I think a lot of my irritation issues on my head in the past may have been brush burn and not pressure. I recently went back to head lathering after a couple month hiatus. This time with an Omega S brush rather than my previous boars. It's by far my softest brush, even softer than my Super Badger. As much as I missed head lathering, even the S Brush now feels prickly to me and a little rough. I thought I preferred boars due to their stiffness and backbone. Now I'm starting to wonder. I may have to pick up one of those Fine synthetic brushes that people have been talking about. Or maybe I'll spluge a little and just grab a Plisson.

When it comes to shaving...simple, uncomplicated is better.

I'm hearing the knots are nearly identical. That Fine Angel Hair is my next brush. I'm not a brush collecting type of guy and have heen completely satisfied with my Plisson. I use it everyday and the few other brushes I own have been sequestered.

I'm glad you have identified that with your brush. I believe I have similar issues and now palm lather and apply by hand.

I learned that Cornel Conk's takes less water in the brush than the Proraso I've been used to, but even so, it's a nice shave. I like it.

Ingram shave cream...I like it. I had forgotten I bought it several months ago. No Buy July saw me doing a general purge of the gear and I ran across the new tube (among some other forgotten purchases). It's a virtually unscented cream with a menthol kick. Very nice.

Alpa Windsor- a very subtle aftershave scent after the initial big warm up. Definitely a keeper.

Dial back my Fatboy every once in a while to give my face a break. I dont always need to be Mr. Clean

Derbys work best on my face. Period. I started with a couple Derbys that came with my Jagger, then my sample pack came in. While other blades were okay, I never got that same shave I got with the Derbys. I put another in last night for this morning's shave, and I may just never use another blade...

That's good, they're inexpensive and plentiful. I wish they worked as well for me.

Yup, I just ordered 200 off Amazon for 16 bucks. Nice.

I learned to check that the doors on the Fatboy are closed properly before shaving.

How much smoother my str8 shaves are when I use my Dirigo Blue PSO.
I had a brain fart (sure glad they don't stink) this morning and forgot to apply it.

PSO can certainly make a difference, particularly for me if I have several day's growth.
My beard/whiskers isnt/aren't thick or dense enough to require daily PSO use for straight razor shaves, but I appreciate the extra 'lube' on those heavier growth days.

Slow and easy, while enjoying the sensation. Lol

I spent more time this morning figuring out my beard growth on my neck, man was it well worth the time! I thought I had it all figured out, I was way wrong, spend time mapping out your beard growth! It's well worth it.

I should walk through these posts from time to time. You always learn something. And it's only 72 pages by now.

I learned that working with the same soap/cream over a period of time improves your lather. I'm pretty strict about same razor/blade for a week, however, I change soap/creams everyday. The Focus thread has helped immensely.

Lucky Tigerror Aspen smells amazing but it doesn't feel as good on my face as my old standby Gabels.

I hadn't used my Ikon 102 for a while and forgot how good it shaves. 12 hours after shaving my face felt like it normally does after 6 hours. I'll definitely grab it more often from now on.

I learned that tugging is not the only sign of a straight razor needing to be touched up. Blade skipping can be fixed by touching it up as well. 10 laps on a pasted strop and it felt like a new razor.