PPPS: Patrick Pursues Perfect Shaves

[pdillon]

105/105

Muhle 23mm STF with Sudsy Soapery Top O' the Morning
Henson Ti22+ with Astra (2)
Lucky Tiger

Really (really) nice shave after a long day. Lather seemed better today and I am really enjoying the Henson. One thing I really like about the shave journal is it makes me think about what I would do differently to improve. I followed yesterday's advice and tried to load heavy and it seemed to work well. Face is bordering on BBS and neck is looking very good.

 

[pdillon]

106/106 of 365 in 2022

C&H Gentleman Fanchurian with Sudsy Soapery Top O'the Morning
Henson Ti22+ with Astra (2)
Lucky Tiger

Another nice shave. SS worked well with the badger. I only did two passes today but results are still quite nice.

The results on my neck were good today, but I realize (and this is probably obvious to anyone reading) there is probably something off with my technique on my neck. I think I had one tiny spot of irritation today, which was perhaps even just a tiny cut. I think I should focus on the technique of my XTG pass, which is typically S-N.

 

[pdillon]

107/107 of 365 in 2022

SOC with Sudsy Soapery Top O'the Morning
Henson Ti22+ with Astra (4)
Lucky Tiger

Went full marco method with the SOC. Getting nice, slick lather from the SS. It stays very "low structure." I might like to try bowl lathering with it.
Only did one pass on my neck, although it is looking very fine. Just some minor hints of irritation I want to let clear up completely.

 

[pdillon]

108/108 of 365 in 2022

Paladin 2XL with Sudsy Soapery Top O'the Morning
Henson Ti22+ with Gillette Platinum (1)
Lucky Tiger

Another very nice shave. Not perfect, but the best run of shaves I've had for a while.

 

[pdillon]

109/109 of 365 in 2022

Bruce with Sudsy Soapery Top O'the Morning
Henson Ti22+ with Gillette Platinum (2)
Lucky Tiger

Decent shave but some issues on the neck. On the first pass the lather was definitely too dry, it was very pasty . On the second I dunked it perhaps too vigorously in water. I think I really need to dial in the lather before I can take my neck shaves to the next level. I am also wondering if 3017'ing through my assortment of soaps is going to give me the results I want. I am wondering if I should get some more Barrister and Mann Omnibus and really stick with that as I have found it to work very well for me.

 

[thombrogan]

I am wondering if I should get some more Barrister and Mann Omnibus and really stick with that as I have found it to work very well for me.

I suspect lather monogamy will be what lets your lather get known inside and out, but don’t know for certain if that’s how it would be for you. On the plus side, if all your favorite Barrister and Mann Omnibus scents lather the same, then you might be able to get lather perfecto without getting tired of a particular scent.

 

[pdillon]

I suspect lather monogamy will be what lets your lather get known inside and out, but don’t know for certain if that’s how it would be for you. On the plus side, if all your favorite Barrister and Mann Omnibus scents lather the same, then you might be able to get lather perfecto without getting tired of a particular scent.

I agree, but I think I need to lean toward serial monogamy a bit more than strict marriage-until-death contracts, at the moment. B&M omnibus is the best I have found and would be reliable, but I do have a bit of a stash (probably 8-10 soaps) to work through (and there are some big dogs in there) as well as a desire to shave with things like triple milled soaps. So while I struggle to reconcile these contradictory ideas (I think about shaving to much), I don't have much desire after using SS exclusively every day for a few weeks to stick with it. SS is a good soap. Very slick. I had some great shaves with it and I may come back to it, but for the moment I have moved on...

110/110 of 365 in 2022

Paladin 2XL with DG After the Rain
Henson Ti22+ with Gillette Platinum (3)
Lucky Tiger

After almost a decade of exclusively bowl lathering, I have determined over the past year or so that face lathering works significantly better for me. This is my second "puck" of DG Milksteak and after the first I am reluctant to load directly from the tub although that is my preferred method. So for the first shave with ATR I scooped into a bowl and lathered there. I could tell the results were not the best DG can be, but they were great! My face feels amazing after the shave and the shave itself was surprisingly nice.

For the next shave I will load from the tub. I don't know why but scooping and bowl lathering just does not work great. I'm not going to resell this soap. I can hold the soap upside down and air it out between shaves, and if it gets saturated with water so be it, that is a consideration for next time I buy but for now I will enjoy what I have. And btw my face feels great!

 

[pdillon]

111/111 of 365 in 2022

Paladin 2XL with DG After the Rain
Henson Ti22+ with Gillette Platinum (4)
Lucky Tiger

Late shave. My wife & I stayed up later than usual watching tv so was a little tired during the shave. Loaded directly from the tub. Due to my subconscious fears, my first pass was a little stingy and I think that affected the overall shave. Just a few more swirls on the puck and the lather was incredible. DG leaves and incredible post shave feel. The soap feels noticeably softer after loading from the tub... very very soft. I have left it open to dry and that will probably affect the scent but what are you gonna do.

 

[pdillon]

112/112 of 365 in 2022

Muhle 23mm STF with DG After the Rain
Henson Ti22+ with Feather (1)
Lucky Tiger

Great shave. I think if I had shaves like this every day my neck irritation would be 99% (at the moment it is looking great). The two keys here being great lather and remembering a very light touch.

The first couple of shaves I went with the Paladin. DG is renowned for making some of the best badger brushes available. This made me think I should use my best badger with the DG soap. That worked great but today I had better results with my synth and I believe the synth will also help with my fears of soap longevity. I thoroughly wetted the brush then squeezed it out. I painted a thick paste on my face and between strokes I dipped the tips three times. Lather seemed great.

I got my haircut yesterday and I was struck by how smooth Albert's shavette felt as he edged my hair line. I tried to channel that soft touch on my bext and I feel like the latger enables it. I have been thinking quite a bit about getting a Feather AC razor and this experience has me considering it even more.

 

[thombrogan]

Be careful. Barber razors can lead to straight razors. And those can open up addictions to strops and stones and stone flattening systems.

 

[pdillon]

Be careful. Barber razors can lead to straight razors. And those can open up addictions to strops and stones and stone flattening systems.

That sort of maintenance is a turn off to me. At least at the moment. If it weren't for the maintenance (and gear) I would jump into straights first, because I have heard they are the gentlest razors on the skin.

 

[Rosseforp]

That sort of maintenance is a turn off to me. At least at the moment. If it weren't for the maintenance (and gear) I would jump into straights first, because I have heard they are the gentlest razors on the skin.

The Feather AC is a great start. Very gentle and quite easy to use.

~doug~

 

[pdillon]

113/113 of 365 in 2022

Bruce with DG After the Rain
Henson Ti22+ with Feather (2)
Lucky Tiger

Nice shave today. DG seems really really nice. Thoroughly wetted the brush then squeezed out as much water as I could. Loaded the brush, then dunked it once.The lather was very slick. I often hear of lather qualities described as slickness and protection. If that is true, DG seems great for slickness; I'm not certain about the protection. Post shave feel is fantastic. My cheeks/face would be a DFS--not quite BBS. I don't think there was any new irritation on my neck but about an hour or more after my shave it feels a little itchy/sensitive. In general the neck looks pretty good with what I think is mostly lingering irritation.

 

[pdillon]

114/114 of 365 in 2022

Muhle 23mm STF with DG After the Rain
Henson Ti22+ with Feather (3)
Lucky Tiger

Pretty good shave today... par for the course, but I think I see where I might be going wrong. I have been neglecting to bull frog when shaving my neck which has worked very well for me in the past. I also think I need to remap the first pass that I do straight down the front of my throat. I think this part of my technique in particular is introducing some irritation.

 

[thombrogan]

Looking forward to reading how your return to bullfrogging treats your skin and to see which AC-format barber razors are on your radar.

 

[pdillon]

Looking forward to reading how your return to bullfrogging treats your skin and to see which AC-format barber razors are on your radar.

Probably the Feather SR with the DX as a longer-term goal if all goes well. ATM the DE(s) are still keeping me occupied but the Feathers are on my mind.

 

[pdillon]

115/115 of 365 in 2022

Muhle 23mm STF with DG After the Rain
Henson Ti22+ with Personna Lab Blue (1)
Lucky Tiger

Good shave! I remembered to bullfrog and it seemed to be an improvement. I did three passes on the neck instead of the typical two, and I did not have any of the sensitivity or discomfort I have been having lately.

Although my lather was good, I think I could have made it a little slicker. I tried adding substantially more water on the third pass but I might have gone too far or has too little product by then. Still good results.

 

[thombrogan]

Excellent news on the bullfrogging and rare third neck pass!

Most sources of Feather are at/near MSRP (auction sites may differ…), but Jatai had a sale last November that I hope they’ll repeat this November that made their Artist Club prices more attractive.

 

[pdillon]

116/116 of 365 in 2022

Bruce with DG After the Rain
Henson Ti22+ with Personna Lab Blue (2)
Lucky Tiger

Nice shave. Good results with bullfrogging again. During my second pass I went a bit shallower and that seemed to work well. Once again (shame on me) I feel like I'm underloading the GD. Tomorrow I should really try to load it up.

 

[pdillon]

117/117 of 365 in 2022

Muhle 23mm STF with DG After the Rain
Henson Ti22+ with Personna Lab Blue (7)
Lucky Tiger

Very nice. Loaded heavily and that seemed to work pretty well. Will probably experiment with adding a bit more water. Adjusting the angle to be a bit more shallow than what I have been using is very nice.