30 Day Rule/Focus; February 2024. All Are Welcome!

Hi everyone!

Is it me or did January zoomed by like the defunct Concorde in its glory days?
Honestly, the old adage that time flies when you are having fun is true, especially within our shaving fraternity.
I was glad to see that some of you showcased new shave products and razors. Honestly, I was wowed by it all.
Everyone continued to have very good to superior shaves and that's a great testament to your commitment to be the best you can be. If I am not mistaken, that's a line the US Army used to attract recruits. Anyway, I appreciate all of you for posting your shaves and asking questions to get answers to guide you in your wetshaving journey.

Monthly Themes
Anyway, February is the month of love. So, Favorite February is definitely an appropriate theme. Therefore, pick out your über favorite shaving setups so that your whole month would just be awesome. As an alternative, you can use your favorite soap or brush or aftershave so that it's not necessary to have all three in one session. That's up to you if you decide to go this route.
Fatboy February is the old standby monthly theme. For those of you who are fortunate to possess one in your shave den, I am sure you will enjoy using one and once again, experience what it was like to shave like your dad or granddad.
Fougere and Fine Accoutrements February is another possibility. Get out the fougere scents that scream sophisticated masculinity. For those of you who are married, I am thinking that this would be a great time to venture in that frag realm when you have that Valentine's Day date night. Fine Accoutrements February is self-explanatory. Thank you Joe @JACarbone for suggesting it.


Ok, let's continue with the basic tenets of this thread!

I want to welcome all the veterans of the 30 DC and all the newcomers. This thread is for the purposes of improving your shave technique so that you will consistently get great shaves. There are a number of ways to do it. These are suggestions so feel free to do whatever you want in regards to your shave.

The 30 Day Rule
Take ONE razor, ONE blade, ONE brush, ONE soap/cream and use them EVERYDAY this month. Yes, everyday. But Trigger, I want variety! I know you do, but until you perfect your technique, it makes little sense to constantly change the variables of your shave.

The Focus
For you out there that are not up to the rigors of the Rule, there is this alternative:
Vary the gear for each shave, save for perhaps one or two elements.
This is a more accessible challenge for the majority of shavers. I like to pick a particular aspect of the shave, be it the lather, a certain blade or a new razor, that needs breaking in, and not change it daily, until I have mastered those tools.

Ok, to keep the thread on a nice even keel, I ask everyone to follow the thread etiquette as listed below:
1. New Members always welcome. Start anytime.
2. Old Members always welcome.
3. Respect everyone.
4. Refrain from political conversation.

I also want to suggest that we should try to assess our shaves as to why it was good or why it was not up to your standards and express these reasons in your comments. The spirit of this thread is to improve our shaves and if we share the reasons why a shave was good or bad, then we are giving our experiences to encourage good technique and discourage bad technique so that we have great info to get better shaves. I am not suggesting that we do it for every post, but I think it would make for a healthier thread if we start to do it more than we have in the past years.

Moreover, you don't have to do a rule or a focus. You are free to change your setup on a shave to shave basis.

Finally, I want this thread to continue to be a friendly place. It is ok to disagree because that is how we learn from each other, but let's encourage and respect every member. Yes, even if you think they are off the wall. Let's face it! We all are a little off because of our different Aquisition Disorders. Lol!

Let's have a group hug!



Also, let's have some awesome February shaves and fellowship.

Sincerely,

Joe (Trigger)

 

After January's focus with the British Post War Tech, I'm going a little milder for the month of February. A razor that many have complained about being ineffective. "Too mild" they say. Well, I'm going to spend a month with the Feather ASD2 loaded with a Feather blade. Since I only shave about once a week I'll use the same blade without changing it out. Four, maybe five shaves. I'm retired so I'm not required to be clean shaven every day and I find it easier to get BBS shaves by shaving less often with more growth present. We'll see if I can maintain the "sweet spot" angle of the ASD2 and duplicate those BBS results from last month with the Tech.

Feather ASD2 with Feather blade
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Semogue SOC Boar Brush
Cold water rinse followed by Proraso Green Splash (there's the fougere)
Nivea "Cooling" Sensitve Skin balm

 

SOTD 20240201 Spacco

ischiapp.blogspot.com​

 

I will be doing a combo of Favorite February and Frugal February.

I’ve been trying so many new things these last three months. In February I’m going to add nothing new, and work on dialing in/picking favorites from among what I currently have….

 

Rating: 5/5

Prep: Hot shower
Razor: Henson Mild
Blade: Feather Hi Stainess (1)
Two Pass Shave- One WTG, one XTG/ATG
Brush: Omega 10049
Lather: Stirling Black Cherry
Aftershave: Stirling Black Cherry
Post: Alum block, Quinns Grapefruit Witch Hazel
Soundtrack- Classic Rock Radio


I’m going to start with a Feather blade in the Henson. Wonderful two pass shave, and since only 24 hours has passed, I’m BBS all over with little effort.

The Stirling combos are always spot on.

One constant for me in February will be the Omega 10049 brush. It’s big, and taking a long time to break in, so I want to get that done…

Have a great Thursday gentlemen…

 

One very nice shave. Rocking the cartridge razors lately.

 

Very nice shave Scott.

 

Well, I was alerted that it was someone else who suggested Fine Accoutrements February and not Joe. Old age has slowly crept into my brain. Lol! Thanks Joe for the assist.

 

Awesome shave and a fine plan Laird.

 

Super start to the month Scott.

 

Thank you Joe. Have a great day!

 

Thanks Joe! Enjoy your day!

 

01 Feb 2024
Flexible, Favourite, Feather, Fatip, Felce, whatever grabs my Fancy

27 hours

Prep = cold water splash
Preshave = none
Cream = Proraso Cypress and Vetyver
Brush = Razorock Plissoft
Bowl = Timeless
Razor = Popular
Blade = Nacet (2) smooth today
Passes = 3+
Post = Usual + Proraso Barbe Dure
Scent = Proraso Cypress and Vetyver, love this stuff
Damage = none

Another dream shave. No preshave needed

Downside: the PR cream does leave some residue in the washbasin. Citric acid and a quick scrub were needed

However it produces a dreamy creamy slick lather. Could be a bit thinner next time

 

Thanks.

@JACarbone
This is an old friend.
I started this challange in 2013.

 

I decided to go ahead with my FINE February. I will try to get it in for as many days as I can. Course we do have the extra 24 hours on Feb. 29 this year. That should help me plan to get in a Fine on the extra day. I may run out of the soap I have(Latigo), but the aftershave of the same name looks safe. Major focus for me this month will be continuimg to soften my strokes, especially around the Ingrown Hair areas. Here's to great shaves for all .

 

Great start to February Chris! Is the Cypress and Vetiver a different formula than the established Proraso creams? I am fence sitting on buying a tube of the Azur Lime before it disappears altogether...

 

Terrific start to the month Chris.

 

Very nice Proraso shave Chris.

 

Shavette Shave # 222

Rating: 5 / 5

Razor: Parker SRX
Blade: Perma-Sharp
Brush: Hembree Derlin Paragon Boar 25 mm
Pre-Shave: Pears Transparent Soap
Lather: Wholly Kaw King of Oud
Aftershave: WTF Vintage Barbershop
Additional Care:
Obsession EdT
Dickenson’s Original Witch Hazel
Stirling Unscented Glacial Balm

I have decided for the first half of the month of February to go with Same Soap Weekdays (WTF Vintage Barbershop) and Users choice Weekends. Starting tomorrow through the 16th of the month I will use any razor that has a letter “F” in the descriptive name.

This morning’s shavette shave was absolutely fabulous. The boar brush whipped up a nice thick lather. The shavette comfortably completed three easy passes with out any irritation or incident.

This must be the week of mishaps. While cleaning and drying off my brush, the knot ejected from the handle. No big deal as I will reload in onto the handle tomorrow after the base drys out. I wonder what the third shave mishap will be in my near future as tho gs tend to happen in three’s. Perhaps the shave gods will spare me.

Hope you all have a great day gentlemen.