Dialing It Down

I adjusted the Slim down a notch, to 5-6-7, and it isn't clear whether that was really helpful. I ended with a perfect shave on the cheeks, but still a bit raw from the jaw corners down. Worse, I could see some shadow. It was too much work for a merely tactile result. But this is also what happens when a blade gets dull, so I'll have to crank it back up tomorrow to be sure.

Materials in this shave were some of the most basic, but really impressed me, especially as I fished around for touch-ups. Shave Secret, Palmolive Classic, and No. 6 brush. Maybe a little Tabac snuck in there from yesterday, but the final emulsion left for a water pass convinced me that not wiping the oil off is a good idea, if you're going for BBS. (I used something from a tube for washing my face.) Witch Hazel, U.S.P. was fine for splash. Both of the two strong scents, oil and soap, are detectable as residue, but they mix well, and there's not enough to make me feel too filmy.

When a brush as broomy as the No. 6 starts sucking onto your palm, because there are no air voids in the brush, you know you've got what you need. It has a nice scrubby feel, too. Application isn't so smooth, leaving tracks in the lather, because those stiff bristles have to be pressed pretty hard to release the contents, and then, the tips are strongly curved. But getting the lather down to the base of the hair seems to be what really counts.

As when I first bought it, the strong rubber smell has again receded. I'm not so paranoid about microbial contamination, now that fermentation is a hobby.