I really look forward to Monday mornings because the two-day stubble is a bit irksome and the shave is always a pleasure — today a particular pleasure because I particularly like Van Yulay’s Achilles. The lather is excellent and the ingredients are intriguing, and the fragrance (always a YMMV aspect) is one that I like a lot. The soap ingredients:
Stearic Acid, Coconut Fatty Acid, Palm Stearic, Castor, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Tobacco Tea, Aloe Vera, Coconut-Emu-Tallow-Meadow Foam-Borage-Argan Oils, Kentucky Bourbon, Sodium Lactate, Herbal Ground Tea, Calendula, Extracts, Poly Quats, Allantoin, Silica, Bentonite Clay, Glycerin Soap, Tobacco Absolute, Mica, and Fragrance.
BTW, the Van Yulay site is currently closed due to a move. It shall return.
The first thing I noticed this morning is that the Omega Pro 48 really is noticeably better than the Omega 20102 I used today. I used to recommend the 20102, but this morning it was evident that the Pro 48’s knot has better flex (due to slightly longer loft) and better coverage — the 20102 knot seems to be hollow, compared to the Pro 48’s.
Still, the 20102 is perfectly serviceable (though if I get another new brush at some point, I know which brush will depart the rack to make room), and the lather it made was first rate.
The second thing I noticed was how much I now like my iKon stainless slant (here with a DLC coating, though now sold with a B1 coating — more durable). I went through a period where the razor seemed to nick in every shave, and I finally realized that this razor simply requires a very light pressure and the correct blade angle — the latter most readily found by keeping the razor’s cap in contact with the skin.
Once you use light pressure and the right blade angle, this razor is a delight — highly efficient and totally comfortable. But it is not, I would say, a razor for a novice. Get accustomed to light pressure (just barely enough to keep the razor’s cap touching your face) and the best blade angle (the angle at which, if you moved the handle any farther from your face, the razor would stop cutting and just glide along on the cap), and then get one of these. They’re marvellous.
After three easy passes, my face was truly BBS, and a good splash of Achilles aftershave finished the job. Now the day already seems very good indeed.