Cruise Ship Shave

A couple of weeks ago we took a cruise out of Galveston to Cozumel, Belize, and Rotan Honduras. It was a really nice family trip. There is nothing like spending the week with my kids and grandsons! Cruises are nice if you don't mind fighting for elevators with 5,000 other people!

 

While packing for the trip, I knew that shaving would be different, but I didn't realize what a challenge it would be. While packing, I decided to try various shaving soaps and creams on the trip. Along with the Merkur Classic, I packed a box of Gillette Silver Blues, my Arko shave stick, Palmolive shave stick and a tube of Derby Lemon shave cream. I was prepared for anything, or so I thought.

A day at sea

Derby Lemon Shave Cream

The first day out was nice and relaxing. Getting ready for dinner that night I showered and went straight to the shave using the Derby lemon cream with the Merkur Classic and my synthetic brush. The shave was just as good as I would have had at home. The ships water supply came from the same area where we live and performed admirable. Finished up with witch hazel, Clubman's and Nivea cream and I was good to go.

It was the next three days that got my attention.

Salt water, wind and sun

Arko Shave Stick

After spending the day swimming at Cozumel and baking in the sun I showered and was ready for

my shave. I chose to use the Arko shave stick for the shave. This was a bad decision. What ever is in Arko, it did not bode well for my skin. As I got into the shave, the chemicals began to sting and feel uncomfortable. I managed to get through the shave but it was not a pleasant experience. I struck Arko off the list for the rest of the cruise.



Palmolive Shave Stick

After the second day we snorkelled and spent the day on the beach at Belize. Beautiful place with clean clear water. After a day of exposure to more salt water and sand and sun, I chose the Palmolive shave stick for that night's shave. While the shave was still rough because of the harsh exposure I put my skin through I thought the Palmolive stick would be a good choice for mildness. This was a good decision. It did not sting like the Arko did and provided a more enjoyable shave, or at least as best as salt water, sunburned skin could take.

The next day after Rotan, I again used the Palmolive and had a similar shave. Good lather, and protection from the razor. After the three days on the beach we were on our two days at sea with rest and relaxation. The next night I chose to use the Derby Cream again. This time, I experienced the same stinging as I did with the Arko. I couldn't get finished with the shave fast enough. After that experience I finished out the trip with the Palmolive. I was so glad I had brought that!

Back home





Van Der Hagen

After we got back home, I have shaved for the last few days with Van der Hagan Deluxe soap. I thought that with damaged, sensitive skin, I needed to use something that was as mild and natural as I could get. VDH was a God send. As the sunburnt skin began to heal itself, the aloe Vera and Shea butter helped with the healing process. So on my next outing such as this one, VDH and Palmolive soaps will definitely be in the travel bag!

A Week Of Bad Shaves

The only constant in this world is change. This old saying is true. Especially in the world of wet shaving. Some changes we have no control over while some are self inflicted. This past week was no exception.

Climate Change

No, not that kind. Where I live, our summers are hot and humid and for me provide the best shaving climate around. The humidity keeps my skin well hydrated and shaving is a pleasure and produces great results almost every time. However when fall and winter rolls around the humidity decreases and when we turn on the indoor heat my skin begins to dry out and everything shaving turns to pot. As the climate changes so does my shaving habits.

Van Der Hagen Deluxe

I started off this past week or so with an itch to give my Van Der Hagen Deluxe soap a good working out. I wanted it to become a "much loved soap." I guess the main reason is, it is manufactured here in Texas and I like the idea of supporting the home team.

VDH Deluxe is really a good soap for the price. I can get I locally for about 1.75 a puck and for the price it is, in my opinion, a good deal for a good soap. I had melted it in the microwave a couple of times for about 10 seconds and poured it into an old deodorant container. I did this mainly for face lathering. I didn't bother mixing anything else with it because I had wanted to us it as it was.

When using it I just wet my face and then apply the soap by rubbing it on the skin. I then add some water to the brush to get it going. I really like building the lather on my face. I find it relaxing as well as therapeutic. It also gives me a chance to appreciate its aroma. It has a sweet smell that I really enjoy.

I had used it for about three days and noticed on the third day that my skin was chaffing after a shave. Never did this before. Not during the humid summer months that is.

The Beginning of Regrettable Changes

IF the VDH Deluxe was not enough, the blade started to act up. I was using a Racer which was getting close to the end of it's usable life and then changed over to a Gillette Silver Blue. The Chaffing was still there. The next day I changed the razor. I went from the Edwin Jagger DE89 to my Merkur 33C. The lighter razor did not do any better. It seemed a little worse that before. The next night it was back to the DE89 but this time I used a new soap that I had just arrived in the mail.

The War Dance

What happened the next night is a result of my breaking my number one rule of never changing more than one thing at a time. 



Godrej Shaving Round

I had ordered a puck of Godrej shaving soap along with a few other things. Godrej is a nice lathering soap that smells of Lavender. It is, however, a thirsty soap. I had topped the puck off with hot water to let it soak while I took a shower. I had started to worry that this may cause the puck to become to "mushy." When I stepped out of the shower and looked at the puck, the water was gone! The puck had soaked it up like a sponge. It did provide a fairly good shave but I found that it seemed to suck the moisture our of my skin. The only way I could maintain slickness was to continually keep water applied and then that didn't help much.



Clubman's Bay Rum

The next big mistake I made was to use Clubman's Bay Rum aftershave. I almost jumped through the roof! I quickly found every bad spot on the shave. And it didn't add anything to help solve the dryness problem. Having also received a new tube of Cremo Cream's face lotion, I applied that hoping to calm down the cinnamon sting from the Bay Rum. Wrong. This was the first time I had ever used it. All it did was just entrapped the sting in a light greasy film and prolong the agony. Afterward I rubbed my face feeling the "shave" and asked myself; "Why did you just do what you did?" This was a shave that will never, ever be repeated!



I cleaned up the Godrej and boxed it up for storage until next summer where I may give it another try when we experience another "climate change" and the humidity picks back up.

More Bad Efforts

The next two nights were a little better but not by much. I tried using the Palmolive shave stick one night and then the Proraso White for sensitive skin. This help some, but that unnerving dryness was always present. I was beginning to think that this was never going to change. So after contemplating my dilemma I made the decision to break my number one rule again. I was going to change everything and take an entirely new approach.



Maggard Razors MR1

I reasoned with myself that a little more aggressive razor with a milder blade would keep me from doing a lot of clean up passes. If I could get a clean cut with just three passes I would not suffer as much with the chaffing. I then thought that a soap that had a lot of "lotion" characteristics would help with the cushion and leave a better aftershave protection.

I pulled out my Maggard MR1 razor and paired it up with a a Voskhod blade. That along with my Arko gave me some good pretty good shaves. The chaffing was greatly reduced and more comfortable. When I changed the blade to a Rapira Platinum, the chaffing and razor burns came back. Even after the shave, my skin felt rough and not smooth. Winter just narrows down what I can use.

The Adventure Continues

The upcoming weeks I will be focusing on very mild blades and lanolin based soaps and creams. I know I can hit on the perfect Winter combination. One thing is for sure, these days makes for some great DE shaving. It definitely breaks the monotony.

Climate Change?

I've always believed in keeping a clean house and using only what is necessary in getting by in life. And when you also think about this old world spinning like crazy and racing around a fire belching gravity pulling, nuclear furnace, well, things do tend to get shaken up some!

And...let's not forget about all those burping cows!

 

Razor Blades: Platninum, Stainless, Teflon, "Oh My!"

Are DE Razor Blades Even Available?

A lot of time can be spent in finding just the right blade to give you the best shave possible. DE razor blades are not easily found in the U.S. in fact, there is only one blade manufacturer left in the states that continues to produce DE blades. That company is Personna. However, overseas in Europe and the Middle Eastern and Asian countries, DE manufacturing is in full swing. At last count, you can possible find close to 100 different DE blades on the market. You just have to know where to look.


I have purchased blades from several places. One of the first places was TryABlade.com. I was able to select single blades without having to purchase a whole box at one time. It is a great place to get started and one I highly recommend using to find blades. One thing I did do is select blades that I knew I could find elsewhere in bulk in the case I hit on a great blade that was a winner. But at the same time I could not pass up trying the blades from exotic places from around the world.

Some things to look for in a blade

Not all DE razor blades are the same. After you try a few you will see what I mean. I gauge a blade by four things. How sharp is it, how smooth is it, did It give me any weepers and finally how much did it cost.


Lets face it. No body likes to spend money when we don't have to. So why spend two dollars on a blade that you can get for 20 cents that will produce equally good results. I've never been able to get more than a week out of a good blade. Besides, at 20 cents why suffer with a rough shave just to get an extra week out of a blade? It's not worth it.

All razor blades are sharp. They will cut you. However, cutting and shaving are two different things. For me, finding one that is smooth is worth not having the sharpest blade in the world. A smooth blade will shave with a lot of comfort. For those of us with tender necks, sharpness along with the highest degree of smoothness can sometimes be what you need, but hard to find. So it becomes a hunt for the perfect blade.

Manufacturers and Materials

There are several DE razor blade manufacturers around the world. Located in The United States, Russia, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, China, South Korea, Viet Nam, and Japan, there is no shortage of suppliers. I'm sure I left someone off the list. And then there is a variety of materials used in the blades and coatings on the blades. You can easily find stainless steel, platinum, and Teflon blades. Carbon steel is not easily found and a material I wouldn't recommend for obvious reasons. I'm just not sure how long they will last before they start rusting. However please try them if you wish! You might just find your perfect blade!


Stainless steel blades are very sharp but sometimes the do not rank high in the smoothness category. The Platinum coated blades seek to add a higher degree of smoothness to the blades and do a great at it. Teflon coatings attempt the same thing and raise the degree of smoothness even higher in my opinion. But this coating seems to reduce the sharpness of the blade. I find these blades valuable when I want a quick shave and I am being careless, or just wanting my face to heal from a really bad shave.


When I stated DE shaving I tried a lot of different blades. What I found, was that Russian blade manufactures produced the best blades for my skin type. Sharp and smooth, I am able to get some really great shaves with these. Ironically, one of those blades produced in Russia is made by Gillette! Another great blade for me is the Personna Red made in Israel.

"The Fab Four"

I made it a point to identify four blades that were the best fit for me. With blades coming from overseas, I never new when there may be a supply problem. After identify them, I bought a hundred blade packs of each. I literally have enough blades to get me through the next five years! Each 100 blade pack cost me between 15 and 20 dollars. For me, that was cheap insurance. So what are my four best blades?

The Persona Reds made in Israel are considered my best blade. Sharp and somewhat smooth, I tend to get the best shave from these blades. Besides a good shave, There have been times when I have gotten about 14 shaves with this blade before it got changed out.

The Gillette Silver Blue blades are my second best blades. Made in Russia, they are sharp but not quite as smooth as the Personna Reds. They do however give me great shaves with very little tugging with ATG shaves on my sensitive neck.

The two smoothest blades I have are both made in Russia and I would be willing to bet by the same manufacturer. The Rapira Platinum Lux is one blade that consistently gives me comfortable shaves without weepers. It feels dull when shaving with it, but the results are wonderful!

Finally, the Voskhod is a Teflon blade that ranks high in smoothness with a good comfortable shave. It's a blade I can get a good seven days shaving out of and hardly ever get a weeper!

A final thought

As you begin to research razors, I would suggest such website as TryABlade.com and MaggardRazors.com or one of the other vendors I have listed on the right panel. All provide excellent customer service and options. Some of these websites will allow you to build a blade sample kit for a reduced price. Just remember when shopping for blades read the user reviews. They can be very helpful!