Hello Everyone! I trust that you all had a wonderful Christmas and a safe New Year! I have been a little lax about posting regularly, so there is no time like the present. I am sipping an iced coffee (Caribou blend...yummy) and listening to Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring with a live orchestra on Youtube. So I am ready to write!
I have a new passion for wet shaving. As my wife often points out to me that there is a fine line between passion and obsession. She's right; I have had my toe on that lines many times! That being said, I am sure that some of you have never heard of this concept and some of you said "Yup, been there and done that." If you have, then terrific. You know the splendor of wet shaving. If you are unfamiliar with this, let me enlighten you.
For many years, I have shaved using a muti-blade cartridge and used goo from a pressurized can. Why? Because that is what I saw my Dad doing. Seeing someone do something is usually the reason that we do it ourselves, and frankly, I simply didn't know any other way. So, for many years. I had suffered through some crappy shaves that I tolerated. I usually ended up with razor bumps on my neck and try as I might, I couldn't ever get a close shave. That all changed last April.
I was on YouTube watching something totally unrelated to shaving and as I was scrolling through the other videos, I came upon a video about wet shaving. The gentleman (robbDV) was demonstrating the mixing and building shave soap for a lather. He even demonstrating how to shave with a safety razor. I was intrigued. I watched several of his videos and decided I was try wet shaving. Mixing and building your own shave soap and shaving creams and painting your face with a cream that you built yourself look and sounded so relaxing. I started looking at shaving products on Amazon and to my surprise, the supplies were relatively inexpensive. I was planning to order a Van Der Hagen set from Amazon that featured a shave soap, a mixing mug and a brush. Paula was shopping at Target and found the same set there for about the same price. I also ordered a safety razor and about ten razors from a private seller on Amazon. I was set and ready to begin!
I made sure that I soaked my shave brush well in hot water. After about a five minute soak, I started swirling the brush in the shave soap. After a few minutes, I started swirling the soap in a bowl to build a good lather. This bowl Paula found for me is actually a salsa bowl! Even more bizarre, it works very well for me! But I promise you that if you come over for chips, salsa and margaritas, I won't use that bowl!! After about two minutes of mixing the soap, I have a really nice lather that its consistency reminder me of a Cool Whip; thick, sturdy and certainly enough that will last me for several passes with a razor. I prepped my face by soaking a hand towel in hot water and pressed it into my face. After doing this several times, I made sure that my face was well hydrated.
I have to say that there is something almost serene when I paint my face with lather that I created with my own lily white hands. The lather being massaged into my face and feeling the warmth of the lather itself is almost therapeutic. Now, I must admit that I was a bit hesitant to use the safety razor because I was so afraid that I would cut myself. The razors are sharp; they have to be because if you have a dull blade, that it pulls on your skin and you don't get a quality shave. I have to say for a first time pass I did really well. No cuts! After a second painting of my face with left over lather, I successfully made a second pass with the razor. After I rinsed my face and slapped on the after shave balm, I loved how smooth my face felt after the shave. I NEVER had my face feel that great after shave using a cartridge razor. Not to mention that with the money I spent, these supplies were going to last me quite a while. In fact, it took me seven months to use up the shave soap before I got a new one! I certainly feel that I am getting a quality shave and a huge bang for my buck.
After months of wet shaving, I am ready to try a shavette. That sounds like the name of a girl group from the 1960's. A shavette is a smaller version of straight razor. I'll try it out and then post how it went for me in the comments section as a later date. So stay tuned.
I did end up buying a styptic pencil for when (not if) I cut my face. If you never used a styptic pencil, BEWARE.....it does sting A LOT! The first time I used it, I jumped around the bathroom looking like a headhunter doing a ritual dance to calm the volcano. But the pencil does its job by stopping the bleeding from the cut on your face. It truly is a must have for your shaving collection.
I will say that you must have some type of shave balm to use after you are finished shaving. You need something to sooth the face after taking a razor to you skin. I have tried a few and I like Nivea after shave balm the best. Not only does it sooth any razor burns, it leaves your skin feeling like a million and it smells terrific. Don't be shy in trying various balms; after all....how are you going to decide which you like best if you don't experiment?
If you really want to have an epiphany with shaving, I strongly recommend you try wet shaving. I promise you will be amazed in the results from a cartridge razor to a safety razor. You will get a cleaner, closer shave all the while pampering your yourself be really taking care of your face.
Below are some links to s couple of shaving web sites to get you started.
Shave Nation
If you want to try wet shaving for the first time, sign up with these guys. You;ll get a box of goodies once a month for a really reasonable price.
Shave Select
If you want to watch a couple of shave videos to get started, try these:
Mustache Jim. Check out his mega cool handlebar mustache!
Demonstration Shave This is a great link to see a wet shave in action. You can also read Robb's blog by going here: Shaveology
I hope I inspired some of you gents to get out there and try wet shaving. You can leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts or if I can answer any questions.
Until next time! May your lather be thick and your coffee strong!
I have a new passion for wet shaving. As my wife often points out to me that there is a fine line between passion and obsession. She's right; I have had my toe on that lines many times! That being said, I am sure that some of you have never heard of this concept and some of you said "Yup, been there and done that." If you have, then terrific. You know the splendor of wet shaving. If you are unfamiliar with this, let me enlighten you.
For many years, I have shaved using a muti-blade cartridge and used goo from a pressurized can. Why? Because that is what I saw my Dad doing. Seeing someone do something is usually the reason that we do it ourselves, and frankly, I simply didn't know any other way. So, for many years. I had suffered through some crappy shaves that I tolerated. I usually ended up with razor bumps on my neck and try as I might, I couldn't ever get a close shave. That all changed last April.
I was on YouTube watching something totally unrelated to shaving and as I was scrolling through the other videos, I came upon a video about wet shaving. The gentleman (robbDV) was demonstrating the mixing and building shave soap for a lather. He even demonstrating how to shave with a safety razor. I was intrigued. I watched several of his videos and decided I was try wet shaving. Mixing and building your own shave soap and shaving creams and painting your face with a cream that you built yourself look and sounded so relaxing. I started looking at shaving products on Amazon and to my surprise, the supplies were relatively inexpensive. I was planning to order a Van Der Hagen set from Amazon that featured a shave soap, a mixing mug and a brush. Paula was shopping at Target and found the same set there for about the same price. I also ordered a safety razor and about ten razors from a private seller on Amazon. I was set and ready to begin!
I made sure that I soaked my shave brush well in hot water. After about a five minute soak, I started swirling the brush in the shave soap. After a few minutes, I started swirling the soap in a bowl to build a good lather. This bowl Paula found for me is actually a salsa bowl! Even more bizarre, it works very well for me! But I promise you that if you come over for chips, salsa and margaritas, I won't use that bowl!! After about two minutes of mixing the soap, I have a really nice lather that its consistency reminder me of a Cool Whip; thick, sturdy and certainly enough that will last me for several passes with a razor. I prepped my face by soaking a hand towel in hot water and pressed it into my face. After doing this several times, I made sure that my face was well hydrated.
I have to say that there is something almost serene when I paint my face with lather that I created with my own lily white hands. The lather being massaged into my face and feeling the warmth of the lather itself is almost therapeutic. Now, I must admit that I was a bit hesitant to use the safety razor because I was so afraid that I would cut myself. The razors are sharp; they have to be because if you have a dull blade, that it pulls on your skin and you don't get a quality shave. I have to say for a first time pass I did really well. No cuts! After a second painting of my face with left over lather, I successfully made a second pass with the razor. After I rinsed my face and slapped on the after shave balm, I loved how smooth my face felt after the shave. I NEVER had my face feel that great after shave using a cartridge razor. Not to mention that with the money I spent, these supplies were going to last me quite a while. In fact, it took me seven months to use up the shave soap before I got a new one! I certainly feel that I am getting a quality shave and a huge bang for my buck.
After months of wet shaving, I am ready to try a shavette. That sounds like the name of a girl group from the 1960's. A shavette is a smaller version of straight razor. I'll try it out and then post how it went for me in the comments section as a later date. So stay tuned.
I did end up buying a styptic pencil for when (not if) I cut my face. If you never used a styptic pencil, BEWARE.....it does sting A LOT! The first time I used it, I jumped around the bathroom looking like a headhunter doing a ritual dance to calm the volcano. But the pencil does its job by stopping the bleeding from the cut on your face. It truly is a must have for your shaving collection.
I will say that you must have some type of shave balm to use after you are finished shaving. You need something to sooth the face after taking a razor to you skin. I have tried a few and I like Nivea after shave balm the best. Not only does it sooth any razor burns, it leaves your skin feeling like a million and it smells terrific. Don't be shy in trying various balms; after all....how are you going to decide which you like best if you don't experiment?
If you really want to have an epiphany with shaving, I strongly recommend you try wet shaving. I promise you will be amazed in the results from a cartridge razor to a safety razor. You will get a cleaner, closer shave all the while pampering your yourself be really taking care of your face.
Below are some links to s couple of shaving web sites to get you started.
Shave Nation
If you want to try wet shaving for the first time, sign up with these guys. You;ll get a box of goodies once a month for a really reasonable price.
Shave Select
If you want to watch a couple of shave videos to get started, try these:
Mustache Jim. Check out his mega cool handlebar mustache!
Demonstration Shave This is a great link to see a wet shave in action. You can also read Robb's blog by going here: Shaveology
I hope I inspired some of you gents to get out there and try wet shaving. You can leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts or if I can answer any questions.
Until next time! May your lather be thick and your coffee strong!
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