SOTD 30 - 30 Day Rule:

Prep: Shower, Proraso PreShave
Soap: Arko
Blade: 7'oclock SharpEdge (yellow)
Razor: Ball End Tech
Brush: 24mm WD Black Badger
Post: (DIY Splash - 3 parts WH, 3 parts Aloe Vera Juice, 1 part VIBR, 2 drops Glycerin). based on the one @maltedmilk posted

1 WTG - 1 ATG. Great shave, great times, I guess I'm on to the slim tomorrow!

Loads of fun all.

Thanks Kerry! I really appreciate that, and hope everyone had a good time!

Day 28 of 30
30 DAY RULE with a Slim

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J2 Gillette Slim Adjustable
Kroger Israeli Personna
VDH Kit Badger
TSD Lanolin Shave Stick - Barber Shoppe Scent
Today's Great Cheap AS™ is Figaro!

Missed posting the report for last night but it went extremely well. 3 more great shaves left until I transition into Focused February with a Schick injector. Figaro was a great AS to finish, it's like eastern bloc Osage Rub!

Congrats! Very nice work!

Day 26 - Thirty Days with Merkur 34c (Jan 1-Feb 4 [No shave on Saturdays]) BSG 1-30-2015

Hot Shower and Prep - Neutrogena Men Invigorating Face Wash
Razor Merkur 34c
Blade Astra SP (2)
Brush - Plisson Synthetic
Lather - Proraso Green
Post - Warm water rinse, Maggard Razor Alum, wait 30 seconds then cool water rinse, WH, RazoRock Problem Solver Lime AS Splash & Gold Bond Ultimate Men's Essentials

A great 3 pass shave for a very nice BBS

January 30 (Day 29)

Pre: Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser
Razor: Mongoose
Blade: Feather Professional (day 5)
Brush: Kent BK4 silvertip
Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth soap plus a few bits of leftover soap & glycerin
Shave: Two-pass plus touch-ups
Post: Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, and unrefined shea butter
Result:

Using the Mongoose for 30 days has been a pleasant surprise for me. I expected it to be a very aggressive razor, but it is actually quite mild and predictable, especially after the third day on a Feather Pro blade. The handle has plenty of grip, even with wet fingers. All in all, it is a fun razor to use. My friends at work looked at me like I was shaving with a chainsaw when I showed them my SOTD photos. Little do they know...

I plan to conclude my 30-day run tomorrow (Saturday). That will give me plenty of time on Sunday to shave for the first time in several months with my Feather Artist Club razor loaded with a Feather Pro blade. I will need the extra time, as I expect to be more challenged with this set up. I'm de-stinking my new two-band silvertip brush right now in preparation for the changover. I'm even gonna start out with my tame six-day-old Feather Pro blade.

A big thanks to @Bama Samurai for hosting the January adventure. He rolls out the welcome mat to everyone! I have thoroughly enjoyed keeping up with everyone's exploits. It has been a fun ride, and you guys are great!

I hope to catch you all over in the February 30-day rule/focus thread!

Last shave of 30days, had a good shave. Still try to get a repetitive angle with R41hade fun. Have not posted to much, I fired up my PS3 and been busy playing with it.

I'm a day late in posting, but I made it....
Day 30 of 30!!



The Merkur 45 has done well, and I'm very pleased with it.
It's incredibly light, which was a big change for me at the beginning, but now it feels just right.




The Derby Extra blades have done well too. I wondered when I first started if I would be able to adapt
to a blade that hadn't seemed a good choice for me in several other razors, but I have, and it was the
biggest surprise. I'm now inspired to try another blade I haven't gotten along well with
in the past, the Voskhod. I may not try a 30 day rule with it soon, but I believe I could get along with it now.



My soap has been Van der Hagen Deluxe. My respect for this simple, inexpensive soap has increased greatly in the past month.
It was the very first shave soap I ever used, and I've always kept some around, but it has certainly proven to be an excellent
long term partner. Once I figured out that I had to keep it a bit more wet than I usually like, it worked swimmingly.
If you have never tried this soap, you should. It's easy to load, creates a very good lather, is moderately slick, and leaves the face
feeling very nice indeed. If it was the only shaving soap I had, I wouldn't feel deprived at all. It's excellent.



The Omega 10049 boar brush. All I can say about this brush is what many of you have known
for quite some time. It's a bargain, it's quality is excellent, and it is just outstanding.
I very much appreciate the size and shape of the handle, and it's larger, thicker bristles are just
the thing for scooping up the VDH soap. I never have a problem getting tons of soap loaded.
I worried a bit at first about using this brush every day as it is a bit "scrubby".
In the past, I've always held it back and used it when I hadn't shaved for a few days.
The shorter loft and extra backbone always did really well at getting the soap worked into
that tough growth. What I learned is how to slow down a bit, and use less pressure.
It became every bit as soft as the 48. I can do without many things, but I'll not be without
an Omega '49 from now on if I can help it.



Scrubbing your face two or three times with a soap laden brush removes moisture
from your skin in a hurry. We all need something to help put that moisture back in.
I chose Thayers Witch Hazel with Aloe. I've been using it for about a year now,
and it's another one of those items I can't do without. It has served me well
during these last 30 days. If you've not tried it, you should.


Day 30 of 30

Warm shower and face wash with Ivory bar soap and a soft wash cloth.
Todays shave went very well. No nicks or weepers, and no irritation.
I wouldn't call it a BBS, more like a DFS +, which is just what I was after.

I'd like to thank @GDCarrington for so prominently posting his 30 day rule.
I didn't partake when I first started wet shaving many months ago, but I certainly should have.
Gary, thanks for being there and patiently providing such good guidelines for us noobs.
We'd all be a good bit further behind in our "learning curves" were it not for you.

I'd also like to thank Chris (@Bama Samurai) for keeping things exciting, and moving along well.
Chris, it's not only been a very good learning experience for me, but very much fun and entertaining too!
I'm most grateful.

Well, I'm going to lay off shaving on the 31st, and maybe on February 1st as well.
I've got a new Weber razor to try, and I've also replaced my old Fatip Grande with a new Fatip Grande.
When I get a couple of days growth, I'll give one of these new razors a go.
It's been quite the learning experience guys, and now I'm curious to see if any of the newly acquired
30 day skills will translate over to a new razor.



Happy Shaving Everybody!!!

Day 24
Prep: None
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, Old Spice

I think the no prep would have been fine but stupid me decided to make some clean up passes on bare skin. Maybe I'll do some online shopping this weekend and find some new stuff to try out. Besides some redness and irritation in some spots all in all it was a decent shave for my head. On my neck however the hair just seems to get pulled no matter what direction I shave. This will be another area of focus for February.

Hope everyone has a great weekend

@Drygulch Thank you for the "30 lap" idea. I changed from 10 laps per edge to 30 laps per edge and I think the extra 20 seconds it takes makes a difference in the next day's shave.

And yes, I agree with the skunk deal.

Mike I am glad to see my 30 Day rule has helped improve your shaves, and that is the reason why is has been prominently mentioned over the years.

Chris @Bama Samurai has also done excellent work in putting this forward after his success with the Rule.

Enjoy your next shaving adventure.

1/31/2015 30 Day - Shave # 30

Prep - Hot Shower
Razor - Mongoose Satin B2
Blade - Kai Mild (5)
Brush - Rubberset 400 with WSP HMW
Lather - Soap Commander Confidence
Post - Witch Hazel and CC Bay Rum AS



This morning’s shave completed my 30 days in January. Today was a very nice 3 pass BBS shave. I really enjoy the extra time of weekend shaves.

I would like to thank @Bama Samurai for putting this together. The idea of a group going thru this at the same time really helped, even more so with someone of my limited patience.

I would also like to thank @GDCarrington for his posting of the 30 Day Rule and 30 day focus. This is a very simple effective way to improve the skills used to get consistent shaving results.

Summary

Razor and blades: I started this exercise with my very first shave with the Mongoose Razor and Kai Mild Blades. My goals at the start were to learn to use this new razor and hopefully achieve acceptable shaves on a consistent basis with only 2 passes. The first goal was easily achieved. I find the Mongoose Razor to be very easy to use. Proper shaving angles were very intuitive and easy to maintain. The only irritation or weepers during the month were clearly my fault. The second goal was more elusive. There were a few days that I had very good shaves in 2 passes but they were not consistent. I feel that this might have been down to my blade choice. The Kai Mild blade while sharp is not reputed to be as aggressive in this razor as other choices. I changed the blade every seven days with one exception when one blade just went south much faster. The other blades could have lasted several more shaves each. In the end, I really enjoyed the Mongoose and will continue on for Focus February with a goal of testing the other blade offerings available.

Soap: I used Soap Commander with the Confidence Scent. This is the older version of the scent a vanilla musk scent profile. During the month the soap was very easy to lather and provided more than enough slickness and cushion for me.

Overall I am glad that I participated in this exercise. I feel that now I have a solid base line as a reference point. These should allow me to better evaluate the different blades.

January 31 (Day 30)

Pre: Stirling Sheep Soap
Razor: Mongoose
Blade: Feather Professional (day 6)
Brush: Two-band silvertip
Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth soap plus a few bits of leftover soap & glycerin
Shave: Two-pass plus touch-ups
Post: Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, Pinaud Clubman
Result:

This is the last day of my 30-day run with the Mongoose. Paired with a Feather Pro blade, it is my best performing razor. I will miss it for the next few weeks as I switch over to my Feather Artist Club razor tomorrow. I will trade great shaves for hopefully good ones as I improve my skills with a shavette.

Congratulations to all that have reached the finish line for January and to those that have it in sight! I'll see you all in the February Focus!

Day 29 of 30
30 DAY RULE with a Slim

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J2 Gillette Slim Adjustable
Kroger Israeli Personna
VDH Kit Badger
TSD Lanolin Shave Stick - Barber Shoppe Scent
Today's Great Cheap AS™ is Pinaud Clubman!

So good to see so many people finish January! Two more shaves and a wrap up for me...then off to focused February! It has been an absolute joy to read this thread each day...I really appreciate each and every one of you who stuck it out! I had a blast!

Have a great Saturday and let's get ready for another great month of fun, skunks and fellowship as we master our equipment.

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Congrats to those of you who stuck with it and improved your technique. Feels good accomplishing something you set your mind to.

Since I don't shave on Saturday's I have a few more to go

Day 27 - Thirty Days with Merkur 34c (Jan 1-Feb 4 [No shave on Saturdays]) BSG 2-01-2015

Hot Shower and Prep -Nivea Men Sensitive Skin Face Wash & conditioner on the whiskers
Razor Merkur 34c
Blade Astra SP (3)
Brush - Plisson Synthetic
Lather - Proraso Green
Post - Warm water rinse, Maggard Razor Alum, wait 30 seconds then cool water rinse, Neutrogena Men Razor Defense Post Shave Lotion

A great 3 pass shave for a very nice BBS

Day 30 of 30 Complete!
30 DAY RULE with a Slim (Completed!)

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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 Barber Shoppe!

Well Gents, I am finished! I will be writing a recap for later and joining the FEB board!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Day 25
Prep: Hot shower
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, Old Spice

I still have a lot to learn. Sadly I probably could have learned more during these 30 days but I just wasn't thinking. Today my neck went good but I also switched to a brand new blade and looking back on it I can't remember which direction I started the shave with. I'm getting closer to getting a good lather down so that's a plus. At first it was too much water then not enough and finally balancing somewhere close. I've come to really love the smell of vdh luxury so hopefully it's capable of the lather I see in my head.

I don't think I'll ever stop learning, and if I do I'll just buy another razor or soap to try. LOL I have also recently discovered VDH deluxe soap. I had a puck laying in the cabinet after I bought the kit to get the bowl. Started playing with it a couple of days ago just to see if it would lather. Used it for my head shave today and loved it. Extremely slick and easy to lather and the scent is quite pleasant, even if not remarkable.

I'm going to cut my 30 days short and roll over to February. My Omega brush came in early and I'm anxious to get it to work.