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An Unexpected Journey: A Newbie's Walk In Wet Shaving

Spider said:
The reason I prefer face lathering is that I learned that just because a lather looks good, doesn't mean it is good. And you can bowl lather up some really good looking stuff, and then when you put it to your face, it's sub par. When you face lather, you lather it until it feels right. When you're done, you know it's perfect. Plus a lot of people spend so much time bowl lathering, and then after they put it to their face, they still end up finishing by doing some more face lathering, because it wasn't right or they didn't have enough water. So why spend so much time bowl lathering if you need to face lather in the end anyway?
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Spider said:
If your face is getting irritated from face lathering, maybe you need a softer brush? Try face lathering with the synthetic, and see how that goes.
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Good points KJ. I do use a synthetic Maggard brush and it is quite soft. The only thing I can think of is that the knot is tight so it's stiffer. I'm not giving up on working the lather in and I'll keep revisiting it. My plan is also to just do a little bit more and keep extending it until I get there. Who knows it could have just been a day when I was already irritated and that just fed into it.
 
Ahh, Christmas Eve morning and shave #70. I decided to go for comfort today and work on my 2-pass shave quest. I'm looking for DFS or DFS+ on a 2-pass and so far I haven't quite got there. I'm also continuing my review of KJ's PIF'd shaving stuff that I won last week. It's tough to resist the urge to try multiple things, but I did cave a little today and picked two new things. I put the Aqua Velva AS back even though I thought it would complement the soap much better than Master Bay Rum.

Today's Shave: Shave #70

Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Maggard Razors Synthetic (Larger knot from KJ's PIF)
Soap: Mystic Water Lavender LIme (From KJ's PIF)
Bowl: Walmart Salsa Bowl (plastic) Red Bowl from KJ's PIF
Pre Shave: Wash with soap in the shower
Total Razor on Face Time: 10 minutes

Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Master Bay Rum AS on neck only. Nivea AS Balm to the face only. Mammoth Painting.

The Synthetic brush from KJ's PIF is the next size larger than the one I'm currently using but seems a tad bit more broke in and softer. I loaded for 28 seconds from a bloomed puck. Lathering in the new bowl and with the new brush went fast and well with a proper lather being worked up in no time. I continued to keep at the bowl lather and working it until it felt right. Being a bigger brush and a smaller bowl I had lather wanting to escape off the rim of the bowl. This brush works the lather in much better and it felt good to work the lather on my face with this brush. I think it will become my daily driver. This was done with no irritation so I'm thinking my problem with working the lather in was that my brush wasn't broke in enough. Still not sure, but the new brush worked very well.

First pass was a WTG with the razor set at keeping to the beard mapping I did yesterday. Very nice and slick enough to go back for some clean-up where needed. For my second pass I chose ATG for my neck and XTG from ear to nose on the face then clean-up from nose to ear. I tried to keep the XTG clean-up to a minimum so it won't count as a whole separate pass. In the end I think I finally got to DFS / DFS- which was a whisker shy of the DFS goal. Definitely DFS on the neck but the face may need an ATG pass with some XTG clean up in the middle of my cheeks to get me there. I'm still on the quest but close. I left everything at 2.0 and that seems to work great for now on the 2 pass shave.

Post shave I really wanted to use the Aqua Velva, but I didn't want to have redness and wonder if it was the lime in the soap or the alcohol in the Aqua Velva. Better to give that a try when I have a MW Bay Rum morning where I know how it performs. Anyways, I splashed some Master Bay Rum on my neck and it really loves it. After the witch hazel it really goes that extra mile to remedy any redness I might have left. I truly don't know how some of you guys can shave and still have a perfectly skin toned face afterwards. Mine is always a bit red in the side neck area and on one part of my cheeks. This dissipates a great deal after an hour or so unless I've chasing BBS for too many days in a row.

Today's PIF Item Review: The Maggard Synthetic brush was really, really soft. It lathered very well but was a tad too big for the red salsa bowl, but I managed to keep the lather in the bowl for the most part. The brush felt great on my face which allowed me to work the lather in a lot longer. I loved how the brush performed. The MW Lavender Lime smells great right out of the wrapper. I pushed it into a plastic tub from MW so I had a great puck to start the lather. It loaded just like MW does and I had no problems getting a good lather. My fear initially was that the lime would cause problems. I had an issue with some citrus in another soap that really made my face get red. I didn't feel this with the lime in this soap, just a slight tingling but no irritation at all. The slickness was great allowing me to go back for clean-up if needed. The scent doesn't wow me as I'm not a big floral fan, but it smells manly enough for me to use regularly. The Master Bay Rum AS overpowers the mammoth painting effect, but my hope is that as the AS fades the Lavender Lime will be in for the long haul.

I hope each and every one of my TSC family members has a safe and merry Christmas.
 
Excellent Shave today! It seems like there was a lot learned and that brush seems like a keeper! Just awesome! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
 
Funny, I've had that box packed up for a while, and I actually forgot everything that's in it. I forgot that I put in that MW soap. It's good stuff!
 
Spider said:
Funny, I've had that box packed up for a while, and I actually forgot everything that's in it. I forgot that I put in that MW soap. It's good stuff!
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I was super happy to see the MW soap. I had an empty plastic container from Michelle from my last order so was glad to fill it with the Lavender Lime. It's a keeper for sure.

GearNoir said:
30mm knot is pretty big! Glad you enjoyed it though.
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I did enjoy it. Lathered my face in no time. I've got some badgers to try so the jury is still out on rather I stay with the synthetics or not. I suspect I'll evolve into liking the badgers at some point. I have a boar to try too!
 
First off, Merry Christmas to my TSC family! This morning I wanted a great shave. My family was gracious enough to wait for Dad to get a good shave in before opening gifts. I'm thankful that I have a wife and girls who support my wet shaving!

Today's Shave: Shave #71

Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Maggard Razors Synthetic (Larger knot from KJ's PIF)
Soap: Mystic Water Bay Rum
Bowl: Walmart Salsa Bowl (plastic) Red Bowl from KJ's PIF
Pre Shave: Wash with soap in the shower
Total Razor on Face Time: 10 minutes

Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rinse. Master Bay Rum AS on neck only. Every Man Jack Signature MInt Post Shave Lotion. Mammoth Painting.

I slipped a new Gillette Silver Blue into the Variant and set it to 2.0. The lather was great and faster than ever thanks to my newly PIF'd salsa bowl. Having a heavier than normal growth from only doing a 2 pass shave yesterday, I relaxed and let the razor do the work. No pressure, the rest of the family was just waiting on me
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WTG pass was beautiful, smooth and I got a good close pass given the SB blade was on its first use. XTG was great as well and I did some clean-up and J-Hooking as I went along on the cheeks and jaw line which worked well. ATG pass was good as well. Clean-up was limited, but in the end I got a BBS shave everywhere.

Post shave saw Master Bay Rum on the neck after witch hazel and the first substitution of the Nivea since I started wet shaving.

Review of PIF Item: In the spirit of Christmas, I decided to try the Every Man Jack Signature MInt face lotion. I squeezed out what I'd normally use for the Nivea and quickly found out that only a dab of this stuff is enough and I looked like I had sunscreen on in places because I just had way too much lotion. This is some quality feeling stuff and it really did a great job of moisturizing my face. It didn't really smell like mint though, more like a regular lotion. It performed well, and all these hours later my face still feels moisturized. I'd rate this lotion as good, but not something I think I'd buy. I'd say it moisturizes better than the Nivea but doesn't dry and go away like the NIvea.

On the gift side of things, my mother in law got me some Superior 70 Bay Rum AS and several tucks of Gillette SB blades. The S-70 really smells great out of the container, even less clovey than the Master. I look forward to trying the S-70 while being off from work.
 
S-70? Nice! That’s hard to find. And with the Master, that’s 2/3rds of Bootleggers Bay Rum recipe. Just need some Pinaud VIBR, and mix some up!
 
Nice shave Mike! Sounds like you’re really finding your way with your technique. Now you just have to find your way through all that great stuff from KJ! Merry Christmas!
 
This morning's shave was quite an experience and it marks the first time in many, many shaves that I have not mammoth painted. Better mark your calendar for that
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Today's Shave: Shave #72

Razor: Parker Variant - Graphite handle
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Maggard Razors Synthetic (Larger knot from KJ's PIF)
Soap: Proraso Shaving Cream / Geen Tube
Bowl: Walmart Salsa Bowl (plastic) Red Bowl from KJ's PIF
Pre Shave: Wash with soap in the shower
Total Razor on Face Time: 10 minutes

Post Shave: Cold water rinse, Witch Hazel (Walmart Brand) face only, Cold rins
e. Superior 70 Bay Rum AS on neck only. Nivea AS Balm on face only.

I've never used a shaving cream so this was really stepping outside my wheelhouse. I've read that you squeeze out an almond sized bit of cream into your bowl and lather. After adding quite a bit more water than I'm used to I finally got it to lather a little so I added a bit more cream to the bowl so I would say I squeezed out in total the size of a quarter when it was all said and done. At first the lather showed way more bubbles than I like to see in a lather, but I kept working it with a lighter touch and the lather thickened up. I'd say I used twice or even more than twice the amount of water than I need with the shaving soaps I've used exclusively up until now. But, the lather seemed as good looking and slick looking as my soap puck lathers and it had that nice shine to it that I like to see telling me it's not full of air bubbles or too wet. So I lather up and um.....hmmm......what the?.....my lips start to feel a cool burning sensation (even after I wiped them clean as I normally do after lathering) and then my face started feeling a -10 degree blast of coldness. Oh, I just saw the Italian writing and didn't look any further....ah ha it does say "eucalipto e mentoio" ah yes, this must have menthol in it which I've never tried. As a cold water shaver.......um......menthol and the cold water made my face feel like it was going to freeze off
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WTG pass was pretty good actually and I didn't waste time because I wanted that cream off my face as quickly as I could. I kept the razor at 2.0, but no joke my razor even felt super cold. The XTG pass was good as well and I must say that what I whipped up was plenty slick. What I didn't like was that the menthol took away my ability to feel if the pressure was too much or if I was shaving an area that was a tiny bit tender and I needed an extra light touch there. I basically couldn't feel the finer sensations which actually makes the shave feel great but my mind knew I was likely causing damage that I just couldn't feel. ATG felt great, but again, I couldn't feel things really well and got my first weeper in a super long time right under my nose. Not a big deal and it was gone by post shave. Overall, BBS with some DFS spots around the sensitive spots around my mouth because I just couldn't feel if I was pushing it there or not so I tried to back off on how much time I spent there and stepped the razor back to a 1.0 setting ATG.

Post shave. Yeah, no mammoth painting
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No way was I going to feel like I was in cardiac arrest with a numb chest for who knows how long. I also didn't care for the scent of the Proraso. It just smelled soapy to me and I certainly didn't detect the menthol or I might have passed. I must say, I liked the coolness post shave and it might feel really great on a hot / humid summer day. I decided to try the Superior 70 Bay Rum AS. Wow, it was really high in alcohol when compared to the Master. I liked that it was less clovey than the Master, but my neck didn't care for the higher alcohol. I think the glycerin content is right on for S-70 as I believe the Master glycerin content is a little too high. I'm starting to see why guys bootleg these two with the Pinaud. I imagine you could get just the right amount of everything if you messed with it long enough.

Review of PIF Item: The Proraso green tube wasn't horrible, but I'm not a menthol fan. It probably didn't help that I wasn't expecting it so that just added to the surprise. The slickness was pretty good and better than expected for a cream. It lathered well, but I have no idea if I added too much product or not enough. I may keep this around and try it in the hot summer months, but it's not great when you are a cold shaver unless you like that sort of below zero blast. The menthol for me as a relative newbie just removed my face's ability to feel fine amounts of pain or irritation that tells me I'm dong something wrong. For a seasoned vet wet shaver this would probably not be an issue, but for me it caused some irritation in the normal sensitive spots around my mouth. The fact I couldn't mammoth paint was a huge minus for me as well. I like to have that great shaving soap smell last the whole day as it reminds me of the great shave I had that morning and has just the right amount of scent that doesn't overpower those around you.
 
Dang, sorry the Proraso Green was a disappointment and uncomfortable! Perhaps the resulting application of the S70 was affected by it too.

At least you gave it a try!
 
Blade-meister said:
This morning's shave was quite an experience and it marks the first time in many, many shaves that I have not mammoth painted. Better mark your calendar for that
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You have us confused. It’s KY Dave that’s responsible for tracking your mammoth painting on the calendar.
 
Sorry the Proraso took you by surprise. It’s one of the more mentholated commercial products out there. And Proraso does take more water than most products. Most folks don’t use enough water with it. The menthol sure feels good in the summer! And when I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll use it in the dead of winter as well. Follow that up with some Pacific Rush for a true experience! Save the Proraso mammoth painting for the summer. I think you’ll like it!

Superior 70 has no glycerine in it at all! It’s just alcohol 65%, water, and bay oil.
Master has way too much glycerine for my tastes, so yes, mixing the two is a great compromise. Master is also super sweet, and mixing the Clubman VIBR to the mix, cuts that perfectly. And VIBR is heavy on spice/clove, so the Master/S-70 cuts that perfectly too. In equal proportions, it’s just a perfect balance of all things Bay Rum.
 
"You have us confused. It’s KY Dave that’s responsible for tracking your mammoth painting on the calendar. "
Ummm, I don't recall getting elected and I'LL DEFINITELY PASS
 
Dave in KY said:
"You have us confused. It’s KY Dave that’s responsible for tracking your mammoth painting on the calendar. "
Ummm, I don't recall getting elected and I'LL DEFINITELY PASS
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Dave...this isn't a democracy...you were voluntold!
 
Very interesting post today. Sorry you didn't like the Proraso. Me...I like the cold blast of cooling whether it is summer or winter. But this is coming from a guy who lives in Southern Louisiana!
 
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