June 21--Just the Basics June
Shavette Shave #100--”Chase Day”
Between it being Fathers Day, Sunday, and a shavette milestone, I decided to pull out all the stops as well as all my faves from the den
Gear
- Razor: Max Headroom Focus R21--the favorite shavette in my stable, sent to me by Bill @Edison Carter
- Blade: Gillette Rubie (1)--a sharp, smooth blade, definitely one of my favorites.
- Brush: JOmegan Boar--the best performer I have is also, coincidentally, the best looking. Jason @jtspartan crafted the handle, loaded it with the wonderful Omega 48 boar knot, and then generously sent it my way. Awesome!
- Soap: Stirling Iced Pineapple (one part) & Glastonbury (two parts)--prepared and chilled with ice water and 4 Frost Drops added
- Menthol: Stirling Frost Drops
- AS: Aqua Velva Ice Blue (2 Frost Drops added; sooo nice and chilly)--I killed the AV, my first-ever AS to bottom out; today I am a man.
- Balm: Stirling Glacial Unscented
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The Shave
I struggled mightily between wanting to get the last shavette shave of my 100 run completed and wanting to put my best foot forward to make Sunday special. I like to chase the baby on Sundays and aim for a glassy, comfortable finish--DE’s are how I best accomplish this. My inner dialogue for the last 24 hours has been, “Number 100! But…
chase day! But…
Number 100! But…
chase day!” Over and over again. Ad infinitum. But this morning I woke up with a crazy thought: the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Early in my shavette journey, I realized that I was not going to be getting BBS shaves with a shavette anytime soon. Thus, I instituted Chase Day on Sundays--an opportunity to get super-close Sunday shaves by putting the shavette down, and picking up one of my DE’s. With just one shave left in the 100 run, it was time to see exactly what I could do with a shavette. I have fallen into an automatic pattern or groove in the blade-forward process, so I took some mental notes to record what the shaves look like:
Pass 1 (WTG)
This one goes by pretty quickly, and is completely ambidextrous. It also tends to include trimming the hairline along the back of my neck. I never plan that part (as is evidenced by the fact that there is never any lather there when I do it), but it usually happens nonetheless. Now that I realize this, I should probably include some lather in those areas for pass #1.
Pass 2 (XTG)
This pass used to be the most difficult for me with a shavette. It is ambidextrous on the face, but morphs to a right-hand-only along the neck. Muscle memory has made this pass much easier, but it took the most time to get there.
Pass 3 (ATG/XTG)
The hollows of my neck… ugh! My hair grows from the inside towards the outside on either side of the hollows of my neck. Significant stretching and pulling makes it slightly easier to shave, but I still usually take on that area XTG. Everything else gets the ATG treatment, and all of it with the right hand only, face and neck.
Today was different though. If I’m chasing, the
only way to catch the baby is a 100% ATG pass. It was slow going along the ‘deadly hollows’, and the resistance forces along the southernmost tip of the chin always put up an admirable fight, but with a bit of persistence and some touching up I got there--the baby has landed!
Next stop? The Radiumite Co. straight razor. Will get it professionally honed, and myself outfitted with strops and paste (most likely before the beginning of August). Everybody enjoy your Father's Day!
100 shavette shaves under the belt!
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