Since I was in college, I have had a goatee. Even when the only guys around with them were thirtysomething baseball players, I kept mine.
Recently, I discovered the reason. Since I was in high school, I had never been able to shave my chin, and in fact hated doing it. So I left it alone.
I had used the razor that dispenses the goo, I had used an M3, I had used all the creams, and Neutrogena gels. Shaving wasn't really something I cared about, because it was merely a duty.
Then a colleague sent me the Greenberg Manifesto. I remember at the time thinking that it all made sense, but I really didn't think too much about it, until at a Grocery store, I saw Burma Shave soap and a brush, all for under 5 bucks! So I threw it into the mix of onions and milk and green beans, my wife a bit skeptical. I bought a dollar mug at Target, and was on the ground running. I loved the feel of the brush on my face, and all the lather, but I still kept the goat.
I started reading more articles, I ditched the M3 for good news, and it worked just as well as the M3, and then, back in November, a little windfall made possible the purchase of an Open Comb Merkur Classic. Sheer joy! It felt so great in my hand - an actual precision tool! Thus, my goatee fell by the Merkur blade somewhere before Thanksgiving.
Then at a specialty grocery store - I saw Pre de Provence soap - and picked it up. Huge difference over the Burma Shave or the Williams that had recently camped out in my mug.
Then, a month ago, I bought my first badger brush - a Vulfix #2234 in black. A tube of Proraso became my entree into creams, and now I'm hooked. That cake of Provence I picked up in September is still in my mug, and it's still great.
So, here's my routine as it stands now.
I get hot water going while brushing my teeth in the morning, fill a bowl with the hot water, and dunk the vulfix into the water while I take my shower.
After the shower, I dry all but my face, run the hot water again, dump the bowl, and heat it again, with the brush in the water. One shake of the brush, then into the hard soap, or a dab of Proraso in the bowl. I set the bowl in the sink full of hot water, and start up a lather. I'm kind of working a combo of lathering on my face and in the bowl for now.
I tend to go WTG, then XTG, then ATG... but sometimes follow the Method forms.
When finished, I rinse the bowl and brush, run cold water, splashing the cold water on my face, and dabbing my face with a towel, after which I apply Nivea Replenishing Balm.
Two things I need to work on:
1) Preshave treatments. Should I bite the bullet and go with the Proraso Pre/Post or should I get a good preshave oil?
2) Aftershave stuff - is the Nivea Replenishing any good?
I'm hoping to begin a foray into mamabear and AOS cream soon, too.
Recently, I discovered the reason. Since I was in high school, I had never been able to shave my chin, and in fact hated doing it. So I left it alone.
I had used the razor that dispenses the goo, I had used an M3, I had used all the creams, and Neutrogena gels. Shaving wasn't really something I cared about, because it was merely a duty.
Then a colleague sent me the Greenberg Manifesto. I remember at the time thinking that it all made sense, but I really didn't think too much about it, until at a Grocery store, I saw Burma Shave soap and a brush, all for under 5 bucks! So I threw it into the mix of onions and milk and green beans, my wife a bit skeptical. I bought a dollar mug at Target, and was on the ground running. I loved the feel of the brush on my face, and all the lather, but I still kept the goat.
I started reading more articles, I ditched the M3 for good news, and it worked just as well as the M3, and then, back in November, a little windfall made possible the purchase of an Open Comb Merkur Classic. Sheer joy! It felt so great in my hand - an actual precision tool! Thus, my goatee fell by the Merkur blade somewhere before Thanksgiving.
Then at a specialty grocery store - I saw Pre de Provence soap - and picked it up. Huge difference over the Burma Shave or the Williams that had recently camped out in my mug.
Then, a month ago, I bought my first badger brush - a Vulfix #2234 in black. A tube of Proraso became my entree into creams, and now I'm hooked. That cake of Provence I picked up in September is still in my mug, and it's still great.
So, here's my routine as it stands now.
I get hot water going while brushing my teeth in the morning, fill a bowl with the hot water, and dunk the vulfix into the water while I take my shower.
After the shower, I dry all but my face, run the hot water again, dump the bowl, and heat it again, with the brush in the water. One shake of the brush, then into the hard soap, or a dab of Proraso in the bowl. I set the bowl in the sink full of hot water, and start up a lather. I'm kind of working a combo of lathering on my face and in the bowl for now.
I tend to go WTG, then XTG, then ATG... but sometimes follow the Method forms.
When finished, I rinse the bowl and brush, run cold water, splashing the cold water on my face, and dabbing my face with a towel, after which I apply Nivea Replenishing Balm.
Two things I need to work on:
1) Preshave treatments. Should I bite the bullet and go with the Proraso Pre/Post or should I get a good preshave oil?
2) Aftershave stuff - is the Nivea Replenishing any good?
I'm hoping to begin a foray into mamabear and AOS cream soon, too.
