HOUSTON – Getting a quality shave comes down to two things: your razor and your shaving cream.
If you have shopped around for shaving cream lately, you know there are a lot of choices with a huge price range.
We wanted to know if the higher end products are worth the extra money.
Charlie McCray volunteered to be our guinea pig. He said he usually buys Edge Shaving gel or Gillette, usually whichever is on sale.
"Sometimes I buy two for one, so it's usually about $5 for both. So $2.50," he explained.
We picked up Edge extra moisturizing shave gel for $2.99. Then we went way out of the drugstore league and ordered Floris from London for $35.
We dispensed the gels so McCray wouldn't know which was which. He applied one on each side of his face.
"This is thick, almost like you're putting sunblock on," he said about the Floris product.
McCray thought it was so thick, he worried he wouldn't be able to get it off his razor. It did rinse off, with some effort.
The cheaper Edge gel went on and came off much easier.
"Went through like butter. Washed off easily," he said of the Edge cream. "But the left side, it's almost like lotion was on my face," he said as he compared the Edge to the Floris cream.
When the shave was over, we asked McCray if he could feel a difference on his face.
"About the same smoothness," he said. "But this side here (pointing to the side where he applied the Floris), the fragrance is still overpowering."
The only difference his senses detected, besides the thickness of the products, was the smell of Floris. Unfortunately, perfumes give McCray headaches.
Comparing the products ounce for ounce, Floris from London is 24 times more expensive than the Edge, but McCray says even if price was not a factor, he'd still choose Edge.
"To me, it didn't give me a better shave," he explained. "And for me, the fragrance alone gives me a headache, so I wouldn't be purchasing it if it was $2 or $40."
This is not to say that you wouldn't like the more expensive gel if you want to treat yourself, but McCray said you're not missing out on much if you stick with the tried and true drugstore brands.