I’m starting to think that a key factor in creating an exceptional lather is using a good synthetic brush. Since synthetic brushes tend to harbor a lot of water, it’s important to give them a couple of good shakes before loading the brush, otherwise excess water will flood the puck and hinder loading. But if you do eliminate excess water, modern synthetic brushes produce an excellent lather.
The other key factor is, of course, the soap, and Chiseled Face makes a good soap, though today’s Sherlock has no hempseed oil. Sherlock now has these ingredients:
Stearic Acid, Aloe Vera Juice, Beef Tallow, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Glycerin, Fragrance, Mango Butter, Avocado Oil, Silk Powder
Perhaps the giving up of hempseed oil is like the eponymous character’s giving up of cocaine. The fragrance of this soap is extremely nice: “a warm tobacco based scent blended with toasted caramel, black pepper, moist dirt, and finished with a touch of leather, moss, mandarin, honey and rose.”
The razor today is the wonderful Baili BR171, which did a really outstanding job: extremely comfortable, extremely efficient, and very nice to hold. I do like that handle. It’s just $6 and it feels and performs way about its price class. This would be a good razor to have on hand to give to a buddy who’s expressed an interest in enjoying (instead of enduring) his morning shave.
A good splash of Sherlock, and we are facing the weekend, dead ahead.