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

Hi everyone!

Wow! 2023 went by so fast! The holiday season has ended and I hope everyone enjoyed their time with friends and family. It's now 2024 and resolutions have been made and optimistically, they will be kept. If not, then to err is human and to forgive is divine.
In 2023, we read about great shaves and sometimes, not so great shaves. I guess you can say it was like the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I will say we were mostly victorious. Bravo, gentlemen! Let us continue to have awesome shaves and posts throughout 2024.

Oh my, I almost forgot! This is the 9th Anniversary of this 30 DC thread. I want to thank all the charter members that started this thread back in Jan 2015 and to the current members on keeping it alive. I am honored to have been a part of this thread since Dec 2018 and as its overseer since Oct 2020. Please give yourselves a hand for your steadfast commitment to it. Ok, let's move on to other matters.

Monthly Themes

We usually don't have a main theme for January, however, I do have a few suggestions.
Jumble January is a possibility. For you safety razor shavers, you can switch handles. You may find that the different feel of a non-standard handle may give you a more enjoyable experience. It also may change the anesthetics of the razor. You may decide to mix and match aftershaves and soaps that may not normally be considered to complement one another.
Of course, Just Shave Whatever You Like January is always on the table. It's pretty simple. You can do a rule, focus or be jiggy wiggy in your setups. That's for you to decide. I was also thinking of Edwin Jagger January, but I don't think there are many of you that own an Edwin Jagger, but if you do, then go for it even for a couple of shaves.

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 January shaves and fellowship.

Sincerely,

Joe (Trigger)

 

Happy New Year.
A nice start !!!
Let the route be nice.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/StoicDaily/TheRoute

SOTD 20240101 Maestri


ischiapp.blogspot.com​

 

01 Jan 2024
24 hours: First shave of the New Year



Prep = Cold Water Prep and shave, Tabac in a tube as Pre shave
Soap = Stirling Black Cherry
Brush = Pura Setola 11137
Bowl = Goodfellas smile
Razor = Gillette Tech (Argentina)
Blade = Kai (3)
Passes = 3 + were needed
Post = Usual with Proraso Lozione Dopobarba Barbe Dure
Scent = Bulgari
Damage = minor weeper between lower lip and chin (cleft) too much buffing

Score = 9 +
Comments = Well, the Kai (3) seemed a little smoother in the Tech. More audible feedback than I remember from other blades in this little razor. Still a bit rough, but no real damage done. DFS all over plus some BBS (ATG). Not as smooth as the Flare Tip with the other blades I have tried

 

Another fine introduction for the New Year Joe. Happy New Year to all the 30DC members, past and present.

 

Fabulous start to the New Year Pierpalo.

 

SE Shave # 362

Rating: 5 / 5

Razor: PAA Injector - Type L
Blade: Personna Injector
Brush: Ever Ready 500
Lather: Proraso White
Aftershave: Floïd The Genuine
Additional Care:
Maggards Alum
Thayer’s Witch Hazel - Original
Nivea Sensitive Balm

Happy New Year everyone. After looking back at my shaving records, via the Shave Buddy app, I decided to go with the shave that I started 2023. You can not go wrong with a Proraso shave.
Lather shot:


The injector razor easily finished off this morning’s growth. Three passes without any incidents. My face is smooth and refreshed with the finishing touches of the post shave routine.

Today is a travel day as we departed for the Northern Den. No worries, I will be back in the Southern Den by the end of this coming weekend to supervise the final phases of our construction project. Of course prior to leaving, I will have our LI 30DC chapter breakfast with our illustrious leader Joe, @Trigger .

Enjoy your day gentlemen.

 

Great setup to start the new year, Pierpaolo. I can get 20 shaves with a Personna Hairshaper Blade. They are very sharp. How many shaves can you get with Personna Hairshaper Blades?

 

Thanks Joe!

 

Wonderful inaugural shave for 2024, Joe! Looking for our breakfast meet later this week.

 

Gillette New Deluxe head.
Yaqi brass handle.
Astra SP blade.
Shore Shave Cool Water Mint Ribbon synthetic brush.
Fine Accoutrements Lavender Pour Homme shave soap.
Timeless Razor shave bowl.
Irish Chestnut by Andy Hilfiger cologne.

For the first shave of the year I had to bring out a wonderful vintage head. It works wonderful with a heaver handle and shaves like a dream. Gillette had this shaving thing figured out years ago and it is amazing on how much DNA from this head is in our modern razors.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

Happy New Year, everyone! The "Back 9" of the Hub City Soaps Pages was great. Clean&clear all over, but for a tiny spot on North Porcupine that I just took care of now. It was just under the right nostril. I have to credit my "in-shower" Bodywash....really sets up the face and neck in style for the shave. Thicker than other bodywashes I've used. 2 passes. Zeroes across the board on cuts, Knicks, Polka Dots. Fine job from the aftershave...just that scent needs work. Aaaah, I can get used to it, but will comment about it in the Pages reviews. That's the aftershave scent-as I said yesterday, I love the soap scent. As Outstanding As It Gets.

 

Happy New Year everyone! Joe, thanks for the great intro post and keeping the 30DC going strong.

I’m continuing to use this resource and want to have another quantifiable focus for the month, so will be working on two things:

1- Trying some different modern razors (sorry @brit lol). I went hard down the vintage rabbit hole when I first started DE shaving and want to see what newer razors have to offer.

2- I have been working hard and having success mitigating my winter skin issues, and am currently an every other day shaver. This will continue under normal circumstances, but there are times when being able to shave daily would be nice. For this months razor focus I’m going to start mild and work up to more aggressive models. I will attempt to shave daily with the first two mildest ones and see how it goes.

Having said that, today was my first 24 hour shave, since I did shave yesterday.

Rating: 5/5

Prep: Hot shower, CO Bigelow Grapefruit Face and Body wash.
Razor: Henson AL-13
Blade: Feather Hi Stainless
Two Pass Shave- One WTG, one XTG/ATG
Brush: SOC Boar
Lather: Barberry Coast Vesuvio Noir
Aftershave: Barberry Coast Vesuvio Noir
Post: Alum block
Soundtrack- Classic rock radio






Shaving with the Henson almost feels like cheating. It has a set blade and shave angle that is marketed to those with sensitive skin or recently switching from cartridge razors. It’s fast and foolproof, even with a Feather blade. I actually tried adding too much pressure and messing up the angle in an effort to see if it would get harsh, and I literally could not make it bite me. It’s unlike any razor I have ever shaved with. The ATG pass was amazing.

The only potential negative for this Henson razor is it’s probably not the best choice to mow down 4+ days of growth. For those who shave daily/often, and want to get it done quickly and drama free, this is a very good option.

The Henson will probably become my default recommendation to new shavers, but let’s see how the next few daily shaves go…

 

Nice shave Chris! The Kai’s may be sometime to shelve for 6 months or so and revisit. I had the same experiences with Feather blades…

 

Great classic shave Joe! Happy New Year,

 

Is that Stoylin soap next in line for you?

 

Terrific first shave of the year, Scott. Henson is one of the few razors that automatically sets the shave angle and is a fine razor for a new wetshavers going from carts.

 

Excellent first shave of 2024 Chris!

 

Beautiful setup Danny. Happy New Year!

 

awesome start to the year gentlemen.

 

-New-Years-Day-
2024
1922 brit bostonian
rubberset 400-3
seaforth! black watch



good day gents
a new year ahead..
will venture on with the gillette collection(no surprise there)
maybe a soap or 2 or a new fragrance
but will be selective as always.
i hope to convert a couple more friends to DE shaving.
either way,looking forward to the future
and always grateful for the present.
happy new year everyone
​