With the hot weather upon us, I thought I'd share my most recent shaving ritual-"Artic Shaving".
First: shower with a menthol soap and/or shampoo to get things started. Then, bring out the arsenal of cool shaving supplies:
1. Mama Bears mentholated "ice" soaps. Currently I use either "Awakenings" or the lime scented version-they go on cool, and they get cooler after you complete your first pass when your pores start to open up. And I lather up with cool-cold water, so not only is the lather chilly from the menthol, it's literally cool stuff. I haven't experienced any problems with the quality of my shaves because of not using hot water.
2. Next, a dab of Proraso post shave. Mildly mentholated. It won't freeze your face, but for me it's a good precursor to what follows (btw--important to have your hands moist/wet when you apply Proraso, otherwise the stuff can be a bit creamy).
3. Moving on. I had Sue (Mama Bear) make me up a special edition of her mentholated peppermint after shave. Extra, extra menthol. Talk about face freeze, this stuff even blows away my Osage Rub, which is no small feat. Highly recommend the stuff. So now my face is sporting icicles.
4. Finish up with Tom's Peppermint toothpaste and peppermint mouthwash, and have yourself a chilly day.
5. Want to get even more cool crazy? Take a dab of Vick's vapo-rub, apply it to your nose, and now you're breathing in menthol vapors in addition. (OK, I know that's a bit extreme, but if you want to full menthol experience, that's one way to get it).
Other "extreme" ideas: buy yourself a small bag of menthol crystals (easy to find on the net) and mentholate your after shave, witch hazel, etc (I added some extra crystals to my Proraso after shave splash-took it from cool to cold). The possibilities are endless...
First: shower with a menthol soap and/or shampoo to get things started. Then, bring out the arsenal of cool shaving supplies:
1. Mama Bears mentholated "ice" soaps. Currently I use either "Awakenings" or the lime scented version-they go on cool, and they get cooler after you complete your first pass when your pores start to open up. And I lather up with cool-cold water, so not only is the lather chilly from the menthol, it's literally cool stuff. I haven't experienced any problems with the quality of my shaves because of not using hot water.
2. Next, a dab of Proraso post shave. Mildly mentholated. It won't freeze your face, but for me it's a good precursor to what follows (btw--important to have your hands moist/wet when you apply Proraso, otherwise the stuff can be a bit creamy).
3. Moving on. I had Sue (Mama Bear) make me up a special edition of her mentholated peppermint after shave. Extra, extra menthol. Talk about face freeze, this stuff even blows away my Osage Rub, which is no small feat. Highly recommend the stuff. So now my face is sporting icicles.
4. Finish up with Tom's Peppermint toothpaste and peppermint mouthwash, and have yourself a chilly day.
5. Want to get even more cool crazy? Take a dab of Vick's vapo-rub, apply it to your nose, and now you're breathing in menthol vapors in addition. (OK, I know that's a bit extreme, but if you want to full menthol experience, that's one way to get it).
Other "extreme" ideas: buy yourself a small bag of menthol crystals (easy to find on the net) and mentholate your after shave, witch hazel, etc (I added some extra crystals to my Proraso after shave splash-took it from cool to cold). The possibilities are endless...
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I know a bottle of AV that is about to become something special
