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

Sounds great, congrats on the new mountain bike! It surely helps to have one hobby that's physically demanding to stay active. Having great bike trails near you helps too. My bicycle is older than me (so over thirty years!) but still ok to ride around shorter tracks for conditioning.

Reading your post made me want to get back into something more active/"sporty" again; jogging isn't my strong suit thanks to joint issues but hiking might be a contender. Due to my knee problems I fear that my old love for strength sports will be solely limited to a spectator role.

20.06.2024

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: Gillette Sensor (modern version)
• Blade: Gillette Sensor 3
• Brush: my hands
• Lather: Hawkins & Brimble - Elemi & Ginseng shaving cream
• Post Shave: Natura Siberica ASB gel

This was, in comparison to yesterday, a freaking awesome head shave!

I did it before my late shift. 1 pass and done. For this modern version of the Sensor, they actually put one 3-blade cartridge with it and it's quite enjoyable (although already kinda overkill for my skin). It did a way better job than the awful KCG.

Today I also tested my theory and just used my wet hands to hydrate the lather from the H&B shaving cream. It also works well! So in a pinch, this cream is also a good travel option if you forgot to take a brush with you. I still really like the scent and my scalp also agrees with it. So that one was truly a bargain!

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 personally think it'd be unfair if I only received something but never returned the favour. Plus, since customs officials grew increasingly suspicious of all foreign parcels from non-EU countries it'd be disappointing if someone scrapes out a few chunks of soap only for one of them to be destroyed. Hell, they even searched a parcel by Djundjila of various Catie's Bubbles soap samples he sent me and he's just from Switzerland! It got delayed for over 3 weeks.

Yeah, wetshaving is definitely not the most expensive hobby. The "entry fee" (so to say) isn't that high compared to others - Photography is very expensive to get into, for example. Golf is a sport for rich people and you realise why when you see the prizes for the equipment and memberships. A lot of hobbies are, simply put, a luxury. You get what you pay for and quality has its price. But that one spending spree was kinda a wake up call for me - never did I want to go so crazy again, most of all since a lot of stuff was just for LG and I didn't even really enjoy it.

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!

I think/hope no one forgets DJ, as he's the "founding father" of this instance. You're still doing a very great job in managing this instance though!

(Apologies for the late reply, internet connection over here is unstable.)
Hey, no need to be sorry! I don't mind, just wanted to confirm that I had this minor complaint 😉

I see now. Unfortunately I didn't get around to sign up here for a long time since tbh signing up on a federated instance is a bit more complicated than usual logins on centralised networks. Walden definitely does a terrific job in managing our instance over here. Whosgotthepudding is definitely good to see around here too, especially since they are a regular SOTD poster with great photos! I wouldn't mind having some folks from Reddit over here, but judging by the fact that a few where always strongly opposed to new platforms and the strong negative reaction towards migrating the sub I didn't have much hope tbh. If some folks can still be reached it'd be really cool.

First week of the internship at the neurological station at the rehabilitation center in Bad Liebenstein is over. Not gonna lie, the first 3 days were hard. I felt like a complete idiot there. Lots of tracheostoma, wounds, blood tests and other profound medical work. Since yesterday, I worked at something called the "Überwachungsraum" where the patients are constantly monitored 24/7. There's lots of information there and I already had lots of impressions crammed into the first week... I'm really exhausted but I know that I can learn a lot there.

There's downsides too. A few of the nurses over there have a holier than thou attitude and think everyone who works in a nursing home is a failure. There are others however who are really helpful and explain lots of things, including a few of the doctors. Our room we got over there is the same size as the patients rooms are, with the exception that we live as two people over there instead of having a room for each of us. On the other hand, this prevents us from feeling lonely as we always have someone to talk about what we experienced throughout the day. And the beds are awful... I never thought that I'd already sleep in a care bed (similar to a hospital bed) that creaks every time when I turn around at age 29, but here we are. My back and neck will be really grateful for my own bed for two nights now, but this helps me to appreciate what I have.

All in all, my shaves are quite uninspired and disappointing during the week. I had to buy a tub of Speick cream and will bring my Proraso Wood&Spice cream when I return on Sunday evening to not become crazy due to the monotony. Fancy SOTDs will be reserved for the weekends now. But I'll do everything for my future career 💪🏻

SOTD 04.12.2023

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: Greencult GC 2.0 IV-plate
• Blade: Voskhod
• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - King of Bourbon
• Post Shave: Thayer's Aloe Vera toner; Pacific Shaving Co. Caffeinated ASB

2-pass head and 1-pass face shave. King of Bourbon is a very nice scent. Very warm and comfortable, perfect for cold winter days. The lather was, yet again due to my nervous state, rushed and to little. I actually had to fully re-load for the face shave. But WK soaps are nice skin food

I probably need to go over my face tomorrow morning again before my appointment; I'm so damn nervous about signing the new contract, but it's the right thing to do. I'll also ask about the applications of my colleagues... Somehow I haven't fully lost hope that I can bring at least one with me. Wish me luck 🍀

Thanks. It's just +25% on my daily salary, but at least something 👍🏻