January 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pic&Discussion Thread

Hilarious that your girlfriend earned you your CT. Congrats!

 

Take a look at @Bill_F posts. He had a great series lathering the MWF. Good luck with the soaps. I actually need to try face lathering some creams this month since I just don't use them very often and have never face lathered with one.

 

Strangely all the 'old' violins have disappeared.

Sometimes I wish she could not speak English, it can be annoying that she is fluent.

 

I decided to approach it the way I shot free throws, or drill MMA. It's a "zone" activity, due to the real possibility of injury. Decided to just meditate on the pinging/Velcro sounds and imagined that my face was a balloon, and I was merely trying to wipe away the lather.

Edit: I found myself incorporating rhythmic breathing/control techniques, as if sighting a rifle.

 

That's the one I'm looking for. I'll keep hunting. If anybody has it saved, please post a link. Thanks

 

Ah ha!
7 months into this new shaving routine and I've just now realized I've had a built-in advantage all this time...my face IS a balloon!

 

Spoken like a true samurai. Or maybe Mr. Miyagi.

 

Are you admitting you are full of hot air?

 

Well, I saw a bunch of one-liners coming, but not that one!
+1

 

It was the beginning of his December focus that I am thinking of. For example HERE

 

Just trying to keep you on your toes. You have been away for a while and might have gotten a little rusty.

 

that's exactly what I thought when I nicked myself today! oh well, at least the blade wasn't rusty!

Thanks for keeping the porch light on for me, I'm glad to be back.

 

I participated in several focus months in 2015 and all were very enlightening. My January focus (starting Jan 2) will be with:
Mongoose or Pils razor
Thater badger or Muhle synthetic brush
Mé shaving soap (Galerna, Costa Durado, Tramonlana)
Lea aftershave

Mé artisan shaving soap has been known to require special care to obtain a decent lather so this focus should be a great opportunity to learn to lather these 3 soaps. Ive chosen 2 different brushes for the month mainly because Ive havent used either one since owning them and it should be a fun comparing the two at bowl lathering. And finally Ive decided to stay with one aftershave for the month, something I have not done before. Actually I cant remember the last time I used the same aftershave two days in a row.
* Santa is late delivering my Pils razor, hence its absence from the photo.

 

Planned Jan 2, day 1

Mongoose/Dr Bomber
Feather Pro
Thater 4125 2 band bulb badger brush
Mé Galerna shaving soap
Lea aftershave lotion

 

Second shave of 2016



Same equipment as yesterday, except for the brush and the AS

- Stirling Barbershop
- Semogue OC
- Merkur 15c
- Polsilver SI (#2)
- Speick Men ASL

While I washed my face with the Stirling preshave soap sample I let the brush soak for a minute or two. This time I loaded the soap with a wet brush - boy, what a difference. Much easier lathering than yesterday, though I had to gradually apply some more water. Interesting how different the water management is between badger and boar brushes. And I'm still not sure which one of my two 2-band badgers I like better. The Semogue has a bit more volume and the softer tips than the WD, but it's also a bit of a lather hog.

No WTG pass today, instead I started XTG, followed by an ATG pass. That too worked better than yesterday's approach. More reduction on the first pass resulted in a smoother second. There was a tiny pimple on my neck which I cut open, but other than that - very nice and irritation-free. Almost BBS this time. AS burned just a fraction of a second.

Have a great day

 

Great pic your flare tip looks mint

 

Off to a great start, I look forward to your continued success

 

Sounds a great shave I had a go at skipping WTG and going straight to XTG at the end of last focus and found the results where great it left room to be more active getting the trouble spots at the end, I found .

 

You got some really nice stuff, love the mongoose. It's the pils I want to see though, I was looking at them yesterday they are stunning

 

No shave today, I'm having a healing day. The pain is gone but my skin is still rough so I'm going to take care of my skin and clean and rearrange all my kit. My Turkish lemon cologne arrived today which is making me want to shave, but I will just enjoy reading about all your shaves today