I did my usual prep, a three pass with the grain/against the grain/across the grain shave, and finished up with a cold water rinse and an application of some SAL Alum. The results were a BBS shave with zero nicks and zero irritation. I could have stopped after the second pass and had a damn fine shave, but after a couple of rough shaves I wanted my skin to start off with a clean slate, so I needed absolute smoothness. The Personna Platinum performed above expectations, the superlather felt great and left my face and neck feeling soothed, and the flare tip kept everything nice and neat. The alum took care of what tiny irritation began to rear its ugly head and left my skin silky smooth and redness free. I really enjoyed this shave. I liked it so much that I am considering sending my slightly beat up flare tip to The Razor Emporium to be replated in silver. It's a $55 job to replate what is, at best, a $20 razor, but it will add a few more decades to the life of the razor and give me a beautiful looking tool. I bought the razor for $2 at a junk shop, so paying another $55 to get a nice looking razor that will outlast me may just be worth it...especially considering how well it does its job.
Pre: Hot shower and warm water splash
Razor: Gillette Flare Tip
Blade: Personna Platinum
Brush: #6 Turkish Horsehair
Soap: Superlather of eShave White Tea and Proraso White
Post: Cold water rinse and SAL Alum
For more details on this shave, more SOTDs, product reviews, and rants visit my blog: https://cryofthewildjabberwock.wordpress.com/
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