I hacked my face up yesterday (i.e., 4 good nicks) using the Phoenix Artisans black Bakelite slant, and I’m not sure why. The blade is a natural suspect. I got quite a good shave from the white Bakelite slant (different blade), but I doubt that the color has anything to do with it. Perhaps it was prep and a sudden loss of skill (skill aphasia).
At any rate, I wanted to ensure that today’s shave would be a pleasant experience to right the balance of my personal universe. Some time ago a kind reader sent me the tiny tub of LA Shaving Soap Company’s Black Fern shaving soap, so I decided to give that a go. I used my fingertip to remove about a third of the tub and smeared that (the soap is soft) across the bottom of the bowl shown. I looked at it, decided it was more than I needed, and put back some, so I had about a quarter of the tiny tub remaining in the bowl.
Wet Shaving Products shaving brushes have proved their excellence in many shaves, and today was no different. The Prince is a stalwart little brush, and it easily worked up a fine lather as I loaded it with Black Fern. The soap is quite interesting and has a very nice fragrance. The vendor notes (at the link above):
Using the new black shaving soap formula introduced with The Black Rose, which includes activated charcoal and bentonite clay and provides lots of rich slick lather, Blackfern is our take on a floral fougere.
The scent (made, as always, with natural plant essential oils and extracts) has notes of floral lavender and geranium rounded out with patchouli and labdanum, with hints of clove and eucalyptus and orange and peppermint, which results in a very pleasant scent just in time for Spring.
This is something pretty special.
Ingredients: Vegetable Stearic Acid, Distilled Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Vegetable Glycerin, Bentonite Clay, Activated Charcoal, Lavender Essential Oil, Patchouli Essential Oil, Geranium Essential Oil, Bergamot Essential Oil, Labdanum Absolute (in Sunflower Oil), Peppermint Extract, Clove Bud Essential Oil, Orange Extract, Eucalyptus Essential Oil, Vetiver Essential Oil.
The fragrance is pleasant and even tantalizing, and the lather was superb—and even with the little I put into the bowl, I have enough remaining for at least two more shaves.
The Dorco PL-602 has never yet given me a nick or anything less than a BBS shave. It’s really a remarkably good razor, and those who write it off without trying it (because it’s inexpensive or because it’s made of plastic) are missing out on some very good shaves.
Three passes, BBS result, and a good splash of Champs de Lavande from Chatillon Lux, and I’m ready for a fine day.
Filed under: Shaving
