Uncle Fester Endorses Merkur OC

Uncle Fester was a big hit at Mall-o-ween. I bought one of those LED space lights in the form of a light bulb as a prop and hope to construct some fake dynamite for the real holiday. (Sparkler for a fuse?) The Futur clone gave me a pretty efficient shave with a Wilkinson Sword blade, much more efficient than the DE89 clone with a fresh Voskhod. I smartened up and turned the razor down to 1.5 for my head.

But that wasn't nearly as comfortable as yesterday's shave. I had hardly any sting under the Skin Bracer, and that's one of the most irritating I've got, with the menthol. The Merkur open comb took a bit more time, but was not exasperating, like with the Schmidt R10. I think the pitch bias is similar, but the gapless razor doesn't let anything flex out of the effective range. My Wilkinson Sword was still beaten dull by merely fine head hair. But, of all the razors I've tested, this time around, the Gillette Brownie clone displayed the least change in attitude when it came time to shave the beard. Loosening the blade was a more effective adjustment than the Futur clone's dial.

It was BBS top and bottom, though not very deep. The stubble was cut very square and comfortable, not at all annoying come bedtime. It raises my skepticism about the New Improvements Gillette came up with after the Old Type. Isn't it worth working a little harder, and shaving a little less close, if it means that not a single new hair root will be damaged? The skin surface, essentially untouched? The Futur clone may feel more like a straight razor to me, but that could just be because I don't shave very well with a straight razor. In its results, manner of use, and historical proximity, I think the the Merkur OC better deserves the comparison.

Which is not to say, open combs are aggressive. That still sounds ridiculous. But having found something that this razor shaves very efficiently, I can see how someone with weak, straight-protruding hair would say that.

I've often written of my paternal grandfather, may he rest in peace, because my earliest learning about shaving was from that side of my family, at around age 4 (when I was not a shaver myself, but a vocal critic of shaves). I'm feeling that connection to the past again, now that I'm bald, because I look a lot like Gramps. I'm more on top of the unruly eyebrows, etc., coming to this at an unnaturally early age, but this lesson seemed to come from the other side of the mirror, dimly lit with an LED lamp because we had a storm and lost power. Like a friendly spirit, come to visit... Happy Halloween!

Welcome Comfort

A week before Halloween, the autumn skin hardening, a brief wave of uninhibited epidermal growth following the cessation of vitamin D production, passed. The weather remained balmy, by and large, under tropical air currents. I've not been restricted at all in my soap selections, mainly using the excellent Italian Barber soaps, and the moisturizing has presented no problems. I really think the phenomenon is entirely about solar radiation, and the only reasonable intervention is gentler shaving, with chemical exfoliation at night.

Now, it is the bone beneath my scalp that challenges me, as I cycle through my best razors to discover which is best suited to head shaving. The Tech certainly got the job done, but with quite a burn; will have to come back to that, after I get my strokes together into a couple efficient passes. Chaoying was excellently smooth, and still pretty close, between the Tech and the slant, but relatively prone to bite, at least with the Personna blade. I'm glad I got those O-rings, but I'm sure it would have gone better with the blade tighter than my face requires. A fully capable razor, indeed, besting even the Slim set on "7."

Which brings me to the razors I would have prejudiciously feared to use on my head: the Ming Shi 2000S and the Schmidt R10 (with heavy BD191 handle). Can I hope that the bony substrate is not capable of flexing too far into the gap of these can-openers?

All-morning shave

The R10 felt like a metal bar being dragged over my head, but didn't bite me once. Sensing that BBS was within reach, I went for it, and found it to be a test of endurance. I didn't note the time, but my legs got tired from standing in front of the mirror. Eventually, I was scouting the path of the razor with my fingertips on every stroke, and even then, the razor missed. Come to find out, down on my face, it wasn't entirely the razor's fault -- that blade was dull. I remember the Mad Scientist of Wet Shaving noting that the DE89 was rather abusive to the edge; perhaps this clone is, also. That, and I've been shaving a lot more territory lately.

I guess I can afford to give up a Voskhod to this razor, given the excellent result: I finally got down to the chrome of the dome!  Unfortunately it was flaking, as if still adapting to atmospheric exposure. They do say it takes awhile. Could have been the unusual soap choice hindering exfoliation, too: Kiss My Face, my only cream, rich with botanical ingredients. I lathered a few times, but mostly just rewet to slick as the shave slowly progressed.

Speaking of slick, I witnessed the power of boiled water again today. I had my No. 6 brush soaking in cold tapwater, then squeezed and set it in the kettle water. Immediately, an oil slick surfaced. And after the shave, I didn't feel I needed any alcohol, so did a cream rinse with some thick lanolin stuff, followed by some boiled water I had reserved. I could just feel it emulsifying instantly under my hands, probably well enough to shave on. Since I'm now in the habit of making tea daily to feed my kombucha cultures, might as well put that kettle on first thing in the morning.

Socially Acceptable?

Definitely "bald"

I mistakenly turned up the Ming Shi, and gave myself a cut below the eye. I don't know what I was thinking, trying to get aggressive WTG; but I remembered an easier way to get a less close shave, with TTO "Stella," BD177. Stubble before bedtime is now decidedly more acceptable than the skin damage I was seeing, cut aside.

Needing a haircut, I suspected the seasonal change was driving my scalp toward dandruff, by thickening that skin, too. So I figured I'd use Stella to bring a safe degree of exfoliation there, too. Head shaving is very different, I quickly discovered. It was quite a struggle just to get down to the skin, because the follicles were so dense (in most places), albeit with finer hair. Blade wanted to skip... I had to use that weird modern shaving technique, like I've done under my chin, of going ATG to avoid digging.

The Razorock Torsionshobel fixed that, making it feel like shaving, at least. But I had to call it quits before getting a nice shine, and gave my face 2xWTG to match.

Smooth

It might have just been the relative impression next to the head shave, but the Cloud I've been using seemed tired, and I picked a good ol' Personna in the hope of falling into old habits. Which is to say, smooth shaves, which yet destroy cotton pads. Once again, it seemed a bit rough shaving my face after coming down off the dome. I have to conclude, shaving one's face is just much harder than head shaving.

And I DID get down to the skin, this time, so it was DFS to match. Shaving my head may have inspired me to groom my eyebrows, nose and ear hair like never before, late that first night, but it put a moderating perspective on my summer BBS habit.

Chipping Away at the Exfoliation Problem

The first flakes of snow fell over Vermont this morning. In my bathroom, I only saw the flakes of paint/plating peel off the clip spring inside my Ming Shi 2000S razor, where it rubbed against a post. After the poor shave with the Merkur OC, I fell back to my Tech, but clumsily dropped the well-worn Ming Shi blade. Now with a Cloud blade, I still wasn't getting skin as smooth as I like, but at least I had the satisfaction of a close shave.

That Tech, with its cheap Yingjili plastic handle, sits ironically on the top shelf in my medicine cabinet with the two other long-handled razors, Ming Shi 2000S and "The Monster" R10 with BD-191 handle. I don't usually consider these other two as preferred razors, but they do appeal to me at times, and so it was today with the Futur clone. I am trying to remain mindful, not to go "aggressive" with hardening skin, yet the appeal (or, a peel) was irresistible.

I amped up that bourgeois vibe with XXX duro and BC Plissoft. None of these Father's Day acquisitions were expensive, but they really do give a luxurious shave! Just a note of appreciation to Italian Barber, once again.  And gosh, what a beautifully scented soap that is: fresh, but gentler than Fresco Verde, invigorating my crusty sinuses in floral lushness. So I can see how the mucosal status might be guiding my daily whim. It's also one of my more moisturizing soaps to the skin, again raising a red flag for skin hardening.

If I moisturize, I don't exfoliate as well; remember the foot experiment? It might be more pliable, but the leather thickens. Perhaps that woldn't be such a terrible thing for one as thin-skinned (on the face) as myself. Perhaps my fear that glycerin will ultimately reduce my natural moisture, and leave me flaking this winter, is holding me back from something great. I'm no longer a regular swimmer, having shifted to running; that should be to my advantage, this year.

The soap didn't irritate at all, today, that's for sure. I was a good boy and stopped after two passes of the razor, too. Instead of a third lather, I washed my face with an exfoliating soap. Asquith and Somerset -- man, would I like to have a shaving soap version of that! Maybe someday, I'll have the $$$ to explore British shaving soaps. I walked away without a balm, but will go back for that. It's not BBS, but it IS really smooth, because I didn't raise the skin texture, and visually, it's clean. I think I might stick with this. Or, at least the razor and the closeness; not sure I can stick with the rich soap.

In Praise of Erasmic

I've come upon a new angle from which to view my confusing collection of soaps, aftershaves and colognes, revealing some patterns. I got a distinct, lemony chill vibe earlier this week, by preshaving with Noxzema, splashing with Duru. In between, the "fresh" Fresco Verde lather picked up a cooling quality from the preshave. And today, Shave Secret pre-mentholated my Erasmic, followed by Lime Sec + 3-in-1 Lubricating lotion ("Portuguese") balm.

Before this, Erasmic was just an inscrutable "soap" smell to me, spicy and powdery; but in this context, it clicked into a more defined mental place: the less perfumed, working-class counterpart to Tabac. Lavender and Bergamot, I imagine the perfumer would say; but it wouldn't surprise me to find a big tank of English Leather at the factory, either. I sniffed the two soaps side by side, and they did seem very similar. So odd, that I never noticed before! I think I've had a bottle of English Leather in my possession since early childhood.

And then, my other soaps fell into the spice-lime or lemon-fresh categories also, with two outliers: Palmolive Classic as an alternative fresh, and The Art of Shaving Sandalwood as a pure, dry powder scent. I think it's the lavender that has always clouded my olfaction. It's such a common scent, I'm almost noseblind to it. Or maybe, too many diaper changes caused me to suppress my awareness of it. I remember when I mistook it for spice, in Canoe. I may still be mistaking it for a spice, in Shave Secret.

Erasmic is not as slick and protective as Tabac, which makes it sort of the lavender counterpart to lemony Williams. Yet, it lathers much more richly, which I think must imply more glycerin content. Preshave oil brings it back to near the same comfort, post shave. I guess it's equally well considered the spicy counterpart to Arko, then, with lather qualities falling halfway between.

I was already shifting to English Leather and Lime Sec (my recreation of English Leather Lime) for fall, and I needed a dry soap for the seasonal changes in my skin. It's easy lather makes it perfect for a good boar scrub, too. Erasmic is the soap of the season!

Gentlest Shave

The Ming Shi Diamond blade is holding up well, and I've been sticking to Baili BD-191 "Chaoying" in an attempt to avoid the autumn face hardening -- an excessive exfoliation that seems to be related to reduced sun exposure. I would say atmospheric humidity also, but it's been balmy as ever around here, this year.

Yesterday, I finally picked up the O-rings to make blade loosening adjustments hold better. I felt pretty secure loosening up Chaoying, actually. But not the gentlest razor of all, my Merkur 41C open comb. So I tried that out. With just Williams, I liked the look of my skin, but it wasn't BBS. I guess that's the good thing about a sharp blade, like the Ming Shi, that it doesn't need to be chopping against the skin to make a clean cut, despite the tough, flexible nature of my hair.

Fool that I am, I did not find this shave satisfactory. I took a few dry swipes, and lost the skin benefit, too. Nothing too terrible, but it prickled under Aqua Velva Musk, and raised what has become, I am afraid, the new norm in texture on my face. I just saw the smoothness long enough to learn the difference.