January 2015 30 Day Rule/30 Day Focus Pic and Discussion Thread- All are Welcome

Day 8
Prep: Hot shower, Conditioner
Brush: Van Der Hagen (the one from the premium kit)
Soap: Van Der Hagen Luxury
Blade: Hill Country (rebranded Personna)
Razor: Edwin Jagger DE89
Post: Nivea Original, Old Spice

Yesterday was day 8 and nothing really new to report. When I get back from work today hopefully I'll have time to write up something more detailed for todays shave.

 

SOTD
January 10, 2015

Prep: Hot shower. Axe Shield Face Wash
Razor: RazoRock Stealth Slant
Blade: Astra SP
Brush: L'Occitane Plisson
Lather: Catie's Bubbles Jardin D'OR
Post: Alum.Thayers Lavender WH.
Aftershave: Clubman Lilac Vegetal
Great shave! Catie's Bubbles is very easy to lather, slick, cushion-y, the scebt is amazing! The Astra is a great razor blade in the RRSS. da Veg!
Go out and get it!

 

Thanks! I performed my first three-pass shave this morning using the same set-up. It was my best shave with the Mongoose so far!

 

Thanks for the suggestion. The alum block is one thing I have not tried yet.

 

It was a Walgreens holiday section haul...made by the same conglomerate that makes Stetson, et al.

 

Double second the Alum block. I had breakout issues as well, but mine seems to have mitigated with alum and skincare. If you continue to have breakouts, a dermatologist may need to help you determine the cause, as it might not be directly caused by shaving. I am 40 and still dealing with it as well.

 

1/10/15 - Day 6 of the #30DayChallenge

Made one little shift in my set-up and that was to substitute in my Omega 10066 brush. Wow, that thing really whipped together some great lather with the Klar Kabinett soap! All else remains constant and the shaves just keep getting better with the Weber/Voskhod combo. It appears that 5 shaves for a Voskhod blade in the Weber is what works best for me. 6 is one too many. I base this judgement on the current set-up and previous records

Prep: shower and Cornhusker's Lotion
Lather: Klar Kabinett
Brush: Omega 10066
Razor: Weber PH bulldog handle
Blade: Voskhod (1)
Post: Cold rinse and Ogallala Bay Rum

 

Speak for yourself...I see the approach to BBS as a collapsing Fourier Transform or Taylor Series, reducing to to a quadratic solution in terms of time spent shaving.

F(x)=f(BBS)= [d(x)/d(t)]({(0,1)x^2+4x+16=0)] where t = time spent shaving, x = Mol weight of Arko used in shave, discarding non real answers...

Just kidding...fictional math above...but the asymptotic comment is true, there is only a better shave...perfect is a dream!

Ride the cap...next level stuff...

 

Agree with a dermatologist. I struggled with "adult acne" for years. Turns out I also had folliculitis. Sounds like you may have a component of folliculitis @Jostalli based on your description. I have not had an issue in months since being treated.

 

1/10/2015 30 Day - Shave # 10

Prep - Hot Shower
Razor - Mongoose Satin B2
Blade - Kai Mild (3)
Brush - Rubberset 400 with WSP HMW
Lather - Soap Commander Confidence
Post - Witch Hazel and Dove AS Balm



With more time today, I decided to do a 3 pass shave consisting of WTG, XTG and ATG passes. As usual, I still had to touch up the are around my chin. My normal 2 pass shave yields a great shave and pretty near BBS each time. Certainly chased the "baby" with 3 passes today. But I caught it. The most unexpected part of this process has been the razor. Using such sharp blades, I would have expected more irritation but the opposite has been true. It has proven to be a very efficient razor but milder than I would have every thought.

 

Day 7 Lab Report - 30 Day Rule with a Slim BSG

Friday night was another evening shave while traveling. The slim set on six is doing really well everywhere except the floss of the neck. It seems that maybe five might be better for that. I am very happy with choosing TSD shave stick for this exercise...it's super easy to work and provides guaranteed great lather...the neck soreness is way better. Like @maltedmilk mentions, I either need to ride the cap or use no pressure on the neck. I think I have been indecisive about my technique in that area, and am paying for it with sore skin! I have been able to get a better shave on the chin and jawline as I experiment with a skew cut technique and buffing strokes. I am not sure this slim will ever be an everyday razor...but the shaves are improving!

 

Planned Day 8 of 30
BSG
30 Day Rule with a Slim


​

J2 Gillette Slim Adjustable
Kroger Israeli Personna
VDH Kit Badger
TSD Lanolin Shave Stick - Barber Shoppe Scent
Today's Great Cheap AS™ is TSD 2x Iced Floid Blue type

TSD gets Great Cheap AS™ status as it costs $10 per bottle. Even though it is not commonly available everywhere, it is some of the most value for dollar in all of aftershave, period. Great skincare and skinfeel, cold menthol...great price. And it's approved by Mrs. Samurai!

 

I had to get a Rx for clindamycin...I needed pro help too. All better now.

 

Same. I was prescribed Benzaclin, which has topical clindamycin in it. Worked like a charm!

 

Another shave in paradise this morning.

I went to day 4 on a blade which I normally don't do because the shave doesn't last as long. No tugging or irritation.

Gillette LC New Bulldog
Gillette Silver Blue
Semogue BC Texugo
Institut Karite
Alum
Superior 70

 

Day 9
Same setup as before:
Merkur progress
Merkur blade
Bigelow cream
AoS fine badger brush

One day of growth because I'm enjoying my shave again!

2 pass plus clean up. overall, not the bbs I'm chasing but major break through on neck shaving. Felt the the needed feeling of just dragging the blade across my whiskers. Ended up with a great buff on the chin and jaw line but missed across the gain above the chin. Hashtaglovethiskindofshaving!

 

Well day ten started with a new GEM PTFE coated blade for the Clog Pruf. I don't like them fresh out of the wrapper. For me they need a couple of uses to mellow out. I'm considering tapping out and changing blade types after this one. I'll still use the Clog Pruf the remainder of January. We'll see.

 

Day 10
my 30-day rule
razor: Ever Ready 1924 SE
blade: Personna GEM teflon coated
brush: Omega 31064
soap: Williams

New blade. Remembered the PSO! Chased that baby all the way to BBS. I did create a little burn on upper lip and very low on neck, either side of the laryngeal prominence (aka adam's apple).

I know I was concentrating on light strokes on the upper, but may have flaked out on the lower neck. I don't remember applying pressure, but can't attribute the burn to anything else.

I know I still have 2/3 of my 30 days to go, but I may have to downgrade my esteem for the ER 1924. It bums me out because I like the razor a lot! However, I want to maximize shaving enjoyment and I think I may enjoy using other razors more. <sigh> Well, if I ever get around to reducing my den, I'm going to have to let something go!
Oh, well... I won't toss a razor without some head-to-head comparisons. Since I still have 20 days to go, it means I don't have to make any cuts this month.

... Oh, no!... I'm a hoarder!

 

Some little pup did some traveling there! Nice photo!

 

A lot of GEM users tend to cork the blade on the first use to reduce that harshness from the wrapper.