Perhaps some... Witch hazel would help?! 😉

19.06.2024

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: Gillette King C. Gillette
• Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
• Brush: Omega Roma Colosseo 31 mm
• Lather: Hawkins & Brimble - Elemi & Ginseng shaving cream
• Post Shave: Natura Siberica ASB gel

Awful AF shit head shave.

So my Feather Popular didn't arrive on time to take with me. Bummed, I bought a KCG yesterday... Worst decision ever. I don't know why Gillette thought it would be a great idea to release such a safety razor with a head geometry that's so extremely mild that it's actually inefficient as hell. I know, their target audience was probably the people who always used their cartridge razors and judging by some reviews out there, people actually managed to cut themselves. I mean, never rule out accidents due to inexperience. But the thing is, I am very experienced with lots of safety razors. I know how to shave my head with them, I know how to hold a good angle. I even used one of my own blades... Yet I still have "rows" on my head where it barely even shaved. Truth be told, I'd prefer my Remington dry shaver over this and that's not good! Imagine this is someone's first experience with safety razors due to these being widely available. I would've been appalled and immediately returned to cartridge razors. And well, perhaps that's Gillette's strategy with this product. I'm glad that I didn't try it on my harder neck hair. The result is as bad as the horrible Parker Injector and that's quite something.

Anyways, this shaving cream by Hawkins and Brimble had a high discount (2.50€ instead of 15.99€) and for such a bargain, it's really nice. I could probably even lather it without a brush and it'd work nicely while smelling great.

I sincerely applaud the effort and kudos for the great name you came up with! I'd be interested, but I really don't want to do a subpar effort compared to the others who participate. Preparing and sending samples could also turn out to be a nightmare atm since german customs are cracking down hard on every parcel that's non-EU due to the European football championship. I really don't want them to delay everything so that nothing reaches anybody in time. However, I'll cherish your SOTD review posts!

Definitely a huge thanks to you and the others keeping the Lemmy instance up and running! Due to the "Reddit banning 3rd party apps shit show" last year, I was totally lost where to go. Mastodon simply wasn't the same with the strict character limit... Lemmy felt much more familiar from the first day on! Even though our wetshaving instance is small and cozy, sometimes a place to post your SOTD and ramble about your favourite scents is all you need 🥳

Yep, I feel like the lube strips were developed due to the shortcomings of canned foam/gel.

I was able to get a Hydro 3 cartridge pack that's compatible with the Wilkinson handle, I hope they'll do the trick. The problem are also the five blades, I guess - way too many for me.

SOTD 24.01.2024

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: Greencult GC 2.0 II plate
• Blade: Voskhod
• Brush: RazoRock Beehive 28 mm
• Lather: A&E - Ouddiction (K2e)
• Post Shave: Thayer's Aloe Vera toner; Natura Siberica ASB gel

Despite being the late post, I actually shaved my head about an hour earlier today; just forgot to post here. Seems like my subconscious likes me sleep-deprived.

So today's shave could've been wonderful... Ouddiction is a great scent, K2e is nice and slick... But the blade. I forgot the MFing dulling blade in there. You get the idea. The shave was rough and I actually got caught up a bit on the back of my head and gave myself a tiny little cut there. This hasn't happened in ages and it's especially annoying that it yet again happens with the Greencult. All of my worst shaving accidents happened with that razor, so I kinda have a love-hate relationship with it. It's damn efficient but it seems like I have lots of bad luck with it, even though today it was definitely due to me forgetting to change blades.

I can thoroughly agree with merikus' statement. GEM razors in particular are a great piece of engineering - still working flawlessly despite being almost (or in some cases over) 100 years old! Shame that DE blades took over in terms of popularity and availability. It's really hard to find good GEM blades over here nowadays.

Sorry to hear about your knot going bald 😔 as a headshaver, I can sympathise with it but unfortunately it won't yield the same good results as a full brush knot. Hope your replacement arrives in a timely manner!

SOTD 07.12.2023

• Prep: head and face wash
• Razor: Stando Perun
• Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Le Grand Chypre
• Post Shave: Thayer's Aloe Vera toner; Pacific Shaving Co. Caffeinated ASB

1 pass shave for both the dome and the face again. Again, a little blood was shed due to bumpy skin - this time behind my right ear. Unfortunately I get bad skin breakouts again this time of the year...

LGC in Omnibus is awesome as always, but I begin to think that the BIC aren't my favourite blades anymore. They rarely work that comfortably in any of my newer razors, so I guess the search for a better blade needs to resume.

First selfie done today, second and third one tomorrow. I actually had tomorrow off, but one of my colleagues/friends got sick and the others would have been massively understaffed. So another early shift tomorrow - who cares, the execs will have to pay me my overtime and leftover vacation time anyways 🤷🏻‍♂️

SOTD 06.12.2023

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: Headblade S4 Lunar Eclipse; Stando Perun
• Blade: HB 2; Voskhod
• Brush: AP Shave Co. 30 mm Tuxedo Fan w/ black & clear handle
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Vor V
• Post Shave: OAM sensitive skin toner; Aloe Vera gel

1-pass head and face shave. Head with the Headblade, face with the mild Stando Perun.

Vor V is one of my favourite scents in wetshaving due to being a TF Tuscan Leather dupe. Fruity leather is something I'll never grow tired of. The OAM fragrance by their "wellness oils" line goes oddly nice with it.

The only blood loss was due to a bump on my jawline. Other than that, a totally comfortable and relaxing Wednesday night shave. Tomorrow I want to take "Farewell selfies" with my favourite colleagues, not only for myself but also as a parting gift for them. I really cherish the connections I made with them; even though we won't share the same place of work by next year, we'll stay friends 🍀

SOTD 13.11.2023

• Prep: face wash
• Razor: Stando Perun
• Blade: Voskhod
• Brush: CoolDog Leipzig 26 mm Fan
• Lather: A&E - Ouddiction
• Post Shave: WestMan - MazaGran ASB

1-pass face shave, going with a gourmand combo again. Ouddiction with its sweet honey notes worked out very fine with the sweet coffee cocktail of MazaGran. Definitely something more suited for a relaxed weekend shave than a Monday SOTN where it's rainy and windy...

SOTD 23.10.2023

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: RazoRock Hawk V2
• Blade: KAI Captain Pink
• Brush: AP Shave Co. Elegant Emerald 22 mm Faux Horse
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Unscented
• Post Shave: Thayer's Aloe Vera toner; Pacific Shaving Co. Caffeinated ASB

Since Friday I've been dealing with a very annoying cold. It's mostly centered on my nose, as well as occasional dry cough and a general feeling of weakness.

Figured since my sense of smell is impaired, I could as well use unscented soap. On the weekend I trimmed my longer stubble into a circle beard, so I just did one pass around that. I still managed to get some weepers due to careless shaving and not having the greatest motor skills while I'm sick.

At least now I look less like a bum next to my classmates in nursing school. Since I have no fever, I still attend class. Can't afford to miss too much.

SOTD 17.10.2023

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: RazoRock Hawk V2; KAI Captain shavette
• Blade: KAI Captain Pink
• Brush: AP Shave Co. 30 mm Tuxedo Fan w/ black & clear handle
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Unscented soap
• Post Shave: Thayer's Aloe Vera toner; Aloe Vera gel + tattoo balm

Just another unscented 1-pass head shave. The "Pink" blades are supposed to be mild, but I still find them plenty sharp (which isn't bad per se).

Inspired by @djundjila , I was brave enough to try out my Kamisori shavette again for lining up my "beard" (if you can call the light stubble around my moustache so). Everything went well with the cheek lines... But the neck line was ATG and my inexperience showed. About 3 weepers, but thankfully no cuts. Believe it or not, I used to be able to swing this thing to shave the sides of my head (wouldn't recommend the curvy top and back of the head to anyone though!). So I definitely need to get more practice in.

Funnily, aloe vera gel and tattoo balm work really well as a post shave for irritated skin. The lack of any perfume in both as well as the healing properties sure come in handy.