Caught In The Act!

[Barber-Eile]

Hi everyone,
So I'm just back from a girls' weekend away with some friends. While packing for it on Thursday I thought "well I'll bring my Gillette Venus as I don't want get get my Lady Gillette damaged as I'm just throwing my razor in with all of my other wash stuff". But then, just as I was finished packing, I thought if I had to make do with a rubbish razor I at least wanted a good lather so I popped my lovely big badger shaving brush in and a stick of Arko.

Now my wash bag is clear plastic so you can see what's inside it. None of my friends really know about my shaving habits so when I was in the room and unpacking my wash bag my friend whom I was sharing the room with was surprised and said "woah, why do you have a big, man's shaving brush in there?!? Do you use that?". I told her that yes I do and the subject ended there naturally. But I feel like my dirty secret is out!

It's funny how shaving brushes are considered just so very masculine. In the Women Shavers Group we've chatted about this before and we'd love more brushes made with nice long handles and big knots.
Still, I love my brush (and a huge thank you again to Brianw who PIFed it to me only recently) it fits perfectly in my hand and is soft and wonderful and I'll be proud of it always so I just wanted to post in here and share my shaving love with some people who understand!

 

[GDCarrington]

...and said "woah, why do you have a big, man's shaving brush in there?!? Do you use that?".

You should have told them that this is when you want to shave correctly.
Enjoy!

 

[garyg]

I had a similar incident a couple years back, some college pals had collected in Key West for what is an annual expedition for us, some 30 years post-graduation .. and I had to leave the brush out to dry of course. I've converted one relapsed wetshaver back to the True Path about every year. Didn't get one over this spring, but next year I'll get 2

 

[brianw]

That is a much BETTER PICTURE then I could ever have taken. I am so happy you like it.... it got quite a bit of love when I had it.... but I can see.... more love there than I could have ever given it.... Glad you enjoy

 

[Jaymo]

And the lady uses Feather blades, no less.
I'm a man and I wish more brushes had long handles and big knots. That's partly because I shave off my perfectly good head of blond hair from time to time, and partly because the darned handles tend to be way too short compared to the depth of my shaving mug, even with a puck of soap in it.
I'm thinking about making a Delrin handle extension for my Van der Sheddin' boar brush. I'll drill a hole in the back of it and epoxy the extension in place.
I'm also going to buy a new knot from The Golden Nib. I figure I can have a super nice badger brush with a handle 2 or 3 times as long for a lot less than I could buy one.

I like your taste in shave sticks, too. I have a case of Arko sticks I bought on Amazon.
My wife's not crazy about Arko, because it smells like soap to her. (go figure)
But she loves her blue star Lady Gillette I bought her.

My co-workers think I'm weird for shaving old school. My boss suggested I get a Headblade for shaving my noggin, but I like using my injector and my DE razors(SE is too hard to shave my head with and maintain the right angle)

My closest friends are just about ready to make the switch, though. Think I'll PIF a couple of them with a tech or super speed. One of them has his grandfather's old E type Schick Injector and I gave him a pack of 11 injector blades from CVS. He's hooked.

 

[mblakele]

Long-handled brushes are out there: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=77862 discussed a few, and http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=139542 mentions another option. http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/omega-10098--the-big-br10098.html might work too.

 

[DavyRay]

I am just about to dive into uncharted territory. My daughter is 19 years old, and is going off to college this fall. I am thinking of giving her a badger shaving brush and some good soap. She still has some acne. I think this could help her keep her skin clear. She does not need to shave her face, of course, but a really decent exfoliate might help her.

Am I off-base to give her a brush and some great soap to help her skin?

 

[brianw]

not at all

 

[ducatisteve]

I think the gesture would be well received and the soap would go to good use, but I don't see a 19 year old girl using a shaving brush to exfoliate her face, especially when she goes back to school and is living in a dorm/apartment/house full of girls. I can only imagine what would happen if she got "caught" putting a shaving brush to her face and the potential mean-spirited jokes and embarrasement that would follow.

My fiance used to have a bit of acne and started using the Acne-Free system with Buf-Pufs to exfoliate and her skin is crystal clear now. I mentioned brushes to her once and she laughed and said, "Why, when there are dozens of more....femenine ways to get it done just as well?"

 

[Barber-Eile]

Am I off-base to give her a brush and some great soap to help her skin?

I myself suffered from acne since the age of 15 or so and still get spots now (I'm 27). It's taken me many, many years to figure my skin out and one of the first things I learnt quite quickly was that any kind of "spot/acne treatment" actually made things 10 times worse. I have to agree with ducatisteve in saying that while the gesture is nice that there are a lot more suitable products on the market that will gently exfoliate her skin. Ideally, if you can afford it (I can not) bring her to a dermatologist who will recommend a treatment for her specific problem.
At 19 I'm sure she is painfully aware of her condition and will have researched nearly every solution.
The best thing you can do is to very gentley and kindly offer your help and, if you can, say you would be willing to pay for her to see a dermatologist if she would like. Oh, and tell her that's she's beautiful.

And the lady uses Feather blades, no less.

Ahaha... I used my first feather just the other day as I'm going through several types of blades and comparing them. I'm working through a pack of one type and making notes and then moving onto another type. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do the whole pack of feathers though because those things are just crazy sharp! I ended up with a good handful of tiny pore dots of blood after using them which is a problem I normally never have. And I didn't even notice the shave was closer. Still, I'll stick them out and see if it improves.

 

[Elecid]

we've chatted about this before and we'd love more brushes made with nice long handles and big knots.

To quote Rainbow Randolph: "It's small, but it's fierce!"

 

[Barber-Eile]

Long-handled brushes are out there

Thanks for the help! I have a friend who is a machinist and who makes custom wooden jewellery. I don't know why I never thought of him before to suggest he makes brush handles!