Since Washington, D.C., I've been keeping with not-so-close shaves and extended blade use, because I think that historically, men would have shaved that way. With the extra attention to shadows around the mouth that a primarily WTG shave requires, I know that this is exactly what I saw my grandfather do, that one memorable day when I was only four years old. No way would the old timers have undertaken my journey to everyday BBS. Four years to figure out my follicle-excavating attack, the ideal soaps, the perfect blade, the -- okay, a mundane razor, then, would have been excellent by today's standards, but you know what I mean.
Gramps might have just shook his head and chuckled at my cheapskate "collection," but I know there's one razor that would have caught his eye, at least: that Ming Shi Futur clone. Whereas the burn-prone Weishi continued to disappoint me, when I employed a WTG-only approach, the nick-happy Ming Shi just kept cranking out fairly close, easy shaves. It pushed even a Cloud into multi-week use. Starting at the optimal setting of 2.5, I shaved again WTG at a slightly more dangerous "3." Then back to 2 ATG, to blunt the horribly pointy stubs. I cannot shave for depth ATG, because the distant safety bar doesn't pry the hair apart from its follicle.
"Velvety." I think it's the high degree of exfoliation, sensitizing to touch, combined with the absence of any breach. But don't let that angle rise too high, or... gotcha! It has limitations similar to a shavette, but in exchange, becomes even smoother in use than the classic DEs.
Magnesium Everywhere
I was pretty impressed, you could probably tell, with Epsom salt. I just had to try the other, probably less popular forms of the mineral magnesium found at retail. I had supplements already, also. Nothing wrong with that, except that magnesium is as common as dirt, or at least seawater. I tend not to keep up with supplements, just use them to figure out what I should be eating more of.
Magnesium chloride is a... saltier (?) salt than magnesium sulfate. You can use it the same way, or concentrated as magnesium "oil." The latter does feel greasy, but only because it's drying the top layer of your skin to a crisp. My litmus test with Erasmic indicates that the skin effect could be similar, in more appropriate concentrations, but since it stings like a sonofabitch, and is extremely, gag-inducing bitter in the mouth (where it should probably never go), I'm sticking with Epsom salt. Though my beard's cuticle structure WAS pretty much destroyed by magnesium oil, making the cutting effortless, it weakened the skin much like alum and Epsom salt. And it thinned my lather, even as a residue. At best, it will make a convenient spritz additive to my basin water, hopefully to lend a touch of the seawater effect as a dilute presoak. I had some stiff, achy calves after touring Washington, D.C., and it had no effect as a substitute massage oil. In short: choose Epsom salt.
Milk of Magnesia is used in beauty circles as a makeup primer. It's supposedly very high in pH, but of course is perfectly safe to ingest by mouth, and it's one of the substances I use in place of (glycerin) toothpaste. As preshave, it did not have any hair weakening effect, and treated the skin much like baking soda solution. Winner: baking soda.
Speaking of soda, nobody told me that the laxative magnesium citrate, sold in little screw-top glass bottles as saline laxative, was plesantly carbonated. I had a shot after my gut was already cleared by fasting, to avoid any mishaps, and now it is my chosen supplement (in smaller quantity than indicated on the label). As a preshave splash, it lacked any discernible effect. On the fifth day of my fast, however, I was so energized that I felt like dancing for exercise. Still got the seventh-grade moves!
Magnesium chloride is a... saltier (?) salt than magnesium sulfate. You can use it the same way, or concentrated as magnesium "oil." The latter does feel greasy, but only because it's drying the top layer of your skin to a crisp. My litmus test with Erasmic indicates that the skin effect could be similar, in more appropriate concentrations, but since it stings like a sonofabitch, and is extremely, gag-inducing bitter in the mouth (where it should probably never go), I'm sticking with Epsom salt. Though my beard's cuticle structure WAS pretty much destroyed by magnesium oil, making the cutting effortless, it weakened the skin much like alum and Epsom salt. And it thinned my lather, even as a residue. At best, it will make a convenient spritz additive to my basin water, hopefully to lend a touch of the seawater effect as a dilute presoak. I had some stiff, achy calves after touring Washington, D.C., and it had no effect as a substitute massage oil. In short: choose Epsom salt.
Milk of Magnesia is used in beauty circles as a makeup primer. It's supposedly very high in pH, but of course is perfectly safe to ingest by mouth, and it's one of the substances I use in place of (glycerin) toothpaste. As preshave, it did not have any hair weakening effect, and treated the skin much like baking soda solution. Winner: baking soda.
Speaking of soda, nobody told me that the laxative magnesium citrate, sold in little screw-top glass bottles as saline laxative, was plesantly carbonated. I had a shot after my gut was already cleared by fasting, to avoid any mishaps, and now it is my chosen supplement (in smaller quantity than indicated on the label). As a preshave splash, it lacked any discernible effect. On the fifth day of my fast, however, I was so energized that I felt like dancing for exercise. Still got the seventh-grade moves!
The Only WTG
Sometimes, with the grain is the only way to go. Most of the time, I don't like the shadows that result from this gentlest of all DE shaves. But I'm currently "stuck" ;-) in Washington, D.C., due to weather delays, tagging along with my wife on her important political business. She usually has a travel agent, and only carry-on luggage; this time, she went online to save money, and checking our bags was cheaper. Hallelujah! -- a real razor!
However, the Voskhod stowed in my travel razor, "Mimi," was already nearly worn out when we left, and was never intended for extended use. It's a nice, smooth blade, but one I have no compunction about throwing away after less than one week of use, and thus, ideal for travel. Or so I thought, until the wind storm hit, effectively doubling the length of my trip. I inquired hopefully at the front desk, but they just pulled out a complimentary disposable razor. A pretty nice-looking one, too. I just said, "no, thanks." I'd rather risk the dull blade than automatically plane my skin.
At first I tried keeping to the three-pass, BBS standard, and ended up slightly blotchy. Nordic people were still out and about yesterday, despite the Smithsonian being closed, leaning into the wind to check out the monuments and architecture, along with some relatively tiny museums. I personally enjoy learning the landscape and the metro, which is not easy for one used to the wooded hills of Vermont. I had already seen Art of Shaving last time, but even mundane urban things like Trader Joe's and The Body Shop are worthy destinations, to me. Thank God we found "1 Fish, 2 Fish," a budget sushi and oriental fusion restaurant for lunch, before my wife split back to the hotel to work. I could feel my face going numb, but when I got back, I found that the chill didn't prevent an unsmooth texture from rising on my skin.
So, next morning, two passes WTG. First pass same as always, second with full manipulation and just enough pressure to hit hair again, going for the roots the "wrong" way. The angle is less than ideal with respect to the skin, and the shave quite exfoliating, making all my old scars slightly more visible than usual. Insignificant consequences compared to the effect of the hair itself deflecting the edge into the skin, when you shave ATG.
Small worries compared to my wife's, struggling by phone and the internet to get us assigned to adjacent seats like she had it before. As we begin our last day in the hotel, I rise early to discover that I actually look like I need a shave, for a change. So I do the same thing again, finding only enough growth for two passes. Some repeated strokes, sure, but I do that normally... yes, with only my tiny kabuki brush, squeezed out for the second pass, I guess this is actually the more efficient shave, too. You heard it here last, folks!
However, the Voskhod stowed in my travel razor, "Mimi," was already nearly worn out when we left, and was never intended for extended use. It's a nice, smooth blade, but one I have no compunction about throwing away after less than one week of use, and thus, ideal for travel. Or so I thought, until the wind storm hit, effectively doubling the length of my trip. I inquired hopefully at the front desk, but they just pulled out a complimentary disposable razor. A pretty nice-looking one, too. I just said, "no, thanks." I'd rather risk the dull blade than automatically plane my skin.
At first I tried keeping to the three-pass, BBS standard, and ended up slightly blotchy. Nordic people were still out and about yesterday, despite the Smithsonian being closed, leaning into the wind to check out the monuments and architecture, along with some relatively tiny museums. I personally enjoy learning the landscape and the metro, which is not easy for one used to the wooded hills of Vermont. I had already seen Art of Shaving last time, but even mundane urban things like Trader Joe's and The Body Shop are worthy destinations, to me. Thank God we found "1 Fish, 2 Fish," a budget sushi and oriental fusion restaurant for lunch, before my wife split back to the hotel to work. I could feel my face going numb, but when I got back, I found that the chill didn't prevent an unsmooth texture from rising on my skin.
So, next morning, two passes WTG. First pass same as always, second with full manipulation and just enough pressure to hit hair again, going for the roots the "wrong" way. The angle is less than ideal with respect to the skin, and the shave quite exfoliating, making all my old scars slightly more visible than usual. Insignificant consequences compared to the effect of the hair itself deflecting the edge into the skin, when you shave ATG.
Small worries compared to my wife's, struggling by phone and the internet to get us assigned to adjacent seats like she had it before. As we begin our last day in the hotel, I rise early to discover that I actually look like I need a shave, for a change. So I do the same thing again, finding only enough growth for two passes. Some repeated strokes, sure, but I do that normally... yes, with only my tiny kabuki brush, squeezed out for the second pass, I guess this is actually the more efficient shave, too. You heard it here last, folks!
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