30 Day Rule/Focus; September 2023. All Are Welcome!

Sept 16 SOTA

Good afternoon.

Schick E-3 Injector
Ted Pella Injector Blade (9, 10)
Omega Pro 49 Boar Brush
Stirling Spice SS, AS, and EdT
Stirling Alum Block Modessa Witch Hazel Beard Growth: 25 hrs
Dome Turf: 4 days



I did a head and a face shave this afternoon so I brought out my Schick E-3. I needed an aggressive razor to mow down my 4 day head lawn. Lol! Stirling Spice Saturday was the call of the day. I just love this scent. Here's today's lather:



Surprisingly, I only needed two passes on the face and dome with minor pickups for a BBS shave all around and without any incidents. The alum feedback was also quite negligible. Usually I get a noticeable feedback on my neck from this razor, but not this time. I attribute it to keeping the blade almost parallel to my skin and it still was able to do a great job even with approximately 10 shaves on the blade. Witch hazel and then followed with a splash of the aftershave. Topped it off with 3 spritzes of the matching EdT. Take care.

 

Terrific shaves Troy.

 

Thanks Gary.

 

Ha! I don’t disagree

 

fantastic weekend set ups and pics gents.

 

Thanks Joe. It seems George has a pretty wide range that many shavers could find peace with. So far I find it’s a smoother shave when I ride the cap wtg. I haven’t yet learned how to get the most out of this razor for atg passes. In fact, two combo (wtg/xtg) passes gets me quite close with relatively little irritation. That last part is key for me. I have a sensitive lower neck area and strive for no irritation. Injectors and certain DEs perform better for me than others.

 

Sounds like a solid shave event, Troy

 

Thank you, Joe

 

Thanks fellas, leftover stubble can be tackled the next day

Nicks, scratches, slices and dices need a few days to heal

And are best avoided

I do find my closest shaves come at some cost

The question is... is it worth it

 

i opt for near bbs every day.comfy and clean/looks great,no issues..

 

The bare minimum should be a DFS (damn fine shave) when taking off one's stubble. In other words, one should look clean-shaven. BBS is subjective. In my case, I call my shaves BBS when my cheeks and chin are smooth and there is still some sandpaper feel on small areas of my neck. However, there is the Holy Grail BBS in which one can pass the cotton ball test and that's because there isn't any stragglers anywhere. I have achieved this Holy Grail of shaves only 2 to 3 times in my 5 years of wetshaving. Really, it's a cool experience, but I go for at least near BBS shave everytime. Everyone has different shave standards and so I say you determine your standards on what constitutes a great shave.

 

I agree with all of you.

I have given up on BBS -- it requires 3 passes and a bit of buffing for me, which invariably leaves me with some areas of skin irritation (the dreaded "razorburn"). That can be brought reasonably under control with a heavy application of something like Nivea balm, but why intentionally do something to myself that I know beforehand will need that level of repair? Especially when BBS only lasts a few hours before it is back to slightly sandpapery DFS anyway? Why not just aim for DFS with zero skin irritation in the first place?

 

x 3!

 

Saturday September 16 - September S is for Skin-Clearing

Prep: Hot face wash with Aleppo soap
Razor: Supply 2.0 injector with SE comb plate / vintage US-made Schick Plus Platinum (6)
Soap: Neutrogena Skin Clearing Shave Cream
Brush: none
Lather Bowl: none
Post: rinse, alum, rinse, InfaLab Magic Touch Nick Relief powder
Last shave: Wednesday - 3 days




I decided to repeat Monday and Wednesday's shaves - everything except the number of shaves on the blade.

One pass removed the thin layer of cream along with all my whiskers. The usual WTG on the face and ATG on the neck. That was all I really needed for a DFS.

Unfortunately, I then got "smart": I noticed when rinsing my face that it was still very slippery ... and decided to do a second very light XTG pass all over without using a fresh squirt of cream from the tube. The result was a slight stinging sensation from the alum bar in several places on my neck. Then, after I rinsed off the alum, I noticed a small nick under my chin that was bleeding a bit even after the alum rub. Rather than using my styptic pencil on it, I used a dab of a styptic powder, which did the job.

However, when I looked in the mirror just now, many hours later, I noticed a red patch of razorburn covering the right side of my neck immediately under my chin with a spackling of half a dozen dried pinpoint blood spots in that area. It was a more widespread problem than just one nick.

I have known for years that I cannot do cleanup shaving or light buffing without fresh lather. Trying it was stupid -- and I did it anyway to test the residual glide of that cream. Well, I guess I found the answer... Oh well, as we say, tomorrow is another shave.


.

 

near bbs for me is smooth cheeks and chin,upper/lower neck with the grain.i start feeling mild sandpaper after work,so approx 8 hours after the initial shave,i don't really do against the grain,more across the grain in 2 directions.little to no irritation on bad lather days even so always good results.i can always tell,"that's enough"..most shaves end up being 2 pass shaves with minor pick ups on average.techs razor shaves require a little more buffing.it's a cool technique well within vintage spec razors/blades that our ancestors looked fantastic with.hell today most folks don't even shave..

 

Cool Joe. All right then: let's aim for the Bare Minimum, Bare Face, Minimal stubble, Minimal damage

Some glibly talk about BBS both ways, hmmm, I don't see that happening, not in my neck of the woods

BBS in one direction in some parts yes, easy: I can achieve that with most DE razors in the cheeks sideburn areas and top lip with 3 passes + ATG, sometimes in the left hand side of the neck. The right side of my neck? Nope. What I call Zone 8 will be dutifully renamed the sandpaper zone!

 

Thanks John. Some Youtubers talk about buffing with water. For me: No Lather = No Blade

That's the nice thing about open combs, they leave some lather behind

When I do buff it's always better when I use use the brush to add more lather, or with the left hand adding more lather from the bowl, to lead the way by stretching ahead of the blade

But...this adds more time to the shave with only little added benefit, other than the mere satisfaction of knowing I did my best and got away with it!

Law of diminishing returns

 

Thanks @Trigger Joe, I found that too with the Eversharp Hydromagic I used last, held so flat against the face you can almost feel the suction between cap and skin. That's in the flat areas. The chin and jawline are harder to keep that angle.

 

17th September 2023.



​

Shaving Recipe for today.


Prep: Warm shower:/Nivea Men Power 24H Fresh Effect Shower Gel.

Pre:
Cold wet flannel to my face.
Wrights Coal Tar Bar Soap.
Brush: Semogue 1470.
Face Lather.
Lather: Lea Shave Stick.
Blade: Personna Gem PTFE (D2)
Razor: Razor: Ever Ready 1914. (US) (brass)

Post:
Cold water face wash with brush squeezing's, Cold Water Face Rinse. /Homemade (~Spring/Summer mix~) Lemon, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Essential Oils.3 Menthol Crystals Mixed Together With 200ml of Care+Witch Hazel./ Cien Men Sensitive ASB./Milton Lloyd Essentials no9 EdP.

Relaxing Sunday morning shave.

Greetings,

A wonderful performance from the Ever-Ready 1914.

The audio feedback you get from these vintage shaving tools for me personally is incredibly satisfying.
An enjoyable 2 pass + pick ups close comfortable shave with no errors to report. Finishing the shave off with a few small squirts of Milton Lloyd Essentials no9 EdP to the chest & pulse points.

My face is feeling super smooth & smelling divine.

Keep safe and enjoy your Sunday ladies & gentlemen.