Diary (& questions) of a relative newbie

[Ligeti]

Yesterday had my last shave with the Shark SS, doesn't work for me (I hadn't noticed this when I used the first Shark blade)
So today it's back to Astra SP (1). Nice shave, but 3 small red dots at the lowest point of my neck. Maybe Shark is not sharp enough for me and Astra is too sharp? I don't recall having these red dots with the Mühle blade that's supposed to be in the middle between Shark and Astra when it comes to sharpness.

Astra SP (1), Proraso red soap, Proraso Red AS

TOBS sandalwood cream: 17
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 13
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Rosseforp]

Nice shave, but 3 small red dots at the lowest point of my neck. Maybe Shark is not sharp enough for me and Astra is too sharp? I don't recall having these red dots with the Mühle blade that's supposed to be in the middle between Shark and Astra when it comes to sharpness.

We all got those red dots around the 2 month point. Relax, it is your skin adjusting. They will go away with time.

 

[Ligeti]

Astra SP (2), Proraso Red soap and AS
Nice shave. I use only very little AS. It does make my skin feel soft and smooth and almost moist. But also somewhat greasy. And I'm afraid that might be the source of the pimples that I witnessed in december. That would be a pitty since I like the feeling and the smell... and I bought a large bottle of it.

TOBS sandalwood cream: 17
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 14
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Ligeti]

Astra SP (3), Proraso Red soap and AS
Nice shave. I found out my ATG needs practice. Currently it ads little and that probably has everything to do with the angle when holding the razor upside down.

TOBS sandalwood cream: 17
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 15
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Rosseforp]

Astra SP (3), Proraso Red soap and AS
Nice shave. I found out my ATG needs practice. Currently it ads little and that probably has everything to do with the angle when holding the razor upside down.

TOBS sandalwood cream: 17
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 15
Tabac soap : 18

Remember to reduce, reduce, reduce, when shaving ATG. Let the razor do the cutting, don't' force it. I start out with the razor very steep and decrease the shaving angle as the stubble is reduced on each pass.

 

[Ligeti]

Astra SP (4), Proraso Red soap and AS
Nice shave. I saw Rosseforp's suggestion too late, that'll be for tomorrow. Just paid extra attention to the angle when going ATG and I'm rather pleased by the result.

TOBS sandalwood cream: 17
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 16
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Ligeti]

Astra SP (5), Proraso Red soap and AS
Again a nice shave. Tried to think of Rosseforp's suggestion. That'll take some exercise.
5th day of Proraso AS, still no sign of pimples. Looking good!

TOBS sandalwood cream: 17
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 17
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Ligeti]

Astra SP (6), Proraso Red soap and AS
Again a nice shave. Discovered the hairs on the lower part of my chin differ from direction leftside vs right hand side. Makes my ATG pass even more of a learning curve.

TOBS sandalwood cream: 17
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 18
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Ligeti]

Astra SP (8), TOBS Sandalwood cream and Proraso red AS
"Makes my ATG pass even more of a learning curve." Indeed. Resulting in a red dot on the chin.

TOBS sandalwood cream: 18
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 19
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Ligeti]

Mühle (1), TOBS Sandalwood cream and Proraso red AS
Dit only one pass. Not a very nice shave. Is it the Mühle blade or the one pass, we'll find out tomorrow.

TOBS sandalwood cream: 19
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 19
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Ligeti]

Mühle (2), TOBS Sandalwood cream and Proraso red AS
Must've been the one pass yesterday. Very decent shave today on WTG/ATG.
After having used soaps for a few weeks, it's amazing how I see the suface changing after each time I load my brush with this TOBS cream. And I have to get used again to different amounts of water needed for the face-lathering.

TOBS sandalwood cream: 20
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 19
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Ligeti]

Mühle (3), TOBS Sandalwood cream and Proraso red AS
Rather fine shave. Under the chin is still very unreliable. And I notice that I didn't get close enough to the nostrils this morning.

TOBS sandalwood cream: 21
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 19
Tabac soap : 18

 

[Ligeti]

Mühle (4), TOBS Sandalwood cream and Proraso red AS
Oké shave. I have the impression my ATG pass on my chin and cheeks doesn't add much. However much I pay attention to the angle. Even doing several passes 'on remaining slickness' at slightly different angels. Should I toss the blade and try Astra again? (Obviously a relative newbie will blaim the material, while my technique is the more probable cause)

TOBS sandalwood cream: 22
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 19
Tabac soap : 18

 

[AimlessWanderer]

If the blade is cutting fine on the first two passes, just ditch the ATG pass

 

[Rosseforp]

Mühle (4), TOBS Sandalwood cream and Proraso red AS
Oké shave. I have the impression my ATG pass on my chin and cheeks doesn't add much. However much I pay attention to the angle. Even doing several passes 'on remaining slickness' at slightly different angels. Should I toss the blade and try Astra again? (Obviously a relative newbie will blaim the material, while my technique is the more probable cause)

When I was a relative newbie to wet shaving I would usually bin the blades after 2-4 shaves. After 1 1/2 years of using a DE those same blades now last me 10-20 shaves. That being said, I have noticed some blades cut my stubble much better than others. Blades are cheap, bin it. Use what works the best for YOU. YMMV

My 2 cents.

 

[Ligeti]

Astra SP (1), TOBS Sandalwood cream and Proraso red AS
Good shave.
I followed Rosseforp's advice (again), just ditching the Mühle blade after 4 shaves.
I can see the bottom of the TOBS sandalwood cream tub already. In the middle, where the tip of the brush swirls constantly when loading, there was a small pit forming over the days. This pit obviously collected the little moisture that was left after loading, keeping that spot softer than the rest. So the pit deepend faster and faster. And now already reached the bottom.

I notice the same process starting with the Proraso red soap. But nothing of that kind with the Tabac soap. Does this happen to all users of creams and softer soaps?

TOBS sandalwood cream: 23
Palmolive stick : 5
Wilkinson puck : 6
Proraso Red soap : 19
Tabac soap : 18

 

[thombrogan]

Does this happen to all users of creams and softer soaps?

Happened to my jar of Stirling Naked and Smooth.

Check out the journal of @nelsonic21 — it even happened to his Tabac!

Josh's 3017 Journey

Since I've started DE shaving in December 2013 there have been many soaps/creams that have been through my shave den. The first was a puck of Van der Hagen deluxe that I went through in over a month. After that different soaps/creams were purchased and I rotated them not really paying attention...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Wow! Seeing the bottom of the tub after just 23 shaves!

I tend to use products like that differently. I load the brush directly on the soap with harder products, like your tabac, but with softer stuff, I scoop. I take about 1ml out and put that into a lather bowl, and load the brush from there, so a tub of Taylors cream would last me a fair bit longer than it's lasting for you.

With the harder soaps, if use consistently, they will soften up as they take on a little water each time you use it. This means it will swell a little to start with, taking up the difference of the soap that's been removed, and not looking like you've used any. Once the soap softens, and it stops taking on extra water, then you start to notice the reduction a little more.

 

[Rosseforp]

I notice the same process starting with the Proraso red soap. But nothing of that kind with the Tabac soap. Does this happen to all users of creams and softer soaps?

Yes. I just take a small spoon and reshape the soap so the top is flat in the tub when that starts to happen. With soft soaps like TOBS I just scoop a small dab on my finger and transfer it to the brush, then face lather. Before I started doing that I found I was using way more product than I needed, which is why the lather would dry so fast also. With so much product it is hard to hydrate properly.
I found that when I started to weigh my soaps before and after that I use between .5 an 1 gram of product per shave. Sometimes the soap absorbs some water and is actually heavier after loading the brush, but loses the weight when it evaporates.

 

[Ligeti]

Wow! Seeing the bottom of the tub after just 23 shaves!

I must confess: often, after lunch, I wash my hands with a little scoop of TOBS Sandalwood cream, just to get back that smell for the rest of the day. So 23 shaves... and quite a bit of washing hands