King of Shaves Alpha gel

[xnewyawka]

Hey guys, I tried the KoS Alpha gel yesterday in place of my Headslick.
I used about a quarter sized dollop and found it to go on smooth but not quite as slippery as headslick. The shaving went smooth and easy, though I felt it doesn't hold on as long as headslcik. I made sure I would rub it around to make sure I was covered. I got just as close a shave and no irritation to speak of.
I have not used it for my face and cleanup, since I am trying to use up a small can of fusion gel. I don't think I would use it over headslick, but will definitely alternate as it does a good job. I am a shower shaver, so I go by feel. Some of you who shave at the sink may like the fact it is clearer, and may help you see where you shaved. The blade glides smoothly, rinses well.
All in all a good product. It seems most people like the KoS brand and I recommend it as well.

[Tyler]

Thanks for posting that Joe!  I'll add to that here in bit as I've been using it for the last couple of days.

[JDog]

Good review Joe.

I use this product a lot too and so far I havent found a better shaving gel/foam/cream. I recently picked up a whole box of 10 for 40 buck!! They are normally 8bucks a tube but I guess this place was discontinuing it and want to get rid of it.

[Cy]

After shaving today with KOS AlphaGel, it's good, but not as good for me as Headslick. I got some nicks because the gel doesn't stay put long enough.

[jusbnme]

I tried this stuff once but didn't like it too much.  Just didn't seem to want to stay slick for me.  At least not as good as HeadSlick.  Same thing with their brand of oil too.  If I wanted to keep it slick I had to keep re-wetting the dome.  Just regular baby oil and headslick does the trick for me. 

[Tyler]

I've been trying out the King of Shaves Alpha Gel for the last week and have found that overall it's a good alternative to some of the products that we've reviewed here in the past, but not a great alternative. 

The reason that I can't give it the complete two thumbs up is that I can't get a consistently great shave with it.  One day I'll get a very smooth shave and the next day I won't.  You may think this might be contributed the actual razor blade, but the great shave I got was actually with the same razor two days after getting just an ok shave. 

Why would this happen?  My theory is that due to the thickness of the gel, the blade can't always get as close as some of the thinner creams and gels that I've reviewed.  It seems that you need to make sure you really wet the razor and your head when shaving with Alpha Gel if you want a really slick surface.

The weird thing is that I get a great face shave with it every time.  I do use the Fusion on my face, where as I use the HeadBlade for my head.

Pros:

Does get a good shave
Typically a buck or two cheaper than the alterntatives
Provides the best face shave of all the gels that I've tried.
Doesn't dry out your skin

Cons:

I didn't get a consistently great shave
The strong menthol smell

[xnewyawka]

I decided to stick with the KoS Alpha gel for a week to see if it gives consistent smooth shaves. So far I have gotten the same smooth feel while shaving, but I believe it's time to change the blade.

Tyler, I agree with you on this, there is a certain thickness and stickiness to this gel, which seems to get worse as you try to rub it in. You do have to keep adding a bit of water to keep it slick. I have also found it to sting a bit more if it runs into your eyes. Could be using too much?
So, overall for the money it works well, keeps a smooth feel as you shave.
I will use it alternating with the Headslick until it is finished.
I have not yet tried the Bald Guyz shave gel or Bold. Will have to compare them when I find either in my local stores.
The scent I found not too bad. The label says it is unfragranced, but there is a slight menthol scent, which I don't find too overpowering.
As with any product, I think it's just a matter of getting used to it. I will keep you updated as I go.

[warhawk]

xnewyawka....  i luv the KOS alphagel 4 my face.  i use it every other day. i go back & forth with dove soap & KOS.  however...when i get my dome shaved by my wifey she prefers the dove soap.  she stated the dove soap performed better than KOS. 

WARHAWK

[schro]

Tried the KoS gel on both the dome and the face. Although the shave quality is good, it's not the easiest to get coverage on the face (or dome). Headslick is sooooooooooo much better.

[Beardman]

I know this is an old thread, but I just bought a tube of the alpha gel yesterday and gave it a try because my headslick finally ran out, and I must say, I was really quite impressed with the results. I had about 3-4 days growth because I hadn't had time to get into my local shaver shop, and I found that the my headblade never clogged up, it would rinse clean almost instantly whereas with headslick it would normally take a good blasting up close on the shower head.

I also found it gave me a really nice close shave, and it felt a lot slicker (maybe I wasn't using enough headslick in the past?) Only downside I found so far is that I had to reapply to make touch ups, which I rarely seemed to need to do with the headslick, and for apparently being unfragranced it does have that menthol smell, which I didn't mind... but it really wasn't what I was expecting.

On my face is where I found the most joy, I didn't even get a hint of irritation, and because I face shave at the sink to avoid any beard-cidents I could see exactly what was up

I'd rate this very highly as a good alternative to headslick, and as was said previously it is cheaper too, although you do get an extra 3 ounces of headslick, so on a dollar-per-ounce comparison the headslick was actually cheaper.

After first impressions it will certainly be a tough decision next time I need to purchase a new cream/gel