July 19, 2023
- Prep: Warm Water Wash
- Brush: Razorock Plissoft Big Bruce
- Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8
- Blade: Ralf Aust 6/8
- Lather: Barrister and Mann - Oceana
- Osma Alum: Yes
- Post Shave: Aqua Velva
Aqua Velva is good.
July 9, 2023
- Prep: Shower
- Brush: L'occitane Plisson
- Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8
- Blade: Ralf Aust 6/8
- Lather: Boellis Panama 1924
- Osma Alum: Yes
- Post Shave: Epsilon Blue (Splash)
I think the edge is soon due some refreshing. Wasn't the smoothest shave today.
July 7, 2023
- Prep: Shower
- Brush: Simpson Shavemac 24mm
- Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8
- Blade: Ralf Aust 6/8
- Lather: Boellis Panama 1924
- Osma Alum: Yes
- Post Shave: Epsilon Blue (Splash)
First shave of the month.
June 26, 2023
- Prep: Shower
- Brush: Wald Synthetic
- Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8
- Blade: Ralf Aust 6/8
- Lather: Barrister and Mann - Seville
- Osma Alum: Yes
- Post Shave: Chatillon Lux - TSM Fougere (salve)
June 16, 2023
- Prep: Shower
- Brush: Declaration Grooming B14 28mm
- Razor: Blackbird Lite
- Blade: Wizamet
- Lather: Barrister and Mann - Oceana
- Osma Alum: Yes
- Post Shave: Proraso Green (Splash)
Second shave with BB Lite. Impressions remain same - mild-ish razor that is very skin friendly.
The reason I didn't give you the links is because I don't want to be your first hand source of medical information. I can't answer your follow up questions, I can't clarify your confusions with the level of confidence I would like to, because I am not a doctor, not someone educated (beyond google) in topics involved here.
But my source of 'alum preference' is far from 'a doctor told me so'. More like a doctor explained my experience - why after a shave (and aftershave) if I go out, for a brisk walk, or run, or hike - the sweat affects me differently based on my alum usage or lack of. If I don't use alum, the sweat stings. Why alcohol doesn't have similar effect. what is alum doing here, that alcohol isn't doing. That question was answered by a doctor who happens to be a wetshaver himself. But he pointed me to enough documents that convinced the software/electrical engineer in me enough. But I still don't want to be someone else's first source of medical use of alum. That being said, here are some sources that mention the efficacy of alum as a vasoconstrictor or hemostatic agents.
https://www.scielo.br/j/ibju/a/33TK8r9RwFJLNv5GKpBGfHD/?lang=en
the links I can give you are the ones can be found on google (alum + vasoconstriction). Better to talk to some folks on the sub like u/rdthedo and such who are actual doctors, and my original source.
EDIT - link to post downstream with links and such
Alum does a thing called Vasoconstriction (google or ask your doctor what it is) that a splash or balm doesn't. It repairs/closes the small cuts (even invisible ones) we get from shaving. Alcohol or which hazel aren't as good a vasoconstrictor as alum is.
Do you need it? Depends. It is all about how much you want to treat your face - even aftershave isn't mandatory. You can skip the tylenol if you have a little fever - does it mean tylenol doesn't do anything? No.
But you guys really should look up this a bit before saying alum doesn't do anything, we are at the point of spreading misinformation here.
what is up with this community ? https://sub.wetshaving.social/c/drama
First Impression - Blackbird Lite
TLDR - super smooth razor, decent feedback, not the most efficient.
Just finished my first shave with this brand new Blackbird lite that I received today. Purchased it from the official site with my own Freedom dollars.
I am a big big fan of the original blackbird, so I have been curious about this one for a while. Our resident hater at the sub, u/jeffm5431 has been praising this razor for a while.
Wizamets have always worked well for me with the original blackbird, so I decided to with one as my blade for today's shave. I had a few days growth, and my last shave was a 2 pass shave with a straight razor, so I had quite a bit of beard growth today. Now onto the shave.
During my first pass, the sense I had was this - this bb lite is a very smooth razor - no sense of tugging or pulling or any resistance. But it is also not very efficient. I was going through my usual strokes and I could see lots of beard being left on my face. Especially under the nose/ above upper lip - as if I didn't even shave.
Second pass (mostly across the grain) didn't change my mind either - extremely smooth razor, even while going through some of my trouble areas, I didn't feel any resistance, blade chatter or discomfort. I also felt like I will need two more passes after my second pass. I did not have a close shave at that point.
Third pass (mostly against the grain) - I had some difficulty getting rid of the beard under my nose and on parts of my neck where whiskers lie flat on my skin. I really needed to go to town and do quite a bit of buffing to get a close shave under my nose. Even then I can feel a bit of whiskers if I run my finger against the grain. Nothing visible or noticeable, but not BBS. Similar story for part of my neck as well.
But the razor was super super comfortable going ATG - absolutely no tugging, no signs of discomfort. I noticed that I had to ride the cap a bit more than usual to get a close shave. I was also thinking about trying one of the more 'muh sharper' blades like Feather/Kai in my next shaves.
Alum resulted in zero feedback - very very nice. Now, after about 10-15 minutes of my shave - I don't feel any tenderness or see any redness on my skin. So I can confidently say that the razor was very good to my skin.
I would say this razor felt as aggressive as it really is - which is not really aggressive. Not much blade feel. So I didn't use too much or too little pressure to compensate. This is a feature I look for in DE razors.
I have used Wolfman WR1 0.80 and Razorock Gamechanger 0.84 recently. I would say BB Lite is milder than both of those.
Anyway, this was my first impression. So far, happy about my purchase.
June 12, 2023
- Prep: Warm Water Wash
- Brush: Thater 28mm
- Razor: Blackbird Lite
- Blade: Wizamet
- Lather: Barrister and Mann - Oceana
- Osma Alum: Yes
- Post Shave: Epsilon - Blue (Splash)
Details about the shave can be found in my first impression post
