Another Good One

Nobody ever criticizes me, and it kinda hurts my feelings. Am I to assume I am always right, then? Okay, I can live with that, lol. No, the critics in my head are on the job -- and they told me to go for two in a row, this time using more conventional techniques with the new skin cleanser as a preshave.

Italian Barber Sandalwood Soap for Sensitive Skin can be mixed as wet as Williams, I found out, just because that's my habit. Those luxury products can spoil you... just because they can lather and lubricate when sticky dry, doesn't mean you should. I started with maximum water already in the mix, and worked it up slowly in a cold bowl. I pretreated my skin with a thin, foamy preshave application, again, probably not necessary, but per Williams standard. And only brought it up to full thickness with vigorous face lathering. So nice! (I could still feel the glycerin after a couple passes, though.)

Slim on "7," alum and, after half an hour, just-like Brut splashed on directly. You know, that classic splash is kind of like all the missing notes in a sweeter Sandalwood mix, so that's an official pairing, in my book.

I'm a little tender, but not too bad. Without the "extra" (normal) gap of the "9" setting, I couldn't quite get the BBS. Shoulda gone back to the one-pass, but I don't think I did anything particularly wrong with the blade; it just all adds up. Besides the slight hyperosmotic effect of enriched soap, that cleanser is definitely exfoliating in its own right. I sprayed some on my feet last night, and it quickly softened my calluses to where they could be scraped off with a fingernail, though crusty heels took overnight to yield (less disgustingly, by lamellar reorganization, to a soft leather texture).

As when I mixed pumpkin juice and Witch Hazel previously (without the flaxseed extract), a sediment has appeared in the bottle that makes me nervous. Could be enzymatic activity, could be carcinogenic esterification; I have no way of knowing, except to say that it still smells alright. Still, the potential of this stuff in breaking fungal skin matrices makes it worth mixing up fresh on a regular basis, to me. I've even squirted it into my ears, and they secreted less sticky yellow wax.