Rotation. Help please!

Barry Giddens

Barry Giddens

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Location
London
Morning Gents.
I'm 8 months in to my DE shaving odyssey and I'm absolutely loving the whole experience. Shaving has become a true self indulgent pleasure rather than a chore, and my skin has never looked or felt better.
My technique has steadily improved and I have a pre and post shave routine that works well for me.
My problem is soaps and creams. I can't resist buying them! So, although I don't have a huge number compared to some of you chaps (16 in total), I find myself jumping from one to another based mainly on the weather. But I find that this means that I don't really get to know the soaps. Despite making short notes, I go back to a soap and forget what worked best to get a good lather.
So guys, what do you suggest? Should I stick to one soap until I have used it up? Or maybe use each soap for a week at a time? How did you guys establish your rotations (if you have one)?
I know I can trust you lovely people to offer some sound advice,
Cheers
Barry
 
I 'eeney-meeney-miney-mo' it, usually.

Sometimes I have a hankering for a particular fragrance or menthol content and choose accordingly. Sometimes I have an EDT/EDP which I want to wear and match the soap to that (e.g. P&B Citra Royale and Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet, or Cyril R Salter Wild Rose and Penhaligon's Vaara).

On those days off from shaving, there's no harm test-lathering in your hand or in a bowl or even on your face to get a feel for some of the soaps you're not using as often. It might seem a waste, but life is short and soaps are relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things, especially when you broil it down to cost per lather!

P.s. I can't help but spend, spend, spend either! It's become an unhealthy, yet clean, habit...
 
Barry Giddens said:
Morning Gents.
I'm 8 months in to my DE shaving odyssey and I'm absolutely loving the whole experience. Shaving has become a true self indulgent pleasure rather than a chore, and my skin has never looked or felt better.
My technique has steadily improved and I have a pre and post shave routine that works well for me.
My problem is soaps and creams. I can't resist buying them! So, although I don't have a huge number compared to some of you chaps (16 in total), I find myself jumping from one to another based mainly on the weather. But I find that this means that I don't really get to know the soaps. Despite making short notes, I go back to a soap and forget what worked best to get a good lather.
So guys, what do you suggest? Should I stick to one soap until I have used it up? Or maybe use each soap for a week at a time? How did you guys establish your rotations (if you have one)?
I know I can trust you lovely people to offer some sound advice,
Cheers
Barry
Click to expand...
Untill you get to know all of your soaps and how they perform I would use one for each week and once you know your soaps you can then change every day as I like to do. :) If that's what you want to do.
 
I share your feeling. I normally keep a record, my own personal Shavopedia, but still I find myself jumping from one soap to another, and then asking me the same questions you do. I've been meaning to use a single soap for a whole week, but always end up selecting a different one every day.

As if this wasn't bad enough, the same applies to ASL and ASB.
 
Benz3ne said:
I 'eeney-meeney-miney-mo' it, usually.

Sometimes I have a hankering for a particular fragrance or menthol content and choose accordingly. Sometimes I have an EDT/EDP which I want to wear and match the soap to that (e.g. P&B Citra Royale and Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet, or Cyril R Salter Wild Rose and Penhaligon's Vaara).

On those days off from shaving, there's no harm test-lathering in your hand or in a bowl or even on your face to get a feel for some of the soaps you're not using as often. It might seem a waste, but life is short and soaps are relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things, especially when you broil it down to cost per lather!

P.s. I can't help but spend, spend, spend either! It's become an unhealthy, yet clean, habit...
Click to expand...
Thanks Benz3ne. Yes thats a good point. Practice lathering without an actual shave. I too am now very clean. But skint!
 
Nalves said:
I share your feeling. I normally keep a record, my own personal Shavopedia, but still I find myself jumping from one soap to another, and then asking me the same questions you do. I've been meaning to use a single soap for a whole week, but always end up selecting a different one every day.

As if this wasn't bad enough, the same applies to ASL and ASB.
Click to expand...
Ha! Exactly Nalves. As I just said to Blademonkey, some self discipline is required!
 
Barry Giddens said:
Thanks Blademonkey. Yes I was thinking along those lines. Some self discipline is in order!
Click to expand...


I agree with @Blademonkey.

For example, this week I took possession of MWF. I've used it every day. It's been good from day 1, but each day I've got a better feel for its nuances.

Once I have it locked in, then I can bring it in and out of rotation on any given day.

How do I decide rotations? I make two decisions. Firstly, the night before a shave, I decide on which soap/razor combination I will use, which I enjoy doing. Then when I get up, half the time I change my mind, and choose again, which I also enjoy.

Some other things re having lots of soaps in my first year of DE:

  • For a period of time, some soaps and creams came in and out of favour with me. Some I liked initially, then went cold on. Others I left alone for a period, and discovered I liked them more when revisting. Sometimes this is seasonal - menthol soaps are popular in summer for some people, but may lie idle for the cooler months.
  • That said, broader themes develop. For example, I have found that I prefer soaps more than creams.
  • Notwithstanding the above, I've found it liberating to clear out the den once I know where I stand on something. I had a bunch of creams that I just knew I didn't love and was only using them because I had bought them. Often, but not always, these were cheap creams. I recently decided that it was a waste of a shave to use them. Why not shave every day with something that brings satisfaction, rather than just gets the job done? So, I put them in a bag, brought them into work and gave them to a guy who I had introduced to DE shaving. A win win situation. He was delighted with the freebies and got to try them out, I had a tighter, better quality portfolio at home, and it means if I buy another one, my wife won't notice an ever growing pile of tins and tubs.
I have also owned about 12 razors, but am back down to about 6 (similar rationale to the above). That said, having never been interested in SE shaving, I'm waiting on a 1912 to arrive, which could open up the rabbit hole again. I part with a razor after more consideration than I would part with a soap, however. Cost and availability influence this. 3 months ago I cleaned up my 1964 Gillette Slim and parked it as an investment piece, or an item to be handed to my sons in the future. For no reason that I can identify, I have used it for the last two days, enjoying it much more than I recalled and getting an excellent shave from it.

It's your den, your face, your shave. So many permutations and options abound - that's the joy of it.
 
Supermangs said:
I agree with @Blademonkey.

For example, this week I took possession of MWF. I've used it every day. It's been good from day 1, but each day I've got a better feel for its nuances.

Once I have it locked in, then I can bring it in and out of rotation on any given day.

How do I decide rotations? I make two decisions. Firstly, the night before a shave, I decide on which soap/razor combination I will use, which I enjoy doing. Then when I get up, half the time I change my mind, and choose again, which I also enjoy.

Some other things re having lots of soaps in my first year of DE:

  • For a period of time, some soaps and creams came in and out of favour with me. Some I liked initially, then went cold on. Others I left alone for a period, and discovered I liked them more when revisting. Sometimes this is seasonal - menthol soaps are popular in summer for some people, but may lie idle for the cooler months.
  • That said, broader themes develop. For example, I have found that I prefer soaps more than creams.
  • Notwithstanding the above, I've found it liberating to clear out the den once I know where I stand on something. I had a bunch of creams that I just knew I didn't love and was only using them because I had bought them. Often, but not always, these were cheap creams. I recently decided that it was a waste of a shave to use them. Why not shave every day with something that brings satisfaction, rather than just gets the job done? So, I put them in a bag, brought them into work and gave them to a guy who I had introduced to DE shaving. A win win situation. He was delighted with the freebies and got to try them out, I had a tighter, better quality portfolio at home, and it means if I buy another one, my wife won't notice an ever growing pile of tins and tubs.
I have also owned about 12 razors, but am back down to about 6 (similar rationale to the above). That said, having never been interested in SE shaving, I'm waiting on a 1912 to arrive, which could open up the rabbit hole again. I part with a razor after more consideration than I would part with a soap, however. Cost and availability influence this. 3 months ago I cleaned up my 1964 Gillette Slim and parked it as an investment piece, or an item to be handed to my sons in the future. For no reason that I can identify, I have used it for the last two days, enjoying it much more than I recalled and getting an excellent shave from it.

It's your den, your face, your shave. So many permutations and options abound - that's the joy of it.
Click to expand...
...I think I'll wait for the film to come out,...(cough)
 
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