By Dooney Tickner
I recently became aware that a longtime heritage brand, Colgate Shave Cream, manufactured by a heritage company has been discontinued. This leaves them with only the Mennen aftershave lines Afta and Skin Bracer.
Colgate-Palmolive continues to produce tubes of Palmolive shave cream in several foreign markets.The traditional aerosol shave creams (not the newer gels) have really taken a beating. The revival of Rise seems to have floundered, though I think the company still has the American rights to Pears soap and the Dermasil lotion brand. The Gillette Foamy line is still soldiering on, but Procter & Gamble is pretty ruthless about deleting old school brands. Its Noxzema and Old Spice shaving lines are farmed out to Universal Group, and the quality is not what it once was. Colgate had already discontinued its Rapid Shave line and the old line of Mennen shave cream products in cans and tubes.
Not so long ago, Williams made an aerosol, American Safety Razor had reintroduced a Burma Shave aerosol, and Boyle-Midway (alas, sold out) had Aero Shave. Aqua-Velva also had a shave cream. Only Barbasol has a fair sized line, and it has deleted lemon-lime and keeps menthol pretty scarce.
There has been no real notice of it other than several suppliers saying it was discontinued. Until recently, it was listed under men’s toiletries on the Colgate website, but a check yesterday yielded only the aforementioned after-shave lines.
The continued paring down of consumer lines by the old line companies like Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Unilever is most unsettling. Some of the start-ups that have taken over older brands from them have done okay, but many brands languish or are just dropped without a revival.
Editor’s Note: BrandlandUSA Contributor Dooney Tickner is a brand expert in Destin, Florida.
We inquired about when the product was discontinued. We got back the following reply from Stephanie Clark, of Colgate-Palmolive: “Thank you for your recent inquiry about Colgate Shaving Cream. This product stopped being manufactured in 2006. Unfortunately, we do not have any remaining stock to offer you directly but we will be sure to share your comments with our Business Development Group.”
On the web: find out more about Colgate’s products at Colgate-Palmolive.
34 responses so far ↓
1 Dig Sandy // Feb 5, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Oh no! That’s my brand, too–this is terrible news! What a bargain, along with the other foam brands like Barbasol and Foamy. I don’t understand why someone would want to have to lather up a gel at a premium rather than have it come out thick and foamy for a fraction of the cost. Where’s the logic in that?
It’s sad to see Colgate-Palmolive continue to kill off its few remaining legacy brands. It soon will join Unilever in becoming a ghost of its former self. At the former Lever Brothers (a better name), only Dove remains in its soap & cleansers pantry.
2 Garland Pollard // Feb 5, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Dear Dig Sandy,
You should know that Barbasol is going strong. We did a piece on it last fall. And they even have a new set of radio and television commercials.
If you listen to the Bill Bennett radio show, he plays Barbasol commercials from his Bulova (another old brand) studios.
http://www.brandlandusa.com/2008/11/05/great-personal-care-brands-for-a-buck/
3 Dooney Tickner // Feb 6, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Yes, Lever Brothers resonates much better. These companies are just shredding heritage that all the money in the world won’t buy. Procter & Gamble has kept more legacy items, but everything seems to be on the table as far as line deletions or sales are concerned.
4 Sad and Unshaven // Apr 15, 2009 at 3:37 pm
This is a bummer! I’ve been looking for it for a while and can’t find any save the online stores. Is there a replacement brand that smells like the old colgate? Barbasol works but it just doesn’t have the same old school smell!
5 UsedColgatefor35yrs // Apr 19, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Alas, Colgate shave cream is no longer in production. Aside from the smell, I used it because ti didn’t break my skin out. Crap. Another oldie but goodie goes down the drain. Thank Gord I was able to stock up with a case of it!
6 Had to switch to Barbasol // Jun 2, 2009 at 7:39 pm
For me Colgate had the best canned foam at the cheapest price . I switched to Barbasol skin conditioning with lanolin and the aloe type. Both of these are very good and you can find a extra large can of the aloe at the dollar stores, but the lanolin will set you back about a buck and a half for just a large can.
7 old tradition // Jul 5, 2009 at 5:53 pm
My folks and I always used it for more than just shaving cream. If you get a sunburn you can use it to heal it and other minor burns. It will suck the heat out of the burn and turn in to a kind of powdery like stuff you pat in. After a few rounds, the sunburn goes away and you keep you tan. Which is good for me be cause I only burn. Barbasol will work, but not as fast and it will tend to make me itchy. Now I will not be able to pass on this old tradition to my kids some day.
8 Marc // Aug 7, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Bring back the shave cream— nothing compares. Nice clean scent too!
9 David // Oct 9, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Interesting. Colgate (now sadly discontinued), Barbasol (made by Leeming/Pacquin div of Pfizer). Rapid Shave (also Colgate), Rise (certainly the best name, made by Carter Wallace) and Gillette Foamy shave creams were originally referred to as “shave bombs”.
Of course, I never really cared for any of them, though Colgate and Foamy did generate a close shave. A friend of my dad’s at Pfizer used you say, “Manny, there’s really nothing more profitable than the shave cream and eye drop (Visine) business…we’re just selling packaged air and water!”
10 Marshall Hacker // Nov 26, 2009 at 2:11 pm
In the fall of 2007 I found three cans of Colgate Regular Shave Cream on a drugstore shelf in Little Rock, Arkansas. Knowing that it was discontinued, I bought all three cans and am just now using up the last of the third can. I’m keeping it as a memento of so many good products eliminated by mergers, price wars and shelf space competition.
11 Roger Wampler // Dec 15, 2009 at 9:35 pm
I worked for Colgate Palmolive in Jeffersonville, In. for 35 years. Of course I’m prejudiced, but Rapid Shave was one of the best on the market and yes it was cheap to make, the packaging and the can cost more than what was inside. Soap base, perfume, water and a propellant, but it was a good product.
Seems with Colgate that the overseas market was much more profitable and no unions.
12 Gary Hamilton // Feb 28, 2010 at 6:20 pm
I came across this article and website while doing google searches related to starting a shaving cream business. I don’t know much about shaving cream, I don’t have any startup capital or a business plan. I am just a guy who has studied marketing campaigns over time and I have a degree in electronics. What I do have is what I believe to be an outstanding marketing idea for womens shaving products and I could really use some help, advice, pionting in the right direction on how to make my idea a reality. IF anyone who reads this can help me out, I would GREATLY appreciate it. Please contact me. THANKS.
13 dguy // Mar 6, 2010 at 7:09 pm
i took the regular scent colgate shave cream for granted. i used lime scented colgate when i first started shaving as a teen in early 1980s.
colgate had an irish spring scented shave cream in the 1990s.
faberge had a shave cream called razor guard in 1988.
i used rise shave gel in 1984
and noxema had an incredible smelling shave cream called “forest woods ” or something in a
brown bottle i saw on and off between 1981-1986.
why does everything have to stink now like cheap rotting fruit or dollar store cologne?
it used to be nice to shave and shampoo because of the scents but the anti-clean smell people took over the marketing of companies.
i wonder if they even know the formula for these scents nowadays or if they lost them?
they insist tastes in fragrance have changed but i don’t buy it.
14 angry // Mar 17, 2010 at 11:37 am
I’ve been looking for it for years. This is really sad to finally hear its gone.
I used the Aloe version for over 10 years I’m sure.
The problem is that it actually was noticeably better than anything else I’ve tried. And I’ve tried many others since I ran out.
15 Peter // Jun 12, 2010 at 7:35 am
I love the colgate with aloe. I bought 12 cans about 2 to 3 years ago and I’m down to 2 cans. I can’t find it anywhere. HELP
16 Sarah // Aug 9, 2010 at 8:50 am
My husband always used the Colgate shaving cream. I like to watch him shave and I loved the smell of the shaving cream. He got the best shave with that brand. I wish it would come back. I miss it!
17 John // Aug 11, 2010 at 10:22 pm
I’d been wondering why my drug store hasn’t stocked Colgate Regular Shave Cream for a long time. I used to buy 10 cans at a time so I had good personal stock until I ran out a few months ago. And now I read here that they discontinued it in 2006! I should have bought more when I had the chance. I recently bought a can of Gillette Foamy Lemon Lime Shave Cream and I liked it so much I just bought 10 cans online. It’s good quality shave cream, smells old school great, has that 1980s classic Giillette labeling and is reasonably priced. I hope it stays around. It’s about the last classic shave cream still available.
18 Andy49 // Aug 23, 2010 at 10:55 am
No wonder I have not been able to find it anywhere! Also, my favorite razor, Gillette Good News (not Plus or any other fancy stuff) is getting harder to find. Walmart, Target etc. don’t carry it. Any more information on that?
19 EC // Sep 14, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Andy49 – They seem to have the plain Good News at Alice.com. A 3-pack and a 12-pack. They do have some Plus and Comfort varieties but it looks like these are “plain.”
http://www.alice.com/products?search=good+news&view=
20 Celiac mommy // Sep 15, 2010 at 11:33 am
Does anyone know of a gluten free shaving cream to sub for Colgate? I had called the 800 number on the back of a can and the less than helpful operator told me I should be able to tell by the label!!??!! RUDE!
Anyway, how can I tell which one is safe, my autistic son uses for therapy/tactile play.
Thanks!!!
21 bill // Sep 26, 2010 at 5:23 am
yes it is a shame the american icons are all leaving us hi & dry. the bottom line is now money, not customer care. just move them all to mexico and watch the profits soar. the ceo’s are really reaping. nothing is sacred anymore. i have used colgate for many years, but i guess they don’t care about the little guys anymore. i will just go to other usa manufacturing(though hard to find), as long as i can.
22 David Wessendorf // Oct 11, 2010 at 11:13 am
Why in the hell did you take the best shaving cream off of the market??????
23 Waymond // Oct 17, 2010 at 7:26 pm
I used the sentive colgate shaving cream for years. when I first missed it on the shelves I found a case on line and bought it. I just finished the last can. Dont know what to even try. Im like the rest of you I loved the stuff and if they need to raise the price I would have payed more. Every thing eles as went up.
24 Todd // Mar 20, 2011 at 7:02 pm
I’m nursing a couple of cans of Colgate regular shaving cream that I use when I have a 2-3 day stubble. It is the best shaving cream I have found, nice smooth close shave and rarely nik myself. Also running low on my trac II no strip blades. Might have to hang up my 35 year old trac II razor before too long. Progress. If only they could develop and iPhone app do do as good of a job!
25 Royce // Jun 5, 2011 at 3:28 pm
Great comments people.
I never used the Colgate before until my girlfriend had a small sample can in the back of her cabinet. I really liked it. Now I find that I can’t get it.
Very Sad.
26 Jimmy 'B' Bower // Jun 15, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Agree, how Sad that Golgate Shave Cream is no longer available. In my estimation it was the best of
the best product. Guess it’s time to grow a beard. Why did it fail? Which Product is a close second?
27 Dolly // Jul 1, 2011 at 8:43 am
We have been missing the Colgate Shave Cream. It was the best and a good price. Hope you will get it back on the market. Please!
28 Larry // Sep 30, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Was really shocked to find out that Colgate discontinued the “Colgate Aloe Shave Cream”.
This is the only shaving cream I have used for the past some odd years.
I turned my brother-in-law who is 70 on to this product, and since I share the remaining can I have with him, we have searched every dept store, drug store and dollar store and can not find anything as close to or as good as this product.
Seems as tho business’ are not concerned with what the Consumer wants or needs, but what the Manufactures THINK they need.
Guess I will throw away all products and become a hairy individual for the remaining time I live on this earth.
Reconsider and make the products you use to, some of us old/young people knows what a good product was.
29 Manuel // Oct 12, 2011 at 10:23 am
Lamento de verdad que ya no vayan a producir la crema de afeitar para hombres Colgate, use este producto por muchos años y ahora me veo en la disyuntiva de tener que cambiar de marca, lo lamento de verdad el producto era muy bueno, espero que en futuro Colgate-Palmolive lo vuelva a producir.
30 William // Jan 21, 2012 at 12:47 pm
I too will miss this great product. My girlfriend gave me a can when her father passed away, and I have been using it ever since. I was ‘updating’ her on it, when I came to this site, it’s been almost 4 years now, but it’s starting to get weak. Just seems like her old man was trying to keep us together…
31 Renato // Jan 24, 2012 at 12:04 am
I’ve used Colgate shaving cream since I started shaving as a teenager back in 1987. I used Colgate regular until it was discontinued. That’s 20 years that I used the same product. It was the best shaving cream for its price. Please bring it back. I found that you can still buy Palmolive shaving cream that comes in a tube in Europe. You can order it online. Proraso is very good also. But it being from Italy, it’s expensive. Colgate was the best bargan. I also like Stephan in a jar. However , Colgate was still a better bargain.
32 Dennis Daniels // Feb 4, 2012 at 4:33 pm
I got two cans of Palmolive today.Colgate was my brand too. Safeway and Giant have removed Palmolive make room for the jellls that are inferior and more expensive. Bring back the Colgate.
33 CW Williamson // Apr 3, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Colgate Regular Shaving Cream was by far the best on the market. Nice smell and never broke me out. Actually helped prevent my face from breakouts!… Wish it could be brought back…..
34 Ralph J. Steckel // Apr 20, 2012 at 8:46 am
It was one of the best…like an old friend now….
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