Well it has been cold and rainy the past few days, just the way I like it. Unfortunately real life intruded on my normal routine, and I wasn't able to do my usual breakfast, relax, shave routine as I had some things that I needed to get done. I still had time to shave though, and I especially didn't want to skip it today, as I got my stuff from West Coast Shaving yesterday. This included Proraso shaving cream, the Merkur 34C HD razor, and their sample pack of cheap razors.
My first impression of the Merkur razor was "It's small". It's a nice little razor though, very hefty and compact and it is all in chrome. I'm used to my Schick Sensor Excel which has kind of a longer handle, so it was a little strange to have this tiny thing in my hand to shave with.
The Proraso shaving cream looked pretty much like its picture, like a tube of toothpaste. When I opened the top and smelled the shaving cream, my first impression was "It doesn't smell like anything" which was kind of surprising, I thought that it would have that menthol/eucalyptus scent just pouring out, but nope.
The razors weren't much of a surprise, they looked like the pictures, I was slightly surprised that the Merkur razor came with two blades in it's box I didn't think it came with anything. I've read from other forums that I should just throw the razors out as they aren't good, but I tend to like to use the bad stuff first so that I know what the good stuff is like, so I took the factory razors and put it right in the razor.
Now when it came time to shave, I did the normal routine, but of course I used the new tools. First the shaving cream: slightly different than soap as I just squirted some out into the mug instead of lathering up the soap first. It's kind of nice as it takes a little less work. It's not like using soap puts a huge burden on things or anything, but using cream instead of soap seems to take less time to lather up.
The lather was pretty good, as I get used to wet shaving I think my lathering "Technique" is getting better, and I think I do pretty good, but I didn't notice a huge appreciable difference in the lathering capability of the Proraso vs. the Classic shave soap other than the aforementioned ease of use. One thing I did notice though is the smell of the Proraso to me smelled a bit "mediciny", probably because of the menthol. I've been used to smelling the sandalwood from what I already have so I noticed it much more. It's not an overpowering type of thing, but it is there.
After lathering up, I started in with the Merkur, and found that something wasn't quite right. The thing was pulling at my whiskers, and none of them were coming out. So this kind of hurt, and I usually have a pretty tough face. Tried again, this time putting a little more pressure on the razor, and it ended up hurting more. I picked up my old Excel and tried that... Nope everything working ok there. So I went back to the Merkur, and went for another go, and this time things went pretty easily. What happened was when I went back to the Merkur, I stared using a different side of the razor, so I found that one side of the razor does pretty good and the other side doesn't do much except hurt my face.
I'm not quite sure what the story is with that. I will have to find out if that is normal or not. The razor didn't come with any instructions or anything so it's back to the blogs and forums for me. However the side that did a good job whipped right through my whiskers, so I was pretty happy. There are still things to learn about the wet shave process, so I think this will continue to get better. It is fun to shave with the Merkur, it feels nice, if a bit small, in my hands much better than the piece of plastic I'm used to.
There are all sorts of razors out there as well with longer handles and all sorts of things. I'm already keeping my eyes out for the next thing to get, although I do think my next acquisition will be a new shave brush as I'm content for now to continue my shaving with the Merkur and experience the differences in blades and work on the whole shaving process.
One final thing, as I was shaving, and especially when rinsing my face off with cold water, that Proraso really puts the cool on ya. It is indeed very refreshing to have the menthol cool your skin as you shave, and that is very nice and I imagine during the hot weather that will be a very nice shave experience.
So the journey begins, sandalwood during cold weather, menthol for the hot, and for the spring? We shall certainly find out!
Showing posts with label Proraso. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Proraso. Show all posts
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
The form and function of wetshaving
It's bright and sunny today in So Cal, 63 degrees this morning. Unfortunately I don't have any different shaving cream just yet to take advantage of the warmer weather. I went to the site to order my new shaving stuff, and a few things were out of stock, so I decided to just wait and order everything at the same time. I found other websites that had the items I was looking for, but all of them were more expensive than West Coast Shavers.
I've decided the next thing I'll get in addition to the Merkur HD 34C and the razor blade sampler pack is Proraso shaving cream. As I continue to lurk through the hallowed halls of the wet shaving Internet websites, I can see lots of consensus among the wet shaving group on certain products, and who am I to buck the trend when so many have gone before me?
Anyway, Proraso has been described as a great cream, with lots of lather and the kicker for me was the cool eucalyptus for warmer weather which I described in my last post is something that I would like to try. It is from Italy which is nice, I only wish it didn't look like some drug store toothpaste tube or hair gel tub. You can't judge a book by it's cover, but honestly, I just do like the look of a good book cover.
Thinking of packaging though got me thinking about all the other shaving products out there and how they are packaged. Schick and Gillette do a great job packaging their products. It is one reason for their success. Like I said, I love great packaging, I think presentation is a big part of enjoying something. So it is a little tough to ignore the commercials, and the can designs and all of the high-tech looking razor cartridge systems.
I don't begrudge these companies, I think there is a place for the disposable razors and shaving cream. For guys like me that can't stand waking up in the morning there will always be the need for the quick shave before going to work, and I think that these products work for that. But I've seen wet shaving described as a "steak dinner compared to eating at McDonald's", and I can't think of a better analogy.
I have no problem eating at McDonald's, but I'm not going to eat it every day, and of course a steak dinner is simply better meal. The big shaving companies, just like McDonald's, do a great job of packaging and advertising their product not only to get you to buy, but also to drown out the alternative products. However, a good wet shave, just like a great steakhouse, is simply a much better proposition than disposable razors and cream in a can.
Presentation plays a part in this. A great steak restaurant has much better presentation in their restaurants than the "eating area" of a McDonald's, just like the products for wet shaving have better presentation than the mass produced ones. Shaving soaps often come in wooden bowls, Shaving brushes can be made out of rare and exotic materials, and razors are made of real metal and finely honed blades. I love the fact that these things have a history, and a following, and techniques and all of that. The presentation is part of what makes all of this fun.
For me, the Proraso packaging just doesn't do it for me. I'm a big advocate of "function over form" so if there's a better product in sub-par packaging, I'm going for the better product. I have a feeling the cream will occupy a place in the back of the cabinet hidden behind all of the better looking products, but from what I've read I also have a feeling it's the one I'll be reaching for the most, so I'll have lots of space to be able to get to it easily.
I've decided the next thing I'll get in addition to the Merkur HD 34C and the razor blade sampler pack is Proraso shaving cream. As I continue to lurk through the hallowed halls of the wet shaving Internet websites, I can see lots of consensus among the wet shaving group on certain products, and who am I to buck the trend when so many have gone before me?
Anyway, Proraso has been described as a great cream, with lots of lather and the kicker for me was the cool eucalyptus for warmer weather which I described in my last post is something that I would like to try. It is from Italy which is nice, I only wish it didn't look like some drug store toothpaste tube or hair gel tub. You can't judge a book by it's cover, but honestly, I just do like the look of a good book cover.
Thinking of packaging though got me thinking about all the other shaving products out there and how they are packaged. Schick and Gillette do a great job packaging their products. It is one reason for their success. Like I said, I love great packaging, I think presentation is a big part of enjoying something. So it is a little tough to ignore the commercials, and the can designs and all of the high-tech looking razor cartridge systems.
I don't begrudge these companies, I think there is a place for the disposable razors and shaving cream. For guys like me that can't stand waking up in the morning there will always be the need for the quick shave before going to work, and I think that these products work for that. But I've seen wet shaving described as a "steak dinner compared to eating at McDonald's", and I can't think of a better analogy.
I have no problem eating at McDonald's, but I'm not going to eat it every day, and of course a steak dinner is simply better meal. The big shaving companies, just like McDonald's, do a great job of packaging and advertising their product not only to get you to buy, but also to drown out the alternative products. However, a good wet shave, just like a great steakhouse, is simply a much better proposition than disposable razors and cream in a can.
Presentation plays a part in this. A great steak restaurant has much better presentation in their restaurants than the "eating area" of a McDonald's, just like the products for wet shaving have better presentation than the mass produced ones. Shaving soaps often come in wooden bowls, Shaving brushes can be made out of rare and exotic materials, and razors are made of real metal and finely honed blades. I love the fact that these things have a history, and a following, and techniques and all of that. The presentation is part of what makes all of this fun.
For me, the Proraso packaging just doesn't do it for me. I'm a big advocate of "function over form" so if there's a better product in sub-par packaging, I'm going for the better product. I have a feeling the cream will occupy a place in the back of the cabinet hidden behind all of the better looking products, but from what I've read I also have a feeling it's the one I'll be reaching for the most, so I'll have lots of space to be able to get to it easily.
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