April 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Excellent post! I couldn't agree more.

 

Well said, Charlie!

 

I perfectly understand and i understand it's a hobby and i intend to practice and i try to learn from opinions of others. A proverb says "the clever man learns from his own mistakes, the wise man from the mistakes of others". This is why i tried to take opinions from everywhere i could, about technique, razors, blades, etc, instead of just charging into Amazon and start picking whatever catches my eye. However, by nature, i like to understand things, that's all. Because if i understand them, i can explain them. Like an old professor of mine used to say "at the end, everything has an explanation, the hard part is finding it". For the same reason, i build my own computers. Since i like them, i wanted to understand better. So i read online guides, then assembled my computer on my own. And i also have very good chances in understanding what's going bad if something odd happens. It makes me cosy and happy. That's how i tick.
And i hope i didn't ruin the forum too much with me being overly attached to theory.


About the dermatologists, there is an easy explanation, since i used to have one for flatmate who also told me "don't shave ATG". That's a general precautional advice. Some people, mostly Caucasians, genetically, can't have ingrown hairs, even if they tried. But for a dermatologist, this isn't the only issue. They think in general of what might happen. To them, the skin is worth more than the hair. For example, ATG has more probabilities of giving folliculitis, which is a simple bacterial infection (contrary to ingrown hair which is PSEUDOfolliculitis). Or it may exacerbate other skin problems. I shaved ATG after many years with DE blade now too and i didn't have many problems. But think of it, as the dermatologist equivalent of "don't smoke". Of the smokers, only a 10% usually will have a lung cancer during his life, if he smokes all his life. 90% won't. But the pneumologist, will say equally "don't smoke" to every single smoker he sees. Because, it's "better safe than sorry". Just to understand a bit the poor dermatologist's point of view.

 

April 18

Z3 Gillette Super Speed
Feather (1)
Kent BK 8 silvertip badger
Jabonman Eufros Oriental Breeze
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, and unrefined shea butter
Fine L'Orange Noir aftershave

I transitioned from a Voskhod to a Feather blade today. Aiming for a shave with no weepers, I went WTG on the first pass and ATG on the second pass and finished with a high-grade DFS. I can usually push the Feather blades a little more without getting weepers on the second and third shaves as they smooth out. I would have never recognized some of this without recently comparing the Feather to a few other DE blades. I have to admit that currently my favorite DE blade is the Voskhod due to its smoothness and overall cutting performance. Yep, @NCoxSTL, I'm a convert.

I loaded the Kent BK8 from the puck and whipped up a mountain of lather on my face. The Jabonman soap is easy to lather, sufficiently slick and protective, and it smells great. It's my favorite soap overall.

The alum tingled, but overall, no issues. I finished with Fine L'Orange Noir, which is probably my favorite aftershave also.

I hope you all are having a great Tuesday!

 

And Frugal Frank the shortest.

 

YO

 

I have my cigar picked for the ride home from work, and my shave picked out for tomorrow. Life is good. Hope it is there too.

 

Points well taken. Please carry on. I was just expressing my views as well. We're all wired differently, and that keeps things interesting. I'm very glad you're part of the 30 Day Crew, that you are making progress, and enjoying your newfound hobby!

And, yes, I think you will be using a shavette before it's all said and done.

 

Well, i don't smoke and my shave will depend on...Derby, so based on that alone, i couldn't tell you about whether my life will be good or not.

Me, shavette? Nah... I don't even really enjoy the razor pictures. I judge them more from a photographic beauty point of view, rathern than "equipment" point of view. The main reason i started wet shaving, is because my late father was a wet shaver. And i thought to start continuing the tradition. I like it, because i can change blades and razors mostly. The boring thing with cartridges is that it's always the same thing. You press and drag.
But there is NO way i will ever use shavette. There are 2 things that always work for me: 1) Bang for buck (that's a deeply rooted cultural thing, i can't change it), 2) Risk for reward (that's something i acquired later, due to professional deformation). And the risk/reward ratio of shavette is way worse in my eyes than the DE razor. So it wont happen. I don't even browse them in a shop where they sell razors. I just skip them and look at safety razors. They remind me of a barber that when i was a kid, had a shavette to clean the neck and define the limits of the hair to the ear height (i don't know the word) and he would almost regularly nick me and he would always say "ooops, sorry, i just nicked you a bit".

 

Sorry, i missed your post. Ah, thanks for the explanation, because here in Europe i think most of us have this idea that in the US it's a bit of "Far West" as far as gun control goes. I am not sure if you can buy semi-automatics here, i am not an expert on the matter. I just know that for long rifle guns there is a strict selection of which are allowed, but nothing more. Bottom line: Most of us here are unarmed. Those who are armed, might be working for the mafia.

 

Yes, you need to stop watching so many movies. Hollywood gets it wrong most times.

 

Like it or not Hollywood has huge impact to us others abroads. American films have more guns than i have razors!

 

Slickness is the key with SR. Other than that, any soap can do.

 

Sorry to hear about your sick straight razor.....

 

I have a tiny TSD Splash w/Peppermint.....looking forward to trying that one.

 

Just to point it out......today is the day before Williams Wednesday!!Woo

 

Adjustable April on a Tuesday

Tabac & Omega #20248 boar
Weck / Annie blade
Gillette #195 / PMP
Alum, Stirling AS


I can see Tabac Tuesdays becoming a Thing. This old Omega less so. I enjoyed the texture of the bristles when it was new. Didn't mind it as it broke in. Then I gave it a vinegar bath and it got too soft. No worries, I'll start looking for a 24mm boar knot. @jtspartan.
Yesterdays aborted SR shave brought me back to the shavette. Still doing clean up passes with an Adjustable so I haven't totally abandoned April's Focus. I skipped alum for a couple shaves to see if anything changed. It did & now I'm using again. I like the pre-AS burning sensation. Is that weird? While poking around trying to find an AS that compliments Tabac I found a sample of Stirling Coniferous. I don't remember where it came from but it's pleasantly scented and gives good face feel. Thank you Unknown PIFer!
Good Shaves Y'all!