Continuing my brush-loading observations, today I came to The Dead Sea, an extremely nice shaving soap from Italian Barber. As I’ve commented in the past, if your brush is slightly wet — wetter than it would be after wetting the knot well under the hot-water tap and then giving the brush a good shake — the soap won’t load well because the brush will have too much water remaining in it. This soap truly wants a brush that’s barely damp.
I shook the brush several times, and even with an almost dry brush, the soap did already start coating the bristle tips. I did add just a little water — by passing the tip of the knot quickly through a thin stream of water from the hot-water tap — and that was enough to get the loading well underway. I repeated that once, and th4e brush was fully loaded.
After coating my stubble, I added one more small amount of water, and that was just fine — more would have been too much.
The Maggard Razors V3A did a fine job. It is indeed a very efficient razor (the “A” stands for “aggressive”), but it doesn’t feel “aggressive.” It feels comfortable.
Three passes left my face completely smooth with no damage. A splash of RazoRock’s Zi’ Peppino, augmented with a squirt of Grooming Dept Hydrating Gel, finished the shave. I really like the fragrance of this aftershave (and the associated soa).
A wonderful shave to end the week.