Experimental no-brush oil shave

Today I tried a shave using the Conditioning Shave oil (which also can be used as an aftershave, similar in feel to Grooming Dept Rejuvenating Serum). I did my usual prep, using Grooming Dept Moisturizing Pre-Shave. 

For today’s razor, I am using my Yaqi Slope stainless steel slant head, here on a RazoRock Super Knurl stainless steel handle. My RazoRock Superslant came with this handle, which I like, and I thought it would be appropriate for another stainless steel slant.

Grooming Dept not long ago introduced its brand “Aion Skincare,” and two of the products shown were released under that brand name, but all of these are from the same artisan. For the first pass, I applied a couple of squirts of Hydrating Gel (which I normally use with an alcohol-based aftershave splash to counteract the effects of the alcohol) and then 3 or 4 squirts of Conditioning Shave Oil. 

The first pass revealed a couple of issues:

1. Unlike lather, shave oil does not clearly show which areas have been shaved and which have not. 
2. The shave oil did not provide the glide I get from good lather — it lubricated my face somewhat, but not to the degree of slickness I get from good lather. (This may not hold for those who must shave with hard water.) — Update: I was told that a few who shave with cartridge razors did not experience a problem with glide. That makes sense: a cartridge razor includes a lubricating strip, and that would help a lot with glide.

For the second pass, I thought perhaps I would not need more shave oil, since my skin remained somewhat oily. That thought was wrong: the razor removes enough oil (along with the stubble) so that not enough oil remains to lubricate the skin. So I did apply more oil, though this pass I decided to skip the Hydrating Gel.

The same two issues remained, and if anything, the razor glide was further reduced — so for the third pass I did use both Hydrating Gel and Conditioning Shave Oil. That was better.

When I rinsed the razor at the end, I discovered a third issue: oil does not rinse readily off the way that lather does. Cleaning the razor required deliberate effort. 

I rinsed y face, dried it, and applied a couple of squirts of Nourishing Balm as aftershave. The final result is quite good, but the experience of the shave was for me not so good as using lather. My skin does feel nice, though.

The tea this morning is Mariage Frères Sakura Blue®. Mariage Frères seems to use “blue tea” in two ways:

1. A tea that’s blue in color: “The blue liqueur teas (Marco Polo Blue, Opera Blue, Thé Bleu des Légendes, etc.) owe their signature blue colour to the presence of finely chiselled blue flowers.”
2. An oolong tea: “Blue tea represents a half-way stage between green and black tea. The leaves undergo a brief oxidation. Blue tea is also called Oolong which means “black dragon”, and occasionally Bohea (or Bohe or even Bou) which is a deformation of Wu Yi, the name of the famous mountain in China’s Fujian Province where the most highly esteemed blue tea is made.”

Sakura Blue is blue in the first sense (“The indigo-coloured liqueur is reminiscent of the azure skies of sunny mornings in Tokyo.”) and also, based on the brewing temperature, in the second sense.