Awesome review so far atx. This is by far the most realistic and in depth first person review I have ever seen on hydrolast stuff. I totally agree with you, Charles is a wonderful person to chit chat with about shaving. He doesn't care at all if you buy hydrolast, he just wants you to have a great shave. After all, he has spent his life helping people get better shaves. Keep up the product reviews and your progress. I would like to hear more.
Hydrolast Review
- Thread starter atxguy
- Start date
Good reviews. Keep them up. Like the detail.
You said the soap scent was sandalwood. What are your thoughts on it and can you describe more? Sandalwood can be so different from one company to another.
You said the soap scent was sandalwood. What are your thoughts on it and can you describe more? Sandalwood can be so different from one company to another.
- Thread starter
- #23
Okay, so yesterday was basically a wash since I had that early flight. This morning I got up on time so I am back on track.
I used the paste and balm mixed together as a "rub" before adding the lather. Even though I used the shave cloth to make the lather this morning it could easily be done with the brush if you prefer. Even with the mach 3 I got a good shave. Nice and smooth. I did notice that the dragging feeling from the cartridge is reduced, but I can't wait to get back home and use a real razor again.
One of the women at work commented about my skin tome today. She checked it out with a "feel test" and laughed while she said she might have to start shaving ti get her skin that nice. Different person than the other day BTW.
I have noticed a much improved skin yoke and "taut" feeling. Not at all uncomfortable but just softer and more hydrated. I think this stuff is really doing as much for my skin as anything I have bought specifically for skin toning.
I am glad to see you guys are following this thread. I am going to talk to CAR Monday to ask a few questions. I will update that conversation then.
I used the paste and balm mixed together as a "rub" before adding the lather. Even though I used the shave cloth to make the lather this morning it could easily be done with the brush if you prefer. Even with the mach 3 I got a good shave. Nice and smooth. I did notice that the dragging feeling from the cartridge is reduced, but I can't wait to get back home and use a real razor again.
One of the women at work commented about my skin tome today. She checked it out with a "feel test" and laughed while she said she might have to start shaving ti get her skin that nice. Different person than the other day BTW.
I have noticed a much improved skin yoke and "taut" feeling. Not at all uncomfortable but just softer and more hydrated. I think this stuff is really doing as much for my skin as anything I have bought specifically for skin toning.
I am glad to see you guys are following this thread. I am going to talk to CAR Monday to ask a few questions. I will update that conversation then.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #24
If anyone has any questions please let me know.
The sandalwood scent is mild and nice, but I don't have a lot to compare it to. I do wish it was a bit stronger but then again, I like strong scents.
I apologize in advance for any typos and promise to fix them as soon as I get back to a computer instead of using my phone to update.
The sandalwood scent is mild and nice, but I don't have a lot to compare it to. I do wish it was a bit stronger but then again, I like strong scents.
I apologize in advance for any typos and promise to fix them as soon as I get back to a computer instead of using my phone to update.
- Thread starter
- #25
So how many of you had two good looking 25 year old lesbians feeling your face and commenting on how smooth the shave was and how nice the skin felt last night? I did. Although it was my cousin and her GF in town for the weekend. Sounds better the first way I think.
I am skipping today, not out of need, but tomorrow I am going to see if CAR has time to do a full overview of my technique and how I am using the Hydrolast. He is usually really good about this type of thing, both on your techniqueerrors and product usage. If you are in town it can be a fun experience and he will usually take the time to do it. At least we will see tomorrow. I haven't done it before.
On the upside, yesterday I got in after 9 hours flying around and a few days of the dreaded Mach 3. I can say my skin felt good for that much time in almost 0% humidity. I had a distinct 5 O'clock shadow so I figured a shower and shave were in order before meeting the girls for a birthday celebration weekend (BTW - yes, I was the designated driver. Bummer, but better to be safe than having a shave with window glass).
I used a little cutting balm to protect at first, and then used the shaving primer in Grapefruit. The smell was appealing to me as a "pick me up" since I had been up about 17 hours at that point. This is the same puck type that is in the video CAR has on using the shave cloth. I mixed in some cutting balm (about 6 drops) and some shave paste (two finger tips placed on the paste twice). I probably used twice what I needed, but these are supposed to protect and I figured I didn't want irritation since I had shave early that morning. Three passes, and finished with a bit of a different "method" (pun intended - lol).
I rubbed the puck on my hand (no cloth or brush, just the wet puck) and came up with a lather that was about as thick as GFT shaving cream right out of the tube. I added a couple of drops of cutting balm and a small dab of paste. I used this all over and buffered from there. The smell of grapefruit really intensified in this lather. It was a light note before, but really prominent with this concentrated of a lather. DFS edging on BBS and no irritation at all. Just nice smooth shave. I did switch to a new feather, since I will use that Monday too, and didn't want to risk the derby before going out. I did save the derby and will use that again Tuesday to check it out again.
You may have noticed that I am switching the usage of the products around a LOT in the order and how to apply them. All in the cloth, massage them through lather, mix with the lather, etc. This is intentional since I wanted to point out there is a LOT of flexibility in the system. There is no "wrong way" to combine these out. I do think I prefer using the oil and paste on first, add the lather and lightly massage them a bit way of it though. To me it feels that this gives me the most protection. YMMV and experimenting to find your way of doing it is the name of the game here. Products can be added, removed, or replaced as you see fit and what works for you. I would recommend trying a good selection of the products together though as they are made to compliment each other, even though they will work with other products too.
Any way, I finished with the conditioner (which I am really liking) and the cutting balm too to prevent any irritation from popping up. It worked like a charm, but I do think I was a little heavy handed with the cutting balm (essentially an oil type stuff) as I did feel a bit oily all evening. I let it sit last night and all good this morning after it had thoroughly absorbed and my skin feels great. The skin conditioning aspects of this stuff are just amazing me. No cuts, weepers, red spots or irritation. I did have to remember that buffering is short strokes, since this stuff lets you make long strokes really easily and comfortably. Total time, 12 minutes with time to enjoy the scents and feel.
Just a note for what is coming up. I am going to talk to CAR tomorrow at enchante and spend another similar week playing with what I have learned. Then about half way through the next road trip, I am planning on going to all GFT and no Hydrolast stuff at all to compare. I have always used cutting balm since day 1, so this is going to be a first for me. Supposedly cutting balm takes 3-4 days to maximize in the skin, and the same to completely work out. I figure I will start that phase with the first or second day of the trip and cartridge shaves. That should give me a good idea of what I am getting from Hydrolast and also from DE shaving.
I can say that I have had a total of
-1 nick (cheap blades for CVS)
-Two weepers (problem bumps on my chin with feathers, once at first with the feather and once pressing the Hydrolast too much by "trenching" aka adding pressure too much.
-Some minor irritation on the left side of my neck (Zone 3 for those of you following that way, left side on the side below my jaw for everyone else)
-A few red spots with the derby blade on day one of this review
Now this is in about 1 month. Keep in mind before this month I have NEVER used a DE or wet shaving. Hydrolast started being used in the past week, but I have had the cutting balm since day one. I do think that there is surely something to the cutting balm protecting against cuts and nicks if I have only had 3 "blood will flow" incidents in my first month of learning. BTW, only one required alum. Either I am a genius prodigy (I like to think so) or there is something to it (probably more true).
Any way, glad to see that people are still looking at this. Comments are totally welcome and encouraged. I am surprised that with all the ruckus that came up on ColCat's thread (search for "what do you think of method shaving") that no one has any more questions for me. Also keep in mind if you have any questions for CAR, ask me and I will try to remember to forward them on Monday, or just call, he seems always happy to talk to people with questions.
I am planning on getting a cube to try that and maybe activator. If I do, I may have to set back trying the "cold turkey" bit for another week to test these. I am curious to find out how to adjust the lather to slicker or less so, and what happens if it is too slick. I also want to clarify what he means by "shaving velocity" in plain language.
I can say so far I am really happy with the products and they are performing well. I can see using them in their own right or to improve the performance of other products for the foreseeable future. I am curious about adding this stuff to Arko, which I have heard is really slick too, and seeing what happens. I just have to find some when I am around different cities since I wont pay $5 shipping on $1.50 of soap.
I am skipping today, not out of need, but tomorrow I am going to see if CAR has time to do a full overview of my technique and how I am using the Hydrolast. He is usually really good about this type of thing, both on your techniqueerrors and product usage. If you are in town it can be a fun experience and he will usually take the time to do it. At least we will see tomorrow. I haven't done it before.
On the upside, yesterday I got in after 9 hours flying around and a few days of the dreaded Mach 3. I can say my skin felt good for that much time in almost 0% humidity. I had a distinct 5 O'clock shadow so I figured a shower and shave were in order before meeting the girls for a birthday celebration weekend (BTW - yes, I was the designated driver. Bummer, but better to be safe than having a shave with window glass).
I used a little cutting balm to protect at first, and then used the shaving primer in Grapefruit. The smell was appealing to me as a "pick me up" since I had been up about 17 hours at that point. This is the same puck type that is in the video CAR has on using the shave cloth. I mixed in some cutting balm (about 6 drops) and some shave paste (two finger tips placed on the paste twice). I probably used twice what I needed, but these are supposed to protect and I figured I didn't want irritation since I had shave early that morning. Three passes, and finished with a bit of a different "method" (pun intended - lol).
I rubbed the puck on my hand (no cloth or brush, just the wet puck) and came up with a lather that was about as thick as GFT shaving cream right out of the tube. I added a couple of drops of cutting balm and a small dab of paste. I used this all over and buffered from there. The smell of grapefruit really intensified in this lather. It was a light note before, but really prominent with this concentrated of a lather. DFS edging on BBS and no irritation at all. Just nice smooth shave. I did switch to a new feather, since I will use that Monday too, and didn't want to risk the derby before going out. I did save the derby and will use that again Tuesday to check it out again.
You may have noticed that I am switching the usage of the products around a LOT in the order and how to apply them. All in the cloth, massage them through lather, mix with the lather, etc. This is intentional since I wanted to point out there is a LOT of flexibility in the system. There is no "wrong way" to combine these out. I do think I prefer using the oil and paste on first, add the lather and lightly massage them a bit way of it though. To me it feels that this gives me the most protection. YMMV and experimenting to find your way of doing it is the name of the game here. Products can be added, removed, or replaced as you see fit and what works for you. I would recommend trying a good selection of the products together though as they are made to compliment each other, even though they will work with other products too.
Any way, I finished with the conditioner (which I am really liking) and the cutting balm too to prevent any irritation from popping up. It worked like a charm, but I do think I was a little heavy handed with the cutting balm (essentially an oil type stuff) as I did feel a bit oily all evening. I let it sit last night and all good this morning after it had thoroughly absorbed and my skin feels great. The skin conditioning aspects of this stuff are just amazing me. No cuts, weepers, red spots or irritation. I did have to remember that buffering is short strokes, since this stuff lets you make long strokes really easily and comfortably. Total time, 12 minutes with time to enjoy the scents and feel.
Just a note for what is coming up. I am going to talk to CAR tomorrow at enchante and spend another similar week playing with what I have learned. Then about half way through the next road trip, I am planning on going to all GFT and no Hydrolast stuff at all to compare. I have always used cutting balm since day 1, so this is going to be a first for me. Supposedly cutting balm takes 3-4 days to maximize in the skin, and the same to completely work out. I figure I will start that phase with the first or second day of the trip and cartridge shaves. That should give me a good idea of what I am getting from Hydrolast and also from DE shaving.
I can say that I have had a total of
-1 nick (cheap blades for CVS)
-Two weepers (problem bumps on my chin with feathers, once at first with the feather and once pressing the Hydrolast too much by "trenching" aka adding pressure too much.
-Some minor irritation on the left side of my neck (Zone 3 for those of you following that way, left side on the side below my jaw for everyone else)
-A few red spots with the derby blade on day one of this review
Now this is in about 1 month. Keep in mind before this month I have NEVER used a DE or wet shaving. Hydrolast started being used in the past week, but I have had the cutting balm since day one. I do think that there is surely something to the cutting balm protecting against cuts and nicks if I have only had 3 "blood will flow" incidents in my first month of learning. BTW, only one required alum. Either I am a genius prodigy (I like to think so) or there is something to it (probably more true).
Any way, glad to see that people are still looking at this. Comments are totally welcome and encouraged. I am surprised that with all the ruckus that came up on ColCat's thread (search for "what do you think of method shaving") that no one has any more questions for me. Also keep in mind if you have any questions for CAR, ask me and I will try to remember to forward them on Monday, or just call, he seems always happy to talk to people with questions.
I am planning on getting a cube to try that and maybe activator. If I do, I may have to set back trying the "cold turkey" bit for another week to test these. I am curious to find out how to adjust the lather to slicker or less so, and what happens if it is too slick. I also want to clarify what he means by "shaving velocity" in plain language.
I can say so far I am really happy with the products and they are performing well. I can see using them in their own right or to improve the performance of other products for the foreseeable future. I am curious about adding this stuff to Arko, which I have heard is really slick too, and seeing what happens. I just have to find some when I am around different cities since I wont pay $5 shipping on $1.50 of soap.
- Thread starter
- #26
Off topic - I think my brother in law wants to try DE shaving this evening! Possibly a new convert! He has been stunned by how much closer I get than he does. That and I keep bringing it up so it may just be annoyance and wanting to shut me up - LOL.
I do plan to start him with GFT and shave oil though. CAR may be right about the full Hydrolast stuff giving a lot of leeway for sloppy technique. This stuff may be bad for the learning curve in that it is really difficult to cut yourself, get irritation or a bad shave because of poor technique. With good technique though it goes really nice, close, and comfortable.
I do plan to start him with GFT and shave oil though. CAR may be right about the full Hydrolast stuff giving a lot of leeway for sloppy technique. This stuff may be bad for the learning curve in that it is really difficult to cut yourself, get irritation or a bad shave because of poor technique. With good technique though it goes really nice, close, and comfortable.
Fantastic review so far atxguy. I definitely want to try this stuff now (wish I would get a reply to my email from the company though). Anyways, thanks for taking the time. With this slickness, it sounds great for straight razors.
Also can you do a review with you using a brush? Am very curious because not fond of the idea of using a cloth. Also how long is the cloth meant to last?
Also can you do a review with you using a brush? Am very curious because not fond of the idea of using a cloth. Also how long is the cloth meant to last?
- Thread starter
- #28
Moriarty -
Good point about the straight razor. The Good Life, a barber shop here in tpwn only uses Hydrolast. If you call, they will probably refer you to calling them because "they are the SR ecperts with this stuff" (CAR)
Sure a brush can be used. It works fine.only warning is not to put cutting balm on your brush since it wiill keep it from absorbing water. Just massage it on first and go from there. Paste seems to be clay based and will rinse out easily. The cloth eill last 3-6a months supposedly. They are good, but i am about to go back to the brush too. That discussion is actually going to take place monday as a sort of surprise side project has been being worked on.
Good point about the straight razor. The Good Life, a barber shop here in tpwn only uses Hydrolast. If you call, they will probably refer you to calling them because "they are the SR ecperts with this stuff" (CAR)
Sure a brush can be used. It works fine.only warning is not to put cutting balm on your brush since it wiill keep it from absorbing water. Just massage it on first and go from there. Paste seems to be clay based and will rinse out easily. The cloth eill last 3-6a months supposedly. They are good, but i am about to go back to the brush too. That discussion is actually going to take place monday as a sort of surprise side project has been being worked on.
Very nice writeups so far ATX. It is a very interesting system to say the least. I wish I lived in Texas so I could have a chat with the guy about the system, he seems very passionate.
Sweet, thanks for the quick reply ATX. Wish I still lived in Texas, could pop into the store. Am curious how the brush lathering goes 
Great articles, atx. Your style is very easy to follow also for a non-native yet entertaining at the same time. I have a great time following your adventures even though I live half a globe away with little hope to ever try Hydrolast.
Keep on experimenting, and if time permits, let us know how it goes!
Keep on experimenting, and if time permits, let us know how it goes!
- Thread starter
- #32
Thanks for all the support guys. I will keep this thread up until it gets repetitive or intrest slacks off. I will mention the email Moriarty. Anyone in the US should just gove a call sometime during business hours. Remember Austin is central rime zone for the US. Anyone else should email. He is really the expert in all of this. Keep in mind he is basically a one man shop so he can get busy at times. I know all of the products are small batches and made by hand. Believe it or not, i have seen him more than once in back with a big kitchen mixer working on product.
Great Articles! It looks like there are a lot of us that have been wanting an in-depth look at Method Shaving here on B&B without inciting war, and that seems to be exactly what we have here.
Next time you travel, you might try a Trac II and see how that goes. There seems to be a lot of support for it here as the lesser of multi-blade evils, and I believe CAR actually experimented with them in the early/pre-history of Method Shaving.
Next time you travel, you might try a Trac II and see how that goes. There seems to be a lot of support for it here as the lesser of multi-blade evils, and I believe CAR actually experimented with them in the early/pre-history of Method Shaving.
Long time lurker, first post! Glad to see a non-selective, unbiased review up, atxguy. I just started DE shaving a few months ago, and Charles has been basically my professor on the subject. Great guy with an interesting vocabulary! I've been moving up one Hydrolast product at a time and have been enjoying their benefits. They've even been clearing up my skin when I've had problems, which is a serious bonus. Hope to give a review of my experience with his products in a few weeks that is half as good as yours. Honestly, kudos to you!
Oh, and P.S. to all those that live within distance of heading to downtown Austin, Texas: make a call to Mr. Robert's explaining your curiosity, and he'll be more than happy to talk and even set you up for a free clinic. I've tried one and they really show you how to properly use his apothecary-style products and the benefits they give.
Oh, and P.S. to all those that live within distance of heading to downtown Austin, Texas: make a call to Mr. Robert's explaining your curiosity, and he'll be more than happy to talk and even set you up for a free clinic. I've tried one and they really show you how to properly use his apothecary-style products and the benefits they give.
Prof. M- i tried with a straight and it wasn't bad, you really need to keep one hand free of the mix... the cloth is actually pretty nice... it's obviously not silvertip.
ATX- forget about arko being any slicker than other good shave soaps... it's not... it's a good inexpensive soap... those who have said arko or MWF or MdC is the slickest have probably never tried hydrolast..
great review so far...
Congratulations on a good job and review. An interesting read. Although I am happy with the products I am using, it is always interesting to read what others are doing.
Without pictures it didn't happen.
- Thread starter
- #38
This is a longer post so just be warned. Also, each time is minutes per stage - you will see what I mean.
I went in to Enchante (where hydrolast is made) and had a "shave clinic" with CAR who makes this stuff. We started by lathering up the shave cloth with the puck primer and washed off with that first, followed by a rinse with hot water. We re lathered the shave cloth and added a couple of pumps of activator and a bit of cutting balm. Add a new feather in the Merkur HD and we were ready to go. Lather up with the lather from the cloth, a small amount of shaving paste and we were off to the races so to speak.
Charles Roberts demonstrated on the right side of my face with the technique he wanted me to try. I was amazed that there are that many passes we can use and still get lubrication from the hydrolast. I mean, we must have gone over it at least three times without re lathering. As it thickened up a bit and there was almost none left on my face I started feeling a bit of resistance from the razor, but that is the first time I have felt that. He explained that the passes we were doing let the hairs stand up more so that we could get them better in "form one". Form one is a simple N-S pass. It is exactly what most of us do every day to start with. This basic hair reduction took us from 36 hour stubble to somewhere between SAS and DFS. Time = 4 minutes.
Then we re lathered to start form two. Form two is basically a pass starting with the ear/side burn area and angling down at about 45 degrees toward the chin. We added a bit of paste/cutting balm mix massaged through the lather. I will say here that the lather is NOT this thick goopy stuff that is like cream in a can. It has enough water that it falls quite a bit. If you need to you just splash a little water on with your fingers and it will pop right back up. Another set of passes like the first and we were done. This is where I would call DFS. Time = 4 min.
One note before it gets a little crazy (the last stage is nuts). Hydrolast dries out. It is made of so much water that it will evaporate fast. It sort of gets thicker and less slick. If you feel it is too dry, just work in a bit of water and it pops right back. You use it when it is thicker to get finer with it. It sort of is like having an adjustable shaving cream. It will work up to the level of old foamy, but it is probably too dried out to work like it should. It is like a really loose meringue. It will drip off your hand if your not careful. He explained that the sharper the blade, the looser it needs to be, although he said straight razors work better with a thicker lather since you are a lot slower working there.
Then we went to "form three". This is a pass about 90 degrees further than form two. This is going from the bottom of the jaw, 45 degrees up and in. Same multiple pass thing to get all the hairs here. If at any point I noticed an area that was not as smooth as the rest, I was told I missed a spot in the previous form and to back up a bit and re do that spot. If form 2 I noticed I had a few areas on my lower jaw that were more noise from the blade and backed up the the N-S pass before continuing. Same method and same number of passes. For those of you who are counting, that is a MINIMUM of 9 passes - a only slight irritation on the very side of my neck where I didn't get right with the prep. This is definitely in DFS territory. Time = 4 min.
So now we went to using a little paste, activator and cutting balm just mixed up in my palm. I rubbed them in for a minute or so, and then was told to use alternating 45 degree strokes (one from form 2, one from form 3) all over and to overlap a good bit. My face was feeling smooth before so I was surprised by how much this cleaned up even more. I didn't think there was that much more left! Two passes like that and I was surprised by how smooth I was. Time = 3 minutes.
So here is where it gets really odd and was a bit scary for me. I rinsed down with water even though I was feeling a few random hairs to keep it from being BBS. Charles told me to work on "trenching" (read ADD pressure) a bit more and that would go away. I figured between 9 and 12 passes without irritation was enough with pushing my luck. Nope. I had the razor back in my hand with that fresh feather in it, and was told to "go over it one more time with the alternating strokes."
WAIT A MINUTE!!!! I have NO lather and just rinsed my face down. I am about to do this with no product what so ever on my face!. Charles assured me that there was enough moisture and product left absorbed into my skin to be just fine, and that this will let the razor get under the last little bits of hair. Nervously, I tried a few tentative passes, and by God it worked. I kept working for another 3 passes just rinsing the razor on occasion in pure water. When I mentioned the razor skipping a bit, I was told more pressure, but that I would learn that over time as I learned to trust the products. Time = 3 minutes.
Conditioner and cutting balm, a few splashes of water massaged in and we were done. I can say this is a really smooth shave but I was told it was "OK, you will get better over time as you work at it." I can say that last stage really was spooky after seeing nothing on my face. I still can't get over it.
Total time was about 20-25 minutes but that included a lot of questions and prep. I can say the irritation I had on the neck went away within 10 minutes and there were no nicks, cuts, weepers or anything else. That is somewhere between 12 and 18 passes (I honestly lost count!) and no irritation and pushing really hard at the same results I think I would have from having my hair waxed and I felt great.
A few side notes on the things we talked about.
Slickness - apparently the slicker the lather, the sharper and more aggressive the blade. The reverse is true too. Why Hydrolast works with the Feather blade so well (besides being designed with this blade in mind) is that it can actually be tuned for a lather that needs a sharper blade than the feather. What happens when you go to far from matching the blade with the slickness? "You get cut of course" - CAR. It seems there is enough leeway there to have plenty of safety buffer though. I will try the Derby with a less slick lather though.
Straight Razors - Here is a fun preview for next week guys. When I asked about this CAR mentioned a downtown barber called The Good Life here. He said they only use Hydrolast because obviously a barber looses clients if they cut them. They are long term clients of his. He had a "free shave" card and gave me one to try it. Apparently they are able to process twice as many customers with less risk of nicks. Double speed straight razor, here I come! So next week I will go for my first SR shave ever, a good looking woman will shave me, and I am sure I will have a ton of questions to ask and post here. As mentioned before, they use a thicker mix because it would freak out customers. Apparently people get nervous if you get really fast with a cut throat razor. This will be a Hydrolast brush shave BTW - no shave cloth in there.
Problem shaves - While talking today, CAR had said a few really interesting things. "If you are getting a shave you like and is comfortable, stick with what you have." "My products are designed for guys who want to get closer and still have comfort." "I came up with this to help people with their issues - razor burn, razor whip, nicks, cuts, irritation." It sounds like this system is for people who have problems with these issues or just want REALLY close shave.
In total, I tried it and am going to incorporate some of these things into what I am doing. I will try to replicate these things at home tomorrow. I will keep you updated as always. A quick ending note. I asked how often you can go this close. He told me he shaves twice a day like this because he wants BBS 24 hours a day. I have never seen a bit of irritation (or stubble) on him.
I went in to Enchante (where hydrolast is made) and had a "shave clinic" with CAR who makes this stuff. We started by lathering up the shave cloth with the puck primer and washed off with that first, followed by a rinse with hot water. We re lathered the shave cloth and added a couple of pumps of activator and a bit of cutting balm. Add a new feather in the Merkur HD and we were ready to go. Lather up with the lather from the cloth, a small amount of shaving paste and we were off to the races so to speak.
Charles Roberts demonstrated on the right side of my face with the technique he wanted me to try. I was amazed that there are that many passes we can use and still get lubrication from the hydrolast. I mean, we must have gone over it at least three times without re lathering. As it thickened up a bit and there was almost none left on my face I started feeling a bit of resistance from the razor, but that is the first time I have felt that. He explained that the passes we were doing let the hairs stand up more so that we could get them better in "form one". Form one is a simple N-S pass. It is exactly what most of us do every day to start with. This basic hair reduction took us from 36 hour stubble to somewhere between SAS and DFS. Time = 4 minutes.
Then we re lathered to start form two. Form two is basically a pass starting with the ear/side burn area and angling down at about 45 degrees toward the chin. We added a bit of paste/cutting balm mix massaged through the lather. I will say here that the lather is NOT this thick goopy stuff that is like cream in a can. It has enough water that it falls quite a bit. If you need to you just splash a little water on with your fingers and it will pop right back up. Another set of passes like the first and we were done. This is where I would call DFS. Time = 4 min.
One note before it gets a little crazy (the last stage is nuts). Hydrolast dries out. It is made of so much water that it will evaporate fast. It sort of gets thicker and less slick. If you feel it is too dry, just work in a bit of water and it pops right back. You use it when it is thicker to get finer with it. It sort of is like having an adjustable shaving cream. It will work up to the level of old foamy, but it is probably too dried out to work like it should. It is like a really loose meringue. It will drip off your hand if your not careful. He explained that the sharper the blade, the looser it needs to be, although he said straight razors work better with a thicker lather since you are a lot slower working there.
Then we went to "form three". This is a pass about 90 degrees further than form two. This is going from the bottom of the jaw, 45 degrees up and in. Same multiple pass thing to get all the hairs here. If at any point I noticed an area that was not as smooth as the rest, I was told I missed a spot in the previous form and to back up a bit and re do that spot. If form 2 I noticed I had a few areas on my lower jaw that were more noise from the blade and backed up the the N-S pass before continuing. Same method and same number of passes. For those of you who are counting, that is a MINIMUM of 9 passes - a only slight irritation on the very side of my neck where I didn't get right with the prep. This is definitely in DFS territory. Time = 4 min.
So now we went to using a little paste, activator and cutting balm just mixed up in my palm. I rubbed them in for a minute or so, and then was told to use alternating 45 degree strokes (one from form 2, one from form 3) all over and to overlap a good bit. My face was feeling smooth before so I was surprised by how much this cleaned up even more. I didn't think there was that much more left! Two passes like that and I was surprised by how smooth I was. Time = 3 minutes.
So here is where it gets really odd and was a bit scary for me. I rinsed down with water even though I was feeling a few random hairs to keep it from being BBS. Charles told me to work on "trenching" (read ADD pressure) a bit more and that would go away. I figured between 9 and 12 passes without irritation was enough with pushing my luck. Nope. I had the razor back in my hand with that fresh feather in it, and was told to "go over it one more time with the alternating strokes."
WAIT A MINUTE!!!! I have NO lather and just rinsed my face down. I am about to do this with no product what so ever on my face!. Charles assured me that there was enough moisture and product left absorbed into my skin to be just fine, and that this will let the razor get under the last little bits of hair. Nervously, I tried a few tentative passes, and by God it worked. I kept working for another 3 passes just rinsing the razor on occasion in pure water. When I mentioned the razor skipping a bit, I was told more pressure, but that I would learn that over time as I learned to trust the products. Time = 3 minutes.
Conditioner and cutting balm, a few splashes of water massaged in and we were done. I can say this is a really smooth shave but I was told it was "OK, you will get better over time as you work at it." I can say that last stage really was spooky after seeing nothing on my face. I still can't get over it.
Total time was about 20-25 minutes but that included a lot of questions and prep. I can say the irritation I had on the neck went away within 10 minutes and there were no nicks, cuts, weepers or anything else. That is somewhere between 12 and 18 passes (I honestly lost count!) and no irritation and pushing really hard at the same results I think I would have from having my hair waxed and I felt great.
A few side notes on the things we talked about.
Slickness - apparently the slicker the lather, the sharper and more aggressive the blade. The reverse is true too. Why Hydrolast works with the Feather blade so well (besides being designed with this blade in mind) is that it can actually be tuned for a lather that needs a sharper blade than the feather. What happens when you go to far from matching the blade with the slickness? "You get cut of course" - CAR. It seems there is enough leeway there to have plenty of safety buffer though. I will try the Derby with a less slick lather though.
Straight Razors - Here is a fun preview for next week guys. When I asked about this CAR mentioned a downtown barber called The Good Life here. He said they only use Hydrolast because obviously a barber looses clients if they cut them. They are long term clients of his. He had a "free shave" card and gave me one to try it. Apparently they are able to process twice as many customers with less risk of nicks. Double speed straight razor, here I come! So next week I will go for my first SR shave ever, a good looking woman will shave me, and I am sure I will have a ton of questions to ask and post here. As mentioned before, they use a thicker mix because it would freak out customers. Apparently people get nervous if you get really fast with a cut throat razor. This will be a Hydrolast brush shave BTW - no shave cloth in there.
Problem shaves - While talking today, CAR had said a few really interesting things. "If you are getting a shave you like and is comfortable, stick with what you have." "My products are designed for guys who want to get closer and still have comfort." "I came up with this to help people with their issues - razor burn, razor whip, nicks, cuts, irritation." It sounds like this system is for people who have problems with these issues or just want REALLY close shave.
In total, I tried it and am going to incorporate some of these things into what I am doing. I will try to replicate these things at home tomorrow. I will keep you updated as always. A quick ending note. I asked how often you can go this close. He told me he shaves twice a day like this because he wants BBS 24 hours a day. I have never seen a bit of irritation (or stubble) on him.
Great review for today, I like reading along. Charles mentioned his third form actually cutting into the top layers of skin, hence the extra close shave. Not for me, I don't method shave but I respect it for what it is and really like him. Keep it up, it sounds like you are getting better at it every day!
JCinPA
The Lather Maestro
Very interesting review, thank you very much. The most intriguing thing to me is the barber shop that uses this stuff. Time is money as is sending customers away with less than a good shave and/or irritation. Very interesting, to say the least.
