Proraso Pre-Shave Cream Review

Known for their trademark green label, Italian grooming brand Proraso has been making quality shave products for generations.  

After testing out their pre-shave cream, it is safe to say that this will make the shaving experience even more enjoyable.

In this review, you will get a detailed look at the Proraso Pre-Shave Cream along with an unbiased assessment of how it performs as well as where it comes up short.

Let’s begin:

Review Disclosure:

Here are a few important notes:

• I paid for this product myself on Amazon.
• This post is not being sponsored by Proraso – they have no knowledge that this is being written.
• This post contains affiliate links that help to cover site-related expenses.
• Tools of Men is independently owned and operated.

Packaging of the Pre-Shave Cream

The packaging here is fairly standard for most grooming products.  As you can see in the picture below:

As for the details on the packaging – here’s the list of ingredients:

At 100ml in size, this pre-shave cream is travel-friendly, per TSA (source).

Once removed from the box, the pre-shave cream comes in a nice thick glass jar:

…and here’s what the lid looks like:

As far as the consistency of the pre-shave cream, while it looks pretty smooth, it is a bit stiffer than you would think:

Now when you apply the pre-shave cream, it completely transforms the shaving experience – here’s how:

Using the Proraso Pre-Shave Cream with a Safety Razor

For using this pre-shave cream, I just wanted to share the following key info for you following along at home:

• I have about 2 days worth of stubble
• The razor that I am using to shave is a Merkur 38C safety razor (which is reviewed here)
• The shaving cream used is the C.O. Bigelow Premium Shave Cream which is made by Proraso
• The safety razor blades being used are Super Shark blades that were made in Egypt

Let’s begin:

How to Apply Proraso Pre-Shave Cream

For starters, I am going to scoop out a fingertip-sized amount of the pre-shave cream:

Then after rubbing my hands together, the pre-shave cream will melt nicely into a thin coat on my hands.

Once prepped for application, I will begin to work the pre-shave cream onto my face by massaging it deep into the stubble:

The goal here is to work it in evenly and coat all the areas that are to be shaved.  As you can see in the picture above, there is a slight white residue that remains on the surface after application which can be helpful in identifying any areas you may have missed.

Apply your Favorite Shave Cream on Top of the Proraso Pre-Shave Cream

So after quickly wetting the face with some warm water, I went ahead and began applying shave cream on top of the pre-shave cream.

In this case, I am using C.O. Bigelow Shave Cream.  It is also known as a Proraso-clone since it is made by Proraso and features an identical scent as the Proraso green label.

Note: you don’t have to do anything different here – just apply your shaving cream as you normally would.

In the end, this is how the shave cream application looked:

Again, you won’t visually see any difference whether you are using a pre-shave cream or not.

One thing I do want to quickly note is that my face did feel like it was dunked in cold water.  The menthol in the pre-shave cream was really getting to work here and provided a deep invigorating feeling.

Shaving with a Safety Razor

Now to the fun part – fully testing out the Proraso Pre-Shave Cream with a safety razor.

As mentioned previously, I will be using a Merkur 38C along with a Shark razor blade:

Here’s how the skin is looking after a couple of passes:

As you can see above, there are no initial signs of irritation on the skin so far.  Additionally, I noticed while shaving that the pre-shave cream is extremely slick.

After working all the areas of the face, here’s how things looked afterward:

As you can see, there is no redness whatsoever.  

Here are some general observations that I noticed on the Proraso Pre-Shave Cream:

• When applied, this pre-shave cream feels really cool and tingly.  Due to the inclusion of menthol coupled with the eucalyptus oil – expect to have a very invigorating start to your day.  I would fully recommend that you pair this pre-shave cream up with a shave cream with similar properties.
• After rinsing off my face when the first full pass of the razor was completed, my skin felt incredibly slick and smooth.  This pre-shave cream performed exceptionally well after a single pass.
• While a shaving cream should be able to stand on its own and provide a comfortable shave, I can confidently say that this pre-shave cream will enhance the experience and make it measurably more comfortable.
• I will be using this for every shave going forward – it was that good!

The Bottom Line:

If you find that your skin irritates easily and are looking for comfort – I think you should seriously consider this pre-shave cream.  While very invigorating, it did a terrific job at really making for smooth and comfortable results. 

Where to Buy Proraso Pre-Shave Cream?

For this test, I ordered the pre-shave cream directly from Amazon.  However, given its popularity, you can easily find this same product at several niche online shave shops such as West Coast Shaving, Maggard, etc.  

Unfortunately, you cannot order this directly from the Proraso website.

Wrapping it All Up

The Proraso Pre-Shave Cream is a well-made shaving product that you should consider.  It’s a product that I plan to use regularly in future reviews given its quality and desirable results.