Today, I completed my 10 consecutive shave experiment with my new puck of Cryogen. The reason for this experiment was that my first puck of Cryogen texture morphed into a gel after about 10 shaves ( I am guessing) and that most of the soap was used up with only few shaves. I decided to give this product a second chance and ordered another puck. I thought long and hard as to why I had very bad experience with the original puck. I reasoned that I was adding too much water on the puck and loading too heavy. Therefore, my hypothesis was if I don't add too much water to the puck and lightly load the brush, then I may get many more shaves from the new puck and there won't be any gelization of the soap.
Procedure: I did a test lather by using a synthetic brush. Wet my face and then lightly dipped brush with only wet tips into the puck 3 times. Applied the brush to face lather and got an awesome lather. It was enough for 2 passes.
First shave with this method got similar results.
From 2nd to final shave,
I didn't wet the brush when tapping the puck 3 to 5 times because I didn't want to add water and the soap was moist and soft throughout the experiment. I used synthetics, badgers and boars to see the difference in the quality of the lather and to determine if I needed more than 3 taps on the puck. For the most part, I used my 2 shavettes and shave twice with traditional straights.
I have kept the soap uncovered for 11 days.
Data:
Synthetic Brushes: Only need to tap puck 3x to get enough soap for 2 to 2.5 passes.
Badger Brushes: Need to tap the puck 4 to 5 times to get a decent lather for 2 to 3 passes.
Boar Brush: Tapping the puck 5 times gave an ok lather, but you can still shave with it.
Observations: Throughout the entire experiment the puck maintained its integrity. The soap's surface became softer with each use that allowed the dry brushes to load.
Very little soap is needed to lather the face and you still get a nice menthol kick. Obviously, if you load heavier, than you really get blasted.
Conclusions:
Picture of the unused puck and original puck
View attachment 231633
Picture of new puck after 11 latherings
View attachment 231634
Clearly, the soap looks great after 11 straight latherings! Therefore, my hypothesis is correct. Don't add too much water to the puck and lightly load the brush. Otherwise, you will get a mess and end up with less than the normal amount of shaves from the puck. it.
Recommendations: First time using this soap, I would wet your face, then just wet the tips of the brush. Do not swirl, but lighy tap the brush 5 times and face lather. If you want a thicker lather go to 6 or 7 taps, but I don't think you need to go beyond that to get a great lather. I would not go back to the puck with a wet brush if you need more soap. Use another dry brush to reload and continue to add water, etc. I would suggest only using a synthetic brush for better results and not use boar brushes. Keep the soap uncovered for at least 24 to 48 hrs. If the soap is not soft on the next shave, then wet your face, wet tips of brush and lightly tap (don't swirl) to load. If the surface is soft, then dry load the brush and tap 5x. Either you can wet your face and apply dry-loaded brush to your face or dip dry-loaded brush and wet tips and apply to dry face. Both method works.
I did this experiment in the hopes that if any member buys Cryogen, then they will know what to do to have an enjoyable experience.
Finally, I will change my thoughts about Cryogen. It is an excellent mentholated soap. If you follow my guidelines, then you won't have any issues with it. Thanks for following along with me during my shaving experiment. I hope this helps you. Take care.
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