What's new

Shaving journal

Does anyone keep a shaving journal? There are a large number of things to learn about wet shaving and keeping track of all of the tips and tricks you pick up, or the experiments, both successful and unsuccessful, you perform can be difficult. Is there a section of the forums where people post these things? I thought about using the Shave Setup of the day to keep up with my shaves, but sometimes I like to get a little detailed and I would really rather have a place just for myself, yet also available for others to read and comment on. If this is the wrong place for this kind of post, let me know, otherwise, I'm going to use this thread as my own shaving journal.
 
I'm posting well into my workday, so I can reflect on my shave before work and determine perhaps some benchmark for quality of shave vs. time. Anyways, I woke up at 5pm and had to shave quickly after my shower in order to leave the apartment on time for work. Taking this into account, I used my Tom's of Maine Mint shave cream (rather than my new tub of T&H WIL which I savor) after a hot shower. My first attempt at building a lather failed miserably because I used too little cream. I had been able to build a successful lather with this amount before, but I believe it was due to charging my brush (Proraso boar hair :thumbdown) with glycerin soap. Thusly, I took no chances on my second attempt and hurriedly charged my brush with soap then squirted out a full snurdle of Tom's. The lather practically leaped out of the bowl and my frustration waned. I wet a wash rag with hot water and applied to my face for approximately 30 seconds to make me blush. Aggressively attacked my face with the Proraso pre/post and picked up my Merkur classic '04. No time for a new blade, I let the razor do the driving through about 85% of my face, tilting my head to get the right angles for the blade to "fall" along, across, across again, and against, the grain of my beard. My chin was not treating me right today: when I let the razor drive down the beard, it hit every road cone and skipped and started down my face. I did my best with this method through all four passes and felt my beard. Pitiful. Relathered and used blade buffing to clean up the (many) rough spots. So tempting to go over the rough spots I see once the cream has been scraped away. However, I hold my own and no nicks today, thank you. Now my favorite part; I rinse out my shaving bowl and pour an average amount of Proraso ASB then get a q-tip and my tea tree oil. I dip just the very tip into the oil and mix into the ASB. The result is at once powerful and soothing, an initial sting with a bit of a delay before the intense cooling. Very much like menthol. I finish up with some Neutrogena Hand Cream on my T-zone (I have very peely skin on my forehead and nose, this stuff does the trick.) Finish up with three spritzes of C&E Nomad cologne on my neck just below the shave line and some American Crew Forming Cream in my hair. Voila! It's Brady.
 
I kept a shaving journal for my first month. I found that it helps a lot. Especially keeping track of how old my blade was. :biggrin: Now, I have to go back and recheck my prevous SOTD posts. :biggrin:
I think a log is a great idea for new shavers. It really helped me a lot. You get so much information thrown at you here in such a short amount of time and the log is great at keeps those tips and idea fresh in your mind. It also allows comparison of different techniques and products. I think every new shaver should at least give the journal a thought.
 
That's what I'm thinking. Now, is this an appropriate place for this kind of post? Should we have a sub-directory for shaving journals? I guess it would be prudent to wait and see if the personal (yet public) journal idea catches on in the forums.
 
I do record how each of my straight razors perform during their turn in the rotation. This way I'll know which ones need work when I get the time to do my touch ups.

Jordan
 
i guess i keep everything that i've tried in my brain, but i probably should write it down. i usually remember if i've tried product X, or did some technique. i usually try all kinds of stuff and continue using what works.
 
I've been telling myself for the last 15 years, to keep a Golf Journal, You know, when you suddenly figured it all out and write it down, so that the next time you play, you can remember what it was that made everything perfect. Well, I still haven't started one, so I suspect that a Shaving Journal is way off my personal radar system.
 
I don't keep a journal per se, but I think it's a cool idea. I might start putting some things together, depending on time. I did chronicle my first DE shave, so I guess that's a start. :smile:

Mike
 
I'm glad all of you are posting on my journal, because that's what I want: something personal that I can share... kind of contradictive, huh?

I skipped my shave Friday because I woke up late for work and had to rush. The neat thing was that when I came home for lunch, I brought my shaving kit with a few of my essentials back to the office (fab, actually.) I suppose I planned on attempting to shave in the lavatory, but ended up playing show and tell at my end-of-shift meeting. Almost everyone was very interested in my kit and I listened to their complaints about shaving. Mostly, I heard the same comments I hear on the forum here: "my skin is really sensitive, it breaks out when I shave..." "I can only shave once every three days because I loathe doing it..." etc. I told them some of the basics about wet shaving and they were really interested in the Proraso pre/post cream. I don't think I converted anyone, but I may have started some on the road...

My shave Saturday was lackluster. I tried to lather up with a tube of Aubrey Organics shave cream I picked up at Whole Foods. It smelled great but lathered for naught. The ingredients are amazing sounding: coconut fatty acid cream base, witch hazel, castile soap, eucalyptus, camphor, avocado oil, wheat germ oil, ginseng, menthol, rosemary, sage, pine, aloe vera, etc. The cream is ultra-slick, and I'm going to try mixing it with my Tom's of Maine. Additionally, it smells incredible, like a redwood forest. Not coincidentally, it's called "North Woods Shave Cream."

Anyways, I pitched that bowl of non-lather and grabbed the glycerin soap to prime my brush for a T&H WIL shave. The lather was as perfect as can be expected from a boar hair brush. My conditioning was Proraso pre, but I think I didn't let my face heat up enough with the warm rag this time. I'll chalk that one up to SWMBO who was watching me shave (at least until she reads this post and tells me otherwise.) Four passes and a blade buffing clean up and I'm 1/2 BBS. I say this because rubbing my face in one direction, and it's like glass, but the other direction is still a tad prickly. Even with the blade buffing I'm not getting the same smoothness I could attain with a M3. This disappoints me very much. However, I am determined to get a perfect, silky, BBS shave consistently and I won't stop trying new things until I get it right. I need some new blades... Those Feathers are sounding very nice right about now (I naively ordered 100 Zorrik blades = gross.) Aftershave was Proraso ASB and since I bought a bottle of Wintergreen oil while I was at the store, I tried a patch test behind my ears to see whether it would be nice and cooling, or cause anaphylaxis. So far, so good. I'll be shaving later today for my grandmother's-in-law birthday party. She always gives me a kiss on the cheek and I want to be extra smooth and smelling nice for this beautiful lady.
 
My shave Saturday was lackluster. I tried to lather up with a tube of Aubrey Organics shave cream I picked up at Whole Foods. It smelled great but lathered for naught. The ingredients are amazing sounding: coconut fatty acid cream base, witch hazel, castile soap, eucalyptus, camphor, avocado oil, wheat germ oil, ginseng, menthol, rosemary, sage, pine, aloe vera, etc. The cream is ultra-slick, and I'm going to try mixing it with my Tom's of Maine. Additionally, it smells incredible, like a redwood forest. Not coincidentally, it's called "North Woods Shave Cream."

The whole point of the cream or soap is lubrication, along with softening the hair. I think that some are not designed to lather up any more than you could expect a shave oil to.
 
The whole point of the cream or soap is lubrication, along with softening the hair. I think that some are not designed to lather up any more than you could expect a shave oil to.

To wit, I had a chance to shave without lathering today :scared:. I just received my KMF Patchouli in yesterday and tried to lather with it this morning. Something is wrong with my technique. At some point in the past, I picked up a habit that is causing my brush not to lather as well. The problem is, I don't know which habit it is that I picked up. I'm going to C&E today to look at their brushes and hopefully purchase one. Anyways, on with the show... ingredients:

Merkur 1904
Zorrik blade
King of Shaves Shaving oil
Proraso Pre/post
KMF Patchouli Moisture Shave
Glycerin Soap
Aubrey Organics Northwoods Shave Cream
Proraso ASB
Tea Tree Oil
Neutrogena Hand Cream

Okay, so I let my brush soak in the hot water for a minute or two, then shook it out, and squeezed the bristles such that it was probably too dry to start lathering. "Oh well," I thought, "I'll just add hot water to the cream as I'm making my lather." This was not the best idea. Prime with the soap and then a snurdle of Patchouli. Something like ten minutes later and probably four tablespoons of added water, I dumped the "lather" and decided to do something drastic. Normally, I would just start again with good ol' Proraso cream, but I was in a slight hurry because I thought I would be going to work with my wife who was getting ready with me. After she left for work without me (because I had been in the bathroom for about twenty minutes and it only takes her just over ten to get ready,) I heated my face via the previously mentioned method and applied the KOS oil and Proraso Pre. Then I got out the Northwoods and squirted some out into my hands, rubbed it on my face, and enjoyed the scent. This stuff is highly lubricating, and I like it. I only wish it would lather. Next, I picked up my blade and clenched my teeth. With no lather, you can see exactly what you're doing, but it's also quite scary because you can't see where you're lubricated. I started slow, but quickly realized that I could drive 90 on this stuff. I did one pass and "relathered," then went across the grain, still smooth sailing. Next I decided I was smooth enough for against the grain and touchup all in one pass. It was a cinch. No nicks, no burn, crazy smooth face, and all with no lather. I thought for a split second, "I could shave like this for--" but then I reminded myself that I enjoy shaving with the lather and, in fact, the entire process that I've been working so hard to perfect. Bottom line, I won't be using the Northwoods lather-free shaving method as a standard, but it's good to know that if I'm in a hurry, it will do the job just fine.

Oh, and then I put on my Proraso ASB with the Tea Tree Oil. The Neutrogena hand cream works great on my T-zone only to alleviate a reoccurring dryness problem I've been having.
 
Today was quite a fancy shave. Yesterday I picked up a fine badger shaving brush from Art of Shaving, very nice indeed. I took it into the shower with me today and used shampoo and conditioner on it to help it smell better. I hopped out of the shower and started to make my lather. Proraso mixed with the Aubrey Organics Northwoods mentioned above. The lather was rich and thick, but the volume/cream ratio was only so-so compared to what I'm used to, which I chalk up to my inexperience with the badger brush and the small size of my shaving bowl. I was so excited to use my new brush that I forgot to use the Proraso Pre/post before my first pass! The brush did feel fantastic on my face, however. I managed to use the pre/post before my second pass which actually felt very cooling after the initial pass. The second and third passes went by without much difficulty, but the lather was running thin and I wanted to try something less mentholated on my fourth pass. So I got out my bottle of KMF Lavender and Shea and built a slightly over-moisturized lather which didn't hold up too well, but after beating the hell out of it, I got some decent results. Fourth pass was against the grain blade buffing with some irritation in the neck area. Rubbing my beard now, I do feel some leftover stubble that I should have been able to get. I suppose that with more lather and sharper blades, I could have done a better job. Maybe I should consider switching to a straight razor. Anyways, I finished up my shave and topped it off with Proraso ASB, a drop of Tea Tree oil and a drop of wintergreen oil. Refreshing.
 
Brady,

Glad to hear it is going well for you. Yeah, I still often feel stuble spots I missed. Don't worry about it. You will get better at avoiding/catching those. I wouldn't switch to a straight for this reason. I think the consensus is that straights are about the experience, mostly, and while you can get an excellent shave with one, it is unlikely to be better than a DE shave, even after years of practice. I am going down that road, though, so we will see.

Just keep practicing with the lather, it will come. Oh, and I see you are already enjoying mixing and matching products. I'm all for that. Makes for a lot of fun, and sometimes mighty nice results. Oh, and this is just me, but personally, don't about the volume/appearance of the lather, so much as what actually happens when you put razor to face. 1/4" of thick luscious lather on your face is a few microns of useful lubrication, with 1/4" of pretty decoration and scent generation on top. Think about it.

This whole journal thing is probably useful from a learning perspective. Actually, I really useful tool would be a spreadsheet format, so you could see each element of the shave at a glance, with overall results. Lacks the ability to get feedback and advice that this provides, though. One thing you might think about is organizing your journal posts into discreet steps, describing what you did in each. Also, you might think of posting them in the SOTD forum, since that's really what it is for - journalling everyone's daily shaves.

Personally, I never got myself organized enough for a photo journal, which is espcially a key learning device there, so I doubt I will with shaving....

-Mo
 
I sometimes keep a journal. As a mod at three different forums, I am sometimes asked to evaluate items. For this reason, I put thoughts into a word document that can then be forwarded to the specific vendor. I haven't reached the point I'm using an Excel spreadsheet...yet.

Randy
 
Thanks for the great advice, guys! I think you've convinced me to stick with DE shaving, which is more than enough of an "experience." Also, I will take your cue and start separating my posts into discrete steps. What do you think? Pre-shave, Shave, After-shave? Maybe a follow-up section called Reactions and maybe a prefacing list section called Hardware/Software. Let's try it.

Hardware/Software
------------------
Merkur 1904
SHARP blade
AoS Fine badger
Proraso Pre/post
T&H West Indian Limes
Proraso ASB
Tea Tree oil
Wintergreen oil
C&E Nomad cologne

Pre-shave
---------
Prior to my shave, I washed my face with Cetaphil (see review) and put on the Proraso pre/post before applying a hot towel for one minute. I soaked my brush in hot water for approximately one minute and gave it about three hard shakes to get the water out. Then I loaded a new Sharp blade into my Merkur and made a quick and easy W.I.L. lather with my new badger brush. It's quite a large brush and the bowl I have is quite small so the lather was overflowing but extremely rich and thick. Honestly, I have never made a lather that thick, that luxurious, so quickly. I applied the lather to my wet face and it felt velvety and warm. It only took one or two painting strokes to coat my whole face with a decent shield of lubrication.

Shave
------
At first pull, I could tell that this was going to be an awesome shave. The Sharp slid easily down my face with no skidding (thanks to the awesome lather) and my first WTG pass was a breeze. I did nick my Adam's apple which happens frequently if I don't move it by swallowing while I shave my neck. Because I applied the pre/post before using the towel (out of order for me) I forgot that I had used it at all and applied more pre/post after my first pass. I'm sure the fact that I was so excited also contributed to my forgetting. I followed this with two XTG passes and one ATG pass with a follow-up pass which I thought would get everything I left behind. It's true that I did clean up more than I usually do, but I'm still getting used to the direction my hair grows near my chin area. It didn't help that my face was very irritated after the first four passes.

After-shave
-----------
After my shave, I could tell that I had caused a lot of microscopic damage to my skin. No bleeders other than my Adam's apple, but a lot of irritation. I splashed on Proraso ASB and then a drop of Tea Tree oil (fire!) and then a drop of wintergreen oil (hell fire!) The wintergreen is forgiving after about 5 seconds because my skin felt cool and refreshed and the scent was delicious. I spritzed Nomad on my neck below my shave line and enjoyed the spicy combination of scents. Wintergreen oil is funny to me because the concentrated oil, like when I smell the bottle, smells like cat urine. One drop, though, and it smells like the familiar wintergreen scent, like a Certs.

Reaction
--------
When I was done with my shave, I was looking in the mirror, reflecting on what had just happened. My conclusions were that I could get an extremely close shave with the Sharp blades, but I might pay for it in comfort. My neck was smoother than my chin, which is hard to accomplish. I felt good--no... I felt great. Thank you, wet shaving.
 
Hardware/Software
------------------
Merkur 1904
SHARP blade
AoS Fine badger
Proraso Pre/post
KMF Peaches and Cream
Proraso ASB
Tea Tree oil
Wintergreen oil
C&E Nomad cologne

Pre-shave
---------
Hot shower, Cetaphil, Proraso pre, then hot towel. Soaked brush in hot water, shook three times into sink (think I'm losing too much water here.) KMF Peaches & Cream is probably my least favorite shaving cream as of right now. For one, it does not smell like peaches, nor does it smell like cream. For two, it is down right impossible for me to build a decent lather with it. Granted this is the first time I have tried, but my technique has been improving and I did attempt it twice, so I don't think it's me. I used a new bowl that I found abandoned at my office which works much better than the small dish I was using.

Shave
------
Using the same blade as yesterday, I made the first two passes without any issues. The third pass, I found I had to whip up some more lather because it was getting thin. All I did was spin my brush around the bowl a few times and maybe added some hot water. The shave was great, but I think I could have prepped better. Next time, I'd like to use the King of Shaves oil after the hot towel, or maybe, preferably, a better lather. Again, it may be my technique (water level in the brush) or it may be the cream (I got it for $1 on clearance at kissmyface.com.) I finished up with two more passes (five total) with the last being a touch-up.

After-shave
-----------
Proraso ASB, Tea-tree oil, Wintergreen oil, Nomad cologne.

Reaction
--------
Good, close shave, but I disliked the KMF cream. I know that the other two KMF creams I have (Patchouli and Lavender) work fine and smell great, so it must be this variety. Maybe they received enough complaints to drop it from their inventory, hence the $1 price. People at work are saying to me that my shave is not as close as theirs using a Mach 3 or whatever, but I am not getting discouraged and will continue to improve.
 
Okay, I'm changing up my entries again. The previous method was too cumbersome and sometimes, like now, I may be in a hurry. So, everything was identical to the previous post except:

1) I used Proraso cream
2) My shave was still smoother than ever, but I paid for it. I counted at least five cuts. One on my upper lip, two under my jaw right side, my beauty mark was cut up pretty bad and I think there was one more near my adam's apple. Overall, I was very satisfied with my shave and the temporary discomfort of the five passes (2 ATG) coupled with the cuts was washed away by the cold water rinse and ASB/oil splash.

Done.
 
Hmm may I add one post here too? :redface: I only wanted to share these difficult days with you guys ... as you see I said to myself that weekends are shave-free (so my skins rests). It is sooooooooo difficult :crying: what do you guys do during these hard days not to shave? :confused1
 
Hmm may I add one post here too? :redface: I only wanted to share these difficult days with you guys ... as you see I said to myself that weekends are shave-free (so my skins rests). It is sooooooooo difficult :crying: what do you guys do during these hard days not to shave? :confused1


Not shave? Why for you not shave? Why would you deny yourself the opportunity for this pleasure/pain?? How else can you use all the products and techniques thaou learn about here?? I am fighting to not shave more than once a day, I couldn't force myself to skip a day!!:001_tt1:
 
Top Bottom