The brush, a Zenith 506U XSE, has an unbleached boar knot (diameter 27mm, loft 56mm) and a very pleasant olive-wood handle. (I mentioned earlier that I now think I would prefer the 507U XSE, which has the same knot but whose handle is somewhat taller and, to my eye, more elegant.)
Although this brush has had no more usage than my other Zenith brushes, it seems much better broken in — because the knot is shorter? — and I was able to complete the shave with little diminution of lather in the brush.
And what a later! Visage uses Grooming Dept’s Mallard formula:
Water, Green Tea Extract, Stearic Acid, Duck Fat, Kukui Nut Oil, Daikon Seed Extract, Cocoa butter, Castor Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Cupuaçu Butter, Kokum Butter, Glycerin, Myristic Acid, Shea Butter, Murumuru butter, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Tamanu Oil, Lauryl Laurate, Isostearic Acid, Sacha Inchi Oil, Beeswax, Allantoin, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Betaine, Tara Gum, Sea Buckthorn Extract, Chamomile Extract, Borage Extract, Allantoin, Xylitol, Galactoarabinan, Sodium Lactate, Marshmallow Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Sesame Oil, Macadamia Oil, Sodium Gluconate, Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Tocopherols.
The combination of the soap and the brush resulted in an exceptionally thick, creamy, and slick lather that allowed my RazoRock Model T to do its best work. The woody fragrance from the lather added to the pleasure of the shave.
Three passes left my face perfectly smooth and unharmed, and a splash of Floïd aftershave, augmented with a couple of squirts of Grooming Dept’s Aion Hydrating Gel, finished the job.
Great shave, and I’m bringing out more of my Grooming Dept Mallard formula soaps in the near future.
The tea this morning is Baltimore Coffee and Tea Company’s Brassica® Green Tea with Orange. “Brassica® Tea with TrueBroc® is a delicious, gourmet tea with 15 milligrams of TrueBroc® from broccoli added to each tea bag. The natural antioxidant found in broccoli and broccoli sprouts has been shown to last longer than Vitamin C, E, and A in removing free radicals from our bodies. TrueBroc® activates the body’s own natural antioxidant defense system, including Phase 2 detoxification enzymes.”