Soaps Under $10.00

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Old School Luxury

Making The Switch

Deciding to take the plunge into DE wet shaving can be a very rewarding experience. It can even be an addicting experience! You will be amazed when you realize that a single blade can do the job just as good and even better than a multi-blade cartridge and that shaving soaps and creams can outperform those that are sold in aerosol cans. Instead of smearing shaving soap on your face with your fingers you message a warm creamy lather into your skin with a good boar or badger hair brush. It's just a great feeling that is not found in a squirt of cold canned goo in your hand and smearing it around and then having to wash your hands off. DE wet shaving IS less messy, a better experience and just as fast!

It's Not Time Consuming

Well, It is time consuming at first. Especially if you do not know what you are doing and are learning on your own. I have only been doing this for about nine months. I had no idea what I was doing or getting myself into. It was tough at first. I "sliced and diced" my way through many shaves and I loved every minute of it!

The idea of having a precision cutting tool made of metal in my hand that I could load different blades into for different experiences gave me the feeling of being a craftsman. The warm shaving cream was both exhilarating and relaxing. What used to be a mundane routine, became a longed for, end of the day relaxation.

At first I thought that you had to spend a lot of time shaving. Actually you will until you get the feel of the razor and learning how to use it. I shave every day and it took me about four to six weeks to get comfortable using the razor. In fact, it came by accident. One day as I was shaving I noticed that I was naturally flipping the razor around without thinking about it. The second thing I noticed from that shave were no bleeders! However there was the razor burn and the razor bumps that I had to work on (and still do!)

You begin to save time when you learn how to face lather soaps and leave the bowl lathering for the creams. You also learn to save time by properly mapping out your face to find which direction your beard grows. This way you don't waste time doing a face full of touch ups at the end. And then of course how to shave without making a huge mess in the bathroom that needs to be cleaned up. When it's all said and done, I can shave just as fast as a cartridge user and walk away feeling a lot better.

Be warned! One thing you will find yourself doing is constantly palming your face feeling your shave and how great it feels!

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Why This Blog?

Why Am I Doing This?

I have no idea. I have the desire but I really don't have the time. For me time is a luxury that I do not have. My work days begin at four in the morning and they end at eleven at night. Only on the weekends do I get an extra three hours of sleep. So little things like shaving is something that has to be done in a hurry. It was only when I rediscovered double edge razor shaving and the satisfaction it brought did I see the dilemma I was in.

For me, starting out DE shaving took a lot of practice, patience, up front expense, septic pencils and most importantly time! How I hate the time clock! The most evil invention ever made. In our day and time the phrase "Rome wasn't built in a day" doesn't apply. Sometimes I wonder why the good Lord didn't make the days longer than 24 hours long. I sure could use a little extra time.

What got me started

It was about 4:30 one morning I was reading a news story about the success that the Dollar Shave Club  was having in the shaving world. After a little googling I ran across this video  Watching an old man with a walker getting tasered as he shook the locked razor blade cabinet sent me into hysterics! It also got me thinking about how to get a good close and cheap shave. 

YouTube was a valuable place to start. After watching hours of DE shaving clips and shopping on Amazon  I was ready to go. I bought razors, blades, soap, brushes. I know the UPS guy was getting tired of me! I spent quit a bit of time in front of the mirror each night. Upwards to thirty minutes for a shave! After a few months of this my wife asked me"do you realize how much time you spend doing this?"

What almost made me quit

Finishing up at 10:00 at night and then getting things ready for work the next day I realized I was taking away the few minutes of the day that we got to see each other. Unhappy, I tried going back to the old way of shaving with the disposable razors and canned shaving cream. The shaves just weren't as good but it only took me ten minutes. We got our time back and all was well. 

Almost.

As much as I tried to get my mind off DE shaving I couldn't. I got to thinking, if I can shave in ten minutes with the disposable, I should be able to do the same with my double edge. If I can get a better shave in the same amount of time, it would be worth the effort. So the challenge began. 

Getting things into perspective

Closing the gap to get a ten minute shave required doing things different. It also required to not experiment with new things and techniques with every shave. Getting a good enough shave was the goal and the smooth as a baby's bottom was the exception. 

Learning to cut corners began to give me new satisfaction. Getting a good shave in the least amount of time and expense involved became an obsessive challenge. I have timed a few of my shaves and the best I observed was twelve minutes. This is from the moment the brush hits the soap until the aftershave balm is recapped and back in the drawer.

What I plan to do here 

First, I do not plan to blog every day. I just don't have the time. I'll be doing good to get one in a week or so. I do not plan on many product reviews. There are so many of those out there already. What I do plan on doing is talking about what works for me and save me time.  I will talk about the products I use and how I get the most for my dollar. 

I don't have an elaborate shave den. Just half of two drawers in the bathroom. And those are small drawers! And a small cardboard box in the closet. It's not that the wife refuses to give up bathroom  real estate, I'm just afraid to ask for it. Once the wife takes it, it's gone for good!

So, let's see where this takes us. Hopefully somewhere profitable!