mr_bad_example | (no subject)

I don't think it's any big secret that I lead a life that can be described as "shaving-intensive." I'm always looking for ways to improve the experience. I've always heard that a shaving brush was a wise investment. I picked one up at The Body Shop a few years ago, but it really didn't do much for me. I might have gotten better results if I had stuck with it, but I was very impatient at that time in my life. Then a couple of days ago, I saw that Target was carrying the Proraso brand, and they had the stuff for 10% off. I'm not one to argue with the Italians when it comes to the tonsorial art, so I picked up a brush and some shaving soap.

Shaving brushes are made with bristles of either boar or badger hair, badger being what the more expensive brushes use. I bought a less expensive brush. I had expected that the boar brush would be a bit coarse, so I was prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for was what happened when I ran some hot water over it. Hoo. That's the smell I left Iowa to escape. Them's definitely boar bristles, all right. I expected the spider in the corner to start spelling out plaudits in its web. I'm given to understand that the smell eventually goes away, and in fact, it wasn't so bad today.

The brush works pretty well with the soap. The soap has menthol and eucalyptus oils, so not only does it have a nice old-skool barbershop smell, but it also gives the skin a nice cool tingly feeling. I can't say whether I actually got a closer shave, but I did seem to stay smooth for longer than usual. And in addition to the tingly feeling, it also feels like my skin is less dry than it is when I use gel.

All in all, the brush/soap combination gives a pretty good shave. Now I just have to become alarmingly profligate with the Edge gel so I can use up the half a can I have left.

Threaded | Flat

bryan has a very thick, bristly, quick-growing beard too... maybe i should pick up one of these for him. tho i'll go with the badger hair. that is weird to think that it comes with badger hair.

The soap smells awesome. Yum!!

i didn't notice the brush smell at all. Repeated dunkings in hot water / air drying should cure some of that (and maybe the minty smell of the soap will stick around on the brushes, too...)

"I expected the spider in the corner to start spelling out plaudits in its web."

Thanks! I'm going to enjoy this one all day. :)

I rather liked my body shop shaving soap/brush set, but gee, when you lean the brush on the soap in the mug, it makes the bristles not so nice. I've been salivating over the brush/razor set we have at work right now (I work at Target) so I may just need to give the Proraso section a second look.

(I do have to admit I never used my shaving soap/brush to shave my head, just my legs. I wonder if I'd get a scalp massage to go with the soap application? *grin*)

I got some Italian model shaving brush at the Wedge, as well as Burt's Bees Bay Rum Shaving Soap. It smells really nice, though the smell doesn't linger with you throughout the day. As far as razors go, I'd like to experiment with a straight razor, but right now, for my money, nothing surpasses the Gillette Mach 3. It sounds ridiculous, but being prone to razor burn and spot-bleeding, this particular make-and-model are efficacious in protecting my face from unsightly abrasions and lacerations. To be fair, I haven't tried that battery-powered one that supposedly shocks your whiskers to stand on edge.