Little Things that Improve a Shave

A quality facial cleanser that is milder in its "soap" properties but contains active ingredients like salicylic acid or glycolic acid would help.  A glycolic acid wash/toner in the night before shaving is a great exfoliator for the overall face that includes non shaven parts like forehead, around the nasolabial folds.

any particular facial cleanser you recommend?

Mario Badescu's glycolic cleanser is fantastic, about $16 at Ulta

A quality facial cleanser that is milder in its "soap" properties but contains active ingredients like salicylic acid or glycolic acid would help.  A glycolic acid wash/toner in the night before shaving is a great exfoliator for the overall face that includes non shaven parts like forehead, around the nasolabial folds.

any particular facial cleanser you recommend?

Mario Badescu's glycolic cleanser is fantastic, about $16 at Ulta

I might have to check that out...there's an Ulta a few miles from me.

any particular facial cleanser you recommend?

Mario Badescu's glycolic cleanser is fantastic, about $16 at Ulta

I might have to check that out...there's an Ulta a few miles from me.

FWIW, it’s also available on Amazon (Prime). I checked it out after reading ExtraProtein’s post.

Mario Badescu's glycolic cleanser is fantastic, about $16 at Ulta

I might have to check that out...there's an Ulta a few miles from me.

FWIW, it’s also available on Amazon (Prime). I checked it out after reading ExtraProtein’s post.

little less than $3 cheaper on amazon than ulta too...nice!

Bear patrol is operating round the clock close to Ryrkaypiy settlement in Chukotka region amid warnings the hungry wild animal could ‘wound or eat’ humans.

Mild weather has delayed the sea freezing and the beasts have congregated to devour seal carcasses close to Ryrkaypiy the village which has a 766 population.

Rangers have stepped up efforts to frighten the bears by shooting flares, as shown on the remarkable footage from one of the team Maksim Deminov.

‘The bear patrol is scaring polar bears away from the outskirts of the village and is moving a seal’s carcass to safer distance towards Cape Kozhevnikov,’ he said.

I couldn’t think of anything, so I said a few words about the Polar Bears.

I have found that making lather with distilled water or Dasani bottled water has yielded the best results.

I also recently started using a syringe to add 1/2 tsp of water at a time to the lather until I get the lather consistency that I want.  This not only ensures that I don’t over or under hydrate, but it lets me make a record of how much water I used in making the lather so I can note for the next time.  There is nothing wrong with keeping a log.

I found that using any of these vintage razor blades yields the closest, smoothest, irritation free shaves:

1.  Tungsten Personna 74
2.  Wilkinson Light Brigade
3.  Gillette Platinum Plus
4.  Schick Plus Platinum
5.  Gillette Spoilers

Finally, I found that learning to use a straight razor has REALLY improved my safety razor technique.  It taught me to truly use a light hand, to better analyze the directions that my facial hair grows so that I can hit all the right angles, it forced my to really dial in the other aspects of the shave...prep, lather making, brush selection, post-shave etc.

One last thing...i accumulated a lot of equipment as I progressed...so as your technique improves, I recommend digging up your old stuff and trying it again...see if you like it better than the first time you tried it.  An example of this for me was that I arrived at the STAR Model 100 DE razor being my absolute favorite...however, I recently broke out my 1941 Gillette Aristocrat.  I found that it also achieves an absolutely irritation free BBS result, but with greater efficiency.

Vr

Matt

Tamanu Oil has a nice nutty scent, and it heals razor burn faster than any other product I have tried!

Vr

Matt

I like Skinceuticals Glycolic Cleanser. Little spendy but coming from a company whose original founder was behind the Vitamin C patent or Duke University Vitamin C patent.  This product has glycolic acid at 8% and salicylic acid too or both AHA and BHA for exfoliation. The cleansing part is done by surfactants that are not high in pH and not soap ingredients. 

It will burn for some of us due to the high concentration of peeling ingredients.  Sunscreen is a must after use of this product.

I have a generic clone of that (no longer sold) and it is as you say, excellent. I use it once a week. However, I have been using a new (to me) primary facial cleanser for a month or so twice a day and it is beyond a doubt the most incredible one I have ever used. Where I live is hot & humid and everyone sweats like a pig, but this cleanser diminishes sebum production and my skin is better now at close to 60 than it was at 40!! I complement it by using a 2% salicylic acid toner one a day as well: 


https://www.aveneusa.com/cleanance-clean...e-and-body

I like Skinceuticals Glycolic Cleanser. Little spendy but coming from a company whose original founder was behind the Vitamin C patent or Duke University Vitamin C patent.  This product has glycolic acid at 8% and salicylic acid too or both AHA and BHA for exfoliation. The cleansing part is done by surfactants that are not high in pH and not soap ingredients. 

It will burn for some of us due to the high concentration of peeling ingredients.  Sunscreen is a must after use of this product.

I have a generic clone of that (no longer sold) and it is as you say, excellent. I use it once a week. However, I have been using a new (to me) primary facial cleanser for a month or so twice a day and it is beyond a doubt the most incredible one I have ever used. Where I live is hot & humid and everyone sweats like a pig, but this cleanser diminishes sebum production and my skin is better now at close to 60 than it was at 40!! I complement it by using a 2% salicylic acid toner one a day as well: 


https://www.aveneusa.com/cleanance-clean...e-and-body

I'll have to check that out after I try the cleanser that was mentioned a few posts ago. the top of my dome can get pretty oily (I shave my head with a razor).