Tag Archives: shaving

New brush

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In personal care news, I got a new shaving brush. Exciting.

In case you didn’t catch it before, for the last five years I’ve been into retro “wet shaving” with a double-edged safety razor and shaving brush. There’s some pretty serious shave nerds on the internet and I’m kind of one of them.

I say kind of because most of them have made a hobby out of acquiring a never-ending variety of razors, blades, creams, soaps, brushes, splashes, balms and goodness knows what all else. Me, I’ve experimented with a few shaving creams and soaps, but I’ve had the same razor and brush for five years. I’ve even settled on one brand of blades, too.

Turns out, all I needed was a little push. Internet pal and shaving guru, Leisureguy, tweeted about a contest to win a high end shaving brush the other day. I decided to enter the contest by purchasing a new brush of my own. Nothing too fancy or expensive: a Vulfix 660 Super Badger, Large. (The winner of the drawing gets a Plisson European white, size 10, handmade in France.)

The guy who runs BullGoose Shaving Supplies turns out to be a pretty personable dude, something I discovered when we exchanged a few emails subsequent to my order.

Badger brushes tend to be a little funky when you first use them, so in an effort to break it in I washed it with dish soap last night and lathered it up with shaving cream this morning. No discernible funk, I’m happy to report. Tomorrow I will try it for reals.

Package from Leisureguy

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When shaving mentor, author, outspoken liberal and internet pal of mine, Leisureguy, told me he was sending me a package, I didn’t know what to expect. He had little to say about its contents.

Today I received it.

Mario Batali prep bowls. I really love these. Each one has two measurements in it, making them very handy indeed.

Semogue 1305 shaving brush. As you can see from the link, shave nerds rave about these Portuguese boar brushes. Can’t wait to try it!

S&B Nanami Togarashi assorted chili pepper. Japanese chili powder! Now, what can I try it with…

J.M Fraser’s Polar Ice shave cream. Seems like one of those classics for every day use like Proraso and Musgo Real. Can’t wait to try it.

Riana olive oil shaving soap. I think salvia is Italian for “sage.” This stuff looks luxurious.

Pre de Provence shea butter shave soap. French. Smells incredible.

Nettle Leaf Tea. Never, ever tried it. But I’m going to!

As Slim Pickens famously said, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff! Thanks, Leisureguy!

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Photo on 2009-09-30 at 09.41I’m probably one of the only men you know who shaves recreationally and no more than every other day. Sometimes every three days. But lately, I’ve been letting things grow out a bit more.

At first I let my entire face grow wild for a week or so, then I shaved my sideburns and cheecks and neck, leaving a wide goatee. I figured I’d have time to remove more later if I wanted. Once things had grown in for a month or so, I took an electric clipper and buzzed it all down to a 2 guard comb length.

Funny thing is, I now have the urge to use that clipper on my face, my head, everywhere. Everything can be a 2. What efficiency! No more hair cutting appointments, very little shaving.

So far I’m resisting.

Williams

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William's shaving soap

Williams shaving soap

I grabbed a box of Williams shaving soap at Pick N Save yesterday.  For the heck of it.  I like shaving and I like trying different products.  While I’m generally not a big fan of  hard shaving cream products, this one has always intrigued me because it’s been around a long, long while and because it’s super cheap.

So I thought (in typical me style) I’d write a short blog entry about my intention to try it, and then write another short blog entry about having tried it.  But here’s something extra: When I Googled for an image of the stuff, I discovered a page at WikiHow containing not one but two of my photos.  Who knew?

Anyway, I’ll let you know how I liked the stuff once I try it.  Sure smells nice. And if it fails to please as a shaving lather, I’ve heard it makes a decent shower soap.  (Really.)

Groom

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When I go on an all-day wedding shoot I usually start by meeting the bride at the salon where she and her bridesmaids are getting their hair done.  I often don’t even see the groom until I arrive at the church where I get a few shots of him puzzling over his bow tie and whatnot.  But the last wedding I did was different.  The groom and his men were getting shaved at Groom for Men down in Milwaukee’s third ward and I couldn’t resist.

The place has a very inviting feel to it from the complimentary shots of Jameson to the all-female “barbettes.”  And sure enough, the guys were getting the full deal: hot towels, lather and a straight razor shave.

All this for like $30!  I’m trying it.

Upgrade his shave for Christmas

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Hey, while I’m thinking about it, let me remind you: shaving gear makes a great holiday gift for the man in your life. Does he hate shaving? Some good equipment might make him change his mind. If he’s already a well-groomed fellow, he’s bound to appreciate being introduced to a an entirely new level of foppish dandyism. Here’s a few ideas to get you started.

There’s no more important piece of advice than this: Get Leisure Guy’s Guide to Gourmet Shaving. Shaving with a safety razor and a brush is very different than squirting cans of fluff on your face and scraping it off with the latest multi-bladed, turbo, mach, nuclear, vibrating, disposable plastic monstrosity. That being the case, it pays to have a decent introduction to the subject and Leisure Guy delivers it.

Get an inexpensive but good quality badger hair shaving brush, such as the one I use. Don’t be tempted to save $10–get real badger hair. Trust me. No badger, no sale.

Get a solidly made safety razor. No need to spend a fortune. Try the German-made Merkur “heavy duty.”. Most shave geeks agree that it’s a great one to start with. I use a Merkur and so do the two younger men in my house. One of the great things about these is that they’ll last a lifetime. You can tell that the moment you pick one up.

You’ll need blades for it, of course. Each shaver is different, so it pays to get a sampler pack and let him discover for himself which one suits best.

Then there’s shaving cream. Again, everyone will have his own favorite. I prefer the traditional English ones like Taylor of Old Bond Street or Geo F. Trumper’s. Both manufacturers make a variety of shaving creams, so click around. (No, you can’t pick this stuff up at Walgreens. Sorry.)

Entire package total? If you were to get the brush, the razor, the blades, some shaving cream and the book, the total is about $110. That’s a pretty classy gift for dad or hubby. And remember: the razor lasts forever, and the blades cost less than ten cents each. Thus if he’s currently using one of the more expensive multi-blade systems, it could actually cost less to go the traditional route. If you prefer an incremental approach, first get the brush and the good shaving cream.

Not every man will be delighted by such a gift. You know him better than I. But if you think men don’t like grooming products, you’re wrong–we just don’t like girly ones. I kid about being a fop, but I’ll tell you this: A guy wants to shave the way his grandfather did, and smell like a gentleman when he’s done. With this stuff, he can.

Try Pirelli’s micracle elixir

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I was in Bath & Body Works a couple of weeks ago when I made a fortuitous discovery: They actually carry a decent shaving cream.

I examined a green tube of something called C.O. Bigelow Premium Shave Cream with Eucalyptus Oil and read the label. When I saw the name “Proraso” in fine print I realized that this stuff was actually a very popular traditional Italian shaving cream which had merely been re-branded to sell in B&BW. I think I’m the only shaving nerd on earth who hasn’t tried Proraso, so naturally I took some home to remedy that.

I wish I’d made this discovery back in June–Proraso’s eucalyptus oil formula must make for an incredibly cooling and refreshing hot-weather shave. It lathers like a house on fire and lubricates like a three martini lunch, but the real draw here is the bracing chill you feel when you rinse it off your face. Very nice. Even in November.

Learn to shave

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I don’t even really remember when I started shaving. I just know it gradually developed from an occasional practice to a regular grooming necessity some time during my late teens and early twenties. What I can say for sure is that I never cared for it until May of 2006, when I discovered a better way–an old fashioned safety razor, high quality shaving creams, a badger-hair brush, and all the correct techniques to use them.

I have two teenage boys in the house, now, and I suppose they’ll do whatever suits them–as they should. But I wanted to at least introduce them to some of these traditional products, so I ordered them razors and brushes.

As for learning how to use them, there’s probably no better resource than Michael Ham’s book Leisureguy’s Guide to Gourmet Shaving: Shaving Made Enjoyable. However, I also found these videos helpful.

Don’t skip parts two and three.

Toiletries: A list

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Toilet |’toilit|

noun

2 [in sing.] The process of washing oneself, dressing and attending to one’s appearance: Her toilet completed, she finally went back downstairs.

* [as adj.] Denoting articles used in this process: a bathroom cabinet stocked with toilet articles.

Speaking of lists, welcome to my bathroom. Here’s a list of noteworthy products I use in it:

So there’s other stuff I use, but none are very noteworthy or interesting: Any old comb, cheap nail clippers, two sizes of scissors for various depilatory purposes. Now and then I’ll bleach my teeth, too. That’s really about it.

What are your favorite grooming items?