I wasn’t too hot on would be great for people who’s skin is more sensitive than mine; if you have sensitive skin, it is worth check out their products.

The products are vegan, cruelty free, gluten free, and paraben free – another reason to try them out.  One of the things that really hooked me was that everything in their line is virtually scent free – this is a huge, huge plus for me.  If you don’t like your skin care products to have a smell to them, then Schaf is certainly the product line for you.

One thing which I didn’t mention in the individual reviews, which I’ll bring up here, is the price.  The MSRP for all of the Schaf products is, frankly, higher than many other products of that type.  Don’t let this be a deterrent to you.  Setting aside, for the moment, the quality of Schaf, one of the great things about their products is a little bit goes a very long way.  I can clean my face with two pumps of the face cleanser.  About a quarter of a pump of the eye cream provides enough product for my under-eyes.  Frankly, you’re going to get enough out of these products that the cost equalizes out over time.  As far as quality goes, you do get what you pay for – I am a fan of these products, and the quality is worth the money paid.

I’m not sure if Schaf is planning anything else anytime soon, but I’ll tell you what I’d like.  I would really like to see an aftershave lotion from them.  Given that their products are soothing, scent free, and great on sensitive skin, it is almost a no-brainer, for me, to see the development of an aftershave lotion.

All in all, Schaf products are very good – they are a welcome addition to the market.  At least three of their products will have found a permanent home in my dopp kit.  Check them out.

Schaf Nutritive Daily Moisturizer

We’re at the last Schaf product – thanks again to Schaf for sending me their line to review.  This is another Schaf product I’m mixed on.

To start, it has, like all Schaf products, many qualities I really enjoy.  It is totally scent free, it is light weight, and it is non-oily.  These are three things I like in a moisturizer. These qualities also suggest it is an excellent moisturizer for those with sensitive skin – if that’s you, this is worth checking out.

The first time I tried the Daily Moisturizer, I applied it to my face, and it really wouldn’t absorb easily.  I thought that perhaps I had tried to apply too much, so the next morning I tried much less, and again, it wouldn’t absorb easily.  I spent a great deal of time trying to get my skin to absorb this moisturizer – standing there in front of the mirror and patting and rubbing furiously.  This was counter productive – if you have sensitive skin, you don’t want to spend all day sitting there agitating your skin by rubbing at it.  The results, though, once it did absorb, were great – it made my skin feel light, and really prevented any tightness on my face all day.

A few weeks later, I needed a blast of moisturizer mid afternoon.  Canadian winters are horrid for skin, and sometimes a once in the morning, once in the evening moisturizing routine doesn’t hold for the day.  Anyway, rather than dig through my gym bag for my dopp kit and dig through it to find my regular moisturizer, I just rummaged through the big box o skin care products and grabbed the Schaf moisturizer.  I got a small amount, put it on my face, and it absorbed immediately – and made my skin feel light and no longer tight.

I then went back and tried it the next morning with similar results to the first time around – it wouldn’t absorb easily into my skin.  I’m not sure about the science here.  I really don’t know why it doesn’t absorb easily on slightly wet skin, but does on dry skin.  Or maybe I’m doing it wrong?

Coming up with a final tally on this was difficult.  It certainly moisturizes very well, and is excellent for sensitive skin, but that I can’t get it to absorb on slightly wet skin is annoying.  I’m not sure it will displace my regular moisturizer.  But, it might be the moisturizer for you, depending on your needs.

Schaf Nutritive Daily Moisturizer

Schaf Nutritive Daily Moisturizer: 3.5 / 5

tl;dr: great lightweight moisturizer, good for sensitive skin, although it doesn’t always absorb easily onto wet skin.

Schaf Ultimate Comfort Shave Cream

Sorry about missing last week.

Returning to the world of Schaf products, this week we’re looking at Schaf’s shave cream.  This is the first Schaf product that I don’t have universally good things to say about.  Like all of the Schaf products I’ve tried, the shave cream doesn’t have any scent to it at all, which is an obvious plus for those looking for scent-free shave cream.  This would mean, I suspect, that it would also make for a good shave cream for those with sensitive skin.  It is also very lightweight and very smooth to the touch.

Now, the product tub says to simply massage the shave cream on your face and shave.  I decided to forgo the instructions and try to lather it up with a shave brush.  This did not work well.  At all.  It didn’t make a lather one bit, it just sort of disintegrated.  Okay, so I’ll follow the instructions.  This is, however, my main complaint with the product.  One of the reasons why classic wet shaving with a double-edged razor makes for such a close, nice shave is building the lather with the brush.  When you brush on shaving cream, the brush action lifts whiskers and stubble away from the face – this prevents razor burn and helps make for a closer shave.  When you pat shaving cream onto your skin – like you would from one of those spray cans – you’re mashing the whiskers down into the skin.  This can cause irritation and make for an uncomfortable shave.  The Schaf is the same principle – you’re massaging the cream onto your skin, so you’re not getting the benefit of the brush.  I really didn’t like it for that reason.

Anyway, the shave itself.  The shave, once I applied it the way as instructed, was pleasant enough.  The cream is a very good lubricant, and I got a good close shave with it.  I did have some minor irritation, though, but I can’t say it wouldn’t be more than what I would “normally” expect – some days you’ll get some irritation, others you won’t, no matter what cream you use.  Oh, also, the shave took longer, because rather than whipping on cream after each pass with my brush, I had to go back and lather up with my hands.

Now, I don’t think that this shave cream will displace my go-to shave cream.  But, considering that it provided nice lubrication and was scent free, I tried to find a way to use it.  I’ve tried using it as a pre-shave treatment for my skin.  I apply a thin layer of the shave cream, by hand, before I lather up my regular shave cream with my brush (like you would for any pre-shave treatment).  Combining this cream with another made for a very pleasant shave.  It allowed my razor to easily glide across my face, and I didn’t have any nicks or irritation.  It is possible that the shave cream could be used as a pre-shave treatment quite effectively.

Bottom line, it won’t become my go-to shave cream. That said, it might be for you if you have very sensitive skin, don’t like scents, and don’t shave with a double-edged razor.

Schaf ultimate comfort shave cream

Schaf Ultimate Comfort Shave Cream (as a shave cream): 3 / 5

Schaf Ultimate Comfort Shave Cream (rejiggered as a pre-shave treatment): 4 / 5

tl;dr: not the greatest shave cream I’ve used, but would be great for those with very sensitive skin. Also, is a great pre-shave treatment.