AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Well, I'm not that old really, but having been DE shaving for 25 years, I have in many ways become fairly established in how I go about giving myself a shave. Despite this, I also think that you should never ever stop learning, and have found joining this site quite interesting, partially for the way that the prevalent advice is often so very different to what I do, and to what I have found to give me the best results.
The rest of this post, like so many things in the shaving world, comes with a huge spoonful of YMMV. I'm not going to attempt to tell everybody they are doing it wrong, just to share the differences between my perception of current trends, and what I actually do based on my own experiences. In return, I hope (with your help) to understand why the generally issued advice is so different. I may not change my ways, but it's nice to understand why other advice is being given before I confuse the newbies by encouraging the polar opposite of everyone else.
Firstly, what the heck is this notion of "cushion" that I keep hearing?
People seem to like a lather that gives good cushion, and I can't think of anything beneficial from this whatsoever. Cushion implies that the razor is being supported or held off the face with the density of the lather. I purposefully apply a very thin lather, as I believe that lubrication is the primary objective - and cushion/density is an obstacle to the objective. If the lather holds the razor off the face, then either the blade is going to miss where it should be cutting, OR is likely to encourage the user to apply a little pressure to overcome the cushion. Pressure is bad. Very bad. Pressure leads to irritation and failed skin durability tests (cuts). How can you shave with a feather light touch, when you have built a cushioning layer between you and the razor?
Secondly. lather never gets a chance to cushion anyway.
The approaching comb/guard rail shoves most of the excess lather out of the way (after you apply a little more pressure to overcome the extra drag), the following blade travelling at skin level virtually clears the rest, and there is only a slight residual film to lubricate the skin should the trailing cap have contact with the face. Whatever cushion was intended, a properly oriented razor will eliminate the vast majority of this before the blade and cap even arrive on scene.
So far, my thinking is that seeking cushion in the lather is doubly pointless. Firstly, it's an obstacle to proper razor use, and secondly it is removed before it could do any good anyway.
Thirdly, and this is somewhat related, is my confusion with the attitude of "load it like you hate it".
I estimate my consumption rate of Mitchell's Wool Fat to be approximately 6g to 8g per month based on 15 to 20 shaves. Three or four seconds of swirls on the soap, and a little extra time taken to work this into the beard, gives me an effective lather with minimal wastage flushed down the drain, and means a 125g refill will last me well over a year. Loading with more product would either give me a dense and less lubricating lather, or if thinned down would just mean that I'm applying exactly what I do now, and flushing more down the drain. It seems all well and good for the soap makers and retailers, but I really do not see how this is supposed to be helping the new shaver.
I was self taught with DE shaving in my teens. My father had a full beard, and my grandfather used electric razors. The internet wasn't around back then to get discussion, written advice of video tutorials. Everyone else I knew that was wet shaving, was using the latest Gillette or Wilkinson's cartridge system. As a result, I figured out what works best (for me) purely on trial and error. While everyone's mileage does indeed vary, and we should all seek out what works for us individually, I am open to anyone telling me that I've been doing it wrong all these years if I end up with a better shave as a result.
As I said at the beginning of this (long) post, I might not change my ways, as my ways work for me, but it might change the way I give advice to those just starting out on their journey of discovery. If we are all giving different advice, we'll just confuse them more than they already were.
The rest of this post, like so many things in the shaving world, comes with a huge spoonful of YMMV. I'm not going to attempt to tell everybody they are doing it wrong, just to share the differences between my perception of current trends, and what I actually do based on my own experiences. In return, I hope (with your help) to understand why the generally issued advice is so different. I may not change my ways, but it's nice to understand why other advice is being given before I confuse the newbies by encouraging the polar opposite of everyone else.
Firstly, what the heck is this notion of "cushion" that I keep hearing?
People seem to like a lather that gives good cushion, and I can't think of anything beneficial from this whatsoever. Cushion implies that the razor is being supported or held off the face with the density of the lather. I purposefully apply a very thin lather, as I believe that lubrication is the primary objective - and cushion/density is an obstacle to the objective. If the lather holds the razor off the face, then either the blade is going to miss where it should be cutting, OR is likely to encourage the user to apply a little pressure to overcome the cushion. Pressure is bad. Very bad. Pressure leads to irritation and failed skin durability tests (cuts). How can you shave with a feather light touch, when you have built a cushioning layer between you and the razor?
Secondly. lather never gets a chance to cushion anyway.
The approaching comb/guard rail shoves most of the excess lather out of the way (after you apply a little more pressure to overcome the extra drag), the following blade travelling at skin level virtually clears the rest, and there is only a slight residual film to lubricate the skin should the trailing cap have contact with the face. Whatever cushion was intended, a properly oriented razor will eliminate the vast majority of this before the blade and cap even arrive on scene.
So far, my thinking is that seeking cushion in the lather is doubly pointless. Firstly, it's an obstacle to proper razor use, and secondly it is removed before it could do any good anyway.
Thirdly, and this is somewhat related, is my confusion with the attitude of "load it like you hate it".
I estimate my consumption rate of Mitchell's Wool Fat to be approximately 6g to 8g per month based on 15 to 20 shaves. Three or four seconds of swirls on the soap, and a little extra time taken to work this into the beard, gives me an effective lather with minimal wastage flushed down the drain, and means a 125g refill will last me well over a year. Loading with more product would either give me a dense and less lubricating lather, or if thinned down would just mean that I'm applying exactly what I do now, and flushing more down the drain. It seems all well and good for the soap makers and retailers, but I really do not see how this is supposed to be helping the new shaver.
I was self taught with DE shaving in my teens. My father had a full beard, and my grandfather used electric razors. The internet wasn't around back then to get discussion, written advice of video tutorials. Everyone else I knew that was wet shaving, was using the latest Gillette or Wilkinson's cartridge system. As a result, I figured out what works best (for me) purely on trial and error. While everyone's mileage does indeed vary, and we should all seek out what works for us individually, I am open to anyone telling me that I've been doing it wrong all these years if I end up with a better shave as a result.
As I said at the beginning of this (long) post, I might not change my ways, as my ways work for me, but it might change the way I give advice to those just starting out on their journey of discovery. If we are all giving different advice, we'll just confuse them more than they already were.
