Thread: Righty Tighty; Lefty Loosey

Shave #106.8 - Another DE Shave...

...just cause I felt like it.

Castle Forbes Pre-Shave Lotion
Klar Heidelberg Classic Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Platinum (3)
Alum/Styptic
L'Occitane Eau des Beau AS

I did a 3-passer with my expected BBS, but all was not perfect. I sliced off a pimple on my upper lip, followed immediately by a real decent slice on the upper lip. I'm really not sure what went wrong on the second cut, but it took a goodly amount of time with the styptic to deal with it.

I'm slowly beginning to move away from bowl lathering to face lathering. I like the sensation more. Creating the lather on the face means that as you're creating the lather you're simultaneously preparing your beard. Plus, not having to keep a lathering bowl on the vanity frees up a considerable amount of space - at least in my shaving cubbyhole, the bowl eats up a lot of my very limited counter space resources.

Shave #106.9 - One More

Wanted a straight razor shave, but my wife is still dealing with jet lag and was passed out in the bedroom, so I didn't want to go rooting around for my straight shaving gear.

Gentlemen's Tonic Babassu and Bergamot Pre Shave Oil
C&E West Indian Lime Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Platinum (4)
Alum/Styptic
Captain's Choice Bay Rum + C&E West Indian Lime AS Balm

3 passes = BBS. Nicked myself on the neck, near the Adam's Apple right at the end of the shave. I was going straight E-W, parallel to the floor, and the blade was excessively tuggy. Shoulda stopped and replaced the blade. Oh well.

Shave #107 - Well at Least I Didn't Cut Myself

QCS Vostok Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS 9/16" Ugly Duckling (25)
Alum
Osage Rub
Baxter of California AS Balm

A 2-passer leaving me with a pretty solid overall DFS. Actually my 2-pass straight shaves are getting to be not too bad, a little extraneous stubble, but probably a better result than I'd get from 2 passes with a different type of razor. Scything and guillotining, bobbing and weaving with the blade, seems key to reasonable results in 2 passes.

Shave #107.5 - I'm Tired and it's Bedtime...

...so...

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Proraso Green Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Stainless Steel (1)
Osage Rub
C&E West Indian Lime AS Balm

3-pass BBS. Sweet dreams all.

Shave #108 - Hot & Sweaty

Well, we've been flirting with summer, but today there is no denying it is here. I got home from work, did my work out, showered and for some reason I didn't think I was that sweaty (post-shower), so I decided not to waste the beard hydration and shaved.

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
QCS Vostok
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Chopper + Derby Extra (1)
Alum
Osage Rub + Baxter of California AS Balm

I did 3 passes and my face is BBS while my neck is DFS+. I was only going to do 2 passes but the highly mentholated Vostok shave cream felt so good that I didn't want to stop.

I would expect to have gotten a slightly better result on the neck in 3 passes with a fresh blade in my shavette, but I think that I was still a bit sweaty and this caused the lather to float above my skin. So the lather wasn't 100% doing its job.

Shave #108.5 - The Rarest of Shaves

I did a pre-work morning shave today. The only one that I have done since this shaving adventure began.

Proraso Green Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Stainless Steel (2)
Alum
L'Occitane Cedre & Oranger AS Balm

A 3-pass BBS. I had this notion of trying to shave twice a day and maintain a daily BBS. So, I shaved with the DE at about 7am today, and I plan to shave with a straight around supper time tonight. But, we'll see how my skin feels about that notion (twice daily might be asking too much). I got the idea because I found yesterday's Vostok shave so refreshing in the heat, I thought maybe I could do it twice a day as a little pick me up/reprieve from the heat.

Shave #109 - Smelling Like a Brut

So, this was my second shave today, at around 6pm, approximately 11 hours after my morning shave.

Tabac Original Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
Don Jae Chopper + Derby Extra (2)
Alum
Brut '33' + Gentlemen's Tonic AS Balm

Well, I don't know how much longer I'll be doing this experiment. I think my skin may rebel and truthfully I'm not really gaining all that much. I did a 2-passer with the Don Jae shavette. I'm about BBS (best 2-pass result I've had), so the goal of BBS maintenance seems doable. However, I got 4-5 very small weepers, it seemed like my skin was thinner than normal. I'm sure it is not, but that is almost how it seemed.

I've been farting around with scents lately. I have gotten some of the, for me classic, drugstore scents, Old Spice Cologne (found in Taipei) and Brut (an Internet purchase). I've been intrigued by my wife's reactions to these Western classics. To me, the Old Spice made me smell like a (very) old man. She didn't mind it though. She thought it a bit old fashioned and rural, but she said it made me smell like a village headman, rather than a farmer. The Taiwanese cultural frames of reference are a bit different. The Brut she flat out detested - says it smells like cockroach spray. My reaction is a bit the opposite. I rather like Brut, reminds me of my youth when I used to wear their splash, while wearing the Old Spice makes me feel like grandpa. Anyway, I didn't so much buy these scents to wear, as to conjure up memories. The Internet purchase that brought me the Brut cologne also brought me some nice modern fragrances that both my wife and I like, those are for daily wear.

Shave #109.5 - Yawn

Continuing my twice a day pattern with:

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Proraso Green Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Stainless Steel (3)
Thayers Extra Cool Witchhazel
Baxter of California AS Balm

Given the way my skin was feeling yesterday evening, I'm surprised to be continuing with my twice daily experiment, but my skin felt fine this morning, and post morning shave still feels good. I did 3 passes this morning after my shower and I'm a comfortable BBS.

We'll see how much longer I continue this. The truth is if I shave just before bed, I get to enjoy a BBS as I sleep and I remain BBS until I've been up and moving around for around 3 hours. So, I'm BBS until maybe 9-10am. If I get up in the morning and shave, I remain BBS until - wait for it - maybe 9-10am. I'm really not gaining anything with the extra shave, unless I plan on going out in the evening, when the evening shave might be useful. Refreshment value aside, it is probably not worth the effort.

Shave #110 - Bedtime Shave

Synergy Lime Shave Soap
TOBS Badger Brush
WISS 9/16" Ugly Duckling (26)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
L'Occitane Cedre & Oranger AS Balm

I did a quick 2-passer. I'm about DFS, which is a slightly disappointing result considering that after this morning's shave I really didn't have that much stubble to start with. My prep may not have been the best. On the plus side the alum was silent, and DFS is never really something to kick yourself over.

I'm exhausted - it's bedtime for Bonzo. Nite. Nite.

Shave #110.5 - DE in the Morning...

Proraso Green Pre/Post Shave
Synergy Lime Shave Soap + C&E West Indian Lime Shave Cream
TOBS Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger DE89L + Astra Stainless Steel (4)
Alum
Captain's Choice Bay Rum + C&E West Indian Lime AS Balm

I did a 3-passer and a touch of extra work on the neck after my morning shower. I'm very BBS. I love the DE, it is really easy to get spectacular results while retaining that single edge feel.

I tried adding a touch of the C&E shave cream to my brush after loading the Synergy shave soap. The result was a massive load of great smelling lather. The two scents really combined nicely.

Now I'm off to face the day. TGIF all.