Hi There
Though I've been a wet shaver for most of my shaving life, most of my whisker-logging was done with a Gillette Sensor Excel (twin-blade cartridge) over canned foam. I eventually discovered Burma-Shave soap cakes and a boar bristle brush a decade ago but it wasn't until early 2013 that I got serious.
- I've read a lot of the posts here and watched a dozen of mantic's informative videos. Also, various blogs by skin care chemists, etc.
- I use an Edwin Jagger double-edged razor and a variety of blades, mostly Red Personna
- I have an entry level badger hair brush by Vulfix
- I haven't seen many posts on this, but there is nothing like shaving under a skylight or outside. Changes everything. Not everyone has access to a skylight, of course, but in my opinion a fluorescent light is almost as bad as a poor choice of shaving soap.
Speaking of soaps, I think the mixed results I've been getting have more to do with soap/cream than any other variable. Certainly, part of the problem is newbie mistakes, but here's what I've noticed:
When I use a shaving cream or something that doesn't really need a brush at all, like Kiss My Face (Key Lime), I do fine. Even a 2nd and third pass (with and against the grain) go well, with no nicks whatsoever.
When I use shaving soap, my face gets dry quickly and I am more apt to get nicks and cuts.
Since I only had basic soap like Williams and Burma-Shave, I thought the problem might be due to using inferior products, so I went hog wild last week and bought Tabac, Mitchell's Wool Fat and Taylor of Old Bond Street (Grapefruit) all in one go per all the praise I've seen online.
Of those, I've only had a chance to try the Tabac. Smells heavenly, but again my normally oily face is dry after a shave, even before I have time to apply balm. I take a hot washcloth and carefully remove all the white soap, and then apply Burt's Bees Bay Rum aftershave balm (yes, it's discontinued but I still have a bottle and until recently was blissfully unaware of its demise).
My conclusion: I don't know how to lather. Maybe I should look into pre-shave oils, but I really don't think I lather well. Not as well as Mantic, anyway.
I don't have any specific questions today but thanks for reading. I'd love to know your thoughts.
foxtrot
P.S. I'm actually a terrible dancer
Though I've been a wet shaver for most of my shaving life, most of my whisker-logging was done with a Gillette Sensor Excel (twin-blade cartridge) over canned foam. I eventually discovered Burma-Shave soap cakes and a boar bristle brush a decade ago but it wasn't until early 2013 that I got serious.
- I've read a lot of the posts here and watched a dozen of mantic's informative videos. Also, various blogs by skin care chemists, etc.
- I use an Edwin Jagger double-edged razor and a variety of blades, mostly Red Personna
- I have an entry level badger hair brush by Vulfix
- I haven't seen many posts on this, but there is nothing like shaving under a skylight or outside. Changes everything. Not everyone has access to a skylight, of course, but in my opinion a fluorescent light is almost as bad as a poor choice of shaving soap.
Speaking of soaps, I think the mixed results I've been getting have more to do with soap/cream than any other variable. Certainly, part of the problem is newbie mistakes, but here's what I've noticed:
When I use a shaving cream or something that doesn't really need a brush at all, like Kiss My Face (Key Lime), I do fine. Even a 2nd and third pass (with and against the grain) go well, with no nicks whatsoever.
When I use shaving soap, my face gets dry quickly and I am more apt to get nicks and cuts.
Since I only had basic soap like Williams and Burma-Shave, I thought the problem might be due to using inferior products, so I went hog wild last week and bought Tabac, Mitchell's Wool Fat and Taylor of Old Bond Street (Grapefruit) all in one go per all the praise I've seen online.
Of those, I've only had a chance to try the Tabac. Smells heavenly, but again my normally oily face is dry after a shave, even before I have time to apply balm. I take a hot washcloth and carefully remove all the white soap, and then apply Burt's Bees Bay Rum aftershave balm (yes, it's discontinued but I still have a bottle and until recently was blissfully unaware of its demise).
My conclusion: I don't know how to lather. Maybe I should look into pre-shave oils, but I really don't think I lather well. Not as well as Mantic, anyway.
I don't have any specific questions today but thanks for reading. I'd love to know your thoughts.
foxtrot
P.S. I'm actually a terrible dancer
I haven't tried shaving outside yet, but now you have me intrigued. I'll have to try it one day.
